what breaks most on laptops?

Hi Everyone,

I thought that this would be a good educational thread. In my family, we have gone through 8 laptops over the years. The things that have happened most are these 3 things...

1. Hard Drive Failure.
2. Started over heating and eventually stopped working(I now believe it was clogged vents this whole time, completely fixable if caught in time)
3. The connecter that the power cord plugs into the laptop has broken on two machines. I was told that this happens when people move their laptop around too much while it is plugged in, it weakens the inner jack and eventually breaks, which sounds like what probably happened. Computer guys we went to said it means the death of the machine and cost way too much to fix.

If anyone has suggestions on fixing number 3, then I would love to learn about it.

And this thread is for others to post too on common hardware things that break down on laptops.

Cheers.:major

 

I agree with the "computer guys" who told you about moving your computer around too much while it is plugged in. There may be some sort of device available to prevent it, but if it were me, I would simply take a piece of duct tape, and tape the cord somewhere to the case, so when the computer is moved around, the pulling is bending the tape, and not the jack. You may be able to find adhesive velcro, putting the nylon loop half on the side of the case, and the fuzzy part on the cable, and attach - again so that movement does not put pressure on the jack. That way, you wont wind up with a gummy spot from duct tape. This is really an easy fix, get creative .

As for overheating, there are inexpensive cooling solutions for laptops - i have a plastic "platform" that my laptop fits on, which has indentions in it to ensure the fan can breathe properly, as well as a slide out area for my wireless mouse (i hate the rinky-dink touch pads on laptops) . Check your fan and vents regularly, especially if you have shedding pets . A can of compressed gas duster is just right to keep these clean . Hard drive failure may be due to rough handling or overheating, or a combination of both . Try to be gentle with your laptop.

If you have kids, just teach them that laptops aren't footballs and they should be treated gently .

 

#3 can be a 1 hour + 3-10 dollar part to fix - or 3x that amount of time - IF you can DIY. If not, budget for $40 - $100, plus a new power supply, maybe also a new motherboard.

 

Satrow, normally i agree with you 100%, and I can certainly understand a reluctance to putting a piece of tape on a laptop as a fix for a problem, if nothing else but for the "Jerry-Rig" factor, but I wouldnt say it's a 3 hour DIY fix by ANY measure. I have done similar fixes to numerous electronics, as I have played electric bass in punk rock bands for over 25 years and this is actually a fairly common problem in that arena. By no means am I disrespecting or trying to argue with you, I'll just simply state again that there are numerous cheap, quick and easy ways to remedy the cord and jack problem if you think creatively about it. I will say no more on the issue, and brahman can make his own decision. I just have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.
Easy fix, little to no cost if you don't mind a DIY solution .

 

FED UP, he is talking about re-soldering the jack, not taping stuff to the side of the case, yours is preventive, his is a fix. Most times i see laptop jacks that break, they aren't based because people move the cord, but use a third party power supply that has a weight to the cord thats different then the factory one, causing the stress on the pcb that the jack connects to. Most laptops we fixed the power jack on came back with in 6 months for the same repiear. For a shop thats gonna charge you parts plus mark up plus the hourly wage, a repair like this really probably isn't worth while.

 

Fortunately , a lot of laptops now come with a serately connected lead inside the laptop, so that the problem is less as no soldered joint at the power connection. Thes are easily changed, if they do get damaged-simly unplug, and connect new one- Often still means dismantling the laptop, as not many make them esily accessable, and still connect in such a way to make dismantling necessay.
Same thing with cmos batteries- Dell, Toshiba , and others make them either as a plug in on a lead, or, coin shaped that can very often be changed by just removing a cover.

 

When it comes to laptops, IMO, I'd have to say the power cord plug in. fortunatly these are about $6 dollars on e-bay, and if you're lucky enough to have a newer laptop, it won't be soldered on your MOBO, and just be a plugin. I've fixed my moms, and several of my friends, all with the same problems, with both kinds.(plug in and MOBO solder) Unless you take extreme measures(duct tape) the soldering will break loose again no matter what.

 

Bah ! You are right - I misunderstood . I owe apologies to all involved. I should be more careful .

 

I've been doing freelance work for years and recently opened my own retail shop. Although a bit unscientific, here are my thoughts:

Notebook PCs get bounced around more than desktops. In addition, the HDD is wedged into a tight space with less airflow around it versus a desktop - excessive heat eventually destroys a drive (especially if you're recording and playing back hours of video per day).

I also feel most OEM hard drives aren't as good of a quality as they were years ago. It's the "price point" issue: If a mfr. sells a PC or hard drive at a cheap price, the quality of the parts often isn't as good as a "business grade" model.

After getting f:***ed on Hitachis that usually failed in under a year, I use WD Caviar Black notebook drives for replacements and upgrades. The extra $20 or so for better quality and a 5 year warranty is money well spent.

Internal fan failures on notebooks are more common than many people think. Once again, the low price points equate to low quality parts.

The warning sign on overheating or fan failure is when the notebook itself or the display shuts off for no reason within 2 minutes of booting up. Users not familiar with the fact that overheating is causing this keep trying to restart the unit while it's still overheated - an act that may end up causing the motherboard to fail.

It would be nice if notebook PC mfrs. could add an overheating warning during the BIOS boot -- oh, wait. This might actually cost them a buck or two extra and kill off premature sales of replacement notebook PCs. Never mind. :-D

Whether a repair is worth spending money on relates to the value of the PC (versus upgrading or buying a used one with similar specs).

If and when you need internal repairs on a notebook PC, get several estimates (if you're sure it's a broken power jack, this can usually be done by phone so long as you have the PC make/model).

Retail outlets like Best Buy and Office Depot charge the highest rates. Independent shop prices can vary widely, so shop around (and make sure the repair center offers at least a 30 day warranty on the work).

OK. Here's my "other" list:

* LED/LCD screens. Even a drop of three feet (1 meter) off a kitchen table or desk can crack the screen or damage internal parts of the display. Over the past two weeks, I have had over ten customers ask for an estimate on screen replacements. At an average of $250-$300, most decline.

* Keyboards. If a single key comes loose, it usually means replacing the entire keyboard. Unfortunately, super glue isn't usually a good option.

* Spills. If the three dollar latte you're drinking spills on the keyboard, it's now a $500 latte and new PC purchase. :-D

 

Free PC with purchase of a $500 latte !!

 

To monitor temperatures in my laptop, I use CoreTemp. With a dual-core processor, it will report the temperature for both cores.

I also keep my laptop sitting on an aluminum cooler. The cooler has two small fans. Like some other cooler users, I believe merely having the laptop sitting on the cooler (with fans off) is a slightly better situation than no cooler.

 

gman863 seems to be pretty much on target .