Do you love your Geek?
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Personal Computing Today - How To Buy A PC
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
Friday, January 23, 2009
Moving blog
I’m moving my computer related blogging to my new blog at Your PC Needs. I’ll keep the older stuff here as it would be a pain to move all this stuff. I tried it once and the formatting would be messed up and it would look more sloppy than it already is(LOL). Thanks for coming by I hope you visit my new blog.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Free Geek Box
Free Geek of Providence is starting to distribute Free Geek Boxes in order to the 
public. First you might say what is Free Geek Providence? They do a better job of describing themselves. Here’s an description from there website:
Free Geek Providence is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to addressing the digital divide by providing computer training, redistributing computer technology and providing volunteer opportunities to our community while maintaining relationships with responsible recycling partners.
For a small donation you can receive a Free Geek Box. What will it have in it? From what info I gathered from the website it’ll usually have a Pentium III,256 MB RAM, network card and some other options available at an extra cost(minimal). For an operating system they loaded with Xubuntu (Linux based) which is free. For more detailed information you can check them out the Free Geek Providence website.
Technorati Tags: free geek,providence
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Dell Latitude disassembly – LCD cover
I was asked by a friend to replace a lid cover to his Dell Latitude D600 notebook. In my previous post I I covered removing the keyboard and hinge cover. This was the first step in removing the lid cover. His was a bit scratched and the hinges were in poor shape just barely hanging on. Also the locking latch was not lined up correctly so it wasn’t staying shut. The tools you’ll need are the same as before. A small Phillips and flathead screwdriver are essential.
Here we have the left hand hinge which looks in pretty sorry state. It was very loose and there was space between the hinge in the case. This wasn’t going to last much longer.
Here’s our Dell with the keyboard and hinge cover removed.
First thing I did was disconnect the LCD display connector from the board.
It has a small ground strap and a wire connected to the LCD.
First I unscrewed the ground strap and then disconnected it. It has small handle to aid in pull.
Now I move on to the hinges. The left hand side has two screws and the other has one.
After the screws are removed it should lift right out of place.
Now I’m removing the frame around LCD display. In this case I’m just replacing the lid cover. This would a good reference if your replacing the actual LCD screen too. There are 4 screws along the top edge and 2 in the bottom corner.
After the screws are removed you can then begin gently prying the lid cover apart. I used a small flathead screwdriver. B gently when using this as you could damage the the plastic casing. They do make plastic tools to do this which I do have on order.
I now have the frame off.
Remove the screws holding the LCD display in place.
Lift and remove display. It’s that simple. To assemble just go in reverse order. Here I’m replacing the lid so I just lifted it out the old one and into the new one. I reassembled it. It was easier than I thought it would be. This took me about 30 minute or so. After I put it together and rebooted. It worked great. Thanks for coming by
Parts: Parts-People.com
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Dell Latitude D600 keyboard removal
Keyboards on laptops take a lot of abuse. Not only from constant use from spills, 
dirt, pet hair(and human) and keys popping off. Keyboard replacement is a common repair. On a PC it’s easy to replace. Go to your local computer store. Pick up a new one and come home and plug it in. On a laptop it’s not as simple but still easy if your a littler mechanically inclined. Here is how I took apart a Dell Latitude D600 keyboard. They are not all the same but I thing it would be a good example. All that you may need is a small Phillips screwdriver, small flat head screwdriver and a delicate touch.
First in this case you’ll have to remove the center plastic cover just above the keyboard. You lie the screen flat. In this case Dell provide a small notch on one side. Insert your small screwdriver there and gently start prying it apart. If you using a normal steel screwdriver use care as you can easily gouge break the plastic. There are plastic ones available I’ve found on Ebay.
This piece was held in by plastic hooks and snaps in place. Gently pull and pry the piece out. This piece was getting replaced anyway but still I tried to be careful not to damage anything else.
This Dell had two Phillips screws along the top edge holding the keyboard in place. I removed those.
I lift up along the back edge of the board. It was held in place along the bottom by some small hooks . Gently wiggling it out I see that a small ribbon is till attached to the base unit.
There is a small pull lever that aids in pulling this out. Gently pull this out and your home free.
This is the keyboard from underneath. You can then replace the board with a newer one. It took me about fifteen minutes to this task. To reassemble you just go in reverse order. It’s not as hard as you might think. As a word of caution. Like any other work you do in a computer be careful of ESD(Electro Static Discharge). You can use a wrist strap or touch any bare metal on the unit or elsewhere around your work area to rid yourself of static. Well good luck and hope this might help someone in the future. Next up will be replacing the lid cover to this same Dell Latitude D600 so stay tuned. Have a great day.
Sources: Dell Latitude Service Manual
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