Getting In Too Deep

DV4-1255dx - No Video, Blinking lights on topside

2012-01-13T13:34:00.000-05:00

DV4-1225DX
Needle in a digital haystack - numerous problems

Damaged Coil Side view

Problem described as Memory Slot Not working & No Video

Since I had never seen this unit come on, with memory in slot 1 or slot 2 there was not much I could do other than thoroughly inspect the system fisrt.

Damaged coil Top View

1: Found that a coil under the PC Card slot was broken.
Replaced and Test - No Fix

Replaced

When peeling back the plastic near the Video connector- looking close I notice a cap is stuck to the plastic. Very small ceramic cap that was hardly noticeable without magnification.

Now- Where does if come from and where does it go? What is it's purpose?

Under magnification, I view the area where the smaller components are and
see evidence of solder or tampering. This appears to be the location of the missing/stray cap.

Since this is a multi-step repair...

Back to the work bench to see if the problem is fixed now.

Stray cap found near video conn.

Location of cap

Missing from pad

Replaced Capacitor

HP G60 No Power- Blinking Power LED

2012-01-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

HP G60 - No Power, Will not turn on, Will not charge

This unit arrives with No Power Problem. When plugging in the AC Adapter I notice that the Power LED is (steady) blinking. The Power button does not work and does not light the charge light, so I can diagnose this as a major POWER IN problem.

Inspecting the power section behind the DC Jack and the bottom side of the board. Turning the board over, I notice a section burnt and a cap missing.

So- the first thing I do is remove the caps indicated as 1,2 ,3 in pictures.
Then do a quick test- plug the power adapter back into the unit.

The power LED no longer blinks. Cleaning up the area shows me that the cap indicated by #3 had severely shorted and the frayed metal end was also shorting the #1 cap. Removing the solder from the pad, and the welded metal from the missing cap, I have a working surface area to replace the parts. These are standard ceramic caps that can be found on an old board and nothing unique about them.

After cleaning and replacing all the caps in image, time for a final test. Voila!
The unit fires up, and because of the failure, or the unit sitting too long, the BIOS setting were lost or changed because I did not have the unit totally assembled, and peripherals were missing. That is minor and when totally assembled the unit functions normally.

Solution: replace blown and shorted caps.
The cost is so insignificant that all 3 were replaced, rather than doing one at a time, which takes longer.

HP DV5-2035DX External Video, No Video on LCD

2012-01-13T10:38:00.001-05:00

Click for larger picture view

DV5-2035 No Video, External video works fine

A DV5 arrives with complaint-
Video shows on External but not internal video on LCD/LED display.

Inspecting the unit near the video section,
the problem is immediately spotted as being a blown transistor. This transistor is one of the switching type that allows the video signal to be displayed/sent to the display. Without this part there will never be any video shown, except on an external monitor.

Click for larger picture view

Solution: replace blown transistor

Toshiba L455D - Previous repair attempt by another tech

2012-01-13T10:10:00.000-05:00

Toshiba L455D - Board Damage

Ok so Monday starting off the week I get in a Toshiba L455D and say to myself "this should be easy" since I just had one last week and things went pretty fast. Taking the motherboard from the chassis I immediately see that it had been worked on by a 'hack', unexperienced tech. Checking my previous notes to see exactly was was damaged I did a side-by-side comparison.

The way this board arrived and parts missing-
Click for larger view

Then I realize that there are simply too many parts damaged and missing to even get the unit back to the way it should be.

So this is one that I will not attempt to repair simply because of the amount of time it would take, and the value of the unit.

Solution: Replace motherboard.

The way it should be with parts shown -
Click for larger view

DV7 Power On By Pass (version 1) - TIP

2012-01-04T15:29:00.001-05:00

For the older version of the DV7 you can bypass having to connect the power panel by shorting PIN 9 to ground, this will turn on the unit. Saving wear and tear on the ribbon cable and connector.

This model was a DV7-1150US

Dell Inspiron 14R Spill

2011-12-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

This Dell 14R had a water/coffee spill and blew some parts and pads from the laptop motherboard. This image shows the resistor PR12 after removed from board. Shown here before cleaning
This image shows how it should look, and the original view.
This image shows how the repair had to be done. Part of the pad was still visible, and the hole pad had enamel removed to allow connectivity to the pad and trace.

DV7 Power On By Pass - TIP

2011-12-29T13:01:00.000-05:00

The DV6000 and DV9000 series has a bypass jumper that you can short to turn on the unit without having to connect the power on button.

Now the DV7 also has a method also. this way you don't have to disconnect from the frame and makes it prone to breakage or scratching the plastic.

Toshiba L455D - Powers On Then Off

2011-12-29T11:03:00.000-05:00

Toshiba L455D Blink On then Off Light.
Power light functions normally. Charge light functions normally.
Does not run. Does not post.

Turns on then shuts off. The unit powers on then after a few seconds- shuts off.

This is was caused by a shorted MOSFET PQ10 that exhibited a full short 0Ω Since they were in a pair formation, both were replaced so the current level would be balanced. The cost is so low, that it was not a consideration. Two AO4466 replaced with two AO4468 mosfets which were available. AO4468 is out of production, but were found on an HP DV6000 near the Maxim [MAX8734/PU10] quad output power distribution chip. (PQ31/PQ32 on DV6k)

The coil PL3 was cracked in half, was not exactly sure if the coil would be defective, but the nature of coils is to push current within the electromagnetic field, so if the field is open the electrons may not go forward, tools did not allow the ability to verify. So it was replaced.

(When in doubt, replace)

Please No Questions regarding this repair- They won't be answered
It was simply found by finding the shorted MOSFET. This is only a reporting blog for other to have an idea where to find the problem, not to fix it for them. Use logic in following the electrical path. You can not learn if you are always shown the answers.

Note: No Video issues on this model is caused by the nVidia GPU, not this area. This is the power-in section. Do not reflow the whole GPU at one time, because it not anchored by epoxy. Do half, allow time to cool, then other half.

DV5-2155dx - No Video, Blinking lights on topside

2011-12-19T11:28:00.002-05:00

I will only report how I fixed it, not answer specifics related to why/how/what or "where can I get parts" questions, because I simply don't have the time to reply to the requests.

This DV5 came in with no video display.

The problem was a coil L6002 to the right of the GPU shield.

The coil and/or pad cannot handle the 'bounce' current that flows through. Taking the coil out of the circuit path eliminates that problem. Small inset image shows where the coil was and the old path of the circuit.

Up Late

2011-06-12T00:45:00.002-04:00

Up late trying to make sure everything works, buttons, answering questions that may have been missed. And printing postal addresses. After that last hectic week...

Sometimes it's something else

2011-06-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Earlier today I got my hands on an older Compaq M2000. It was dead, no lights no anything. So checking the board (which is the same as the V2000 and the DV1000) . The front end MOSFET next to the power jack had bubbling on the surface (probably from overheating) And it was the wrong chip!? It was a SI4425 which has a lower current rating. So I replaced it with the AO4413/FDS6679 series and tested again. This time the charge light was on when the battery inserted. This told me that atleast the unit was getting power. Then I remembered the common problem with caps on those models, so I started checking the caps. Sure enough I found the shorted cap on the bottom side near the rear of the DVD drive connector. OK replace that and turn on.

Everything lights up, except the screen. No display on external. Hmmm - checking the GPU accidentally by touching it was !!HOT!! Used the crayon test, it made a small wax puddle on the chip. This GPU was definitely shorted. When angling the board and viewing, I noticed the GPU was not level. Rear solderballs were not touching board, but the front surface was. There was no level gap around the GPU. So this came to a decision to set it aside and work on it later, or attempt leveling GPU.

I placed it aside and chose to make that a project because it would need a jig to level the GPU while hot, and not contact (nor slide) resistors on the top side. As well as raising the smashed side.While holding the GPU down onto the jig. Strange device it would be. But to fix a $66 mobo? Reballing is an option but not worth the money, time and effort right now.

Toshiba A75 - No picture on screen.

2011-05-19T16:24:00.000-04:00

TOSHIBA A75 series are workhorses they will run and run. The only problems I have experienced with this model that is fairly common is the DC Jack fails, Overheating and onboard memory failure.

Since onboard memory can cause the above symptom, that was on of the first things I tested. The memory turns out to be fine. Opening the unit I see that there had been a previous spill that had dried and and was on some important VLSI chips. The next step was to closely inspect the spots where the spill was and visually determine if it could be the cause of failure. This depends on whether it was on any PCI or video subsystems. As it turns out it was on the PCI subsystem.

Explanation of Terms

2011-05-10T22:16:00.003-04:00

Some of the terms used by techs and myself:

Dead:
Means No Power, No Lights, No Charge Light.
  Check DC Jack, test with known good battery

No Power/No Lights:
The unit will work from charged battery, but not from AC. Some light may be on.
  Check DC Jack.
When you move the charge plug with battery installed, the charge light may come on intermittently. This is caused by a cold solder joint on the DC Jack, or bad contact inside the jack.

No Power/With Lights:
If you hold the plug at an angle, the unit will come on, but letting go of plug it shuts down.
  Check DC Jack

Will Not Charge Battery:
Unit runs when plugged in, but will not charge battery. Or the battery only last 15min after charging all day.
   Check Adapter - Generic or Wrong Amperage
Example -If you are using a 65w charger and trying to charge a DV9000 the battery will never fill up to it's maximum.
Volts x Amps = Watts 18.5v x 3.47a = 64w and 18.5v x 4.47a = 90w

Loops:
Posts and starts to run, then reboots.
   Suspect CMOS battery
   BIOS settings.

Lights Flash:
Lights on panel flash when I press the power button:
   Suspect dead/near dead battery.
   Check DC Jack
   Check Charge Adapter

Blue Screen of Death [BSOD]
Very common issue with hardware changes or failure, wrong drivers
   Start laptop, continue to press F8 until you get a Start Up Menu
   Disable Auto Restart
   Restart in Safe Mode - Disable all items in Startup until you take to shop
   Or uncheck all unknown/unverified software
You can also remove or disable unused items in System Hardware, modem, network cards and reboot until culprit is found.

Those are just some of the symptoms that you may read on this site.

Some questions that were asked.

2011-05-10T21:55:00.001-04:00

A few individuals have asked questions direct, and I wish to clarify some items. It is best when you post on the blog that way it can also answer several hundred other readers questions.

Question 1:
How do you check the (brown) ceramic caps.
Answer:
Simple, I use a standard Ohm meter in the Resistance mode. Since the biggest problems with caps when they fail is the become either a direct short, or they will never store capacitance (open). The meter reads in the ohm mode by sending a small amount of electricity through resistors and report the difference in Ohms. Test with leads RED on one side and Black on the other. One direction will give you a high resistance ~2000Ω and then reverse the leads on the meter and the other direction should give you Infinity. This is an OK capacitor. If you have a very low resistance or 0 (zero) Ohms, the cap is shorted.

Why?: I started small just repairing for friends and family, after a number of common repairs I saw the need for a shop, so when I opened the shop I was looking at the prices of equipment (oscilloscopes, digital probes, professional hot air guns, and all the high tech test hardware) and the prices were too high for the amount of work I was doing. So as I grew, I got comfortable with what I had, and never changed. If it works why change it?. The success rate would could not be improved enough to justify the high dollar purchases.

Question 2: What are the soldering tools you use.Answer: Ordinary hobby tools for the most part. The soldering pencil is a 40w medium tip Weller type with base.

Then there is a soldering station that was purchased from Radio Shack with a small pencil tip, for the very small parts.
The key to a good solder joint is heat management, and flux. When you are soldering large items, you should have a larger tip. Flux also assists in distributing heat as well as removing oxidation from the solder pads.

The desoldering iron is a simple Radio Shack that cost about $12. Though it should be cleaned often, unplugged when not used. (the tips don't last long)

A scope would be nice (any donations?) just kidding.

Other Tools do include a combination Hot Air and Soldering station (collecting dust) I just use it when I get into tight situations or the need for speed or controlled heat arises.

DV9000- Turns on- Shuts off

2011-05-09T10:00:00.002-04:00

Symptom 1: Unit runs for a while then turns off
Symptom 2: Unit turns on, turns off immediately

This unit arrives after another tech had attempted repairs. Numerous screws missing from base and incorrect screws used in reassembly. Complete tear-down and disassembly.

After powering the unit up, I noticed that the heat sink copper was discolored [darkened] which is a sign of high heat. Upon close inspection I noticed a kink in the heatshrink material covering the wires for the fan wires, so I strip back a portion of the insulation and the red wire was broken, and the black wire was only 2 strands. Yellow and White wires were OK. Rather than replacing the fan (which is in short supply, and costly) I repaired the broken wires with solder and insulating them so that they would not short each other or the frame of the HS fan, which is negative ground.

Screw also missing on the exterior frame that holds the heatsink downward onto the base, this screw is important because it also keeps the heatsink pressed against the GPU allowing for the heat to be pulled away from the chip to be vented out from the unit. This unit was also upgraded to the modified custom copper shim to further assist in heat reduction.

Reason of varying symptoms:
This model may not require the fan to reply back to P.O.S.T. -so it would run, until it got too hot to continue. The ground (fans black wire) did not complete the circuit for the 'non-working' temp sensor to report that it was overheating. The CPU core thermal sensor eventually reported overheating before the fan could, or CPU thermal sensor would shut it down to protect the CPU. Then when the unit was immediately turn back on (while still over temp) it would shut off, since no correction was made, the info was reported to CMOS and would shut off.

This test should also be in your diagnostic 'toolkit' so that you also test the fans when you have an immediate shutdown, or runs & shutdown problems in this series [DV6000/9000/F700]. Also see the specs on MAX8734 power chip so you can identify this cause, since it do have a SHUTDOWN circuit [pin 6].

Cause: The screw had gone through the base and was smashing/pressing the wires again metal post, effecting shorting positive terminal of Fan lead coming from motherboard connector, and broken, no power reached the fan. The black wire [GND] was nearly broken so the fan circuit was not complete, as well as the speed (YEL) and temp sensor (WHI) circuit because there was no power reaching the fan.

The Max8734 is one of the major players in distributing voltages to sections of the motherboard.

MAX8734AEEI+ product name:
High-Efficiency, Quad-Output, Main Power-Supply Controllers for Notebook Computers

Compaq C500 - LED's Flash Rapidly, and never posts or starts

2011-04-23T22:37:00.000-04:00

Unit arrives with following symptoms:
Flashing LED's on the power panel, and the power LED on the front edge flashes continuously. [See video]

When I connected the DC source with the battery inserted, I thought the charge light would come on as it should regularly. Since it didn't and flashed at the same rate as the other LED's this told me what area to check. When checking the MOSFETs PQ5, PQ49, and PQ4 all of them were of the same type [FDS4435] but PQ49 had a short in both directions with meter set to DIODE mode. This indicates the FET is shorted. So that was the first thing to replace and test again.

When I replaced the PQ49 FET and plugged in the charger (with battery inserted) the charge light came on, as it normally should. Upon powering the unit, it posted normally on external monitor.

Since it was a power in/charge circuit I assumed everything else was fine and reassembled the unit. All items work. USB/Wifi and other peripherals. So the unit was tested with OS loaded and everything fine there, and allowed the battery to fully charge.

Gateway laptop M-Series - Shuts off immediately [M-6750]

2011-04-22T09:39:00.002-04:00

This Gateway M- Series 6750 arrived with the following symptoms:

Turns on, but shuts off after about 5 sec. The lights would flash, then shut down. Counting seven (7) flashes before shutting off. Attempting a cold reset of the BIOS/CMOS it would not complete the reset, and continue to do the same thing.

Because it would not write the CMOS, that shows me the first area to check. Under close inspection of the board, I notice a coil is burnt, and the number is not visible/readable. [PL20]

The burnt coil had also burned the motherboard layer under itself and would require cleaning and insulating the second layer. This was done with a small piece of mylar tape that was placed under the coil before soldering it in place. This repair was a quick repair and not making a complete mask and copper pad for the exit contact of the coil. Works and sufficiently insulates the second layer of the groundplane.

MOSFET PQ54 was also replaced simply because the cost is negligible and would be easier to replace while the unit was open rather than to reassemble and possibly have to replace anyway. The FET was a Fairchild FDS6900AS which is a 30V Dual N-Channel PowerTrench® SyncFET™.

After replacing the coil, I partially reassembled the laptop simply enough to get power and connect the screen. (Image blurred while holding camera) It Works! Reassemble and test rest of peripherals, USB, Webcam, etc...

Compaq C500 - Bad Video Memory

2011-04-22T09:29:00.001-04:00

Compaq C500 Arrives with bad video.

The information is displayed just not properly. External LCD also displays same thing. This is related to the video memory of the unit and not the GPU in this case.

This will require a low temp reflow. Because video memory is often not glued to the mother board, low heat has to be used so that the chips become separated from the motherboard. If that happens it will require special equipment and higher cost to the customer.

If you unit does not have dedicated memory for video, then it would be the chip that addresses (provides the row and column information for the GPU) the video memory. This is usually a large chip directly to the side or near the GPU. Typically on Intel models rather than AMD.

Middle picture shown after reflow.

Link Video showing screen issue at Youtube
if you have issues displaying from blog.

Acer 17.3" Shuts off when moved or touched

2011-04-19T09:52:00.002-04:00

Newer Acer 17" Model [7736Z-4809] laptop arrives after being repaired.

Not actual picture

The initial repair was a DC jack. Seems that the jack didn't last long and was sold to a reseller. Physically broken and replaced.

After replacement, the unit would charge and run. Minor tests completed based upon user diagnosis. However, if the laptop was moved when on/running, it would shut off immediately, and the lights would go off. (Charge and Run lights).

When the unit was moved or tapped at the area on the right where logo stickers are, it would shut off -everytime. Thinking it may have been a ground issue with the case, I tapped the motherboard after it was removed, and still presented the same problem. Repeated on/off testing located the area where the open circuit was occuring. The PCI controller chip (indicated in square). Since this model did not use high temp glue to hold the chip to the motherboard, the best reflow method for this model would be Low Temp reflow with liquid flux instead of the petroleum based flux.

Why? Because if the chip is having issues with the solderballs too much heat would separate the chip from the board, requiring reball or motherboard replacement. A High Temp reflow would cause that problem. And there would be no way to rescue it at this shop. So that is why low-temp reflow method was used.

A low temp reflow involves liquid flux, and heating only half the chip at one time. First the lower half, then allowing it to cool a little, then the top half. This method assures that the chip does not become unseated, as well as preventing solder balls pooling together and shorting out. The liquid flux aids in bonding the solderballs to the motherboard as well as removing oxidation (not much at low temp).

Dell 1545 - No Power & Shorting Power Supply

2011-04-16T10:19:00.001-04:00

Dell Inspiron 1545 arrives with No Power, No Lights and short Power Supply.

This unit arrived with because the customer thought it was a DC Jack repair because it was shorting out the power supply everytime it was plugged in. So it did not matter which power supply was used it would still short out.

My way was to simply separate the power panel board from the laptop and see if it was the laptop having a short or the small power board. When the small board was removed, the power supply would still short out. Looking into the jack itself, and testing from POS to NEG shows no short on meter. So tracing the path from the POS terminal on the back through the on board diode showed continuity.

Reversing the meter's leads it shows 1 Ohm. So this tells me that the diode was shorting the unit.

Extracting the power board only took 3 screws, and not having to remove the whole motherboard made things simpler and a quick repair. Then lifting the power board and replacing the diode.

Boots after replacing diode

After power board diode was replaced. To test, I simply plugged in the power supply before putting it back into the base. This would show me if the power supply was still shorting. It did not short again, so I re-installed the power board and turned on the unit. It works!

Starting the OS everything appears to be OK, except for the message that Windows did not shut down correctly the last time. This was to be expected, but everything works fine now.

RE: HP GPU Video information

2011-03-20T22:56:00.000-04:00

TARGET DATE: APR 15 ~ MAY 1st

I just came up with a solution to those that are in dire need of the video. So instead of making a 'Hollywood' masterpiece, with fancy labels and jewel cases etc. I will be doing a single Step By Step instructional video from start to finish.

This will make the overall cost lower, and faster completion, as well as provide list of items needed and source for US customers. (Not many countries outside USA use 120v so the heat gun here would not work there) but the other items are readily available in most places.

So the contents will be a simple Instructional DVD by US Mail available through Paypal so that there will be no questions about me having your credit card info and such, or the complete kit, with all the parts for a D-I-Y project. The contents will be for 1 repair, but the rest of the items (*secret stuff) will be available for multiple repairs incase someone wants to do this at a shop on a regular basis.

If you want to pre-order the DVD ($20USD) or the repair kit $89USD (DVD and tools included) let me know and I will create an new email address, so that all that mail will go to one place, and not confuse me with blog questions, music questions, software questions and other projects mixed in. (Yes, I am doing several projects). It will be a complete solution, not just a video of me doing it, but why I do each step. Knowing the nature of some people it will copied and re-packaged by someone that is too lazy to come up with a better solution. So I have a limited window to sell the item.

For HP DV series, TX series, Compaq F series Hann-Star motherboards. As well as for some Gateway, Acer, Dell and others. After you do this once, you will be surprised at the results when all the correct steps are taken, and what to watch for that kills these motherboards. Hopefully this will correct many of the defects that are on shelves somewhere sitting.

Do not send cash or Paypal until I have it all together.

* there will be no markup on the kits- what the parts cost me will be your cost

Dell Precision M290 - Lines in Video

2011-02-18T09:50:00.000-05:00

Currently in video preparation for posting solution of the Dell Precision M290 with lines in video. Which will be added this weekend 20 Feb. This will be a Step-by-Step video.

Diagnosis
Removal
Preparation
Repair
Cleaning
Test
Reinstallation

The problem is the same for nVidia. Solderballs not making contact. In this case the solderballs are located in the video memory. See other video for similar problem.

This is a screenshot from the video.

Dell XPS No Video (2)

2011-02-16T23:52:00.001-05:00

This is unit #2
Dark Blue cover
This unit arrives with a request for DC Jack repair.
the jack repaired and unit plugged in to test and shuts off immediately. So I had to inspect inside.

Opening the unit to get to the GPU portion to begin diagnosis or repair. Because you have to remove the heatsink before the motherboard, and after removing it what I see is the 'Worst Case' scenario of how a GPU should look.

In an effort to get video working someone put balls of solder under the heatsink to apply pressure on the manufacturers solderballs under the GPU making contact with the motherboard. Along with way too much thermal compound. Though the idea was good in principle material used does more damage. The solder not only contacted/shorted resistors and jumpers on the top of the GPU but removed a number of them (probably inside a ball of solder). Those extra small resistors and jumper sets, clock speed and memory size information for nVidia.
But the unit was said to have worked!? Or so I thought.

The root cause of most XPS having no video and (using the nVidia chip) is contact oxidation. One or both, motherboard or GPU. Since the number of various manufacturers use this video chip, my guess would point to the GPU. Could it be the time it takes from nVidia to the computer factories allow for oxidation to develop on chips not shipped in Nitrogen sealed packages to save a few dollars?

I have seen the same issue with Gateway, Dell, HP and others.

Also appears to have a dead short between layers of the motherboard. Usually caused by forcing upside down harddrive into slot or screw or another part inside laptop.

DIAGNOSIS: Not Repairable

Dell XPS No Video

2011-02-16T23:35:00.000-05:00

This Dell XPS comes in with 2 others, so after months of none, now three in one day. Various issues and different problems.

Shift-Click to see larger image

The first one has a pink shell. Exact model number not copied yet. It has no video but starts like it will go into P.O.S.T. but never does. The LCD don't not light, or flash briefly (which indicates the inverter works). Removing the keyboard and top I noticed this burnt plastic mark next to one of the connectors for the LCD.

With motherboard removed, the plastic cover was slowly removed and noticed a coil with pads damaged so there was no electrical path completed. Removing the damaged coil and cleaning the area, required me to also remove a few mm of laquer from the mobo. This exposes copper which will become the 'new' pad completing the circuit.

Test and backlight and video appears on LCD. So the problem was an open path by blown coil.

Tips on Testing MOSFETs

2011-02-13T17:04:00.003-05:00

Imagine the flow direction
Source to Drain

This is how I test FETS

What I will try to do here is to provide a little insight on how to test MOSFET's in circuit the easiest way I can think of. Essentially the FET acts as a switch, and the GATE either opens or closes the switch. When power is supplied to Pin 4 (usually the GATE) it will either open or close depending on the type of MOSFET it is. The arrows shows the direction for reference when using a meter to test.

Setting the meter in DIODE mode.

On the N-Channel FET place the NEG lead on Pin 6/7 and the POS lead on Pin 2/3. You should get a reading of some value ~100 to 500 or higher.

Imagine the flow direction
Drain to Source

On the P-Channel FET place the POS lead on Pin 6/7 and the NEG lead on Pin 2/3. Again you should get a reading of some value ~100 to 500 or higher.
The reason I say pins 2/3 and 6/7 is because they are common, and it's less of a shorting risk than saying pin 3, which could slip and give you the wrong reading if pin 4 is touched or blow it if it has power on it (from battery or charger).

Most companies make it fairly easy to identify P-Channel from N-Channel parts by part number. This is usually the case with U.S. companies. National Semiconductor, Fairchild and others. But it is not a hard and fast rule with some Chinese manufacturers, and may need to check the datasheet before assuming they will be the same.

ODD number MOSFETs are considered to be P-Channel
EVEN numbered MOSFETS are usually N-Channel.

Example: FDS6679 would be a P-Channel and FDS6690 would be a N-Channel MOSFET

FDS stands for Fairchild part

SI stands for Siliconix/Vishay part

AO stands for Alpha and Omega Semiconductors part

IOR stands for International Rectifier part (Their numbering system may not adhere to above numbering system)

DV5-1124 Motherboard replaces -1125

2011-02-12T12:25:00.003-05:00

Insistent Customers and Laptop Repairs -Arrrrg!!!
What I had to do to get a laptop back to the customer before factory heat-sink is replaced.

DV5-1124 motherboard without heat-sink

This customer was without their laptop for a couple of weeks [from another shop] waiting on the correct motherboard to arrive. When the new motherboard arrived, it did not come with video memory management unit (mmu) heat-sink. After running a few minutes, the mmu would overheat and the unit would shutdown to protect the chip. An irate customer could not do without for another 3-5 days waiting on the factory heat-sink. So a minor custom heat sink was made to 'hold-off' the customer until it arrived.

It consists of a copper pad, plastic sheeting (on underside of pad) with a cut out hole. The copper bridge soldered to the pad was to act as a heat bridge to transfer heat to the original heat-sink. This is not a recommended repair, only a temporary fix. There were no guarantees presented with this method, and only allowed the customer time to use the important files until the correct part arrived. There were no temperature measurements taken after the 'fix' only run-tests.

DV5-1124 motherboard with
temporary heat-sink

Previously the unit would run about 2 minutes before shutting down due to heat. After the 'fix' the unit was stable enough to run without shutting down. So problem solved* until replacement arrived.

With the various model numbers of the DV5 series, it is wise to pay attention to the dash numbers of motherboard replacements. DV5-xxxx -

In this case: the original board was DV5-1125 and replaced with DV5-1124. The minor difference in the model number had larger implications. The original used shared video memory and the replacement uses on-board memory. Though more ram memory available is for Windows/applications/programs, an additional part (MMU heat-sink) was needed. I hate to do mods but had to in this case.

Note: plastic sheeting with cut-out for MMU ceramic was done because the chip has resistors on top, if there was no insulation it would present an opportunity for the copper pad to short the resistors,If laptop grabbed from bottom or picked up in an unusual manner. This would either blow the MMU chip, or cause improper memory addressing, depending on what section is shorted. MMU heat is transferred across bridge to larger mass of the main heat-sink. Engineering students may need to know thermal dynamics well to understand how heat travels.

Note: High Temperature hot glue was used on corners to hold copper pad to chip after thermal compound was applied to copper pad. The glue is easily removable when cooled, without pulling parts from motherboard.

Note: The 2cm rubber blocks were used to press the copper pad down when reassembled into case.
Shift-click (Shift-Tick) to see larger images without being redirected.

Do Not Copy this method since it is a temporary repair!~

DV6000 Powers On/Powers Off [Intel]

2011-02-04T10:06:00.000-05:00

DV6500/DV600 SE series

Unit arrived with a common issue among INTEL Dual Core units. Powers on then shuts off immediately. Though there can be several causes of this symptom, usually the case is 'cheap'/bargain ceramic capacitors. When shorted they can also short the AO4914 chip shown in the center of the Zoom-Out picture. In this case the cap marked with the red X is shorted. When removing it split in two horizontally. The two caps on the on the other side has also been known to short previously. This can also lead to NO Charge, or never reaching 100% charge, or Working on AC but not on battery. So on the Intel models I check all the ceramic caps in the Power In section first. (well at least after a visual of USB ports and other obvious problems- power plug/charger etc...)

Steps Taken:

Check Ceramic caps in power in section
Locate shorted parts (also checking AO4914 Dual Channel MOSFET)
Replace capacitor
Test
Reassemble
Test Again (also with battery in)
Start Windows (XP or Win7) check battery levels in Control Panel or BIOS
Allow battery to charge.

DV 2500/DV2000 SE Will not P.O.S.T./No Power

2011-02-04T09:54:00.000-05:00

Click to Enlarge

HP DV 2500 14.1"
Intel Dual Core - Dead

DV2500 model number and of the DV2000 Special Edition series that exhibits power problems. The indication of power problems were shown by the ring-light on the DC Jack. Since the LED uses the +5v line this points to a problem in the low power section of the unit. There were no other symptoms other than not powering on, or rapidly shutting down.

Sections also controlled by the +5v

Power ON Button
LED's and panels
DC Jack Power indicator (ring light)

After close examination, found that the USB port was shorted. This was a clear visual short. PIN 1 is +5v for the USB which is Vcc or 5v for powering device that is plugged into port. With a dead short the power controller (usually a MAXIM IC) will not allow the rest of the unit to turn on. Though making troubleshooting a little more challenging, it protects the motherboard from additional damage as well as other parts.

Steps taken:
Remove damaged USB port
Clean solder holes
Replace USB port
Test
Reassemble
Test Again.

For Advanced Techs

2011-01-30T12:24:00.001-05:00

Click to Read QRCode

After answering questions from average users it appears that things may need to change to better serve techs. Though previously stated, this is a help site for techs, I have been inundated with questions from users. Stay tuned.

Toshiba X305 - Powers On, Charge Light but Dead no Video

2011-01-16T13:12:00.004-05:00

(Pic 1) bare motherboard on bench

This comes from a cousin via UPS from Indianapolis and promised him I'd take a look at it. The Toshiba X305 is a nice looking machine but still has the flawed nVidia chip design. Disassembling the unit to be able to work on the motherboard without having to have all the connections was a challenge, but eventually I got the unit to work on the bench. Using the Power Jack and external video, it powered on with external video.

This tells me two things. One the GPU is OK but the video memory is defective or not addressing all the lines of the GPU properly.

Picture 2 with the stripes definitely tells me that it is the video memory! Now attempting to repair this issue is similar to the reflow heat process used on an earlier DV series video issue
(with video).

Picture 3 shows the second screen attempting to boot from network adapter but the characters are incorrect and pixelated.

Picture 4 shows the video daughterboard.

(Pic 2) Lines on external display

(Pic 3) Post screen attempting to boot to network
(no hardrive installed)

After attempting repair using the reflow process the video still has lines, varying from one pattern to another, but still lines are displayed. What's next?

The choices are:
Attempt to downgrade the video memory from
512mb to 256mb by removing the memory from the
bottom side of the daughterboard. If the defective ram is in the second bank of ram the problem would be solved. If not the card will have to be replaced. And cost becomes an issue since most of the cards on eBay are overpriced. Even noticed a
dead video card for this model selling for $149~!!!

(Pic 4) The culprit nVidia daughterboard

Replace the daughterboard to have a working laptop. So this week I will have to do some selecting from the various items available.

Note: Video shown on external monitor, but not on laptop LCD.

Updates to follow.

Update 1
Preparing to reball the video card since the card itself is hard to find, and expensive. A real time consuming test process because the laptop has to be partially assembled to test each repair/reball attempt.

Update 2
Reballing is not an option. Since the solder balls are smaller than equipment available.

DV7 Dead No Lights, will not charge

2011-01-16T12:32:00.001-05:00

DV 7 Power In Section

Getting back to postings. A DV7 was brought in that was totally dead and would not even light the LED on the side power connector.

These units are totally different than the previous DV2xxx, DV6xxx, DV9xxx series, and the power indicator on the side gets power from the board not the charger. So if the power in is good, it will not give you any indication, because it draws 5v from the laptop and not the DC jack circuit board.

When checking the system I used a meter and checked the red wire (Line In POS+) and it had the 19v and the yellow was 0v. Moving to the next chip in the circuit I tested the SI4835 mosfet and it was dead shorted in both directions. So I took it out of circuit and tested it on the bench with meter- same thing. The mosfet was shorted. When it should allow current in one direction only, it was allowing in both directions and the unit would never power on. Without having the exact number available, I went to the manufacturers site (Siliconix)and Vishay to check the specs on the chip. This allowed me to use what was available, and not having to go out or wait for a replacement to come in. In this case it was a AO4407 which I keep on hand. Replacing the chip the unit powered on, and charged the battery properly.

Reminder: The site/blog is to assist TECHNICIANS. I cannot help individuals without any technical training or schooled in electronics because most of the problems covered are not user servicable.

Gateway MD2641U - USB and Shutdown Problems

2010-10-26T08:46:00.000-04:00

Gateway USB ports not read -

This Gateway MD2614U would not recognize the USB ports or devices plugged into the unit. The problem was found to be manufacturer packaging mistake. Unit made by ACER in Taiwan has a large plastic cover on bottom of motherboard, but the surface mount resistors coils, and capacitors were not wave soldered well, so the bonds were not sticking to mobo, instead to the adhesive on the plastic. About 12-15 SMT parts were stuck to the plastic and had to be manually placed on the motherboard in their correct location for the USB ports to be read.

The original reason this unit arrived was black screen/no video. Similar to the problem with the DV series using nVidia GPU though this was an ATI Chipset, the Southbridge and GPU were reflowed to assure solderballs were connecting under the chip itself.

How did I find out this issue? Near the USB connectors the resistors were identified by their circuit designation, in this case it was the 300 series. (R353, C323, L341 etc) so checking under the plastic many of the parts were from this circuit. (see closeup as example)

The size of these parts are about 4 sugar crystals in a square pattern.

One part at a time was removed, folding the plastic toward board to see where it came from, then removed and one lead was soldered with needle point iron. After all the parts were placed on the motherboard, flux was added to the area and the other lead was soldered. After both sides of parts were soldered, the whole area was reflowed with low setting on heat gun. This was done to center parts on pads and to evenly flow the solder, and to help reflow any additional parts that may had only one pad connecting and not visible to magnification. Also it is the recommended
repair process to correct solder defects. (corrected solder
is shown in the lower picture)

Scotch tape was placed over the adhesive to keep additional parts from sticking again-notably the parts in the 200 & 300 series circuits. (The 200 series parts were used for the card reader to left)

To remove the parts from the adhesive, the tweezers were slightly heated to make it easier for the release from the sticky bottom. Be careful not to grip the parts too firm because they will fly from the tweezers and very difficult to find!

Good Luck!

Note: I've gotten another of the same model with different issues, this solution will be posted when opened.

More updates coming

2010-09-03T08:25:00.001-04:00

Having been busy has kept me from updating regularly. Now it's just a time management thing. So further updates will be forthcoming. This weekend is a long weekend in the U.S. hopefully I can post more repairs.

Compliments with an ad, is still SPAM

I would like to ask readers not to post Spam links unrelated. But if you have a post on how to fix something feel free to post. I don't think many readers do not want Generic Viagra, Retirement Home in Costa Rica or discount batteries in France. So don't be a Blog Troll posting advertising. That is annoying, and I'm sure you would not like me to make an issue of that. Because it will make me require membership, and confirmation emails before you can post. That effectively reduces communication and answers that many people are looking for.

Acer 5516 - Dead, No Power, No Lights

2010-07-26T20:58:00.001-04:00

Finally a breather before the storm came. (Load of work)

This jack was damaged by drop and or push. The lead broke/shattered as if it was hit while running. Copper can shatter too, you know.

This should be clear enough LarryS.

Acer 5515 Works off Battery, Charges, but will not run off AC

2010-07-24T17:53:00.013-04:00

This unit arrived working from a charged battery, but will not power on from AC.
My first thought was bad leg on the DC Jack, Easy job! Finally

Upon opening the case and removing the keyboard I saw the beginning of the failure. Burnt MOSFET under the keyboard directly behind the battery connector.

So took the rest of the panels off to see how bad it was. Out of a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most difficult I rate this as a 7.5 because it was more annoying than difficult. The copper under the MOSFET was actually welded to the legs of the FET, heating solder would not break the weld.

Click to see larger image

The visual shows almost the worse case scenario for a shorted MOSFET. Burnt and totally unreadable numbers. Seeing the circuit I surmised that it was an identical pair of chips but I had to verify against another motherboard to be sure. Also there was a scorch mark under the keyboard, but it didn't affect the keyboard or any keys.

Removing part and making a copper bridge for the legs of the replacement MOSFET was a little challenge getting it right and isolating it
from the center plane of the motherboard if copper was exposed. In this case a small piece of mylar tape will be placed under the copper retrofit.

Sizing and fitting the copper 'jig'. This was made from thin copper foil and cut with exacto knife and placement test made to see if the Gate lines were shorting or any other pads before making it permanent and not being able to remove it.

Replacing the MOSFETs and soldering broken traces. In this case the GATE line was blown away on both FETs so I got 2 small segments of wire and made the necessary bridges to the GATEs.

Soldering the Gate line and cleaning up. Now if you wanted to be fancy you can cover the solder and copper with some green fingernail polish, or clear polish and use a green marker over the polish after it dries. Then the repair will appear less noticeable.

Notice the line at marking PR152 which was not so clear as being broken because it goes under the chip.

After doing all this I tested with the battery in place and with AC before closing up the laptop. No worse feeling than to have to redo after assembling things thinking you are done. ARRRGH It happened to me and so I started testing before closing.

As always you can click an image to see a larger version of it, and use the BACK button/Arrow to return to the page. Conversely- Shift and Click works best and automatically loads image in new browser.

Compaq 6735b - Dead No Lights

2010-07-15T00:23:00.008-04:00

This was a strange cookie.
This unit showed no sign of life and was a weird design for power in button.

I have to admit this was a 'lucky' repair. While diagnosing where was the DC power, I discovered that a power MOSFET was open, No Power anywhere, no lights, no charge and stone cold dead.

On the bottom of the board it was a mosfet FDS6676 that was open. When I replaced it with a substitute I was able to follow the DC circuit, but it dropped off at the power button. So testing that area I noticed that when I put the meter positive on point on the board the light behind the pwr button would flash briefly.

Recalling a similar experience where I had to modify another CPQ 6735 when they first came out/released. I thought I would try my luck again.

1: With the meter set to VOLTAGE and holding the meter's positive lead on this point, the unit would come on. My first guess was 47k Ohm. This worked but the laptop would not turn off, or would come on when it wanted to.
2: I would need another meter to see the resistance the meter itself presented. This turned out to be near 100k Ohm. Getting another 100k Ohm chip resistor from a dead unit, then making the leads, and adding clear heatshrink to insulate it from shorting.
3: Always test thoroughly when out of case. This way you won't have to redo, or find out something else don't work.

First picture show resistor with background for clarity. The leads were added because there was no 'safe place' to tack to board. The white connector in picture is for the power button ribbon connector.

Click pictures for larger view

This shows placement where the part will lay. Heat shrink will be slid over resistor and hot glued down.

Hot glue holds part and wires to board. Makes it easy to remove additional work is needed later. This area is covered with a L-shaped piece of black plastic insulation sheet
Final and ready to test again and then close.

Personal Note:
I always wondered why my high school Math/Algebra/Calculus teachers said 'Show Your Work'. I was one of those students that seen solutions in my head, and couldn't always say, tell why or how I got I got the answers. They were just visible in the front of my mind. Besides how can you explain something when you don't know the terms/rules and conditions of an equation, before you are taught 'the normal way'?

I quit that calculus class because I couldn't show the work, I didn't flunk I just quit it and picked another advanced science. Their loss not mine.

DV6000/DV9000 Lines in LCD and External monitor -unreadable

2010-07-11T10:13:00.002-04:00

A fairly common problem with this series is lines in the LCD and external monitor. Sometimes it will exhibit scrambled characters on the screen. Similar issue. This is because the video memory has fail or lost connection and the addresses cannot be read properly by the system. The rest of the system may work but video is not proper and screen unreadable.

Lines and streaks on POST screen

Should show BIOS info and CPU info

This shows the step by step on how to correct this problem. There are other videos on YouTube dealing with the 'no-video' issue. Some are dangerous, others are goofy. I will be getting back to that production. Not wanting to knock anyone for trying, but be careful, some of these guys are not techs or engineers and have no clue of consequences.

Laptop Rebooting- DV6000, F700

2010-07-08T21:59:00.000-04:00

While working on a DV6000 today I decided I should also address other problems with these models while working on the DVD production.

As it seems this problem is also quite common, Rebooting, looping, restarting. Never getting to the Windows startup screen.

OK there are several causes of this scenario with the ribbon cable being shorted or defective. The ends of the ribbon cable can lift away from the surface when inserted and shorting the lead from the adjacent wire. Some times it will short and cause the wire to burn. Other times it will cause the REBOOT/LOOP issue.

Also verify that the Coin Sized CMOS battery has 2.5v- 3v, if not or voltage is low, all kinds of problems may present themselves. Correct operating voltage is needed to read the CMOS data, or the data may be corrupt or deleted.

How to test/bypass these?
1: Disconnect the PWR connector cable, and turn the system on with the remote control (if you have one). Make sure the battery is good in the remote.*
2: Substitute with another cable.

Other issues presenting same problem
CMOS is bad** - If the CMOS is bad it cannot be read or written to- and the system continues to try to write/read data from it.

The Dual Channel MOSFET - one output is shorted or open. (or both)
When the MOSFET has about 3.25v on pins 1 & 3 it should be considered working. There should also be the same voltage on the Drain side (pins 5-8). This will take the voltage up to the legs on the PWR button and when the button is pressed this voltage drops to ZERO and the unit turns on. The original part was a AO4812 and sometime has been replaced with a ME4920.

*How can I test the IR remote?
Since most people have a digital camera nowadays the cheapest and easiest way is to press the power button on the remote and look at the camera's LCD display. You should see the remote blinking.

**How can I test the CMOS to see if it is working correctly
Disconnect AC adapter!
With the ribbon cable connected to the power button, hold the button for 15 seconds to clear the CMOS. Now hold the PWR button down, and at the same time insert the adapter into the DC JACK. The lights should come on for about 5 sec. then go off. Release the PWR Button. Now attempt to power on normally. Sometimes this works when the CMOS settings are bad.

Watch the orientation of PIN 1.
On DV6000 the leads are up
On the DV9000 the leads are down
On the F700 the leads are down.
If your memory/recall is bad- take a picture before starting.

Note: The black KOTEL ribbon cables are flimsy and the strain-relief/support is too close to the leads to help matters. Remove and insert less often as possible. If they break you'll wind up looking all over for a substitute. Though similar pitch and length cable can be found on GATEWAY MA3/7 touchpad. (Techs at shops should have a few of them around)

Also the Gateway MA3 has two of the AO4812 chips on the back side near the 28 pin power output IC. Incase you were needing one.

Format Change and Redirection??

2010-06-29T21:04:00.001-04:00

Considering going to FORUM Format, this way dialog and content can be better grouped and followed. This will stay up and be mostly for posts, but the forum will be best served for post and pictures that need to be answered. The Blog only allows pictures at the beginning, and questions afterwards cannot post pictures. Keep in mind this is intended for Technicians, and experienced individuals. There is no way that I can train via the internet on how to do something. (At least not in the current format)

Since I see that there are lot of others that have been left behind, and some schools are not finishing the job. I will try to outline and classify better on the new Domain. You will have to subscribe so that I can at least keep track of my mail, questions and answers.

One thing I do ask, is Try to STAY on blog, direct questions to my email address misses hundreds of others that may want to ask the same thing, or are asking the same thing. With so much time answering and 'teaching what a diode looks like' it consumes time that could be used for posting solutions.

Thanks
Don't forget to subscribe to this blog to be updated on the new site by email. If not you would have to manually comeback and find the link.

Writers Block? Nahhh

2010-06-25T10:31:00.000-04:00

Due to activity and being summer I had held off posting some items that had come across my desk. So shortly expect a flurry of activity.

A recent email asked several questions that I think I can answer before hitting the grind again.

Do I do my own reballing?
No, the method I use corrects the solder balls.

The biggest defect of BGA and RoHS solder is tempetature and contraction of metal. Down on the atomic level, the valance bonds of the multiple elements used (in solder) break and you get a weak composition. Excessive heat causes metal to retract to themselves. So instead of getting a bond, you get contact. Example: In the DV series, the breakdown is as follows. After a period of time and use, the vents on the heatsink will become blocked. This is from typical use and the placement of the Air In slots on bottom. They draw in fibers from pants, shirts, sheets, bedding, pet and human dander and carpet. Often larger than the vents exit. As more and more collects the vents become blocked. So the fan runs longer (also collecting more lint faster). this in turn causes the CPU Heatsink compound to breakdown and dry out making it brittle and hard, and unable to do it's job. When the CPU overheats- it shuts off. May loop and repeat. All during this time, the GPU is overheating too, and the solderballs are expanding and contracting. If there was a poor contact that was simply smashed down to make an electrical connection (and held down by heatsink screws). A 3-12 micron gap can occur on a non-whetted pad. Note: human hair is about 40microns.

Where do I get my schematics and chip info:
Additional costs and searching for schematics is a waste of time for me. I guess you can say I am 'old school'. Schematics can help, but between the Chinese manufacturers and the US branded companies. They try to lock up the information and it is not readily available in most cases. (I will point out sometime that many designs are meant for failure and not intended to be repaired) This I have proof. So you wind up spending 2 hours looking for a schematic. And then the manufacturer change suppliers, the suppliers change part numbers.
Example: in the DV6K/9K the mosfet switch for the charge/power went from AO4407 [Alpha and Omega] which was a hard company to locate, then switched to an AO4430, then to ME49xx or something of that nature. All this before many US part stores got the first version.

So what I do is read the specs for the individual part and get an Fairchild substitute list. Like the FDS6679 [Fairchild]is substituted for the AO4413. My favorite suppliers are Digikey, and Newark Electronics. As well as direct from the manufacturer such as MAX8734 [Maxim]

Liquid Spills
Are typically done in a 3 chemical bath. The first bath (after removing CPU and many of the stickers as possible) is done with boiling hot water [pure bottled] No Dasani or any water with minerals. Believe it or not Aquafina works for me- This loosens and cleans most sugar based spills such as Wine, Cola, Tea and Milk. And let it soak until the water cools. Then depending on how great the spill, I will soak it in isopropyl alcohol completely covering the board. Then rinse again with boiling water, and alcohol again. Then allow to sun dry- we have plenty of sun here in Carolina. Less sunny climates can put in Oven at 225F for about 20 min. [NOTICE that is Fahrenheit not Celsius] No higher! It is a motherboard, not a frozen pizza. Alcohol in Ultrasonic tanks works, but everyone does not have access to them, or the money. And they still should be rinsed with pure water. You can use compress air and blow much of the water out and speed up the drying time.

How do I monitor temps:
After a number of years you tend to learn tempetures by the chemicals used. like water boils at 212F. Smoke and oxidation points of fluxes are somewhat ingrained in me from memory and 20+ years using them, when it smokes, it has reached the oxidation point. You can use/get an IR temp probe if needed.

How to measure voltages, supplied to motherboards.
You test at the DC IN and to the largest NEG mass. Not to a heatsink frame or anything connected to the motherboard. The NEG may be isolated.

How Do I Replace LCD backlight tube.
I've stopped doing that now, the prices have fallen on most of the common screens 14.1 and the 15.4 so there are plenty around at low enough price rather than waste an hour replacing, when I could do two DC jacks. And most of the new 15.6" use LED so that problem is no longer.

Managing Screws.
This used to be a headache. Knowing and remembering which screw came from where. With the greater number being on the bottom cover. So what I have done, is to use Scotch brand invisible tape over the holes. Same for most of the other locations that can keep the screws in place. Beats having to guess which one is 2.5 and 3.0 then using the wrong length and causing a bubble on the wristpad or other visible place. OR even puncturing the plastic. Another thing while on the subject.

You should not be using a cordless drill as a screwdriver. It over torques the screws, damage the brass retainers in plastic columns, or breaks the screw holder. You can get cordless screwdrivers for less than $10. Which will prevent further damage later. And have a set of mini-drivers (magnetic if possible).

Testing Caps
Sure caps can and should be tested, especially the brown ceramic caps. Most of the electrolytic caps give you a visible hint if bad. But do test them too. You can use a Tweezer RLC meter for most of the tight places. Measures resistance, uHenry, and uFarad values. They run about 20-40 on eBay and the autoswitching are faster and better. So don't be too cheap and spend more time switching settings.

Do I read any other sources/blogs
No, that was my biggest headache and reason I started on this project, nobody that has experience and deep details on their findings are reporting much. The techs are simply not journaling/chronicling their findings.

Trying to find a specific answer in a Forum is a nightmare. You ask a simple question and you get 25 people that want to tell you about their puppy, mother's flower garden and you never a direct answer. Then others tend to throw in questions totally unrelated. You're asking about HP and they say they have the same problem in a Gateway. The moderators are not moderating, and thus the whole technical field has become as 'Babelized' as the Chinese parts industry.

Do I use diagnostic software
If is a particular dog I will use Belarc. But most of the time I only deal with electrical/electronic issues. When it is working right Windows will tell you if there are problems.
No USB but all the drivers are loaded and a Keydrive will not light up or access- I check the ports (visable inspection), USB controller chip or the data driver chip.
No audio - check the plug, and the audio controller chips.
etc...

Hope that's enough for now, will unload camera soon, so you can see some of the dogs! that I had to work on.

Open Comment and testimonial page

2010-05-22T12:43:00.002-04:00

If you like to leave a general comment- Please post here

IBM Thinkpads No video, No P.O.S.T. Models T40, T41, T42

2010-05-21T21:06:00.004-04:00

Advanced Notice: I will be detailing the method on how to fix Thinkpads - No video No POST issue.

This is a quite common problem with the T-Series.

1: The system lights up but nothing shows up on the LCD
2: Nothing shows up on an external monitor
3: Hard Drive does not initialize.

What makes my method so much better?
You do not have to totally disassemble the whole laptop (a major time killer). Only need to remove keyboard, and wrist rest.
You will not misplace screws and use the wrong screw holes!
Following directions it will work the first time!

So if you don't have the readily available items here is a brief list to get them ahead of time.
Heat gun, similar to those used to heat shrink insulation on wires.
At least 500 watts I got mine at Harbor Freight and used on LOW
Radio Shack Paste Flux $6.99 (mentioned in another section of this blog)
Two pieces of thick aluminum foil 4" x 4" (10cmx10cm).
This it to make a heat mask so the plastics are not melted because it is not totally disassembled.
Small bottle of Acetone, not alcohol, not MEK, not gasoline!
Small Nylon toothbrush (with nylon bristles) - It has to be nylon, acetone will melt plastic.
Paper Towel for cleaning

Step by Step with video (I hope) since I use 2 computers for blogging and my virtual life, I will have to juggle things or get the KVM switch out the bottom of a box. Since the video conversion and animation stuff is on the 'slow' machine. And the Video Input Card requires XP and will not run on Vista/Win7. (yeah I know, but XP was a workhorse for 10 years, and not ready to buy more hardware for another OS)

Delayed :-(
( only a couple of days)
It's been a busy week. Burned out my own heat gun. Will have to get another, but the info will be posted. Have camera set up, everything prepped and turn on the heatgun~ no heat, no hot wind! Arrrgh

Mar 24, 2011 - Update and clariflcation

The above article was later covered by overlapping posts on the DV Series.
As far

as the average person being able to do it, that is not likely. The tools
needed and experience exceeds the value of the machine itself (unless you
have serious data that you need to use or removed to another system).
The onset of the IBM NO POST/NO BOOT/NO Video is from dried
heatsink compound (age). Clogged exit vents on the fan, then finally
solderballs heating and shrinking until there is a separation from the
motherboard contact. Virtually all the connections are needed so you
get a failure of data and signal lines with no voltage or current to allow

the POST process to complete. With no information from CPU to GPU
the video will not initialize.
This blog post was not finished because it was addressed in general form
by the more popular DV series. See May 16th, 2010 which the exact same
cause though in a different machine. Some times when I try to provide
information on my solutions, some people will attempt to do this themselves
and mess up there machine even more. Taking shortcuts on what I do is not
an option and I've had to have a number of failures before discovering not to take
short cuts.

Example: if the complete motherboard on the T40/41/42 series is not
removed the plastic channels that route the WiFi wires, CMOS battery holder
are melted. Then the top panel cannot close properly, or the keyboard does
not sit correctly in it's place. The method that can be used is the same as fixing DV9000 video memory. And I strongly caution to follow instructions if done by non-technicians.

Though with the IBM GPU having a larger surface mass and different material it will use a little more time with the heatgun. An additional caveat is the GPU can slide or shift if it does not have the hotglue spots that anchor the GPU to the motherboard. You must use flux, this removes contaminates, cleans copper pads and allows heat to flow properly around the solderballs which you cannot see. Overheating will kill the laptop

---The Laptop Doctor

What is causing the DV Series to fail prematurely?

2010-05-16T13:23:00.002-04:00

I have seen dozens of 'solutions' and fixes for the DV series and none really address the root causes. Others damage or ruin motherboard. Below are some of the weirdest solutions I have seen:

1: Placing a penny between GPU and Heatsink.
2: Using a copper shim (only slightly larger in area than penny)
3: Excessive thermal compound
4: Wrong type of compound.
5: Placing a tea candle (in aluminum holder) on GPU
6: Putting Motherboard in oven
7: Pressing down on GPU real hard
8: Reflowing without flux?!

Outline what each does and why it still fails later.

1: This will increase the pressure on the GPU when held down with 5 screws, a temporary solution, but does not remedy. Provides no greater heat dispersal and only transfers heat through penny. Metal fatique may damage the 5th retainer screw and not support the GPU.
2: Copper shim does the same as above.
3: Spreads heat over a larger area but does little to cool.
4: Does nothing
5: Can accidently cause more damage, and is only a temporary solution, because the holder never reaches the tempetature that RoHS solder melts.
6: Could ruin board, plastics, labels and fan/USB and other connectors. Dangerous & Risky
7: A temporary solution that fails later because the two surfaces only contact, not bond.
8: Sometimes work, but solder may be tacky under GPU and no way to tell. Not recommended.

Typically it starts like this.

After about a year of average daily use (and shortly after warranty expires) the vents on the heatsink would begin to clog. This lint builds up over time. If you have new carpet, rugs, lots of activity, kids, pets, dust and smoke, the time may be shortened.

The operating temp starts to rise over time because of the lack of ventilation. Chips run hotter, fan stays on longer drawing even more lint. Eventually the solderballs lose contact with pad under GPU. Any oxidation prior to the manufacturing process only attributes to loss of contact.

This can also happen with the Southbridge chip if it too had oxidation, causing various problems such as no WIFI, keyboard, touchpad and USB not working.

The Solution:

1: Reball the GPU (if possible) if not continue...

2: Reflow the GPU with proper tools, flux, and temps

3: Verify silicone pad under GPU heatsink

4: Replace aluminum pad under CPU heatsink with copper and apply thermal compound.

5: Disassemble Heatsink and clean

What doesn't work.

Holding down the power button while battery and AC removed. Clearing CMOS. This only re loads the factory CMOS info from ROM

Water based flux. Usually clear and sold on ebay to fix X-boxes
The liquid solution is too thin and heat used evaporates the liquid needed before the de-oxidation process begins. This is used in manufacturing for thin component motherboard during the wave solder operation. Works in manufacturing for thinner boards, but not for this process. Plus sometime conductive and may create short under GPU or chips if all is not dried.

High viscosity flux. Muratic Acid based. Sometimes listed as Liquid Rosin Flux but too thin and does not stick to pad during de-oxidation process

Blowing lint back into laptop with can of air. The lint needs to be removed not blown back into the machine, it only collects back into the
fan/vents.

What Does Work.

Reflow GPU for video issues
Clean Heatsink Fan - Always when the system is opened.
Rosin Flux petroleum based sold in paste form. Usually in a semi-gel state, but liquifies when it gets warm. Sticks to pads and when heated, and slight smoke indicates de-oxidation is happening. When the flux smokes it is also cleaning the contact pads making a larger area for whetting. I have done this and it works! It is non-conductive and will not create shorts under chips.

How did I test?
I took an old motherboard where exposed
copper was oxidized and discolored, then
applied rosin flux paste. Heated the area to
tempetature that solder melts and when it
started to smoke, removed heat and allowed
to cool. After cleaning the area with acetone
the pad was bright like new.

ASK your tech "What are his qualifications?"
A+ Tech is only certified to replace peripherals and reload Windows, drivers, no soldering is taught.

Computer Techs - 2 year degree in computers, but no electronics training.

Geeks - only have experience, no formal training. Formal training is needed to be able to ask questions when you have them. Otherwise you guess at your own questions. Similar to hackers but no hands on hardware.

Hackers- The true hacker, (not malicious programmer). They build things and have experience soldering, only some of them have formal training.

Electronic Techs - 2 year degree and some soldering.

DV9000 Overheating

2010-05-16T11:59:00.005-04:00

A DV9208 arrived with overheating problems. Luckily it was caught before it started generating additional issues with the GPU.

Symptoms:
Unit would overheat, cause shutdown/off without notice.
WIFI would turn off
Cause:
Heat sink vents 75% blocked, so insufficient cooling was the culprit.
Repair:
Disassemble unit, disassemble heat sink, clear vents.
Problem #2 was a little more different. Because the Southbridge
would also overheat, causing loss of contact on solderballs.

Solution:
Clearing the lint from heatsink will remedy issue with overheating/shutdown. Since no drive arrived with unit a substitute drive was used to run system for several hours, then turned off, and test again. I do this about 4 tests so that nothing happens when it gets back to the customer.

Aluminum heat transfer pad for CPU

replaced with copper pad. The pad
from HP is only ok, but many times the CPU gets so hot that the Aluminum breaks down and sticks to the CPU. Not providing a good thermal transfer.

Reflow process is done to both GPU and SouthBridge. 60 day Warranty offered

Back from vacation

2010-05-12T12:43:00.003-04:00

Since I was out and about, all the time reading news, features and other tidbits from technologists, I decided I would make some observations.

Hype vs USE
iPad and the real world. Sad to say this unit does not live up to the hype. It is small lightweight and does view the web, but the bad points exceed the good for PC users to jump on the bandwagon GUNG-Ho.

1: The lack of USB on the unit requires additional costs.

2: Using 3G is out of the question unless you pay more. If you have a 4G service such as Clear.Net you cannot even use it. Why? Because it is an x86 install and USB dongle.

3: The entertainment use is out of the question. ~~It cannot view YouTube Videos (which uses Flash Video format -FLV) You cannot use NetFlix (which uses MS Silverlight), and No HULU (again FLV).~~ So that means you cannot do much. ~~Not even view ABC/NBC/CNN/CBS News sources~~. Such as the tornado pictures from Oklahoma. Corrections: It seems that some sites are changing their whole direction and having to do HTML5 and MPEG video. I wonder how much additional cost and time is used to accommodate iPad users? ABC - how much was it? but then again you have the money, little sites that may be important don't.

4: Cannot view any of the ads that corporations paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce and pay to stream.

5: Adding pictures to FACEBOOK/MySpace/etc - requires add-in of some sort to attach camera, since it don't have a camera on it.

6: Responding to an email that has to be detailed and outlined is nearly impossible with the on-screen keyboard. (again, cannot connect a full sized USB keyboard, or portable rollup keyboard) Let's see the comments in about 4 months on the ipads. Also that the rest of the world that does not use the Hindu-Arabic alphabet is just about left out. Malaysia, India, Thailand I still am wondering about their comments.

7: Synopsis: this is a 'dumbed down' Apple product for the minority of users. Sure a million people bought the hype, but check some of the sources. There are quite a few already being 'resold' as used. Craigslist, eBay and Amazon from dissatisfied customers. There are 300 million plus computer users in the WEST, 1 million iPads sold is .333%

It is a 1998 WebPad, that's it. Not of much use to the tech savy users of the 21st Century. Sure I will get flamed from AppleFans but the truth is the truth! Would you buy a new car that wouldn't run unless you had to bring your own engine, or battery? NO

These were the same people that bought crap such as WEBTV (just before digital conversion), and the email pads with B&W LCD displays. I've used phones that can do more than the iPad. They just didn't have a 7 or 10" screen.

Forgot to add 1 more cavaet- All while you are connecting to the net, you are locked into AT&T. The fastest 3G network when 4G blows it out the water. Like advertising the fastest rotary dial phone when the rest of the phones are 10key. It is not a selling point. The ads are bragging about covering 90 something percent of the users, but America is a mobile country. We are not always at home, when you get on the road you'd be struggling to get a signal in Ogalala, Nebraska or Central Utah where your company or personal business sends you. there is a lot of open space in the US and you just may need to pass through it sometime.

Stay Tuned

Important parts on DV6000 and DV9000 series

2010-04-03T20:30:00.006-04:00

These are important parts if you are looking for shorts or opens on the DV series.

This image shows the location of the FDS6679. A common cause of shorts in the DV series.

When the power supply is plugged into the laptop and it shorts out/turns off it's usually caused by this MOSFET being shorted. Plainly stated. You plug the adapter into the DC Jack and the Blue Ring fails to light up, and the Power Supply shuts off. Giving no power to the tip. To reset adapter, unplug from AC (mains) and wait 15-30 sec. Then plug in again. The adapter is not damaged, since this is how it is protected.

These parts do not determine charge time or per centage.
The FDS6679 only closes to complete Positive circuit. The AO4407 only closes when the battery is plugged in. As a test- Check the voltage of the Drain side (pins 5-8) with AC adapter and no battery - you should see 0 volts. When you contect the battery you should have 10-14v depending on DV6000 or DV9000 series.

IF the AO4407 is open - The battery will not charge
IF the AO4407 is shorted - The unit will not come on

If the FDS6679 is open - the unit will not come on
If the FDS6679 is shorted - the AC Adapter will shut off/ No Ring light on laptop.

AO4407 when open, will not allow current/voltage to the battery charge section, so it will run off AC but not off the battery. This is the same for both DV6000, DV9000 and F700 series.

Chip: Alpha and Omega 4407 - http://www.aosmd.com/

FDS6679 - when shorted, unit will allow you to plug in AC adapter without shorting the adapter. The ring on the Power In shuts off, the Adapter shorts and will have to be unplugged (from laptop) before plugging it back into the wall power(mains). http://www.fairchildsemi.com/
or http://www.newark.com/

My Review of 2 oz. Non-Spill Rosin Soldering Paste Flux

2010-02-19T09:09:00.001-05:00

Originally submitted at RadioShack

This electronic-quality rosin soldering flux is mixed with petroleum jelly and ideal for electrical and electronic soldering applications.

Actually the best available

By TheLaptopDoctor from Charlotte, NC on 2/19/2010

Pros: Good heat control, High quality, Deoxidizing

Cons: No liquid version

Best Uses: Large Projects, Minor Projects

Describe Yourself: Professional

It does the job exceptionally well.

As a NASA/MILSPEC/AF soldering pro this is currently the best product available retail. Though wishing they had a liquid version available with needle dropper. I heat mine before using a dropper to have it in a liquid state for better flow control.

When it has to be exact

Tags: results using product

(legalese)

HP DV1000 - Dim LCD

2010-02-05T20:30:00.011-05:00

This was a challenging dog of a repair, but after too many hours I had to give it up. Items checked, replaced or repaired. LCD cable - replaced LCD connector - replace and repaired Invertor - checked backlight - checked LCD - checked Lid Switch - checked The LCD was first checked with a known complete lid from another DV1000, the unit still showed same result. So backing up

checked the LCD connector first.
noticed connector had internal damage -replaced (same problem)
noticed motherboard pin 29 was also blown off motherboard - repaired (same problem)
lid switch check for open/close continuity - passed
backlight - passed

The conclusion is that that motherboard damage was greater than initially reported or known. Previous tech had made some minor mistakes, but nothing serious.

Toshiba A205- DC Jack pushed in

2010-02-05T19:59:00.005-05:00

This seems to be a common problem on the Toshiba Satelitte A2xx series since I recieved two in two days with the exact same issue. The DC jack is being pushed into the unit.

The DC jack fits into a sleeve that should support the jack from being pushed in too far. However the hole in the plastic of the lower chassis is much too large and the user without looking forces the power plug. Breaking the sleeve that holds the jack itself.

Poor design by Toshiba on the lower frame.
Poor and weak plastic on DC Jack.
Insufficient plastic support.
Excessively large hole causing the user to break the supports.

Solution:
The jack can be hot glued onto the lower base of the jack and the left & right edges (not the back). Solves the problem most economically for the customer.

Dell XPS 14.1 Laptop (unk model number)

2010-02-05T19:49:00.005-05:00

Unit arrived with dead battery.
Would not power on
No lights.

Not much information provided other than DC Jack issue.

This was not the case, the DC Jack was fine, the unit was simply not getting any power.

Disassembling and starting to trace the DC in section, the burnt section was immediately noticed. This coil (bad solder/blown pad) was a common problem on the E1505, E17xx series. So checking the coil power shows no voltage reaching the source side (pins 1-3) of the MOSFET.

The Coils bottom surface that contacts the pad was blown off so it was an incomplete circuit > Replace
Check Mosfet (out of circuit) - DEAD Short. >Replace

Dell Latitude B1300

2010-02-05T19:43:00.006-05:00

Synopsis: Would not power on, would not charge

Problem: DC Jack

Diagnosis: The unit would power on with charged battery and run until depleted. When plugging in AC Adapter the unit would not charge nor any lights come on. NO Positive DC Voltage

Solution: Check DC Jack and replace or resolder. In this case only the positive terminal was not contacting motherboard. Reflow/Resolder Jack.

Acer 3690 Touchpad Buttons

2010-02-05T19:31:00.003-05:00

Synopsis: Client arrived stated that he was leaving for Australia the next day and wanting to leave his grandmother the laptop after it was repaired.

Problem: The unit functioned properly except for the right click button.

Diagnosis: After testing I noticed that the button had no détente click that indicates it was not being pushed in when the touchpad click was made. Disassembling the unit shows that the stub which presses the button had broken off. rather than replacing the whole top assembly and touchpad, the buttons were replaced from spares.

Original buttons were black, replacement button silver from Acer 5100 series.

Dell Vostro 1000 - Spill

2010-02-03T19:21:00.000-05:00

Spill kills DELL Vostro 1000

unrepairable, too many damaged parts to repair economically.

Dell Inspiron 1501 - Dead, No Power, Won't Charge

2010-01-23T09:47:00.003-05:00

This is a common problem with the Dell Inspiron 1501/E1705/6000 series. Most of the motherboards use the same general layout and design. You can tell by the white and silver cases used. From my guess, the solder on the leads of FL1 [filter] tend to lose contact after regular use. Perhaps eating away at the Filters pad, due to the current it is carrying.

Sometimes it may be years before it finally lose contact, other times only months pass. In this instance the laptop was a couple of years old before it failed.

How to fix it:
Remove FL1
Clean contact area
Replace FL1
Solder back onto clean surfaces.

Click picture to see larger image

HP NX6220 -Intermittent power problem

2010-01-23T09:40:00.003-05:00

This HP NX6220 exhibited a number of symptoms but would never show the same one twice in succession. So it was a challenge finding the weak/bad part. As it turns out it was a capacitor under the Wi-Fi card. [Same value as cap to the right]

Replace part and continue checking and checking and turn on. Dead, nothing, no lights, no charge no anything. the choice becomes - Replace or Return to customer since the number of hours are starting to add up with no additional progress.

Gateway MA7/MA3/MA2 - Dead, Won't Charge

2010-01-23T09:22:00.006-05:00

Gateway MA7 - MX6958*
Centrino Duo

Dead, Battery will not charge
Works with good battery,
Will not work with Adapter

This unit arrived with a common problem that DC jacks presents. However when you continue to use with the defect, it eats the copper around the POS terminal of the jack. In this case the copper had been eaten away, as well as shorting between planes of the motherboards phenolic. So there is only one way to resolve it, by bypassing that section (if possible). The condition of this MA7 was too far gone to be able to bypass.

One picture shows the scorching under the copper, the other shows the current path of the DC In.
Will verify the model number when returning to shop

Acer Aspire 3680 (Dead)

2010-01-16T10:34:00.011-05:00

ACER Aspire 3680-xxxx

This unit comes in Wednesday with symptoms: DEAD
Will Not Charge
Will Not Work With Good Battery

Diagnosis begins by following the DC IN from the DC Jack. The voltage would drop to 3v and not enough to power laptop or close any gates on the MOSFETs.

Taking the MOSFET [FDS6675] source side out of circuit shows the direction of the shorted components. Since the power branches to the charge section or the run section with the other MOSFET shown below it. Checking to voltage at the source shows +19v. When in soldered on the board, the MOSFET DRAIN voltage is +3v. After replacing the FDS6675 the DRAIN side is still shorted.

Further testing indicates larger capacitor shown (in circle picture 1) is also shorted, removing it from circuit voltage on Drain side is now +19v. But the laptop would not turn on.

Still further testing and following the circuit path leads to the top side (facing technician when opened) to a series of three capacitors. Removing one side of this bank and testing each capacitor finds the shorted capacitor. As it turn out it was the topmost cap (marked with X in image), and when removed it was horizontally spit into 2 pieces.

Replace Capacitor.
Unit lights up!
Sorry for the picture orientation, but it appears blogger puts them in reverse sequence

You can read up on how MOSFET works in WIKIPEDIA
But in simpler terms -
There are 3 basic parts of a MOSFET. Source, Gate and Drain.

It acts as a doorway. When power is supplied to the GATE current or voltage crosses to the other side. In most laptops, common MOSFETs are 8 pins.
Pins 1,2,3 are SOURCE (power or current in)
Pin 4 is the gate
Pins 5,6,7,8 is the DRAIN (power or current out)

There are more complex MOSFETs such as Dual Channel with 2 gates, 2 sources, or 2 drain it is large matrix of numbers and combinations. P-Channel, N-Channel and others. Knowing what is what requires a good memory, manual or cross reference index.

Dell Latitude D600

2010-01-16T10:29:00.004-05:00

A relative common problem with Dell D600 is the right hinge failing, and the laptop screen will not stay in place. The inner bushing of the lid hinge becomes worn, or siezes and when the user forces the lid up to view the screen the bushing breaks. This is a simply a replace hinge repair.

Remove LCD Bezel
Remove screws holding right side of LCD
Remove screws on edge of LCD (4)
Remove 1 screw from top of LCD
Replace hinge

What Kills HP DV series laptops?

2010-01-10T09:43:00.008-05:00

The number one issue with DV Series is:
Blank or No Video displayed.

The number two issue is: (tied)
No Wi-fi or Continuous rebooting

After repairing a number of HP DV Series laptops. I wanted to isolate the problem and make it easier for me to fix, and have them stay fixed! So digging deep into them I can only come to a couple of conclusions of why they fail.

1: Manufacturing - Hann-Starr
Either the oxidation on motherboard or the Graphics Chips. Since the failure comes in both versions AMD and Intel lines. And in Intel and nVidia GPU's it seems it could be at the factory.

2: Distribution - nVidia
Could the transit time and shipping packaging be contributing to the oxidation on the GPU? On one unit after a number of reflow failures, I decided to remove the GPU and prepare to 'reball' the chip. Then and only then did I notice there was no solder on some pads. So that points the finger to nVidia. Oxidation is the culprit since the solder balls are put on a the the GPU plant.

3: Bad Solder
I have heard claims from HP techs that nVidia got a bad batch of solder. But I don't believe that because the problem exists on DV2000, DV6000, DV9000, V6000, F700, C500 lines. Too many fabrication points for the same solder issue. As well as the number of years that this problem has been known.

Can they be fixed reliably? Yes
But it would require a good knowledge of solder's metallurgic properties, heat and manufacturing processes. The training I received from my previous employers helped quite a bit. And now repair them from various shops in the area as well as California, Ohio, Illinois and whoever can find my address or contact me.

Will I post how to permanently fix them? Not just yet.
This information will be posted in a technical manual. And people that want to learn how to fix them will have the option of getting a complete kit. Because I don't want them to fail, then blame me for not following directions.

How much did the tools cost altogether?
The cost of all the tools and equipment to fix the DV series was about $100 max. And the would include custom items made.

Blanket tricks and gimmicks
They work (sometime) but the result is not permanent and usually used as a 'get it out' solution. These units sometime wind up on eBay, Craigslist and other venues as 'working' units. But fail in a couple of days or weeks. This does nothing for the corrosion/oxidation which is the ultimate issue.
Tricks seen posted: Wrap in blanket, placing a tea candle on GPU, put in oven and other silly methods that unskilled/untrained hobbyists use

What can happen when it is done wrong?
The board can be rendered useless, shorted and a total mess. requiring replacement or reballing which is a time consuming, expensive and painstaking process.

When overheated:
All the solder under the GPU will tend to collect forming a large blob under the chip. Shorting GPU.
Adjacent caps, resistors, coils will be dislodged.
Fan connector will be burnt.

When underheated:
Wastes time, and will not be repaired or work
Presents or create another problem that will be difficult to determine.

Number of units repaired since Jan 1, 2010
16

Total units repaired
40
(update 3/23/2010) Now averaging 7-10 a week

IBM Thinkpad R40 DC Jack

2010-01-10T09:32:00.003-05:00

No matter how many times I stress that when the jacks start to fail, you should take it to the shop. With each delay and use the problem only gets worse and more expensive. Wiggling the DC Jack to make the positive side supply power to the board eats copper! Every time there is less surface pad left, and eventually you will totally eat all the surrounding copper making a 25 min job into a 1 hr job (or worse - unrepairable).

This jack nearly killed the motherboard which would require a replacement (expensive).

Toshiba TECRA L2

2010-01-09T10:35:00.005-05:00

Toshiba Tecra L2
Symptoms: DEAD, No Lights, No Charge Light, No response to power button.

This model has had it's issues with the DC Jack. And because the jack breaks at the elbow bend directly behind the IN lead, many techs will miss this and assume further or more complex problem. Then replace the motherboard.

It's simple, follow the power from the IN source. After checking the power supply and there is no power on the motherboard follow the IN lead for voltage. Start at the DC Jack and work you way forward. IF no power is on the rear of the DC jack, suspect the jack first. Visual inspection is the key. Because this model uses plastic clips to keep the lead straight it will often be missed.

*This jack is also used on GATEWAY MA2, MA3, MA6, and MA7 series laptops

DV9000 Freeze and Shut Off Issue

2010-01-09T10:04:00.005-05:00

DV9000 arrived seemingly working well until touched. Upon inspection I noticed that when I would use the right palmrest the unit would shut off unexpectedly. Rebooting, I tapped the area mentioned above. Again it shut off. Reboot this time not touching the unit other than the power button. The Vista OS would load, but hang before completing start up.

Disassemble the laptop and visually inspect for short or open connections. During the removal of the hard drive I noticed that SATA1 connector was damaged. This would definitely cause the freeze during boot. Upon further inspection I notice that USB1 was damaged. Pushed in and the pin 2 & 3 were touching the outer portion of the connector that is negative ground. This would cause the shut down.

Completely remove the motherboard and replace the USB and SATA1 connector. Not as easy as it seems because the small area to heat and desolder pins. I typically use a magnifying headband and plenty of light. With insufficient lighting many mistakes can happen, or be missed and/or cause further permanent damage.

*The DV9000 comes with 2 SATA connectors as opposed to the DV6000 or Compaq V6000, F700 which only has one connector.

After replacing the USB and SATA connectors, fired up the unit and all appeared to be working normally. The unit runs for 2 hours, turn on WIFI to connect to net and LCD goes milk white. No Video Data to LCD. This will require opening the bezel & lid to see if LCD is connected, or motherboard connector has failed. Should not be an issue but need to be resolved.

DV9000 Power Issue

2010-01-09T09:52:00.003-05:00

This HP DV9000 arrived with power problems. Difficult to diagnose simply by looking at the bottom side of the board (which faces tech when opened). When the power cable was disconnected from the board an obvious scorched connector was noticed. This 4 pin plug supplies power to 2 sections.

Not wanting to be too verbose, I will simply say that all 4 connections to the motherboard are needed and when one pin is scorched and oxidized, it cannot provide adequate current or voltage. So the plug end was replaced, and the interior of the jack was cleaned of carbon residue from the scorching.

The number of issues with this unit, makes for a days work. Power issues, broken LCD issues, SATA connector, USB port all on one machine. Everytime I fix one issue another pops up. And the customer wants it fast, but at a cheap price. When does it end?

New Year Same Problems

2010-01-01T09:28:00.001-05:00

Thinkpad T40 with NO CHARGE issue.

This also applies to: Run off Batteries, but will not work with AC adapter.

The power in section circuits are not completed and generally the MOSFETs are open, or the Fuse is open. Easy fix and not much diagnosis is needed.

A busy week kept me from updating

2009-09-12T09:11:00.002-04:00

I will post the details of some of the Week's Best after I get the pictures organized.
Dell Inspiron 1525 - Works on AC, Won't charge battery.
Avertec 6400 - Random shutdown
Dell Vostro - Works on AC, Won't charge battery
Gateway M350 - Dead!

TGIF

2009-09-04T21:05:00.005-04:00

One of the local stores brought over 3 Dell's. (2) Latitude D600, and an Inspirion 1150 all needing DC jacks. So this was an excellent time to try my new (and previously untried) speedy jack removal method. Thank Goodness it worked, I was able to remove a single jack in 3 min versus the old way that took about 20 min, and a good 6" of solder wick. So 17 min saved x 3 =51 total minutes saved. [image show is Dell Latitude D600 bottom after removal]

Even Techs Have Bad Days

2009-09-04T21:00:00.002-04:00

Before attempting to post this morning, my system failed. So not wanting to delay others getting their units repaired I left mine in an unrepaired state until I got home this evening. So items posted later than usual.

Nothing fantastic, just had to clear the CMOS and then make changes to my tweak settings. Like disabling floppy boot, and looking for a floppy. (Does anyone even use floppy disks anymore?) And making sure the buss is running at 125%.

Toshiba A-205 No USB Ports, No Volume

2009-09-04T20:31:00.010-04:00

Problem:
Unit arrives with USB1 broken and USB2 not working Also the volume control thumbwheel was rattling around inside the unit.

Solution:
Replace the USB ports, replace the Audio control potentiometer.

Exact Replacement:
Yes, from an existing dead unit

Notices:
This unit has the cheapest USB ports available. By the company saving 13cents, it winds up costing you $$$. There is no front support on the USB ports, so all the insertion and removal force is placed on the back of the connector, first the anchor supports fails, then the upon the next insertion the power and data pins of the USB connector are folded under the connector. This can either short the motherboard, or short the USB chips which the data lines are connected to. You can remove your USB device, but the existing USB connector will remain unconnected from the board, and may cause serious damage to the whole unit. Beware.

Knowing what you have

2009-09-03T00:09:00.005-04:00

Here's a suggestion.
Get the detailed information about your PC/Hardware/Software and keep it in a safe place. Then if you need to go to a shop, you will have all your licenses ready. Windows/MS Office, Quicken and all your legit software that was expensive to buy!. This can be done online at Belarc.com

Why do I say this?
I've noticed since Windows XP is no longer sold on newer computers, the Vista license is nothing more than paper glued to the unit. And is no longer a laminated sticker we've become accustomed to. So the average Vista license sticker lasts about 6 months under casual use, and less for the road warrior making it unreadable. Then that subjects you to the shop's option of possibly of having to buy a new copy of Vista or installing a bootleg copy that won't muster the Authentication agent giving you a pester screen, or limited use/access. Some shops just don't know how to get your licenses, from a dead machine.

Solution
Run Belarc online, print it out and store away. Then, get some Scotch® Brand Invisible Tape and cover your Vista COA license. If not the whole COA, at least cover the serial numbers. Then when you have to wipe or re-install Vista because you forgot to print out your Belarc report you'll be able to read what you covered. Eighty Eight cents saves $88 later
- When I say Scotch Brand I mean Scotch Brand, not the Grocery or Dollar Store version. There are reasons this type is recommended, so you won't have to learn the hard way, thinking 'Oh It's OK''.

Thinkpad T40

2009-09-02T20:18:00.010-04:00

Customer arrives with IBM Thinkpad T40 stating that it will work from a charged battery. But it will not work with known good AC Adapter.

Problem:
Works on battery, will not work on AC Adapter

The problem is caused by 2 things in this case. First the Toshiba TPC8014 MOSFET was reading bad when I checked it with a meter. After I replaced it, the unit was only supplying 10.4v to the charge section of the board. Which is not enough to trigger the adjacent mosfet to supply power to the charge section. So then; checking the Fuse [F2] found that it was blown (open circuit), most likely by the MOSFET being shorted. click on picture to see larger view

Solution:
Replace MOSFET TPC8014, replace fuse.

The MOSFET:
30V N-Channel MOSFET ~11a max rating

Exact Replacement:
Toshiba TPC8014
comment: The funniest wording of what happens under constant use.
Using continuously under heavy loads (e.g. the application of high temperature/current/voltage and the significant change in temperature, etc.) may cause this product to decrease in the reliability significantly even if the operating conditions (i.e.operating temperature/current/voltage, etc.) are within the absolute maximum ratings.
To me this translates as. If this MOSFET is used continously under heavy loads it will stop working or properly (like: your computer being ON all day). In technical terms "It Will Break".

Cross Reference:
Fairchild FDS6690AS

Link:
Fairchild Semiconductors FDS6690

Notices:
When replacing the MOSFET, be careful not to use too much solder or you may short exposed pads under the chip (This is a typical practice of the Chinese board manufacturers to keep unskilled techs oblivious and discourage them from repairing at the component level. Computer techs eventually buy another motherboard where electronic techs fix them). Again, this is my opinion because that is not a test point under the chip and you do not have access to it under a normal repair situation. If you are not be skilled enough at micro soldering, you can pre-insulate the holes with a small piece of mylar tape to prevent solder from bridging the holes before replacing the MOSFET.

Since it was an easy solution, I am trying to be as clear as possible with the solution and the diagnosis.

Dell Inspiron 6000

2009-09-02T08:25:00.014-04:00

Finally a breather! I got the opportunity to do a relative easy repair. This 6000 problem was software bloat. So much software and huge registry slowed this system to a crawl. Though commercial software are in all the ads you see on the internet. All of them are not really as good as they say they are. Removed a MAJOR BRAND 'subscription' anti-virus/firewall/pop-up blocker. This program was only fair when it came out, but over hype and advertising made it one of the most popular. The customer came stating that her subscription expired that day. She seemed almost in a panic, and I had to reassure her that it was nothing much to worry about. I removed the "software" and replaced it with AVG Free. [make sure you click the FREE version and not the Full or Trial versions. The full version costs, and the trial is only for a limited time].

Why would I replace a commercial version of the number 1 seller with a free version? Well as it turns out, about 7 years ago I was having unknown problems with my system. It was shutting down, rebooting and a number of other issues that I just could not find out why! I was using a yellow box anti-virus, and I consider my technical skills exemplary. But I still could not find the problem. After new hardware, upgrades and numerous hours troubleshooting I decided to try this new upstart company GRISOFT AVG anti-virus to see if it could help. Sure enough, it caught the 3 additional offending Trojans/Virus that was killing my productivity.

So as it goes, I installed AVG and have been swearing by them since.At the time I was completing the final changes to some niché software that I was writing because I needed it for my record collecting hobby. With the number of reboots, lost data, lost time I was quickly falling behind in an unscheduled release product [had no official release date but I wanted it finished].

I cannot see any reason to pay for protection, when you are not being protected. It's kind of like finding out the seat belts don't work after you needed them.

Here's the kicker! The previous machine still had 3 virus on it, and about 3,000 tracking cookies after running the yellow box software prior to installing AVG . So do you really think you're protected? Better check.

Acer 5000 Series

2009-09-01T10:05:00.006-04:00

Third party repair

Problem
Keyboard and mouse not functioning, customer stated that USB failed prior to touchpad and keyboard failure.

Though the heat and fan issue may not be directly related, it is something that should be corrected when the unit is disassembled. Though it could have caused enough internal heat to warp motherboard (hmmmm)

09/01 -------------This will be an on going repair --------------
To make a determination whether the keyboard/mouse controller should be replaced or the whole motherboard. Flatpak VLSI chips are really complex to remove and replace. And have to weigh in cost/time/customer factors to get a balance that is acceptable to everyone.

The customer
The store owner
My time.

09/02
After additional tests...
This board was heated to see it could be the notorious nVidia/AMD North/Southbridge problem where solderballs were losing contact, [typically on HP/Compaq units made by HannStar]. When warming the unit the motherboard did a kinda pop, like the board leveled out and was flat again??!

It seems the board was bowed from heat. This means that the motherboard material was too thin and insufficient mounts in various points of the board to keep it rigid. With the one section repaired, this may lead to another or additional repair, as there are several VLSI & BGA chips on the board. So this board design and casing gets a "D" for average/casual user. I cannot recommend this laptop to anyone. Even though it is a relatively new and inexpensive laptop.

Checking eBay for parts: There are several, and many have the same issue. The motherboard alone is not available except from the manufacturer (or 'wholesaler') at a price not worth it, (in my opinion). Since this may be a manufacturing/design flaw it would only happen again with the next replacement. Caveat Emptor

The ball now in owner's court.

HP ZE2000 Series

2009-09-01T09:52:00.001-04:00

This unit came in with problems with keyboard.
-Some keys not working
-Sometimes the keyboard will not work at all

Upon inspection, I found that the retaining clip for the keyboard ribbon cable was not locking into place. But when held manually, all the keys functioned normally. So a decision was made in the most economical sense.

Options are:
Replace the motherboard [cost ~ $100]
Replace the connector [cost $75 for 2 hours labor]
Glue the connector in place [$50]

Using a Hot Glue gun and only gluing the edges of the connector does several things.

Saves the customer money
Allows existing parts to be used
Keeps the keyboard connector in place
The hot glue can easily be removed and not damaging the motherboard any further