A few hypothetical questions

Hey Guys,
Question 1--
I was reading down through this thread:
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=240879
and my questions would be. How old does the laptop have to be (years wise) to have the soldered jack vs. the plugin jack?
Also if that ever happens how could you test for it?
What would I be looking for on Ebay/Newegg to replace the plugin?
Question 2--
Could you run a Dual-Screen set-up using the VGA port AND the DVI port on ONE card?

Thanks,
Spock96

 

I don't know.:-o

Yes, you can.

 

Its not about age its about model,usually the cheaper the product the more soldered parts they have and are harder to repair.

First you'd come across a power cut off symptom,then you should go through a process of elimination starting at the AC or mains power working towards the computer checking everything is the right voltage,check the psu is getting 240/110V AC,then check the psu is putting out the right DC voltage,also you need to check for an intermittent fault by connecting your multimeter to the psu and wiggling all the wires around and checking for drop outs.Even if you can see the female power connector is loose/broken you should always do this or you could end up wasting money on parts you don't need or not ordering enough parts.

Then move on to the internal female power connector.The easiest way is to get a male plug with two bare wires I have loads on them from old psu's that's I've cut off but they are all pretty standard DC jacks,you can get them off power supplies anything from a laptop,modem,battery charger or something,you can even make one by buying one of those universal power connector kits and soldering two wires to the back of the plug that fits.

Then plug it into the laptop making sure the two bare wires don't touch,then touch your testmeter to the two bare wires and check the values,I say values as each if different,some will read the voltage straight from the laptop battery as its directly connected,some won't as they have a diode 'a diode stops electricity flowing backwards' in between.

In either case there will be some kind of voltage or circuit 'set your multimeter to resistance to check for this' through the female connector.

If this test is inconclusive you have to take it apart and visually inspect it then test the resistance between the female power connector to the solder joints on the motherboard,or if its the plug in type check the continuity across it,because of the small pins in the connectors I use sewing pins and insert them into the plug with wires connected to them.

You'll be looking for something like this

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...139&ty=84&page=6&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:16,s:90

.