I am a tech (self taught) and this is what I would do, it applies to any computer and is mostly common sense:
First, have your camera ready, with plenty of good lighting. All tools ready on the side, this means correct size screwdrivers (usually only two small 0 and 00 phillips). Paper pad and pencil to make sketches. Roll of masking tape 1/2 inch, in a heavy dispenser. Cleaning paper pads, alcohol 91%, small stiff brush, and another small very soft brush. Thermal grease if removing the heatsink, always reapply grease, even if it looks new, it does not take a lot.
Start by taking picture of bottom case, and get into the habit of orienting the laptop, battery up, mousepad always on bottom. Prepare laptop for disassembly, which means removing battery, all covers from back, hard drive, and RAM memory. Place RAM in anti-static bag, if you have one.
Open laptop, look into the keyboard, use a magnifying glass if needed. Check the space between the keyboard and power button bezel. Some Sony Vaios have a small tab that you must push inwards so the keyboard is released. Some Acer minis also have same type of tabs. DO not take them out yet, just check.
See if you can pry out the power button bezel, usually it is not screwed, be very CAREFUL. Almost all bigger laptops can be opened by starting with this piece.
Turn laptop over, make a sketch of the back, and note all the screws positions. Unscrew each screw one by one, taping with masking tape same screw right over the position marked on sketch, that way you do not loose it. If there are two or more, save some space by gathering a few together, marking their position and also marking the number of screws. If a hole is missing the screw, mark it with an "m" (missing). If the screw won't come out, put a small piece of tape over it, to prevent it from falling out later, and mark so on your sketch "t" (taped).
Look at screw holes directly under the keyboard, usually marked with a keyboard symbol or a letter "k", these are the ones that need to be out first. After taking these out, turn over and release the keyboard. You might have to pry it out, by pushing in some tabs. DO NOT USE A FLAT SCREWDRIVER EVER. Use plastic tools, a plastic knife will do the job, just sharpen it to a small point.
Continue with taking out the display, this is where you take lots of pictures and also make a sketch of the screws under the keyboard tray. Release each ribbon cable, be careful they are delicate. Some you can flip up, others have a tab that you need to pry out on each side, little by little. Have patience, do it slowly. The display has the LCD cable (thick) and sometimes a wi-fi cable too, (left side) and on the right, the other wi-fi cable and sometimes speaker cables. There might be more wi-fi cables, I have seen up to four. Unscrew the display out, and if it doesn't want to, look at the rear (back), there might be a couple of screws you missed. Set aside, if not working with it. I usually wrap it with bubble wrap.
By now, you should either be taking out or have already done so, all the screws on the back and on the keyboard tray.
Make sure the mousepad ribbon cable is out, sometimes its just plugged in in older laptops. Use a prying tool (plastic knife) to slowly open the palmrest out from the bottom case. Start on a corner. Work slow, the tabs holding it will pop and use your fingers to keep it open until you have it fully released.
Take picture of what the motherboard looks like. Pat yourself on the back. Continue if you are doing a motherboard replacement, or removal to work with, doing sketches and noting where every little screw goes, always taping it to the sketch.
Write notes to yourself if a step was particularly hard, remember that you might have to put it aside and work on it later (weeks?)
Helpful hints: Magnetize your tools by rubbing tips along a strong magnet. Prying tools are a few bucks in the internet, invest in a couple, look for ipod tools. DO NOT USE FLAT SCREWDRIVERS to open case nor display. Use good quality thermal compound, it is expensive, but just a little goes a long way, overheating will cost way much more on the long run. Clean insides with brushes and alcohol 91%, it will dissolve almost anything. If cleaning the keyboard with alcohol, squirt it, use brushes, let it run out and afterwards put it outside so the sun will dry it. DO NOT PUT IN THE OVEN. Give it the smell test, if it smells like your uncle, put back on the sun again.
I hope this helps a bit, I open two or three laptops per week, sometimes more and everyone of them just needs a bit of TLC so it will work cheerfully again.
Ktex