How to Open a Microsoft Zune
Be aware that opening your Zune will void its warranty, so you’ll probably want to avoid doing this if your warranty’s still intact. These are instructions for the original Zune and not the Zune 2.
1. Get your materials together. You’re going to need a small phillips screwdriver and a straight screwdriver (or better yet, a safe pry tool). Open the Zune on a clean surface that won’t scratch it, and make sure it’s not a cluttered surface so that you don’t lose any of the Zune’s parts.
2. Pry the cover off of the bottom of the Zune. It covers two small phillips screws that you’ll need to remove. Set the screws to the side.
3. Continue prying. Using your flathead screwdriver (or if you were able to get a hold of one, a safe pry tool, wedge into the bottom of the Zune and work your way around the side. This will release some clips that are holding the Zune together. Don’t go from the top, that could potentially damage the Zune’s headphone jack.
4. Slide the top out of the bottom section. Be careful about that heaphone jack, if you break that you can’t really repair it. You’ve just taken the Zune out of its casing, and now you can get to the component or components you were hoping to mess around with.
5. To remove the hard drive, first detach the ribbon cables. Carefully pull up on the fastening bits that hold the ribbon cables in, then remove the one attached to the battery first. Use the screwdriver to unscrew the four screws of the hard drive cover, and set them to the side (careful, they’re a different size than the other screws you’d removed).
6. Once the hard drive is removed, you can remove the Zune’s screen. Take out the remaining screws. The Zune screen is attached to a printed circuit board; you can unscrew the screws attaching it, and if you need to change out the screen you can simply replace the screen at this step.
Repeat all of these steps to fully reassemble the Zune. Be careful to keep all screws in separate areas, as they’re not all uniform.
Do you have tips or questions about dissassembling the Microsoft Zune? Post them in the comments section, below.
