Removing the heat-sinkassemblyWARNING: Before working inside your computer, read the safetyinformation that shipped with your computer and follow the steps in Beforeworking inside your computer. After working inside your computer, followthe instructions in After working inside your computer. For more safety bestpractices, see the Regulatory Compliance home page at www.dell.com/regulatory_compliance.WARNING: The heat sink may become hot during normal operation. Allowsufficient time for the heat sink to cool before you touch it.CAUTION: For maximum cooling of the processor, do not touch the heattransfer areas on the heat sink. The oils in your skin can reduce the heattransfer capability of the thermal grease.Prerequisites1 Remove the battery.2 Remove the base cover.3 Follow the procedure from step 1 to step 3 in “Removing the hard drive”.4 Remove the wireless card.5 Remove the keyboard.6 Follow the procedure from step 1 to step 4 in “Removing the optical drive”.7 Follow the procedure from step 1 to step 6 in “Removing the computer base”.Procedure (discrete graphics card)1 Disconnect the fan cable from the system board.2 In sequential order, as indicated on the heat-sink assembly, loosen the captivescrews that secure the heat-sink assembly to the system board.3 Remove the screws that secure the heat-sink assembly to the system board.58
