Getting In Too Deep

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!

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]

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%.

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.

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, prin...

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.) ma...

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 ...

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...

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