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Alienware Aurora R15 Service Manual

PDF

Removing the system board

Prerequisites

  1. Follow the procedure in Before working inside your computer.
    NOTE:Your computer’s Service Tag is stored in the system board. You must enter the Service Tag in the BIOS setup program after you replace the system board.
    NOTE:Replacing the system board removes any changes that you have made to the BIOS using the BIOS setup program. You must make the appropriate changes again after you replace the system board.
    NOTE:Before disconnecting the cables from the system board, note the location of the connectors so that you can reconnect the cables correctly after you replace the system board.
  2. Remove the left-side cover.
  3. Remove the top cover.
  4. Remove the right-side cover.
  5. Remove the front bezel.
  6. Remove the memory modules.
  7. Remove the single-graphics card.
  8. Remove the 2230 solid-state drive or the 2280 solid-state drive in SSD slot one, as applicable.
  9. Remove the 2230 solid-state drive or the 2280 solid-state drive in SSD slot two, as applicable.
  10. Remove the wireless card.
  11. Remove the processor liquid-cooling assembly or processor fan and heat-sink assembly, as applicable.
  12. Remove the processor.
  13. Remove the VR heat sink.

About this task

The following image indicates the connectors on your system board.

Figure 1. System-board connectors
Image: System board connectors
  1. Front I/O-panel cable
  2. SYSFAN_LED3 connector
  3. Upper front-chassis connector (FAN_SYS3)
  4. Coin-cell battery
  5. Wireless-card slot
  6. SYSFAN_LED2 connector
  7. Lower front-chassis fan connector (FAN_SYS2)
  8. SATA 6 Gbps drive connector (HDD1)
  9. SATA 6 Gbps drive connector (HDD2)
  10. Power-supply connector (ATX1)
  11. Solid-state drive slot (M.2 PCIe SSD-1)
  12. Solid-state drive slot (M.2 PCIe SSD-0)
  13. Air-cooling fan connector (FAN CPU)
  14. PCI-Express x4 slot (SLOT3)
  15. PCI-Express x4 slot (SLOT2)
  16. PCI-Express x16 mechanical/x16 electrical slot (SLOT1)
  17. Rear-chassis fan connector (FAN SYS1)
  18. Rear-chassis fan LED connector (LED FAN SYS1)
  19. Liquid cooling pump fan connector (FAN PUMP)
  20. Liquid-cooling pump LED connector
  21. Power-supply connector (ATX3)
  22. Top-chassis fan connector one (FAN_SYS4)
  23. Power-supply connector (ATX2)
  24. CPU socket
  25. Top-chassis fan connector two (FAN_SYS5)
  26. Memory-module slot, DIMM1
  27. Memory-module slot, DIMM2
  28. SATA power connector (SATA PWR)
  29. Side-light connector (SIDE LIGHT)

The following images indicate the location of the system board and provide a visual representation of the removal procedure.

Image: Removing the system board

Image: Removing the system board

Steps

  1. Disconnect the hard-drive data cables from the system board.
  2. Disconnect the processor-power cables from the system board.
  3. Disconnect the system-board power cables from the system board.
  4. Disconnect the top-chassis fan power cable from the system board.
  5. Disconnect the rear-chassis fan power cable from the system board.
  6. Disconnect the side-light power cable from the system board.
  7. Disconnect the SATA power cable from the system board.
  8. Disconnect all the cables that are connected to the system board.
    NOTE:Note the routing of all cables as you remove them so that you can route them correctly after you replace the system board. For information about system-board connectors, see "system-board components".
    NOTE:Note the routing of all cables as you remove them so that you can route them correctly after you replace the system board.
  9. Remove the nine screws (#6-32x1/4") that secure the system board to standoffs on the chassis.
  10. Remove the screw (#6-32x1/4") that secures the front I/O-bracket to the chassis and remove the front I/O-bracket.
  11. Hold the edge of the system board where the front I/O-ports are located.
  12. Hold the edge of the system board where the rear ports are located.
  13. Lift the system board off the chassis at an angle and remove the system board from the chassis.

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