At first I was really unsure about taking apart my ds, but with a video tutorial (youtube), it was pretty easy. Now, I have taken my ds apart over ten times (not because I had too, just because I think it is a fun thing to do
). Once you take it apart once, it becomes very easy for you to do it again. The first time I took it apart took me around eight hours to complete. Now I can completely disassemble and reassemble my ds in around two to three hours.
For those of you willing to try it, I have some advice. Be very careful with the ribbon cable in the hinge. It has to be put back near perfect for your ds to power back on when you're done.
Do NOT use an exacter knife or any other sharp, metal object to remove ANY of the rubber screw hole covers. I ended up ruining some of mine doing this. I would advise using a guitar pick (a thin gauge one is your best bet. You can most likely pick one up at your local music store for less than fifty cents)
Be careful when removing the screws. Some of the screws are made of a fairly soft metal. It does not take very much force to strip the screw. Twist the screws slowly and apply enough pressure to keep the screwdriver from popping out of the screw.
Keep track of all of the small parts you take out. I keep them all in a micro sd card case when I take apart my ds. That way, if I bump the table and it falls off, all of the tiny pieces will still be there.
Finally, make sure you have enough time to complete the job. It is not good for the ds's internal hardware to stay out of the case for too long. If you can't get the job done in one sitting, place all of the internal hardware into an anti-static bag and put the bag in safe place.
I hope my advice will help those of you that are willing to try to make you ds look the way you always wanted it too. Please be careful. I don't want a bunch of people making the stupid mistakes that I did.
