Crownclown
Hey guys. I'm in a pickle over here. A week ago my laptop started going senile. I used to press the on/off switch and nothing would happen. I had to press the button continuously for my laptop to run. But a few days ago it stopped working at all. This is what happened: I clicked the on/off button and nothing happened even after pressing it continuously, then I found out that the laptop's fan was working but lights, and the screen didn't work. A few seconds later it stopped working and now my laptop is officially busted. I took it to a repair shop and the employee over there told me that he thinks that motherboard is fried. I just wanted to ask if there is a way to make sure before I purchase a new one.
Thanks in advance.
ballad
take it to another shop
rolf
Definitely sounds like a hardware problem.
I'd just buy another one, the mobo might cost as much as half or more of a new laptop. As a cheap general purpose laptop I recommend Acer 5733.
As ballad said, if you try another technician, maybe with a bit of luck the problem will turn out to be minor and they will find a cheaper way to fix it. But I wouldn't bet on it.
The only other thing that is left to do, since your laptop is not booting in any way, is to see if you can find some information about this problem on the web.
Crownclown
Thanks :). Well now my dad has a good reason to buy me a good gaming laptop :P haha.
AvoK95
Your motherboard is dying. It will be harder for you to turn it on and eventually stop working, you need a new motherboard which costs like 300$. Don't bother fixing it , you can get a new laptop for about 450$ nowadays.
Nabs
@CrownClown, take another opinion, just for the sake of it. A lot of my fresh clients were referred to me by another client, because they had issues with their laptops, and the technicians they took them to couldn't figure out what the problem was, so they said it was the motherboard. It's a typical act. Almost all people, they hear it's a motherboard issue, they don't think twice: new laptop.
yasamoka
Nabs is very right. Crownclown, you know what it could be? It could just be the power regulator board, which is a small PCB that is easily replaceable, and separate from the whole motherboard, connected to it only by a small cable, that could be the problem. The fans receiving power but not the screen, for example, may mean that the power regulator is not sending all the required voltages correctly. It seems to be a power problem.
Now it's not yet known whether the motherboard WAS fried or not, but it is not necessarily so.
Chup
AvoK95
The reason why they say "It's a motherboard problem" is not just because they can't figure it out, it's also because spare parts are just so hard to find and are very expensive to fix. That cable might cost about 100$.
I never recommend people to fix their laptops. It's because newer hardware is always available and cheaper. If it costs 100$+ I always tell them it's not worth fixing, just put a few hundred more and get a new one. This methon is always better , Whether it's a 1 yo laptop or even a few month old , there will always be newer and cheaper hardware available.
solo220
When an electronic device fails (while used as it is recommended)
this means that its life time has ended and even if you fix it ,
it will fail again (unless your a lucky guy)
so it's better to buy a new one because in either ways you will pay the same amount :-p.
shant
why replace a motherboard(that is if it is the mobo) when you can fix it yourself, with a little circuit troubleshooting
solo220
Yes a 6 layer PCB circuit is easily troubleshooted :-P.
no seriously i think he should check for bad capacitors in the power supply as the symptoms may be generated by dried capacitors , look for chemical ones and change them on the fly.
yasamoka
solo220 wroteYes a 6 layer PCB circuit is easily troubleshooted :-P.
A board problem does not necessarily occur in the circuits contained in those 6 or 8 layers. Problems usually occur in MOSFETS, capacitors, etc... the latter should easily be replaceable, and they're most likely to fail soonest, in a hot laptop, if they are catalytic capacitors.
solo220
@yasamoka your right, but what i was saying is that you can not simply troubleshoot a circuit without knowing the connections between the components and in a 6-8 layers without some schematics you can not know the current path (unless you have plenty of free time), all what you can do is change the capacitors,mosfets,.....
blindly and hoping that the fault is not else where in some other part of the pcb .
with a little circuit troubleshooting
this is what ignited my fire :-) .
shant
im not saying it is the board, nor am i saying its easy to troubleshoot a board, but sometimes it can be easy to fix a board if the problem is visible
solo220
I am sorry but troubleshooting according to Wikipedia is
Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes. It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem so that it can be solved
that's why i misunderstood you,
@Crownclown if you have the skills you will not loose anything if you open the cover and check for any visual indication of blown components.
it is common nowadays that some guys re-solder the GPU because they found that due to excessive heat the chip pins lose contact with the PCB.
shant
sorry, there are some words i misuse
Crownclown
Okay guys let's get things straight, I'm a nab when it comes to computer hardware so I can't just flip the cover/case and just mess with the mobo or whatever hardware problem I have. You guys really confused me with the hardcore computer talk haha :P. Anyway, I just came back from the store that I bought my laptop from and he just said that motherboard is a goner. Apparently I shouldn't leave my laptop on 24/7 and download torrents all night even if I'm using one of those cooling pads. I'm searching for a better laptop as we speak and I just want to ask whether MSI is a good brand or not.
Brand - MSI
Processor - Core i7 2630Q (2.0Ghz)
Memory - 8GB RAM
Graphics - 1GB Dedicated Graphics Memory (nVIDIA Geforce GT540M)
Software - Windows 7 Premium
Sound - 4 Theater Class Speakers
Ports - 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 headphone-out,1 microphone-in, 2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, 1 (Optional)
Weight (kg) - Starting at 2.4kg
Power: - 6 Cells Battery
Display (inch) - 15.6 Inch
Dimensions - W x D x H: 383 x 249.3 x 32.5mm
Storage: - 640GB HDD
I found this laptop a few hours ago for almost $800 (Which in my opinion is the price that I'm willing to pay for a new lappy). What do you guys think?
Draguen
I7, 8 gigs ram and 1 gig dedicated VGA ? i'd say it's a hell of a price man, and i never heard anything bad about MSI, so go for it ! ( but, i'm not a real geek here so you should wait for someone else advice ) and where are you going to buy it from ?
rolf
Crownclown wroteI found this laptop a few hours ago for almost $800 (Which in my opinion is the price that I'm willing to pay for a new lappy). What do you guys think?
If you're into gaming, sounds good!
