How to Upgrade a Toshiba Processor
- 1). Turn off your laptop. Disconnect all cables and devices from the computer. Attach an antistatic strap to your wrist. Then attach its wire clip to the laptop's outer casing. Close the LCD screen and place the laptop face down over a flat surface. Rotate the computer so the front edge is facing you.
- 2). Locate and remove the battery from its compartment near the top of the laptop's bottom casing. Set the battery to the side. Locate the memory compartment below the empty battery compartment. Remove the Phillips-head screws securing it in place. Remove the cover. Remove the two RAM modules from inside the compartment. Do this by spreading the white latches on each module. Then pull each module out of its memory slot.
- 3). Locate the wireless and/or modem card inside the RAM compartment. Remove any screws securing the modem card in place. Disconnect the cables from each card. Remove each card from the memory compartment. Most Toshiba wireless cards are removed the same way you would remove a memory module.
- 4). Locate the hard drive compartment near the bottom left or right corners of the bottom casing. Remove the Phillips-head screws securing the drive compartment cover to the laptop. Remove the cover. Grasp the black tab extending from the hard drive. Slide the hard drive to the left or to the right, depending on which side of the casing it's located on. Lift the hard drive out of the compartment and set it aside.
- 5). Locate the CD/DVD drive along the left or right side of the laptop. This largely depends on what Toshiba model you're working with. Remove the Phillips-head screws securing the drive in place. Grasp the drive's face and pull it out of its compartment. Remove all remaining Phillips-head screws from the laptop's bottom casing.
- 6). Place the laptop face up. Open the LCD screen as far as you can. Insert a small, flat-head screwdriver into the keyboard bezel's right side. The keyboard bezel is a thin strip of protective plastic that spans the width of the laptop above the keyboard assembly. Pry off the bezel with the screwdriver.
- 7). Remove the Phillips-head screws securing the keyboard in place. Grasp the top edge of the keyboard, and tilt the keyboard upward. Place the keyboard face down over the laptop's surface. Disconnect the ribbon cable extending from the keyboard's bottom side to its motherboard connector. Remove the keyboard from the laptop.
- 8). Disconnect all visible cables from the motherboard. This usually includes disconnecting your LCD, touchpad, speaker, camera and microphone cables. Pay attention to where and how each cable is connected to the motherboard.These cables are visible and accessible through small access holes on the laptop's upper casing.
- 9). Remove the remaining Phillips-head screws securing the laptop's top casing in place. The upper casing and LCD panel are one piece in some Toshiba models. If this is the case, don't worry about trying to remove the LCD panel. If not, remove the Phillips-head screws from each LCD hinge, and then remove the screen from the laptop's base. Remove the upper casing from the laptop's base.
- 10
Examine the back panel of your laptop where the external connectors and ports are located. Determine if any of the connectors are held in place by bolts or screws. In most cases, any serial data ports will be fastened by hex bolts. Remove any fastening screws or bolts from your laptop's connectors. - 11
Remove the remaining Phillips-head screws securing the motherboard in place. Lift the motherboard out of the laptop's casing and place it face down on a clean, flat surface. Locate the cooling fan assembly on the motherboard's bottom side. Disconnect the fan's cable from the motherboard. Remove any Phillips-head screws securing the fan in place, and then remove the fan assembly. This reveals the processor chip. - 12
Turn the processor's flat-head locking screw one-half turn in the counterclockwise direction. Carefully lift the processor out of its socket and set it aside. - 13
Reverse this procedure to install the new processor chip.
