You can disconnect the trackpad from that connector cable, and leave the existing cable in place. That's the easiest way to replace the trackpad, since your cable is still working. There is a black plastic flap that locks the ribbon cable to the trackpad, that you'll need to flip up with a spudger. The cable is also held to the trackpad with adhesive, you can use a spudger to slowly separate the cable from the trackpad.
The battery is removed in the directions for electrical safety, not because the battery is physically blocking the hard drive from being removed. But as long as you are careful not to touch the contacts or bare wires on the logic board, you'll be fine. Your computer is not going to go up in smoke or anything if you brush the logic board, but that's why they have the 'better safe than sorry' instructions.
The part numbers are different, however the 2 trackpads come with different cables. So it may be that the trackpads are incompatible, or it may be that the trackpads themselves are identical but the cables are different (they route to different locations on the motherboard, I am guessing the connectors are the same though.) EDIT- I can now verify that the mid-2209 13 and 15 MBP trackpads are the same, it is only the connector cable that is different between the 2 sizes. Keep in mind that there was at least 1 generational change in trackpads, the original unibody models (pre mid-2009) had trackpads that were physically different (the little hinge nubs on the bottom of the trackpad are in different places, it's easy to spot once you know what to look for.) From mid-2009 to 2010 (and maybe later), the 13 and 15 trackpads should all be the same. I'm not sure if Apple has made any changes to recent MBP trackpads though.
Just adding an FYI in case anyone else finds this in a search. The cheapest and easiest repair here by far would be to replace only the trackpad (assuming the problem is with the trackpad itself), which is a relatively simple repair- remove back cover, battery, and then a few screws to get the old trackpad out. You can pull the key caps off the sticky keys, and clean the scissor mechanisms underneath which should get those keys to feel normal again. I don't think the backlight can be repaired however. Replacing the upper case is a pretty tough repair, since all the components of the computer are basically fixed to that upper case, and must be removed step by step.
zemsantos- Everyone with experience on this has posted that connecting the Airport board the wrong way will likely damage your logic board such that wifi will no longer work. Your symptoms seem to match this. You have 2 options- buy another Airport board just in case the logic board is actually okay, or buy a little USB wifi adapter and use that instead. There are USB wifi adapters that sit almost completely flush against the side of the notebook, so that's not a bad option at all. The trick is to make sure you buy a compatible adapter. Here are some links I had gathered on this, my Airport board replacement ended up working so I didn't try an adapter, but the info might help you- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/407... https://discussions.apple.com/thread/270... http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.p... Airlink driver for Realtek RTL8188SU: http://www.airlink101.com/support/index.... http://airlink101.com/download/download_...-awll5088_mac.pdf
Here is a guide from the iPad 2 Wifi section, I'm sure it applies to the GSM and CDMA models: iPad 2 Wi-Fi Power/Mute/Volume Buttons Cable Replacement I broke this cable while replacing the front glass/digitizer of my iPad 2 CDMA. The repair went pretty well, but I accidentally broke the power/volume button ribbon. Replacing the ribbon seems like it will take some work, but not too bad- probably similar to replacing volume cable in iPhone 3GS (which I've done a couple of times.) I'm not sure if I will go through the trouble, I have a smart case anyway for the power button. Bringing up the soft volume control isn't that hard either. My main fear is getting dust in between the glass and LCD and fiddling with that again. OTOH my front glass is pretty easy to remove now, and doesn't need a heat gun anymore!
Bumping an old post, but in my experience a weak wifi signal (as opposed to no wifi) is often caused by damaged cable for connector 6. If you did another repair then you may have stressed the cable a bit and broken a connection. Here are the instructions for this repair- iPhone 3G GPS Antenna Replacement The iFixit Guide refers to this as the GPS atenna module, but pretty sure it is for both GPS and wifi. Its one of the more involved iPhone repairs because you have to first remove the large cable assembly that controls the volume, power, etc. Getting that back on is sort of a pain, but just be patient and you should be fine. Just look at the pictures for reference of the original arrangement. IFixit doesn't seem to sell this part anymore (or else I would post that link), but it is available on EBay for pretty cheap. Well worth the benefit of good wifi again. Another possibility is that you damaged the connector on the motherboard itself, but that is generally less likely unless you really applied too much for...
I wouldn't think you need an EE degree from a 4-year college. I imagine a good working knowledge of electronics (the tinkerer type), plus the necessary schematics for the computer you want to fix, are basically what you need. Of course there will probably be certain tricks of the trade that only experience (or someone with experience) can teach you. One thing is for sure- I see a lot of water-damaged MBP's on EBay nowadays. (I can replace parts but can't fix motherboards.) I wonder if the current models are more susceptible to water leaking through the keyboard. I think they typically sell for more than the parts value, so I imagine people are fixing them.
LOL, thanks Louis. I have soldered little connections before, but had read about how difficult this one was- I guess that's all relative. I've done enough iFixit repairs to know I can handle most difficult jobs, but also that I'm better off to take the easiest way possible... ;-)
The X100T screws look similar, between these 2 guides you should be able to figure out the easiest way to partial disassemble the X100T to remove the top plate. Note that in the other directions you still have to remove screws for front and rear shell so that you can move them to access the hidden screws that secure the top plate.
Nick has the right answer- the grooves on the ring will slide into the gap around the camera. I realized this the hard way by glueing the the ring to the display side. Luckily I was able to get it off without totally destroying it.
I did the same thing once, and eventually got it out. Try tweezers, a screwdriver, magnets, holding the MBP on its side so gravity is working with you, etc. Eventually the little bugger will come out, you just have to keep working at it.
I've opened these up many, many times, and by far the easiest method I have found to disengage the front clips is as follows:
Lift up the top case by the rear corners near the hinge, keep lifting so the top case is tilting towards you. You will feel some resistance, but keep lifting and you will hear the clips disengage with a 'snap'. Doing it this way should not bend the top case metal or loosen the spacing between the top case metal and plastic trim. The clips will not break, they will still engage when you put the top case back on.
It basically takes me 5 or 10 seconds to take off the top case now, and the case goes back on nice and tight as before.
This photo can be slightly misleading if you're not careful. It appears that unlike my cable, the pictured cable has the gray dot on both sides. In this photo you can see the 2 little sideways U notches that should be on the OTHER side. In photo 22 you can see that there are NO such notches as he is sliding the cable out of the connector.
My gray dot is only on the underside (not visible when the cable is plugged in correctly. When I first took the cable out to replace my Airport board, I thought maybe it had been inserted the wrong way which will damage the motherboard. So the gray dots are not a good indicator, just look for the sideways U notches as indicated in the iFixit directions.
There is a steel 'latch' that flips over from the left side of the connector, to the right side. After you flip this latch over, the cable will easily slide out.
I had a logic board replaced by Apple (bad nVidia GPU), and believe it or not the Apple tech mixed up the screws. My latch did not work as good until I discovered and swapped the misplaced screws.
Here is a partial disassembly guide for the X100 to remove the top plate:
http://www.bolland.be/blog/2014/06/09/fu...
The X100T screws look similar, between these 2 guides you should be able to figure out the easiest way to partial disassemble the X100T to remove the top plate. Note that in the other directions you still have to remove screws for front and rear shell so that you can move them to access the hidden screws that secure the top plate.
Nick has the right answer- the grooves on the ring will slide into the gap around the camera. I realized this the hard way by glueing the the ring to the display side. Luckily I was able to get it off without totally destroying it.
I did the same thing once, and eventually got it out. Try tweezers, a screwdriver, magnets, holding the MBP on its side so gravity is working with you, etc. Eventually the little bugger will come out, you just have to keep working at it.
I've opened these up many, many times, and by far the easiest method I have found to disengage the front clips is as follows:
Lift up the top case by the rear corners near the hinge, keep lifting so the top case is tilting towards you. You will feel some resistance, but keep lifting and you will hear the clips disengage with a 'snap'. Doing it this way should not bend the top case metal or loosen the spacing between the top case metal and plastic trim. The clips will not break, they will still engage when you put the top case back on.
It basically takes me 5 or 10 seconds to take off the top case now, and the case goes back on nice and tight as before.
YMMV and all that, but that's my experience.
This photo can be slightly misleading if you're not careful. It appears that unlike my cable, the pictured cable has the gray dot on both sides. In this photo you can see the 2 little sideways U notches that should be on the OTHER side. In photo 22 you can see that there are NO such notches as he is sliding the cable out of the connector.
My gray dot is only on the underside (not visible when the cable is plugged in correctly. When I first took the cable out to replace my Airport board, I thought maybe it had been inserted the wrong way which will damage the motherboard. So the gray dots are not a good indicator, just look for the sideways U notches as indicated in the iFixit directions.
There is a steel 'latch' that flips over from the left side of the connector, to the right side. After you flip this latch over, the cable will easily slide out.
I had a logic board replaced by Apple (bad nVidia GPU), and believe it or not the Apple tech mixed up the screws. My latch did not work as good until I discovered and swapped the misplaced screws.