how do you get access to a laptop motherboard?

Oh oh !

Usually a thousand tiny screws AFAIK.

If it's a flash chip ( which it must be ) it's likely soldered on the pcb. The days when you could drop in a new Eprom have gone it seems.

Graham

How long is a piece of string? It varies from model to model. There's often lots of screws, some concealed under trim panels. Have a look on Toshiba's website and you may be lucky and find an 'explosion' parts chart showing the dismantling procedure.

Likely. If you don't have access to decent tools and antistatic wristbands, and aren't experienced with laptop repair, don't open it yourself. The cheapest option might be to look out for an identical laptop on eBay with a cracked screen and swap the parts around.

Dave

Don't even think of proceeding without obtaining the hardware maintenance / service manual. You will probably find it on the net for free download if you look hard enough.

Some motherboards aren't actually that expensive - some are sold on ebay (UK/US). Stripping down and rebuilding laptops is an interesting hobby of mine, they aren't as difficult as they first look. Work slowly, avoid breaking plastic tabs, don't create excess static charges, lose screws etc...

Normally you remove *many* teeny little screws and assemblies until you get down to the board. Do write down where each screw goes or you'll have some leftover when you're done.

And/or take pictures or film the whole procedure on a camcorder.

Dave