dead battery PC7300

[Gil Kloepfer Jr.]

In article <EWYPQyy00jd=B9c0S6 at andrew.cmu.edu> mm5e+ at andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Molloy) writes:
|>I have a dead battery in my PC 7300 but I cannot figure out how to open up the
|>machine
|>to get at the battery.  I know it is somehow hinged, but I don't have any
|>documents and have
|>not figured out the secret.
|>
|>Any help????
|>
|>Thanks in advance  (mkm at k.gp.cs.cmu.edu)

Nope.  It is not (I repeat NOT) hinged!!  Be careful when you take it apart
since there are wires from the motherboard attached to the part that does
get removed.

To get the top part (ie. the plastic part covering the base) off, take the
keyboard off the computer and take off the two plastic covers (on each end of
the flat section in front of the floppy drive) to expose two screws.  Remove
these screws and two others in the back where the expansion slots and I/O
ports are.  This will release the top and I think that's how far you got.
The annoyance and tricky part is that the plastic case is held down in front
by 3 or 4 metal lips which lock into the plastic.  You take your fingers and
pull the plastic out just enough so you can slip the plastic case up.

Now CAREFULLY lift STRAIGHT UP on the screen/case so that you have just cleared
the disk drive, then tilt the screen/case back and lay it on the table
behind the main assembly.  Again, be careful because there are wires attached
to the plastic case from the main assembly.

The battery in question is UNDER the metal shield over the motherboard.  The
three screws in front must be removed, and you need to unplug the 20-some-odd
pin connector from the power supply (and the video display plug is sometimes
a good idea).  The disk drives can now be tilted up, exposing the motherboard
and battery.  The battery is soldered in place, but a suitable replacement
is probably available.  It is a lot better than AT&T's idea of changing the
motherboard when a battery goes dead!

Hope this helps, even if it isn't written very well.  I assume a little
confidence and technical sense when taking apart a computer period :-|.
Good luck!

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| Gil Kloepfer, Jr.                  | Net-Address:                           |
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