(tx2xxx series) Loose Hinge Issue -- Repair Instructions

[Juice]

I will not take responsibility for any damage, do this at your own risk

So... After 3 months of use my hinge got annoyingly loose:
HALP! Lose Hinge Issue (tx2000)

As I mentioned, time was an issue and I really didn't want hp to take it for a few weeks...

So, I took it upon myself to repair the beast, as it felt like it was nothing more than a loose screw (four of them actually)


My repair job was successful and I thought I'd share the steps with anyone else who's having said issue.

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The first thing you need to do is remove the rubber nubs and take out the screws beneath them.
- There should be 8 of each.



After you've done that, pull up bezel. Make sure to apply even pressure as not to break the plastic.
- The corners are really tricky. They almost feel like they are going to break, but once you get one corner up, the rest will come off pretty easily.





The only cord you will need to worry about when removing the bezel is the fingerprint reader, but it will detach pretty easily
(in fact, just pull the bezel up and it will unclip itself from the chip)


NOTE: DON'T FORGET TO REATTACH THIS WHEN YOU REVERSE THE PROCESS

IMPORTANT: Do NOT pull the bezel off in tablet mode, you won't be able to lift it back up. The latch mechanism comes off with the bezel.



Once the bezel has been taken off, remove the silver screws along the bottom that hold the two chips(left - status lights, right - quick launch buttons, and the two speakers)
- There should be 6 screws
NOTE: You will not need to remove any screws that secure the lcd








With those screws removed, peel up the two chips and lift up the speakers to get to the problematic screws
- The speakers have a small bit of tape holding them down...
- I was only able to lift the right speaker up enough to tighten the screws, I didn't attempt to pull it up any higher... (left came up pretty easily)





Once you have the speakers out of the way, you can tighten the 4 screws...

Problem Solved, at least for me...

I hope this helps anyone else with this issue (who doesn't want to wait for hp or is out of warranty)


Oh, speaking of warranty... As far as I can tell, I've left no evidence of my work... So, I think my warranty is still good...

[atom]

I'm finding it very interesting how easy it is to do various repairs on the tx2000 series. First the passive digitizer removal and now this. I may buy a tx2000 just for its longevity (Since basically the tx1000 and tx2000 use the same chassis and probably have inter changable parts for alot of things).

[pattertj]

I would say it fairly common among most laptops. Lenovo provides repair manuals so that is a piece of cake for any issue you might have. My T4220 was easy to service. I had to access the keyboard, hinge, latch, and screen and all were user service-able.

I think the parts thing might be a larger issue for other brands.

[atom]

I would say it fairly common among most laptops. Lenovo provides repair manuals so that is a piece of cake for any issue you might have. My T4220 was easy to service. I had to access the keyboard, hinge, latch, and screen and all were user service-able.

I think the parts thing might be a larger issue for other brands.

Yeah, thats pretty much the main issue. It seems that HP is going to stick with the same chassis for a while, meaning all previous versions automatically have extra support. While Fujitsu and Lenovo use slightly different chassis that for the most part are not cross-compatible. (Lenovo x60 series v Lenovo x41), (Fujitsu t2010 v Fujitsu f42x0 series v fujitsu f40x0 series), (Toshiba M700 v Toshiba M400 v Toshiba M200).

The fact that the HP's are undeniably the most bought (not necessarily the best) tablets also makes the tx series more future proof.. when it comes to repairs anyway.

EDIT: The Gateway's also seem to do the same thing as the HP's since all of them (Except the M275) use a identical chassis.

[jomodad]

whoa! excellent work. The only evidence is this detailed instruction with photos of You doing the deed.

[Archangel]

Excellent job on the screenshots!

[Juice]

whoa! excellent work. The only evidence is this detailed instruction with photos of You doing the deed.

lawl

but they don't have a name XD (no.. juice isn't my real name)

[RaidenWoW]

THANK YOUUU FOR PUTTING THESE PICTURES UP!!!

I'm going to try to repair my fingerprint reader now.

Btw here's a tip that I want you to validate: What if you were to take out the hinge screws, put a bit of gorilla glue in the holes and screw the screws back in. Would that reinforce them and make sure they don't unscrew?

I tried something similar with my dv9000 except I gorilla glued the whole damn hinges and it basically fixed the hinge cracking problem because the thing was "one part" LOL!

[R1C47]

whoa! excellent work. The only evidence is this detailed instruction with photos of You doing the deed.

And the part number in the 4th photo.
But that's assuming they read this forum so....

[Juice]

Btw here's a tip that I want you to validate: What if you were to take out the hinge screws, put a bit of gorilla glue in the holes and screw the screws back in. Would that reinforce them and make sure they don't unscrew?

I tried something similar with my dv9000 except I gorilla glued the whole damn hinges and it basically fixed the hinge cracking problem because the thing was "one part" LOL!

I suppose it would make for a fairly permanent hold once applied...

I don't think I'd be willing to coat the entire mechanism though XD

And the part number in the 4th photo.
But that's assuming they read this forum so....

Oh really??