2

S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W
Chapter

Service Overview
Carefully read through this chapter for a look at various
components of the notebook and necessary cautions and tools
before performing any service and repairs.

T
o provide the best service and support for the ASUS L8400 L Series, we have
provided the below information for technicians from distributors and resellers
to perform the complete notebook disassembly and assembly. But before
performing the procedures, please be sure to read through the overview in
this chapter for component overview, cautions and tools to avoid any unwarranted
damages to the notebook’s hardware.

The following chapter includes:

• L8400 L Overview
• Components
• Precautions
• Appropriate Tools

2-1
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

L8400 L Series Overview and Components

The ASUS L8400 L Series Notebook is a product combining the power of Intel®
Mobile CPU with uPGA2 mobile system. In this section, an overview for the L8400 L,
along with its components, will be presented.

O V E R V I E W L8400 L Overview
The illustrations below show the notebook’s overview from left front view, right front
view, rear view and bottom view. Most of the parts will be discussed in this manual.
1. LCD display panel 9. AC power 17. Lan/Modem jack
2. Latch 10. Kensington lock 18. VGA port
3. Keyboard 11. CPU Fan 19. TV out
4. TouchPad 12. Floppy drive 20. PS/2 port
5. Power-on switch 13. CD-ROM drive 21. USB port
6. LED indicators 14. Audio jacks 22. Instant Keys
7. PCMCIA socket 15. Serial port
8. Infrared port 16. Parallel port

23
2

3
4 5
1
6
11

10 9
7

2-2
S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

13
12

14 15 16 17 18 21

19 20

23

2-3
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

C O M P O N E N T S Components
The illustrations below show the components of the L8400 L Series.

L C D
LCD Panel*

The illustration below shows the LCD display panel. The L8400 L Series notebook
comes with 14.1” TFT or 12.1” TFT options.

LCD Cable

LCD FPC

I N V E R T E R
Inverter Board
The illustration below shows the inverter board, which is hidden underneath the lower
edge of the LCD front cover.

L C D H I N G E S
LCD Hinge brackets
The illustration below shows the hinge brackets that support the LCD module.

2-4
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

Hinge Covers
H I N G E
The illustration below shows the hinge covers that conceal the LCD hinges.
C O V E R S

L C D C A S E
LCD Case
The illustration below shows the LCD case that encloses the LCD panel, inverter and
hinge feet. This includes the front cover [LCD front cover] and back cover [LCD
bottom case].

2-5
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

K E Y B O A R D
Keyboard
The illustration below shows the keyboard plate. It can be exchanged with keyboard
plates with different language layouts, such as U.S., Taiwanese, German, Swedish,
Italian, Russian, Japanese, Turkish, Czechoslovakian, British and others.

F D D
FDD Module
The illustration below shows the FDD module, which is located at the right side of the
system.

T O U C H P A D
TouchPad Module
The illustration below shows the TouchPad module.

2-6
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

Top Case
T O P C A S E
The illustration below shows the top case of the notebook.

C D - R O M
CD-ROM Module
The illustration below shows the CD-ROM module.

B A T T E R Y
Battery Pack
The illustration below shows the battery pack of the notebook. It’s located at bottom
right side of the notebook.

2-7
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

Hard Disk Drive

H D D
The illustration below shows the 2.5” industry-standard HDD with 9.5mm height.

HDD Shielding Plate

H D D P L A T E
The illustration below shows the HDD shielding plate that is placed over the HDD.

C P U
Intel Pentium III 1.2GHz CPU Module
The illustration below shows the Intel Pentium III 1.2GHz CPU Module. It’s located
on the upper left corner under keyboard.

P C M C I A
PCMCIA Box
The illustration below shows the PCMCIA box, located on the left side of the
notebook.

2-8
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

CPU Thermal Module

C P U
The illustration below shows the thermal module for the CPU. It’s located on the top
T H E R M A L of CPU.
M O D U L E

Modem Board
M O D E M
The illustration below shows the Modem board. This component is an option that you
B O A R D
can purchase upon ordering the notebook.

2-9
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

Modem Board Bracket

M O D E M
The illustration below shows the Modem board. bracket
B O A R D

B R A C K E T

LAN Board
L A N B O A R D
The illustration below shows the LAN board. This component is an option that you
can purchase upon ordering the notebook.

R T C B A T T E R Y RTC Battery
The illustration below shows the RTC battery that keeps the internal clock running.

2 - 10
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

Memory Module
M E M O R Y
The illustration below shows the industry-standard 144-pin SO-DIMM SDRAM
module for the notebook. It is installed under the keyboard plate of the notebook.

M O T H E R -
Motherboard
The illustration below shows the motherboard of the notebook.
B O A R D

M B
MB Shielding Bracket
The illustration below shows the MB shielding bracket that is placed over the MB..
S H I E L D I N G

B R A C K E T -

B O A R D

2 - 11
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

B O T T O M
Bottom Case
The illustration below shows the bottom case of the notebook.
C A S E

2 - 12
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

B O T T O M
Bottom module
The illustration below shows the bottom module of the notebook.
M O D U L E

Charge board bracket

C H A R G E
The illustration below shows the charge board bracket.
B O A R D

B R A C K E T

LED board
L E D B O A R D The illustration below shows the LED board of the notebook.
M O D U L E

2 - 13
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

LED board bracket

L E D B O A R D The illustration below shows the LED board bracket of the notebook.
B R A C K E T

F U N C T I O N
Function Cap
The illustration below shows the function cap of the notebook.
C A P

M O D U L E

H D D / C D / F D D
HDD/CD/FDD board
The illustration below shows the HDD/CD/FDD board of the notebook.
B O A R D

M O D U L E

C H A R G E
Charge board
The illustration below shows the charge board of the notebook.
B O A R D

M O D U L E

2 - 14
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

L I D S W I T C H .
Lid Switch board
The illustration below shows the lid switch board of the notebook.
B O A R D

M O D U L E

S I D E C O V E R
Side Cover
The illustration below shows the side cover of the notebook.

P A L M R E S T
Palm Rest Module
The illustration below shows the palm rest module of the notebook
M O D U L E .

2 - 15
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

Service Overview
Please pay special attention to the cautions below to prevent any damages to the
notebook and also please be sure to select the appropriate tools described in this
section to perform any services desired.

C A U T I O N S Precautions
Before you perform any service and/or repair on the notebook, please follow the steps
below first.

1. Be sure that the notebook is powered down.

2. Disconnect the AC plug from the left side of the notebook (no.1 on the illustration
below).

3. Turn the notebook over. Unlock and hold the latch (no.2), and firmly slide the
other latch (no.3) to the top and remove the battery.

2
3

2 - 16
S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

4. Remove all rings, watches and any other metal objects from your hands.
5. Always wear a ground strap on your hand to protect the notebook from static
discharge.

2 - 17
 S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

T O O L S Appropriate Tools
The illustrations below show the appropriate tools that should be used for the
notebook’s service and repair.

C R O S S
Phillips-head Screwdriver
Use a Phillips-head screwdriver to fasten/remove the K- or B-typed screws.
S C R E W -

D R I V E R

Single-Slotted Screwdriver
F L A T H E A D
Use a single-slotted screwdriver to lock/unlock the flexible cable connector locks
S C R E W -

D R I V E R

Tweezers
T W E E Z E R S
Use a pair of tweezers to remove/insert flexible cables.

S P A C E R
Spacer Screwdriver
Use a spacer screwdriver to fasten/remove spacer screws or hex screws.
S C R E W -

D R I V E R

P L I E R S
Pliers
Use a pair of pliers to handle regular cables.

I N S E R T I O N
Insertion and extraction tool for FPC connector
Use insertion and extraction tool for FPC connector to handle locking and unlocking
A N D
of FPC connectors.
E X T R A C T I O N

T O O L F O R

F P C

C O N N E C T O R

2 - 18
S E R V I C E O V E R V I E W

2 - 19