laptop-repair interview questions
Top laptop-repair frequently asked interview questions
For example, if I have an old p4 acer laptop with a perfect screen, and a newer dual core acer laptop with a cracked screen, can I swap the screen in to the newer unit (assuming it's the same size)? Or, do they change the cables/interface technology so they are not compatible?
Source: (StackOverflow)
Should I be worried about a damaged computer plug? My parents (or someone) knocked it over today. I notice it is no longer straight.
There seems like a little tear in the rubber from the fall. I'm mostly worried about how straight it is. It fell on the left side so this part took the most damage. The laptop itself looks completely fine.
Should I be worried about anything? Are there any articles that might interest me?
Source: (StackOverflow)
I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop. My charger has stopped working.
I have access to a Lenovo charger. Can I use this charger on my laptop?
Source: (StackOverflow)
I have just dropped a half full latté on my company laptop and am not sure what to do.
Is there a way I can make sure that my laptop is usable again?
What steps must I go through to improve it's chances of survival?
Source: (StackOverflow)
My wife was having dinner in front of (on top of) the laptop and she spilled some soup onto it, right above the touchpad. Almost all of the soup ended up in the upper DIMM slot which sits underneath the keyboard.
I took the laptop apart and I've managed to clean and dry everything other than the internals of the DIMM slot. The slot has a dense, comb-like structure of pins which holds the greasy water in, and I cannot disassemble the DIMM slot in order to clean it thoroughly.
When I turn on the laptop it detects all available RAM and it works normally for about 15-20 minutes, after which it turns off. When I try to turn it on again it emits 1-3-3-1 beeps which means "Bad DIMM or DIMM slot". If I then take out DIMM chips, wipe them and clean the slot with a toothbrush it works again for a short time. I suspect that when the laptop heats up the grease in the DIMM slot melts a bit and short-circuits some pins inside.
I was wondering would it work if I used WD-40 with a straw to fill the DIMM slot, and then dry it with paper towels and a fan? The WD-40 should dissolve the grease and it dries faster than water, I'm just not sure whether after drying it leaves any conductive residues which would cause a short circuit inside the slot. Or is there something else I can try? Any thoughts and ideas are appreciated.
Source: (StackOverflow)
Is there any way to revive a dead laptop battery?
I have a three year old Dell Latitude laptop that I've been using pretty intensively. After a year or so, the battery dropped dead - if I plug the laptop out it goes into hibernation in a matter of seconds. Probably this was because I kept working on it plugged in all the time, but back then I didn't realize what effect it could have (this was my first laptop).
Currently, I'm searching for a new laptop and I was thinking if there was something I could do to get the battery back working. I've found several links (sorry, I'm a new user so I can't post them) about freezing Li-ion batteries, but the opinions seem to mixed - some say that it worked for them, some not.
If you've tried the freezing technique please let me know if it works. Or if you know another way to make a dead battery work again, please share here. I've already seen this thread, but I'm not very handy with soldering. If it's the only alternative I'll try it, but there's a big chance that I'll screw it up.
Source: (StackOverflow)
I have a four year old MacBook rev 1,1 (the original Intel Core Duo). Just recently it has begun denying the existence of its battery while still happily running unplugged. I get the X battery icon which claims "No Batteries Available". It is a fairly recent replacement battery and coconutBattery reported it was healthy and holding 90% of its original charge. The MagSafe adapter shows a green light. The battery lights are off, but when I press the button I get 3 of 5 lights.
It will run off the battery, it just won't recognize its existence nor charge it.
Previous to this, I would have to plug and unplug the MagSafe adapter a few times before it would charge the battery, but it would always recognize it.
coconutBattery will now crash with a divide by zero exception.
Things I have tried:
- My battery in another Macbook: it works and charges fine.
- A known good battery in my Macbook: denied.
- A known good power adapter: no effect.
- Resetting the SMC: no effect.
- Resetting the PRAM and NVRAM: no effect.
- Booting from a DVD: no effect.
- Replacing the Battery Connector: no effect.
Anything else I can try? Is there a part I can replace, or is this going to take a logic board replacement?
UPDATE: I pulled the computer apart and saw no black smoke nor Mynocks chewing on the power cables. However, it appears the laptop and the battery are putting their differences behind them. The laptop will now, from time to time, acknowledge the battery and charge it. The first time this happened, it was raining. The second time was next to a bathtub full of water. Extrapolating this curve, I will try throwing my laptop into the river to fix it.
UPDATE 2: I replaced the "Battery Connector w/Sleep Switch" because the laptop had developed narcolepsy. I had hoped this would cure its battery denial, but no dice.
Source: (StackOverflow)
I've almost finished rebuilding an HP dv9702ea. The windows/software part went fine.
However after that I thought I would update the BIOS with the latest as found on HP's website. It appeared to work fine, saw the program saying blocks being successfully erased then written. Then saw the message about it having succeeded and to hard boot the laptop if it hung.
It didn't hang and rebooted. However when it did, it appeared to start up normal but it keeps rebooting before clearing POST.
Unfortunately neither the caps lock or num lock LED's light up which may have shed some light on the issue.
I've tried as HP suggested and unplugging everything, hold the power button for 15 secs, then plugging just the PSU, same story.
Unfortnately the laptop is out of warranty. HP want £17 to extend support, but I have a strong feeling I would just be paying £17 to be told to purchase a new motherboard.
If anyone knows any way of me saving this without purchasing a new motherboard, that would make me very happy indeed!
Source: (StackOverflow)
So I was "hacking" my internal laptop monitor (basically I was trying to understand the pinout and try to use it externally). During that I used continuity checker to trace circuitry.
It is my old laptop so it was meant for experiments.
Now I did something and I don't know what I did. Neither internal nor external monitor is working. I am afraid that by using continuity tool I have damaged some sensitive components.
Is there a way to check approximately where the issue is - gpu, cpu or systemboard?
I know the following points may mean nothing, but maybe they will be usefull:
- GPU and CPU heat up
- Motherboard supplies power to VGA and internal monitor sockets (including inverter)
- I am testing without all unnecessary peripherals (just ram, motherboard(&its intergreted
components), cpu, gpu). It should show blinking bar. Not monitor is
not even started(stays on sleep mode)
- Monitors have been checked
- I have oscilloscope, external power supply - if checking testpins is the case, I could do it.
- I cannot replace cpu or gpu - buying spare parts and checking wouldn't be the best idea.
Please ask any additional information you require. I will try to answer.
Source: (StackOverflow)
This maybe a tad off-topic, but as it says on meta, hardware questions should be fine on Super User.
I want to run home from work (~20 min of jogging) but I need to bring with me my laptop, a Macbook Pro with an SSD drive.
I there a risk of hardware damage—in short or longterm—if I keep the computer in my backpack while running?
Source: (StackOverflow)
Short version: son uses laptop. Laptop is mysteriously broken.
Something got badly crushed in the lid. After replacing both the LCD and inverter card I'm ready to declare the display defunct.
Since the VGA out still works, I plan to salvage the laptop by using it to replace my ailing Linux server. That would work much better (and be much cooler) if I permanently removed the entire lid, leaving me with a cute, flat, keyboard-equipped server.
The surgical details for my specific laptop (Toshiba U305) are probably too much to ask, but are there general things I should be careful about with this kind of procedure? Any cables I should be careful not to leave dangling once the lid is gone? Is there a good DIY/mod guide for this kind of project? Googling likely keywords is finding tons of repair guides, not what I need.
Source: (StackOverflow)
Yesterday, I was cleaning up and dropped my Asus Eee 1005PE. The screen is cracked inside (i.e., cracks are visible only when on), and no longer works properly. I booted up with another monitor attached, and the computer itself is fine, but needs a new screen.
Best Buy wants at least $250 to repair it, and Asus was of no help at all.
If replacing the LCD is no more trouble than replacing memory or a hard drive, I can do that. It's within my means to buy the part, but I'd like to know more about the procedure involved. My questions:
- How does one replace a laptop display? Do I simply open the case and swap out the unit, or do I need to disassemble anything else to get to the screen? I don't want to order the part and then end up in a situation like this.
- Is the case screwed shut, or is it like an iPod where they glue things closed?
- Is there any soldering involved?
Source: (StackOverflow)
I've been having intermittent problems with the Internet connection of my HP Envy, which has an Atheros Wifi card. Some googling indicates that this is a fairly common problem with these laptops.
I contacted HP, and after an attempt at a software fix, they asked me to try to reseat the card before sending it in for replacement. They referred me to this document, which describes how to take it apart:
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04409752.pdf
The diagram
When I got as far as the Wifi card itself, I observed the following diagram in the document (page 60 of the document):
Inside the machine
However, what I actually see inside the machine is this:
Unfortunately, I already disconnected the wires before taking a picture.
As you can see, the numbers and colors in the diagram don't match reality. What's more, the numbers and colors of the wires don't match the numbers and colors of the terminals. (The number on the black wire is 1, and the number on the white wire is 2, but the card shows white 1, black 2.)
I'm wondering a couple of things:
Do I just trust to the numbers of the wires and hook them to the matching numbered terminals on the card? I think that's how they were connected originally, although since I didn't photograph while connected them I'm not 100% certain about this.
What would be the consequence of hooking them up wrong? (I'm wondering if that could possibly account for the connectivity problems I was having before?)
P.S.: I can definitely call HP support about this, but I was very curious to get an opinion from knowledgeable people on this site who I know aren't reading from a script.
Source: (StackOverflow)
After having my previous question answered by the HP technical support, I now have a HP laptop that does not work properly. HP recommended that I replace the motherboard and processor for a bargain price of $733 US dollars.
I originally purchased this laptop back when the Windows Vista was released back in January 2007 for about $2,000 US dollar, but now is an very expensive paperweight.
What are my options for this laptop? Do I try to revive it on my own....
What are your suggestions?
Source: (StackOverflow)
I have a Samsung notebook with a 14" 1366x768 resolution screen. I have found a replacement laptop site that sells Samsung 14" 1600x900 screen with the same connector type.
Can this be done?
Source: (StackOverflow)