Opening your Dell Inspiron laptop for cleaning requires partial disassembly.
All laptops require routine cleaning and maintenance. Laptops accumulate dust after a time, which can eventually impair their operation or damage the computer. Cleaning the dust inside your laptop is often easier said than done. In the case of the Dell Inspiron E1705, you must partially remove the outer case to access the internal components for cleaning.
Instructions
1. Power down your laptop and unplug it. Close the display panel and place the laptop face-down on a flat surface. Attach an antistatic strap to your wrist, and to the laptop's case. This prevents damage to internal components from static electricity.
2. Orient the laptop so the front opening is facing you. Locate the battery pack on the bottom side of the laptop's casing. Slide the battery release buttons to eject it from the battery compartment. Pull the battery pack out of the laptop. Set it to the side.
3. Locate the CD/DVD-ROM drive in the upper-left corner of the bottom side. Remove the two Phillips-head screws fastening the drive to its compartment slot on the laptop's casing. Use a small, flat-head screwdriver to disengage the drive's locking tab. The tab is labeled with a padlock symbol. Grab the front of the drive and pull it out of the slot.
4. Flip the laptop over and pull open the display panel as far as possible. Use a thin, flat-head screwdriver to remove the keyboard bezel. In the E1705, this is the plastic piece situated above the keyboard's top row of keys. This piece also covers the LCD panel's hinges. Insert the flat-head screwdriver carefully in the right side of the bezel and slowly work your way to the opposite side of the laptop until the bezel is removed.
5. Loosen the two Phillips-head screws along the top edge of the keyboard. Grasp the keyboard from the top edge, tilt it upward and lay it face-down on the laptop's palm rest. Trace the large ribbon cable extending from the keyboard's bottom side to its connector on the motherboard. Disconnect the cable from the motherboard. Carefully remove the keyboard assembly from the laptop.
6. Close the display panel and place the laptop face-down on a flat surface. Locate the plastic mini-card cover on the laptop's bottom casing. Loosen and remove the two Phillips-head screws fastening the cover in place. Remove the cover and disconnect the two Wi-Fi antenna cables from the wireless Internet card.
7. Flip the laptop over again and reopen the display panel. Loosen the two Phillips-head screws on each of the display panel's hinges. Carefully lift the entire display panel from the base of the laptop and set it aside.
8. Use a standard-sized Phillips screwdriver to remove the six screws labeled "P" from the palm rest assembly. Grasp the front edge of the palm rest and slowly tilt it upward until the touchpad cable is visible from the bottom side of the palm rest. Trace the touchpad cable from the palm rest assembly to the motherboard inside the laptop. Disconnect the cable and carefully remove the palm rest from the base of the laptop. This will reveal the laptop's internal components for cleaning.
Tags: display panel, palm rest, bottom side, Phillips-head screws, Dell Inspiron, flat-head screwdriver