Several days ago, I spilled coffee on to my keyboard. Luckily, no liquid damage was done to the logic board. (That would be really bad). But a few droplets of Philz coffee compromised my O P I 0 9 L M N keys. Everything else still works. I could send it to the shop, which costs 250 at least, or try the DIY route. There is a great tutorial on iFixit for this model. (Obviously I am not the only careless caffeine addict to crash my mac).
Unlike earlier white Macbook models, the Macbook A1342 Unibody model (produced from late 2009 to 2010) requires me to do a complete system disassembly–yes, this means all parts: the battery, hard drive, fan, camera, logic board–everything! So I looked on Craiglist for any 2009–2010 model for a top case, grab my tools and took a leap of faith.
Here’s how I spent my afternoon:
First “under-the-hood” look at the Macbook Unibody model 2009 I got on craiglist. I got it for a steal (250). Buying a top case would be around 150, so I just decided to purchase another one and use the spares for parts in the future.
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As crazy as this sounds….it felt really therapeutic to fix this. There’s something zen about fixing your own macbook. Ahh, that intense focus moment with the logic board in my hands.
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As you can see, the late 2009 and 2010 macbook A1342 models are similar in construction. (Memory-wise, the 2010 is a tad bit faster).
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Did it work?
I am typing this post with my exchanged Top Case keyboard. 🙂
I feel extremely smug that I beat the system this time!
Sources:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1342+Teardown/1239