HP 15-p Laptop Refurb & Chill - LFC

I'm cleaning up a grotty HP to resell today. Mostly a physical clean up, but maybe you guys can glean some tips from my process, or just enjoy the catharsis of seeing something grotty become nice and shiny again!
Join the Discord right here: / discord
Support the channel directly at: / adamantit
Follow us on Twitter at: / adamantit

[@lokeandreashelheim9421]

31:00 - "Humans are gross!" 😂🤣 I love your vids, everything from new builds to SMC soldering. Keep up the good work!

[@dimitrismaster]

2 things, I sometimes use my prying tool for such jobs, after I heated it up a bit, like 70 or 80 degrees. I use a glove so I don't burn my finger. Cuts through the adhesive tape good enough. Second, on people who casually use computers, like browsing, movies, light office use etc, I just install a 128 or 256 cheapo ssd. Waste of space for more.

[@alldreamsfalldown]

The sound deadening is definitely noticeable.

[@Adamant_IT]

I've switched mic again as well. This mic is a lot deeper - I'm not sure I like it though. It's richer than the Rhode's built-in mic, but also kinda dull, if you see what I mean... I'm going to try going back to my old USB Condenser mic, as the sound proofing as killed all the echo, which is what forced me to stop using the condenser in the first place.

[@Matlockization]

I like it how you went the extra mile, that shows class.

[@edwardrogers-wright1604]

Your channel is highly organised (LFC...,LBC... etc) I wish I had come across it long ago. Thanks so much for selfless sharing ...

[@roblamb5474]

hmmm hadnt thought of using a second wireless antenna this way - thank you Adamant IT

[@elizabethtorres6069]

Never a waste of time, I enjoy watching you work and it's a learning experience for me, especially if I come across a similar situation.. I do have a question, how do you remember what screws go to what, when they are similar?

[@liaminwales]

3:42 what a nice view, love the hills and stuff.

[@brettrigby2226]

place as pretty as that i'm thinking he leaves near the peaks

[@danielbrydon3869]

@@brettrigby2226 Nope, North Dorset

[@sleepwalker6825]

Screen bezel on those I find heat gun low heat from a slight Distance and loosen the Adhesive that way .. fluent left to right ,, Right to left Move ... Works for Me Graham ..

[@Mr.Smith_Mr.Wesson_andMe]

@Mr Guru If they take it literally then they do it like advised: with low temperature.

[@mikefitzpatrick1213]

Perhaps a simple hair dryer. Low setting = low heat, a bit of patience and, voila!

[@tlgeorge59]

Good Job on the referb!

[@ey6008]

This is the best visible way I have seen and helps me with my computer take-down

[@nticompass]

When I refurb machines, I'll sometimes buy new Intel badges. You can get 'em on eBay for cheap. I like stickers, so I think it's nice to put on a clean, new badge :)

[@Adamant_IT]

That's a good idea actually, ye. The badges can be really useful to identify the laptop spec too. With chassis like this being available in anything from i7 to potato, it's good to know if the laptop is any good at a glance.

[@KINGan72]

Plus, not adding stickers is like leaving performance on the table.

[@zXLuke4efcXz]

It's the equivalent of a "go faster stripe" on cars!

[@nticompass]

@@Adamant_IT Don't worry, I won't swap all the stickers around as a prank ;-)

[@izigswe]

Nice job done Graham. I was a tech for a secondary upper school for 20 years, and yes it was so gruesome some times that it would make you puke (witch some one did a time on the laptop)

[@MrTarmonbarry]

''This was a waste of time ''. No , you now have peace of mind that its all o.k so it was worth the extra 10-15 minutes of time

[@lm_dccxl4078]

good to see that the oustide/air compressor cam stayed on the channel

[@whodatdere1]

I find that a bit of heat helps soften up the adhesive. Use your hot air at the lowest setting to get the area warm, but it shouldn't be too hot to melt the plastic. IPA is good at breaking up some adhesives too. (especially if you run into hot snot) You will have to play it by feel as to whether you need to wait for the IPA to dry and re-wet again for it to break down the adhesive, or have to keep it "moist" while lightly prying away.

[@Gardab]

Hey great video, I like watching all the attention you put to details, now I'm itching to give some maintenance to my and my family's PCs. btw, I know you recommend the Tesco windows cleaner, but since there's no Tesco in my country, how can I know if a windows cleaner is good or suitable for this type of PC cleaning?

[@lou5368]

would love to see more videos like this

[@pekitivey]

Love this kinda vid!!

[@KrissBartlett]

Thanks it was very useful i have one the same brand and need to do that thank you!!!!

[@GlishaSo]

Respect fully agree 26:55 ! Respect for that ! I'm doing refubrising like you but like most of people just format disk put new system and that's it. doing this job 18 years and saw so many bad second hand selling to that's crazy. :)

[@UKSCIENCEORG]

Great! With a missing bezel screw cover, I would remove the one you have so it looks symmetrical

[@qzorn4440]

have a similar hp laptop that has a hinge problem. 🤔 the molded case standoffs were broken, better now with thru case screws. 🧐 thanks a lot. 🥳 great video.🤩⛷🐯🍑 ps great outside the door cottage view.🏘🚓

[@johnkatakowsi9907]

I laugh having fixed my fair share of laptops and stand alone pc . People just don't keep them clean next to poor heat sink paste jobs from the factory!!! Enjoy seeing You find the same problems i,ve found over the year's cheer's mate!

[@ShinobiDiabolik]

IsoPropyl Alcohol softens the glue from Dual Side sticky tape. This makes it MUCH EASIER to remove it WITHOUT trace and WITHOUT damage. Use a syringe with needle to make sure you are precisely dropping the IPA where it should be between the surface and the dual side sticky tape.

[@williamjones4483]

Way back in the day I used fix broken old electronics and oftentimes I would find myself completely disassembling an unusually grimy piece and soaking the plastic housing parts in a solution of warm water and soap in order to get it clean.

[@ste76539]

Dealing with adhesives sticking screens/cases/etc - get yourself one of those El Cheapo bean type bag thingumys that you put into the microwave to warm up (for pain relief). Warm it up, and then lay it on where the adhesive is. It doesn't always work, but it usually helps by loosening it up quite a bit. Also good when trying to remove glued in lithium batteries. You don't need it to be super hot, but be aware it will 'sweat' a bit. It's 99% the same as the iFixit thing but without the ridiculous cost.

[@andythomas7931]

Thank you very much indeed

[@lisandro3614]

Great work. Fused keyboards are a fundamental evil.

[@donsurlylyte]

yes, and that is exactly what we would sound like, when we said 'you didnt do the thermal paste'

[@ghislainriou9560]

Good day sir love your video i learned a lot from your amazing channel. Can the BK 2709B measure smd ceramic caps like in the phone and laptops and tablet and smd resistors/diodes please kindly reply to know if i should buy it looking forward to your reply. i was looking at the Fluke 115 Compact True-RMS Digital Multimeter but if the BK 2709B can do the same job for cheaper price then i will buy it one time. What meter you use?

[@northof-62]

I bought one one these without any OS installed. Was going to use it for testing Linux distros. That turned out not to be ideal. Later I found out it had a WIn10 key embedded in the hardware somewhere. I was also disappointed with the weak screen brightness and narrow viewing angle. Great video & dual channel RAM tip.

[@rosch448]

i would try to use hot air to warm the bezel up.. should make the glue more liquid.. ofc choose a temp below plastic melting point.. then use prying tool

[@TerryLawrence001]

When removing adhesive from glued on bezels, I have some success by applying isopropyl alcohol and slipping an old credit card or other plastic in between. lots of alcohol will soften the adhesive a bit.

[@VeerMaharaj]

loctite or 1 drop of krazy glue on the monitor hinge screws keeps them from coming loose with general use. But isn't so strong it will make removing the screws impossible in case of a monitor replacement. Loctite is my preferred option mainly because it is designed to come loose. Krazy glue is easier to access, so the less krazy glue you use, the better.

[@qster]

Love the Domo kun top! :D

[@dren8346]

Great refurbish! Amazing what an ssd does to these laptops

[@chrismoule7242]

3:36 - nice to see that car is still there undamaged & no little towrags threatening it at all!

[@chrismoule7242]

I did mean toerags really

[@Ateagno]

42:00 Hello, you are wrong about the wifi card and the antenna, in rare cases like that windows installs the wrong driver where port 2 is the main one and port 1 is the secondary one i.e. turned off, if you had downloaded the official driver from the site you would have had a full signal because the ports would have been returned to normal order! This is 100% correct!

[@giorgostexnikos6976]

amazing video

[@steveng5503]

I refurbed my one. Did a smashing job. I even renewed the thermal glue on the RAM and changed the button cell. I can’t get it to start since. It’s shame. I followed videos on YT as well. 🤣👍🇬🇧

[@Jomenaa]

Gosh I'd like to be an apprentice at your shop, I would just love to tinker with pc's for living. PS. With laptops you haven't opened (in a while) theres always that one screw... or one two or three that you have missed xD

[@Adamant_IT]

Yeee... There's definitely a feel to "this is a clip holding me up" vs "I've missed a screw". So much of assembly is just experience though, incredibly hard to teach someone how vicious they can be with plastics without breaking things.

[@brettrigby2226]

also much respect for not just changing that bios battery "just because you can" it proper annoys me when people do shit like that thus ramping up ewaste

[@Pochaco2007]

I see you got a nice place now. No more motorcycles or car noises.

[@northof-62]

I'll miss them.. ... oh compressor started nice!

[@Perzian7]

Might be an idea to upload uncut cleaning videos like this on a second channel, I find them super relaxing and I bet a lot of others would too.

[@johnbos4637]

I always laugh when people make a new channel and do exactly the same thing on it. It just causes lost traffic on the main channel. Unless you have a really good reason and a specific purpose for a 2nd channel it's better to have all traffic going to just one channel. It's also less to manage. If you want relaxation vids there are plenty on the net already.

[@stevedaenginerd]

When it comes to things like the glue holding the bottom of the bezel on, I'd dribble a little Isopropranol on there to dissolve the glue a bit. Works on MacBook batteries, why not HP bezel?

[@Dejan357]

16:11 You could've dripped some IPA on the tape to get it loosen up, or try heating it up with the heat gun on low?

[@CalebNestor]

I work in IT too but on the side I refurbish desktops and laptops on the side. I stick with three SSD brands that do not hurt the wallet. Adata, Silicon Power, and I just recently found Timetec for 1TB for $85.

[@sixcoregamer9221]

I have two Adata 128 MB m.2 SATA and one Adata 256 MB m.2 SATA They are cheap and all work fine.

[@ryznglascastle1995]

I have the exact job in front of me right now... upgrading (Clone) to SSD and 16 gig 1.35v ram the inside of the 17 inch looks exactly the same.

[@Ntrglycrn]

Would the application of small heat be enough to loosen the binding powers of double sided tape at 17:00 ?

[@berndkemmereit8252]

Ur level of refurb is exactly what I would expect if purchasing a refurb product.

[@nticompass]

Adding the WiFi antenna seems like the best solution as a lot of laptops have a "WiFi whitelist" where they will refuse to boot with a replacement WiFi card. There is a solution to this, but it requires modifying the BIOS (or flashing something like Coreboot).

[@geraldh.8047]

Really lot of laptops? It was mostly Lenovo and some HP. Luckily I think Lenovo has finally discontinued this abomination…

[@nticompass]

@@geraldh.8047 Honestly, I haven't dealt with many laptops. Though my ThinkPad T430 had this issue as did every HP laptop I've touched. I just assume they have the whitelist, so...

[@jamiepaget9466]

Hair dryer, to melt the adhesive, slightly. Same method for removing memory heatsinks.

[@triple5even]

I usually use WD40 to remove glue, stickers etc... maybe this helps with the sticky Display as well?

[@harrysmbdgs]

WD40 also makes an excellent cleaner for matte black or other dark non-shiny surfaces. If it is applied sparingly and spread evenly before being wiped over with a dry cloth, it works much like the “back to black” products which exist for renewing car bumpers / black plastics, etc!

[@harrysmbdgs]

And it smells lovely 😁

[@triple5even]

@Mr Guru Good Point! But before breaking anything I personally would give it a try... and maybe regret later... but I would try :D

[@comicsanz97]

That red color is... hypnotizing.

[@duckverse5820]

I’ve never had luck with Windows update giving good drivers, but for a laptop like that they’re probably fine-

[@angrygamer9002]

hi to add to how i would deal with adhesive tape of any kind i would use low heat either dry up the glue/ adhesive careful not to heat the LCD glass or burn the pixels i prefer it over the slow and stead cut the adhesive away and risking hitting the screen

[@MasterJediSean]

to remove glued or taped bezels you can use IPA and or a heat gun to assist.

[@stevedebeukelaer1424]

Hi Graham which screwdriver you use is ot something good?

[@jjjones630]

Is that your red car Adamant nice little whip there

[@jeffwalker7185]

If there is adhesive under the bezel, would it be worth trying a squirt of IPA?

[@Retroornew]

I tend to use a hairdryer at distance to warm the adhesive slightly this then lets it out a little easier

[@Something-iw1fe]

I would use isopropyl alcohol to soften most adhesives

[@PAUL-1961.]

I like to use the classic start menu

[@BikeLifePinas]

I'm curious if you have tried upgrading a processor. :)

[@SAMG-K-Studio]

I have my desk top Ausus ,when I shut it won't and for some time it switches it's self on , what can be the problem ?

[@antoineolivier1287]

Which screwdriver are you using? I'd like to have one like that.

[@thephoenixking1086]

Same as my first ever laptop I bought with my own money when I was 15/16 years old. Damn I miss that laptop, the one I have now is far FAR more powerful but I still miss the red one (We Nicknamed Chelsea after Chelsea from Akame Ga Kill (Anime).

[@kztech1319]

When I do restoration though, if the keyboard is too grimy, I go as far as taking off all of the most commonly used keys, clean the underneath of them and also throw the keycaps into a thorough wash. There is a risk of breaking the keycap/switches but when you get experienced with that enough, the likelihood isn't as high as long as you aren't dealing with laptops that has plastics visually very brittle and falling apart. Maybe you should've kept the 8GB RAM stick, it's probably worth more than what you paid for the entire laptop!

[@ComputerTechNL]

I do it the same way like you. Only always replace bios bat also and a keyboard like that also. And battery time need more then 2/3 hours or in will replace that to. And also always a SSD and dust free and cooling ect...... Also that sticker you take off putt it back on the clue you will take it easy off the old clue by tap on it with the sticker. And soon there will be Windows 11

[@jamesgibson5606]

Rubbing alcohol can loosen the adhesive so if you spray the area and it should help

[@davidm7640]

Is that possible to put there some alcohol or just heat it to remove that bezel?

[@CarbonPhoenix96]

Why am i watching this after work? This is literally my job. I need help.

[@KINGan72]

Getting the bezel off laptops where they use double-sided tape (which is a lot of them) can be a little annoying. Sometimes when I do LCD replacements, a new bezel is also included. Some laptops (I'm looking at you Lenovo) have very delicate LCD screens that are only held in with friction that requires you to pry up on a corner to free it. I've broken a handful of LCD screens removing bezels or prying up on them.

[@DarronPotter]

I just upgraded my wifes new second hand HP 15-ab269sa today with an ssd, it's only a crucial m300 275gb but she doesn't need much space, and I also found out the return key doesn't work so she needs to use enter on the keypad

[@ms2668]

Consider possibly sticking the old HDD in an $8 external enclosure and giving it back to the owner?

[@TheChrimboEffect]

I have a variant of this laptop and i get power on and keyboard leds are on but no display . Any idea ?

[@denhouse1]

Perhaps a guitar pick for lcd panel removal and or a little heat. Love your videos and style!

[@johnbos4637]

Guitar pick is way too small. Watch the vid, he had to push the tool in about 25mm-30mm down and still be able to hold onto it. If you did that with a guitar pick it would all be down under the bezel with nothing left to hold on to.....

[@kcinplatinumgaming2598]

i use to use a hair dryer with low temp on the bezel

I've never used This PC and User Files icon on desktop. Winkey+E FTW!

[@zXLuke4efcXz]

One thing I do when "refurbishing" machines is enter sysprep (CRTL+SHFT+F3) instead of entering a username at the welcome screen. I can then install all the drivers/updates etc. before rebooting to the "out of box experience". It just means the customer isn't stuck with "user" as their username when they first get the laptop and is free to enter whatever they want. Is there any further testing you carry out? For example I use a HTML keyboard checker and just run over every key to make sure they work, and then plug something into every port on a laptop to test them etc.

[@Adamant_IT]

That's neat, I'll have to check that out. My solution to the "User" problem is that people can always sign into their MS account, or just change the display name. It doesn't change the home folder name, but that's not really the end of the world. Certainly a few times where OOBE would be better though 👌

[@nguyenxuanbien8077]

I have a lenovo g50-30 laptop. activate the light source. The website light flashes and then turns off. current meter indicates 0.15a . I have updated bios and checked all sources (ram, cpu, gfx..) but still not working. please help

[@mball1993]

Hey Graham you can just press F9 instead of Esc then F9, also if the hard drive is blank and the BIOS is configured to UEFI, your USB stick should boot as the default device without the need of going into the boot options :D

[@ScrotumPole]

how about dripping a little isop. to try and dissolve the adhesive.

[@thomaskyalo7753]

On the keyboard fluid "spritzing", am guessing you have to be careful with the amount. I prefer applying onto the cloth rather than onto the keyboard.. Learned that the hard way, I think I went too hard on the trigger and didn't clean quickly enough.

[@jeffbuckner668]

These model Beats Audio HPs have a real bad issue with overheating due to the heat sink now functioning properly. Hopefully this one is ok. But just a heads up. Also on HPs you can just hit F9 on boot to the Boot options. F10 BIOS and F2 for the onboard diagnostics.

[@petersprague397]

Those HP display bezels are flimsy

[@rosch448]

dear graham, what kind of air compressor are you using ? any recommendations on that one ?

[@Adamant_IT]

An archaic old thing that I'm told used to be part of a refrigeration system. I've heard a lot of good things about those fancy new hand-held blowers though, I think they might be a better option for PC/laptop stuff. Big compressor is also handy for other stuff though, like keeping your car/bike tyres inflated.

[@catherinemorgan2741]

could you use rubbering alcohol to lose up the tape glue

[@aiko4139]

I had Bios Batteries which had 3 Volts but if they were placed inside a device they dropped down to 2 Volts or lower. I would replace if it it would have 2.9 Volt

[@kenan2581]

Hello , from where I download the driver after the format on hp , after restarting it writes avtomatik repair , then diagnostics it . A blue window comes up because it cannot repair , restart and it says advanced . I tried running it in safe mode from the advanced options , it gave an error again , so if this happens you have to reformat it . but you format it again when you install the driver , I found a way but it is not a solution . I was removing the hard disk or ssd and connecting it to another computer with usb to sata and I was starting the computer with it and plugging it into the computer that was failing again , then the laptop would boot up . Why is this happening? It only happens in HP brands. I became an apprentice in a mechanic for 1 month, I was getting nervous. Please inform me, I know I took so long, sorry for the long haul.

[@whizzbits]

To get around the microsoft account during setup, just type [e-mail] and enter a garbage password, it will say opps something went wrong click ok and you are at the enter a local unsername screen

[@gadgetboy38]

Heat the edge of the screen up with a hair dryer ( less concentrated heat than your hot air station) and then continue to pry apart.

[@davehill9951]

to make the keyboard shine again and look new, a little bit of armoral tire dressing on a cloth and wipe it down .It works great! WD40 also works great when taking off glue from stickers

[@johnbos4637]

The keyboard should actually be NOT shiny..... It's only shiny because it's worn and nothing can fix that except a new keyboard.

[@Markinpuff]

Can you explain the amount of thermal paste you’re using on that cpu? Is there a specific reason why it needs more than the general rule? Is this a design specifications for laptops.

[@Adamant_IT]

I'm generally a little too heavy with thermal paste, but slightly too much is better than slightly too little. However, whatever amount I use, someone will tell me I'm wrong ;)

[@zfrenchy1716]

You don't have a way to have an USB windows install with all updates and settings ready ? Can save a lot of time.

[@lawrencecavens5760]

I didn't see where you tested the sound, making sure the speakers worked.. I can also see this laptop was used as a gaming laptop where you can see certain keys are worn more than others.

[@LinkStorm13]

use rubbing alcohol to make theglue strip less sticky. It doesn't feel very good, while doing it, but the result is what counts.

[@kodessa]

Adam's patented laptop wipe downs are a staple for mucky laptops.

[@JessicaFEREM]

I would go into PowerShell removing the apps. most of these apps can be reinstalled as long as you haven't tampered with the windows store. at the very least go into the settings app and turn off a lot of superflous apps from running in the bg, windows uses a lot of VRAM for suspended apps, so you want to keep those to a minimum. there's a page for it on windows 10 settings, but for windows 11 it's in the apps and features, you click the 3 dots on the app and if it has the option there, it will say advanced options, and then you will see background app permissions and you just set it to never run in the background.

[@rafique470]

good useful video