PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Removing and Replacing the Cover

It sounds stupid, but it’s not always immediately obvious how to get the cover off the chassis. We’ve worked on hundreds of different PCs from scores of manufacturers over the years, and we’re still sometimes stumped. Manufacturers use an endless variety of fiendish ways to secure the cover to the chassis. Some were intended to allow tool-free access, others to prevent novice users from opening the case, and still others were apparently designed just to prove there was yet one more way to do it.

We’ve seen novice upgraders throw up their hands in despair, figuring that if they couldn’t even get the case open they weren’t destined to become PC technicians. Nothing could be further from the truth. It just sometimes takes a while to figure it out.

The most evil example we ever encountered was a mini-tower case that had no screws visible except those that secured the power supply. The cover appeared seamless and monolithic. The only clue was a 2-inch piece of silver “warranty void if removed” tape that wrapped from the top of the cover to one side, making it clear that the separation point was there. We tried everything we could think of to get that cover off. We pulled gently on the front of the case, thinking that perhaps it would pop off and reveal screws underneath. We pressed in gently on the side panels, thinking that perhaps they were secured by a spring latch or friction fit. Nothing worked.

Finally, we turned the thing upside down and examined ...