Remove the four identical Phillips 3.4 mm screws from the memory door. These screws have 4 mm diameter heads rather than the 3 mm heads on the body screws.
Remove the three Phillips screws in the battery compartment near the latch. Apple was nice enough to tilt these screws at a slight angle to make them easier to remove. On the A1261 these screws have 4 mm diameter heads rather than the 3 mm heads on the body screws.
Do not yank the upper case off quickly. The case is attached to the logic board via a ribbon cable.
Lift up the back of the case and work your fingers along the sides, freeing the case as you go. Once you have freed the sides, you may need to rock the case up and down to free the front of the upper case.
Disconnect the ten indicated connectors from the logic board.
The connectors have different positions for the four MacBook Pro revisions covered by this guide, and their locations are highlighted in the three pictures on this step.
If the right speaker assembly remains attached to the logic board, hold the logic board with one hand and slide the speaker up slightly to free it from the logic board.
To properly reassemble your MacBook Pro, you'll have to clean off and replace the thermal compound from the three chips on the underside of the logic board. Use our Applying Thermal Paste Guide to prepare the processor and heat sink surfaces.
Disconnect the two antenna cables attached to the AirPort Extreme card.
The cable with the gray shielding attaches to the left side connector, while the cable with the white shielding attaches to the right side.
For the A1261 model, The cable with the black shielding attaches to the left side connector, while the cable with the blue shielding attaches to the right side.
If you have a MacBook Pro 17" Model A1229 or A1212, there are three antenna cables attached to the AirPort Extreme card instead of two.
Lift up on the left speaker assembly and rotate it slightly. It is not possible to entirely remove the speaker yet, as it is still connected to the left I/O board beneath.