How To Open Your Eee PC Case - Eee PC Mod Guide
A Simple Guide Detailing How To Open Your Eee PC Case
CAUTION: Before opening your Eee PC, make sure to remove the battery and disconnect the system from it’s power source.
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To get inside your Eee PC’s case for modding or repair purposes, start by removing the keyboard. To do so, you’ll have to press down on the tabs marked in the picture. This will release the keyboard and touchpad from your Eee PC case.
Make sure to be careful when removing your Eee PC’s keyboard and touchpad as they both have a very sensitive ribbon cable connecting them to the motherboard. By gently moving the sliders attached to the motherboard of your Eee PC as shown in the picture below, you can release the ribbon cable without damaging it.
Under your Eee PC’s keyboard, you’ll find a metal plate that has 9 identical screws that have to be removed. The under side of your Eee PC also has 6 identical screws that you’ll have to remove as well, allowing you to separate the case completely.
The best way to remove this part of your Eee PC’s case is to pry it up all around it’s edges with your fingernails. Make sure you do this on all sides of the case to avoid breaking it by using too much force.
Congratulations, you now should be staring at the exposed motherboard of your Eee PC. Most mods will require you to remove the motherboard from the Eee PC’s case to properly maneuver around it. To do this, you’ll either have to flip the motherboard over the screen (not recommended) or you’ll have to disconnect all the JST connectors. Follow the diagram below to remove them.
Before removing your Eee PC’s motherboard from the case, you should remove the plastic plug that sits in your modem slot to prevent resistance. When guiding the motherboard out, make sure to focus on keeping the audio jacks and the VGA connectors intact as they can be easily damaged due to how they stand out from the board.
Removing your Eee PC’s LCD screen bezel is very easy to do as well. Simply remove the 6 identical screws that hold it on to the screen, then use your fingernails on the edges to pry the bezel off of the case.
Examining the fully exposed motherboard of your Eee PC allows you to see where all the connectors are for future projects. Below is a diagram detailing out the parts of the Eee PC that can be used for modifications.
There’s two USB ports on the motherboard that you can take advantage of located in the WiFi mini PCI-Express and unused mini PCI-Express connectors. To solder to them, you’ll need to remove your Atheros WiFi card. The second picture shows you where these pins connect on the RAM door side of the motherboard.
You’ll need to get power to your mod and ground it as well, so use these two points on the Eee PC motherboard for those purposes. The +5V connection does not stay active when the system is off, however.
When you put your case back together, check that your power button can fully press down before you seal it. The white and black wire near the power button can easily get twisted up, hindering you from pushing the button down or even turning it off. I found this out the hard way.
Pictures and original guide written by ta2cba @ eeeuser.com