Macbook Pro 15 Core 2 Duo Model A1211 Lower Case Replacement Repair Guide

Difficulty

Very difficult

Steps

Time Required

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Sections

Battery
1 step
RAM Shield
2 steps
Upper Case
7 steps
Optical Drive
3 steps
Logic Board
11 steps
Lower Case
22 steps

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BackMacBook Pro 15" Core 2 Duo Model A1211
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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Battery

Use your fingers to push both battery release tabs away from the battery, and lift the battery out of the computer.

Use your fingers to push both battery release tabs away from the battery, and lift the battery out of the computer.

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Step 2

              RAM Shield

Remove the three identical Phillips screws from the memory door.

Remove the three identical Phillips screws from the memory door.

Step 3

Lift the memory door up enough to get a grip on it, and slide it toward you, pulling it away from the casing.

Lift the memory door up enough to get a grip on it, and slide it toward you, pulling it away from the casing.

Step 4

              Upper Case

Remove the two 2.8 mm Phillips screws in the battery compartment near the latch.

Remove the two 2.8 mm Phillips screws in the battery compartment near the latch.

Step 5

Remove the following 6 screws:
Two 10 mm T6 Torx screws on either side of the RAM slot.
Four 14.5 mm Phillips screws along the hinge.

Remove the following 6 screws:

Two 10 mm T6 Torx screws on either side of the RAM slot.

Four 14.5 mm Phillips screws along the hinge.

Step 6

Remove the four 3.2 mm Phillips screws on the port side of the computer.

Remove the four 3.2 mm Phillips screws on the port side of the computer.

Step 7

Rotate the computer 90 degrees and remove the two 3.2 mm Phillips screws from the rear of the computer.

Rotate the computer 90 degrees and remove the two 3.2 mm Phillips screws from the rear of the computer.

Step 8

Rotate the computer 90 degrees again and remove the four 3.2 mm Phillips screws from the side of the computer.

Rotate the computer 90 degrees again and remove the four 3.2 mm Phillips screws from the side of the computer.

Step 9

Do not yank the upper case off quickly. The case is attached to the logic board via a ribbon cable.
Lift up at the rear of the case and work your fingers along the sides, freeing the case as you go. Once you have freed the sides, you may need to rock the case up and down to free the front of the upper case (there are some hidden plastic clips that need to be clicked off).

Do not yank the upper case off quickly. The case is attached to the logic board via a ribbon cable.

Lift up at the rear of the case and work your fingers along the sides, freeing the case as you go. Once you have freed the sides, you may need to rock the case up and down to free the front of the upper case (there are some hidden plastic clips that need to be clicked off).

Step 10

Disconnect the trackpad and keyboard ribbon cable from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.
Remove the upper case.

Disconnect the trackpad and keyboard ribbon cable from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.

Remove the upper case.

Step 11

              Optical Drive

Disconnect the orange SuperDrive ribbon cable from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.

Disconnect the orange SuperDrive ribbon cable from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.

Step 12

Remove the following 4 screws:
Two 3.3 mm silver Phillips screws on either side of the SuperDrive.
One 4.7 mm silver T6 Torx screw from the top left corner of the drive
One 6.2 mm black Phillips screw at the top right corner of the drive.

Remove the following 4 screws:

Two 3.3 mm silver Phillips screws on either side of the SuperDrive.

One 4.7 mm silver T6 Torx screw from the top left corner of the drive

One 6.2 mm black Phillips screw at the top right corner of the drive.

Step 13

Lift the optical drive up and out of the computer.

Lift the optical drive up and out of the computer.

Step 14

              Logic Board

Disconnect the hard drive and ExpressCard connectors from the left side of the logic board.

Disconnect the hard drive and ExpressCard connectors from the left side of the logic board.

Step 15

Disconnect the iSight and display data cables from the logic board by sliding the cables out of their connectors, removing tape as necessary.

Disconnect the iSight and display data cables from the logic board by sliding the cables out of their connectors, removing tape as necessary.

Step 16

Disconnect the eight indicated connectors by placing a spudger beneath each cable and lifting up.

Disconnect the eight indicated connectors by placing a spudger beneath each cable and lifting up.

Step 17

Remove the silver T6 Torx screw securing the ground loop in the display data cable to the casing.

Remove the silver T6 Torx screw securing the ground loop in the display data cable to the casing.

Step 18

Remove the single T6 Torx screw securing the clear plastic shield over the right ambient light sensor.
Lift the clear plastic shield off the right ambient light sensor.

Remove the single T6 Torx screw securing the clear plastic shield over the right ambient light sensor.

Lift the clear plastic shield off the right ambient light sensor.

Step 19

Peel up the orange Kapton tape securing the right thermal sensor cable to the logic board.

Peel up the orange Kapton tape securing the right thermal sensor cable to the logic board.

Step 20

Remove the following 15 screws:
One 4.4 mm black Phillips screw to the right of the ram slot.
Eight 4.7 mm silver T6 Torx screws securing the logic board to the lower case.
One 6.2 mm black T6 Torx screw on the right side of the left fan.
Five 9.4 mm silver T6 Torx screws securing the left and right fans.

Remove the following 15 screws:

One 4.4 mm black Phillips screw to the right of the ram slot.

Eight 4.7 mm silver T6 Torx screws securing the logic board to the lower case.

One 6.2 mm black T6 Torx screw on the right side of the left fan.

Five 9.4 mm silver T6 Torx screws securing the left and right fans.

Step 21

Hold the logic board down with one hand and use your other hand to lift the left fan up from its housing. There is a piece of black tape securing the fan to the heat sink. Carefully peel this tape up from the heat sink as you lift the fan up.
Place the fan above the Airport card. It is not necessary to remove the fan from the computer entirely.

Hold the logic board down with one hand and use your other hand to lift the left fan up from its housing. There is a piece of black tape securing the fan to the heat sink. Carefully peel this tape up from the heat sink as you lift the fan up.

Place the fan above the Airport card. It is not necessary to remove the fan from the computer entirely.

Step 22

Lift the right fan up and carefully peel up the tape securing the fan to the heat sink as you go.
Remove the right fan from the computer.

Lift the right fan up and carefully peel up the tape securing the fan to the heat sink as you go.

Remove the right fan from the computer.

Step 23

Lift up the left side of the logic board and disconnect the gray and black power cable from the bottom of the board.

Lift up the left side of the logic board and disconnect the gray and black power cable from the bottom of the board.

Step 24

Grasp the logic board at the left side and at the thin section, and rotate the logic board out of the lower case.
To properly reassemble your MacBook Pro, you’ll have to clean off and replace the old thermal compound. Use our Applying Thermal Paste Guide to prepare the processor and heat sink surfaces.

Grasp the logic board at the left side and at the thin section, and rotate the logic board out of the lower case.

To properly reassemble your MacBook Pro, you’ll have to clean off and replace the old thermal compound. Use our Applying Thermal Paste Guide to prepare the processor and heat sink surfaces.

Step 25

              Lower Case

Lift the heat sink out of the computer.
If you need to mount the heat sink back into the laptop, we have a thermal paste guide that makes replacing the thermal compound easy.

Lift the heat sink out of the computer.

If you need to mount the heat sink back into the laptop, we have a thermal paste guide that makes replacing the thermal compound easy.

Step 26

Peel up the left ambient light sensor cable from above the left fan, removing tape as necessary.
Remove the left fan from the computer.

Peel up the left ambient light sensor cable from above the left fan, removing tape as necessary.

Remove the left fan from the computer.

Step 27

Disconnect the three antenna cables attached to the Airport Extreme card.
Apple was kind enough to include a label showing where each color antenna cable plugs in - just make sure to look at this when reconnecting the antenna cables.

Disconnect the three antenna cables attached to the Airport Extreme card.

Apple was kind enough to include a label showing where each color antenna cable plugs in - just make sure to look at this when reconnecting the antenna cables.

Step 28

Deroute the Airport antenna cables from their channel in the left speaker.

Deroute the Airport antenna cables from their channel in the left speaker.

Step 29

Remove the single black T6 Torx screw located just above the Airport Extreme card.
Lift the small silver metal retaining bracket up and out of the computer.

Remove the single black T6 Torx screw located just above the Airport Extreme card.

Lift the small silver metal retaining bracket up and out of the computer.

Step 30

Lift the Airport Extreme card up and slide it out of its connector.

Lift the Airport Extreme card up and slide it out of its connector.

Step 31

Peel up the orange hard drive cable from above the ExpressCard cage.

Peel up the orange hard drive cable from above the ExpressCard cage.

Step 32

Disconnect the speaker cable from the corner of the left I/O board.

Disconnect the speaker cable from the corner of the left I/O board.

Step 33

Carefully peel up the black adhesive tape securing the speaker cable along the rear edge of the lower case.

Carefully peel up the black adhesive tape securing the speaker cable along the rear edge of the lower case.

Step 34

Continue to free the speaker cable from the black tape until it is free from all three sections of tape.

Continue to free the speaker cable from the black tape until it is free from all three sections of tape.

Step 35

Remove the single black T6 Torx screw securing the right speaker to the lower case.

Remove the single black T6 Torx screw securing the right speaker to the lower case.

Step 36

Use a spudger to pry up the right speaker from the lower case.
Remove the speakers from the computer.

Use a spudger to pry up the right speaker from the lower case.

Remove the speakers from the computer.

Step 37

Support the display with one hand while removing the following 3 screws:
Two 9.5 mm silver T6 Torx screws with threads on only part of the shaft on the inside of the display hinges.
One 9.5 mm silver T6 Torx screw with threads on the entire shaft on the outside of the left hinge.

Support the display with one hand while removing the following 3 screws:

Two 9.5 mm silver T6 Torx screws with threads on only part of the shaft on the inside of the display hinges.

One 9.5 mm silver T6 Torx screw with threads on the entire shaft on the outside of the left hinge.

Step 38

Grasp the display assembly on both sides and lift it up and out of the computer.

Grasp the display assembly on both sides and lift it up and out of the computer.

Step 39

Disconnect the IR and sleep light cables from their connectors above the hard drive.

Disconnect the IR and sleep light cables from their connectors above the hard drive.

Step 40

Remove the two silver Phillips screws securing the hard drive retaining bracket to the lower case.
Lift the hard drive retaining bracket up and out of the computer.

Remove the two silver Phillips screws securing the hard drive retaining bracket to the lower case.

Lift the hard drive retaining bracket up and out of the computer.

Step 41

Lift the hard drive up from the right side and remove it and the attached cable from the computer.

Lift the hard drive up from the right side and remove it and the attached cable from the computer.

Step 42

Remove the following 7 screws/standoffs:
Four black T6 Torx screws securing the left I/O board to the lower case.
Two silver T6 Torx screws securing the battery connector to the lower case.
One 4 mm standoff located between the audio jacks.

Remove the following 7 screws/standoffs:

Four black T6 Torx screws securing the left I/O board to the lower case.

Two silver T6 Torx screws securing the battery connector to the lower case.

One 4 mm standoff located between the audio jacks.

Step 43

Lift the left I/O board up from the right side and slide it out of the computer.

Lift the left I/O board up from the right side and slide it out of the computer.

Step 44

Peel up the orange Kapton tape covering the right thermal sensor.
Use a spudger to pry the right thermal sensor off the lower case.

Peel up the orange Kapton tape covering the right thermal sensor.

Use a spudger to pry the right thermal sensor off the lower case.

Step 45

Use a spudger to pry up the PRAM battery off the lower case.

Use a spudger to pry up the PRAM battery off the lower case.

Step 46

Lower case remains.

Lower case remains.

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

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                    iRobot

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Introduction#

What you need#

Introduction

What you need