28 replies to this topic

[argentum]

Hi guys, I thought I'd share how I got my touchscreen installed. The tutorial is split into two parts- disassembly and controller chip installation, and top disassembly with touchscreen add-on. (Fewer pictures here, as I did these parts at separate times) Please note that this post is photo-heavy as I'm trying to make it as clear as possible what to do. I've never written a tutorial, so feel free to tell me how to make it more clear.

I had noticed there was an abundance of directions for every laptop BUT the 900HA. So, looking at jkkmobile's directions and a slather of youtube things, I proceeded to realize that the only place to put the controller was in the ram area, as asus decided to put other things where you could have fit it in more easily.

DISCLAIMER: I have VERY LITTLE KNOWLEDGE ON COMPUTER THINGS! I ONLY SAW THAT SOMEONE HAD A TOUCHSCREEN ON SOME KIND OF ASUS EEE PC AND THOUGHT 'HOLY COW I NEED ONE OF THOSE!!!!' AND WENT AHEAD TO DO IT. SOME THINGS I DO MIGHT BE VERY STUPID SO IF YOU FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR TURNING YOUR LAPTOP INTO A PAPERWEIGHT/DOORSTOP. Oh and this will void your warranty once you break the sticker. Don't bother trying to take it apart gently, it basically dissolves the second you touch it, as though you'd stolen your laptop's virginity. Once you lose it you can't gain it back. So make sure you really want to make this intimate relationship happen with your laptop.



AGAIN: The controller chip installation WILL void your warranty, unless you make EVERYTHING external (actually now that I think about it, that would've been a good idea) so make sure you're willing to do this. However, I managed to get it installed easily with only two tools and some tape. No soldering necessary, but I guess it can be recommended.

Materials:
-Small + screwdriver.
-Plastic card (eg credit card- I used one stolen from a hotel in japan-shhh)
-Tape (electrical and scotch)
-Solderless touchscreen kit (I got mine from DealExtreme for 56 dollars. Mine was shipped well packaged, for those of you who are worried about shipping a piece of glass across the world)
-Extra wires....

WARNING: READ THROUGH ALL THE DIRECTIONS FULLY BEFORE STARTING! MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO BEFORE DOING IT! ETC!
[NOTE- Just so you know, the layout will be photo+directions for that particular photo.]




So, the first thing you will want to do is to bid your 900HA a preemptive farewell, shut it down and take out the battery. Set it aside.
There are ten screws from the bottom you will want to remove. Six are for the case, four are for the cover. Place these in a little bowl; they are all the same size so it does not matter much about the order.




Remove the plastic cover. This will expose your harddrive and RAM bay. Use the black tab to remove your harddrive; set it aside. When you are done with the entire thing, your controller will look like this:







Removing the harddrive will have exposed one black screw. Remove and place in bowl.




Flip the laptop over. You will now want to remove the keyboard. With the card, release the keyboard by shoving the metal clips between Pause/Break and Prt Sc, on F7, and between F1/F2. This should be easy- as you release the clips, use your fingernails to keep the keyboard from falling back in place. DO NOT PULL THE KEYBOARD AWAY YET- LIFT the top part up! You will remove the ribbon next.




Using your screw driver, look for these tiny black clip things on the side of the ribbon. There should be a small groove in each one. Stick the point of the screwdriver into there and push outwards on both sides. This should release your ribbon and you can pull it out with NO effort. If it still won't come out, move the black piece further out.




You will want to do the same step with the touchpad. This time the clasp is white, so you will want to push out the white. Once it's released, grab the blue tab and slide the ribbon out. Now you will be able to remove the top casing from the mobo.




The next few photos will show you the 'key' components for releasing the top part of the case easily. First, remove all the screws. The one at the bottom center rightish was inserted from the back (that's the screw you remove that is under the harddrive. Your motherboard and screen are locked in place if you forgot about that) All the screws can go in the same bowl with the others.




Close the cover. The inside hinges need to be released. I found it's easiest to stick your fingers into the crack and lift up until you hear a 'pop' noise where the clasp breaks free. Do it to both sides, then open the cover up again.



Repeat the finger lifting technique with the microphone/speaker jacks, you will want to lift the plastic over the two jacks. Then run the cart under the touchscreen area, and the back. The whole top part should come off.
From here, you will be able to remove the top bezel layer to install your touchscreen. But for now, let's continue on with the controller installation.





Here's the webcam internal USB thing. You'll be plugging your controller into here, and then your webcam into your controller. However, the wires cause the keyboard to bulge upwards, so I decided to run the wires under the motherboard. To do this, you'll have to free the mobo. There are two screws to the left of the intel chip. Remove these and put in a separate bowl- they are longer screws.


http://img.photobuck...en/P1070737.jpg
Next up, you'll want to release the speaker usb thingie. A little bit of pressure should release it. You'll also notice a little clip that's holding the mobo secure. There's one on the other side; move these two and your mobo will be almost free.


http://img.photobuck...en/P1070740.jpg
The mobo's vga port thing will make it a little difficult to move out. I bent the outer part out enough for me to squeeze the vga connector thing out of the hole, and then the whole mobo was free for me to lift up. If you want to move it out of the way completely, you'll nee to unplug the fan usb thing up at the top. It's in the photo below, the one I'm not pointing to. The one I'm pointing to is the webcam one.


http://img.photobuck...en/P1070739.jpg


NOTE- The next part the photos may not show EXACTLY what to do as I still need to get replacement wires to complete the mod.





http://img.photobuck...en/P1070741.jpg
Here's the area under the mobo. You'll see the wires running around with the controller chip down where the RAM bay is. Ignore the wire going to the right. I was using that earlier to supply power from an external usb hub.



http://img.photobuck...en/P1070742.jpg
You will have three wires running through this area.
1) webcam - This will go UNDER the fan. (From the direction the wire will be coming from it makes sense I think)
2) touchscreen - This will go to the SIDE of the fan.
3) power for the controller chip - This will go to the SIDE of the fan.



http://img.photobuck...en/P1070745.jpg
This photo shows the wire placement. Note the space under the fan for the webcam wire cable thing.
Make sure your wire lengths are appropriate and will reach the controller easily. Do not worry about excess wire, as long as you don't have ten extra feet of it it'll all fit inside the ram bay comfortably. Just make sure you run them in the hollows of the laptop, so no going over the harddrive enclosure or the speaker- run them between! Use electrical tape to secure them once you're satisfied.


http://img.photobuck...en/P1070743.jpg
Your webcam connector will have to go below your mobo else you'll have bulges. You can move the plastic joint through the space between the mobo and the side of the case. Best place for me was between the ethernet port and the usb. Add some electricity tape to the edge of the mobo for cushioning in case anything happens. Those wires are awfully thin...



http://img.photobuck...en/P1070738.jpg
In this photo you can see the ribbon from the touchscreen. Not wanting to completely destroy it, I added a layer of scotch tape on top, as it will be squeezed between your mobo and the power plug in order to make it under your motherboard. The space is tight, so make sure you have it running properly straight through. Rotate the cover a bit to make sure no pinching or stretching occurs.



http://img.photobuck...en/P1070739.jpg
Now, you'll want to take the wire supplying the power to the USB and plug it into the port that the webcam used to be. You see where the wire for the fan goes? You'll use that to get your wires underneath the mobo. So direct it over, add some electricity tape and fix it in between the fan and the hd enclosure bay.



Now you should have all your cables properly wired through the bottom of your mobo and sticking out of your ram bay. Put down the top of the mobo (make sure none of the wires are in the way of the screw holes, the white wire on the right side kept getting in the way. You don't want to pinch those..) Plug them into your controller and make sure you can insert the controller into your RAM bay pretty easily. Wires can squish into the side or just on top. (For protection, add a layer of electrical tape between the RAM and the controller chip!)

If it works, great! If not, well...


Now, to test, rebuild the laptop without any of the screws. If the touchscreen works, awesome. Shut down, and screw everything in. If not, figure out what you did wrong :P




To close, put the mobo back in place. Everything should be flush. Make sure the power jack is flush with the hole in the plastic cover-it was the best indication for me to see that everything was in order. Clip down the clips at the bottom, then add the two screws. It's easiest starting with getting the vga port in first, then working the rest in as you go. CAREFUL WITH THE TOUCHSCREEN RIBBON HERE! Also, on the right joint, the black and white wires.


http://img.photobuck...en/P1070746.jpg
Make sure this weird tape thing isn't in the way. It'll really hamper your efforts to get your mobo secured :P Notice how frayed mine is. I took apart the mobo at least twenty times this weekend.


Once your mobo is secured, put the top cover on. Insert the touchscreen ribbon (make sure it goes in all the way) then secure it. Do the same with your keyboard, and lock down the clasps. The keyboard should clip down easily, no bulges. If the three clips don't clip on with a light press, you have a wire in the way somewhere underneath the cover. Tough luck- go back.



Close the lid, and flip the laptop over. Insert the screw into the bay, tighten.


http://img.photobuck...en/P1070747.jpg
When reinserting the harddrive, make sure you get this metal clip into the little notch cut out for it. If not, your plastic cover will bulge and it'll look ugly.



http://img.photobuck...en/P1070727.jpg

Get your controller all nestled in neatly. Tuck any wires away, make sure the connections are firm. Close up the case and put in the four screws! Oh yeah, and the six for the cover. This'll secure everything in place.
Lastly, add the battery and turn it on!


http://img.photobuck...en/P1070748.jpg
http://img.photobuck...en/P1070749.jpg
http://img.photobuck...en/P1070750.jpg
http://img.photobuck...en/P1070749.jpg


Check your laptop. There shouldn't be any obvious bulging. Well, the center hinge is a little fat from the touchscreen, but that's okay.

http://img.photobuck...en/P1070752.jpg
Your laptop should turn back on. Smile at it, and say "success!"






Top part forthcoming. No pictures cause I didn't take any when I added it, and I don't feel like taking off the touchscreen just to put it back on :P

Hope this helps.

Edited by argentum, 02 February 2009 - 11:23 PM.

[argentum]

TOP TOUCHSCREEN ASSEMBLY DIRECTIONS:



[NOTE- It's been brought to my attention that not all TS's will ship with the ribbon on the left side like the one displayed. Some will have ribbons on the right. This is fine! In fact, it's better than fine! You will run the ribbon through the right hinge and avoid any mobo/case wear and tear, and not have to run the wire under the fan. Just run it straight from the hinge under the mobo, around the hd enclosure (follow the black/white wires) over to the controller at the ram bay. Easy as pie.]



This part of the tutorial takes place after you remove the cover just under the keyboard, when your mobo is exposed.

First, you have six screws to remove. Using your fingers, remove the four top rubber things. Put them somewhere safe. Unscrew the screws and set them aside.







Next, using a flathead screw driver (tiny) or a knife, CAREFULLY remove the small circles on the bottom corners. This will reveal two more screws, which you should probably remove if you want to continue.

Using the plastic card, release the clasps holding the top bezel. Everything should come off pretty easily now. Set it aside.


Sorry there aren't pictures, but this part is fairly simple. Clean your screen VERY well. Like, 100% clean. Because once you install it, it'll be a huge hassle to take everything apart because that one spot of dust you left on there.

Once clean, take your touchscreen, MAKING SURE WHICH SIDE IS TOUCH SENSITIVE!!! For me, it was the ribbon going downwards on the left side. Remove the plastic protective layer from the part that'll be touching the LCD, hold your breath and place it on top. Do this quickly so you don't get any evil dust particles inside.




Position the touchscreen on top, and using scotch tape (it's thin! And thin is good here), place half a splice on the sides and the top, using your fingernails to make it airtight, so dust can't get in. I used scotch because it's easy to apply, holds great, and is easy to cut with a sharp knife if you do get dust in there later on and need to remove it really fast. Use half splices to keep it thin so you don't have too much excess running on the sides.
(Note- Yes, my laptop is on. This was when I was testing everything externally. Don't turn your laptop on with the mobo exposed, no touchpad and no keyboard, that's just silly.)

Don't worry about the exact position- you will be calibrating the unit so it doesn't have to be perfectly center. Just make sure the entire lcd screen is covered.

Now, I used more scotch tape to protect the ribbon from wear between the mobo and the case, so I applied it now. You will have to wind it inside if the hinge, along with the black insulated meshy wire, and follow the directions in the first post to run it under the mobo to the controller.


Once the ribbon is out of the joint though, you can feel free to close up the top. Remove the covering from the top of the touchscreen, set aside. You will use this for now until you can buy a screen protector, because we're all going to hate it when people smush their oily, greasy fingers onto our babies when we announce we have touchscreen capabilities.

Put the bezel back on, snapping what will snap back in. Be gentle! You have a piece of glass stuck onto your laptop now. Screw the screws back in until the laptop is flush- again, carefully, else you might crack your touchscreen.

Everything snapped close for me but the lower left area, where it's a bit lose. You cant' tell though, so it just barely isn't flush, but with the help of asus's overlapping design, it isn't noticeable.

Once everything's screwed in, put the screw covers back on (if you lost the stickiness, use some kind of adhesive)

Take the sticky plastic cover from earlier and slap it back onto the screen. This'll keep you from accidentally scratching it while working on the mobo.

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Additional photos/viewing angles with touchscreen installed
----------------------



These photos are taken in a normally lit room, on both lowest and highest brightness settings.











These photos are taken in a lighter area (real sunlight!) on both low and high brightness settings.






This video shows the viewing angle with the touchscreen installed while on brightest setting.

Edited by argentum, 04 February 2009 - 12:03 AM.

[Jeon]

THANKS SO MUCH!

[synaps3]

Good guide. This will make mine a lot simpler to do. :)

[argentum]

I just have a question for those of you who've more experience than me-

While I'm searching for new wires, I currently have my webcam hub occupied by my controller, and then my touchscreen attached to the controller. I'm wondering - since the hub is for the webcam, is it disabled automatically? Or is my wire just dead? (it's the one I tried to lengthen but doesn't seem to like cooperating with me now) I don't have the webcam plugged in at the moment because I have no cables for it until I go home to where I have a bunch of computer junk I'm going to salvage parts from. (at the moment my webcam hub is occupied only by the controller and touchscreen, but it isn't showing up on my laptop the way it's setup.)

[synaps3]

The hub is a standard USB hub. If the cable to the camera is unhooked, Windows will automatically disable the software-side of things.

If your wire was good, it should detect it automatically and make it usable.

How did you mess up lengthing a wire? Maybe I can help.

[argentum]

Well, I just cut it in half, and stuck wires between. I'm thinking I botched up with it (I don't solder, so I just twist them together, bend in half and cover in insulation tape. I'll go through later and make sure I didn't completely destroy the wires.

Any chance of finding these cables for sale online? I'm doubting I'll find them whole at my house.

...maybe I destroyed the controller. Well, that'd be a fun thing to do.

[mikeydack]

I think it should be mentioned (to most people it is known already, but just to be sure);

Not all touchscreens purchased have the ribbon cable on the left when you look at it, in fact I only know of one supplier that ships the TS like this. Most of the TS's i've seen for sale are on the right.

Just something to be carreful about (don't want people to stick their touchscreens on the wrong way round!!)

MikeyDack

[bldninja]

Where did you put tape to protect the ribbon from wear between the mobo and the case?

[dasilvetz]

is this the screen you purchased? http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.15611

Also, will this guide work for a 900A ?

Thanks!

[shok47]

How is the clarity? A high resolution picture be a great idea to show if its grainy or clear. And with the TS mounted, does it bother you that it doesnt close entirely?

[synaps3]

Quote

is this the screen you purchased? http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.15611

Also, will this guide work for a 900A ?

Thanks!

Yes x2

I'm curious about the screen clarity too. It would be awesome if you could post a pic.

[argentum]

Yes, that touchscreen is the one I received from dealextreme. However, I received the 4-port usb hub rather than the thinner controller, so YMMV with this order. I have heard that people received either the 4port or the one in the picture.

As for the touchscreen ribbon being on the RIGHT side, this actually makes things much less complicated.

With the ribbon running through the right joint, you no longer have the power jack in the way, so you can run the ribbon through without worrying about wear and tear (asus engineers thought of that too-they have the black and white wires running through this area as well) This also eliminates the need for running a wire underneath the fan, as you will only have the two squished between the fan and the HD enclosure.


This guide will not work with the 900A; jkk mobile has the 900A guide. The mobo has several differences that will allow you to place the controller elsewhere more easily than in the RAM bay (not sure if it has space there anyways) This guide is specifically meant for the 900HA.


Photos forthcoming. The quality is fairly decent, I believe. Only on low backlight conditions can you really tell there's something in the way.

EDIT- photos and a video are up showing the result of touchscreen installation. Note that my camera adjusts for the brightness so it appears darker anyways when I turn up the brightness. I'm overall pleased with how inconspicuous it appears to be, at the very least.

Edited by argentum, 04 February 2009 - 12:05 AM.

[eee4evr]

argentum, great writeup! I now own a mod set very like yours (for the 901 though) and with an identical controller/hub.

With reference to the following picture:

http://img.photobuck...en/P1070727.jpg

@ All: anyone know where you can get sets of cables with plugs that will go into the hub ports marked 1 and 2 on the picture? (auction platforms, e-shops, or real shops, the latter preferably in Europe?) These were unfortunately not shipped with the mod set but I'd dearly love to attach some USB stuff to the hub, like e.g. a mini-SDHC card reader (some extra storage is never a bad idea). Thanks in advance!

[argentum]

I would like to know where to get these. Note, 1-3 all are 5 pins. If you have a 4-pin connector you'll need to properly align it (I think it's the four on the left...? jkk mobile and other sources would know better than me)

I've gone ahead to add http://rocketdock.com as my new floating dock for easy touchscreen use (used to use hidden at the bottom, now on the left)

[eee4evr]

justblair just gave me the winning hint (thanks, JB):
http://www.jst-mfg.c....php?series=244
http://www.jst-mfg.c...pdf/eng/eSR.pdf

This seems for bulk orders only, however (2000 or 48000 units 8)). I'll continue looking for smaller number sellers.

Edit:
More info: http://ireemo.de/200...-bm05b-srss-tb/ (apparently from digikey but quite hefty at 34€ for 10 connectors and 10 headers including s&h...)

Edit2: found sources!
digikey US has them: http://parts.digikey...in-05sr-3s.html (at $3.12 for 10 connectors excluding s&h)
digikey Germany: http://search.digike...ame=455-2186-ND (at €2.54 for 10 connectors excluding s&h)

Edited by eee4evr, 05 February 2009 - 09:35 PM.

[dasilvetz]

argentum, where did you get that wallpaper! please share it's awesome :)

[argentum]

eee4ever - awesome. If this was slickdeals I'd give you lots of reps : )

But I believe now that my problem is a faulty controller chip- I believe I shorted it out when running an external usb test (it shut down my entire laptop). My bad.

dasilvetz - my wallpaper was taken from animepaper.net. It's from 'Kara no Kyoukai' (Garden of Sinners), a very well thought out animation based off of a series of famous novels. I also use 'Tuneup 2007' to modify my windows visual theme, and change it according to my background. Right now I'm enjoying the yellow/black layout, and will continue to use this for a while.



On a more eee-related note, the screen bezel pops out enough with the touchscreen that the F# keys are showing signs of wear related to the grinding. Side viewing shows that the top row of keys are lightly depressed when you close the lid. Nothing serious to me, but users that are deeply about the physical aesthetics of their keyboard, beware!

[shok47]

Will this one work?
http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.19653

[argentum]

shok47- I'm not sure. The 900HA has no 'spare' internal usb ports. I think on the other 90x models there're a few unused ports on the mobo where you can plug things in. It seems that you would need two power sources, one for the TS and one for the BT. If it says BT connectivity is needed, then I'm assuming you wouldn't actually plug the TS into the BT module- that defeats the whole purpose of not having to run a wire to it in order to relay information.

I would personally go with the regular kit; it just seems a lot safer. If you really want to add BT, there're other guides for installing BT into your laptop, or you can even get a tiny usb dongle to hook it up. If you have soldering skills, you can pry it apart, and use one of the spare hubs on the controller to attach bt capabilities. You can get that from dealextreme for less than 4 dollars.