Why I hate my hp notebook...

[Megabyte]

2 words, power jack


The little pin that the power adapter jacks into on your laptop, to be specific. You see, mine snapped on my laptop.

So, the end result was that I needed to replace this tiny little piece, which happened to be attached to the system board, on my laptop.


The problem? To get to the system board, and by extention the little piece, I'd need to remove EVERY part of my laptop.



At this point, I've just finished a grueling 3 hour long work at slowly removing the partss, extracting the board, removing the old jack and solder the new one on, then re-assemble each piece.

Take note, when I say every piece, I mean every little thing. The monitor, various "removable" covers, speakers, the whole shi-bang.


Pictures will be uploaded tomorrow to properly exemplify this gripe and trial.

[Megabyte]

Pictures to share and behold...

To help make the page "loadable" I'm just linking to thumbnails and links.

First one is of the comp before I did any work, just for a frame of reference...
http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/1503/image095ne8.th.jpg (http://img381.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image095ne8.jpg)

Ain't she a beaut'?

Now..into the disassembly!
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7351/image083cx2.th.jpg (http://img401.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image083cx2.jpg)
http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/3866/image084dh3.th.jpg (http://img479.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image084dh3.jpg)

Little bottom view of the casings and such there (battery, HD, and heatsink all removed already)...
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/1658/image085gt0.th.jpg (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image085gt0.jpg)

About halfway through the process now, say goodbye to the monitor...

http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/7345/image086ok8.th.jpg (http://img479.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image086ok8.jpg)

Another bottom view, now with all casing and most of the major components removed...
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/2655/image087bl9.th.jpg (http://img177.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image087bl9.jpg)

Getting a bit cluttered on my worktable...
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/6903/image088kw8.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image088kw8.jpg)

At last! The system board is free and all major components removed (fan casing shown next to it)...
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/6010/image090ij5.th.jpg (http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image090ij5.jpg)

All of this work, all of these pieces needed to be removed....
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/6458/image091yb9.th.jpg (http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image091yb9.jpg)


Just to replace this itty-bitty piece...
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/751/image093gy7.th.jpg (http://img177.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image093gy7.jpg)


God hates notebook users, just so you know.

[Glamdring]

heh.. quit whining. I used to do that for a living.

[Megabyte]

heh.. quit whining. I used to do that for a living.

and I hate people like you who would charge me so much to do it for me, forcing me to do it myself to save hundreds of dollars (however legitimate the charging may be)

[C.H.I.L.L.]

buy a mac book.

[Glamdring]

buy a mac book.
ermmmm.... yeah. That's what I worked on. It's not the solution.

I fully endorse your hatred, mega. Just always shop at costco, then you can still return it ages later, so long as you have the receipt :)

[Megabyte]

ermmmm.... yeah. That's what I worked on. It's not the solution.

I fully endorse your hatred, mega. Just always shop at costco, then you can still return it ages later, so long as you have the receipt :)

It was a gift 2 years ago Glammy ;) CircutCity bought, as I recall, and a warranty is a non-existant dream.

My next laptop is gonna be an alienware anyways. I want something that overpowers desktops in gaming, even if it WILL weigh a ton and heat to hell and back. I pretty much handle my own tech support anyways (as is demonstrated with this incident) unless it's cheap and fast to get someone else to do it.

[emerald slasher]

well good luck fixing it mega

[Snork]

heh.. quit whining. I used to do that for a living.

Yeah, but you were getting paid. :D

[C.H.I.L.L.]

snork has brought up a very valid point...

[WaCk-HeAd]

How was Megabyte not being paid by doing it himself and by that not paying for Glammy's salary?

[Caboose]

I'm going to agree with chill here. Power to the Mac book!

[Blexican]

I'm going to agree with chill here. Power to the Mac book!

Actually mega needs power to his hp notebook. don't you read?

[Glamdring]

My next laptop is gonna be an alienware anyways.

Pretty much awesome. I wish I could afford all the computers I want. Alienware would be near the top of my list.

[shatterstar]

i saw somewhere that the best non-desktop-replacement gaming laptop in the market was the dell xps 1710. im not sure if that includes alienware, but considering that dell now owns alienware, is rather likely.

[Megabyte]

I'm going to agree with chill here. Power to the Mac book!

you retards realize circuts are circuts, right? Mac's don't run on fairy dust, they use the same technology that PC's do.


And it's all scrimping and saving, Glammy.


Apologies for the lack of photos today, got a slightproblem.

The operation was a "success." The new power jack allows me to plug back into the comp and recharge my battery, and all the components appear to be functionion.

HOWEVER....when I try to operate the comp with the power adapter plugged in, it suddenly turns off after a few minutes of operation =/ Runs fine off battery power, but can't get the damn thing to work off the adapter properly.

Far as I know, this means either the jack is f****ed up and I didn't get it installed properly, or else there's a problem with the power adapter (I'm not using the original one included with the laptop, so it is a possibility, hopwever remote).


Anyways, any of you experienced tech workers, input or ideas are appreciated. Likely gonna spend my only day this week off, tomorrow, working on this.

[EatMine]

HOWEVER....when I try to operate the comp with the power adapter plugged in, it suddenly turns off after a few minutes of operation =/ Runs fine off battery power, but can't get the damn thing to work off the adapter properly. Don't have much experience with this kind of stuff, so just taking a guess:

Is the comp turning off, even when the battery is included?
If not, i would agree that the jack is not working properly, maybe just a loose contact?
If it is turning off even with (fully charged) battery, then maybe it's more complicated. Maybe the soldering is bad ... something gets too hot after a few minutes, the heat gets to the board and the CPU says good night.

[Megabyte]

Don't have much experience with this kind of stuff, so just taking a guess:

Is the comp turning off, even when the battery is included?
If not, i would agree that the jack is not working properly, maybe just a loose contact?
If it is turning off even with (fully charged) battery, then maybe it's more complicated. Maybe the soldering is bad ... something gets too hot after a few minutes, the heat gets to the board and the CPU says good night.

Overheating is a possibility, but as I've never bothered to actually solder and replace components on a laptop I'm asking some of my engineer friends (who have) if they've run into the problem before.

[Megabyte]

Huzzah and thanks to those who sent me links and info about possible solutions.


My computer was suffering from fast overheating concerns due to 2 possible causes (since I fixed both, it's unknown whether both or one was the cause).

Apparently the sealent around the heatsink to the processor itself was insufficient, and was repaired.

Also, I made a noob engineer mistake when soldering the power jack into place, I forgot to scrape away the plastic coating around the solder spots. This meant that the connections, while sufficient to work and recharge the notebook, were heating enough to cause the heat sensors to shut the notebook down.


After some tests to be certain the notebook was overheating as the problem, I reopened up the system, re-dismantled it all again, and fixed the solders (as well as repaired the sealent around the heatsink/processor).

Now...the comp has been running for 15 minutes and not even had the fan come on. I consider this a success, saving me hundreds of dollars in repair (if not stress).


Thanks again to all who aided, pictures of the guts of the laptop will be posted later today once my nerves settle to those who expressed interest.

[Megabyte]

pictures are up!

have fun poking at the noobness of notebook disassembly that I display

[EatMine]

Noobness? Nah, that looks actually pretty professional with the grounding of the alu foil and those little boxes for different screws or whatever :)

Glad that it's working again, congratz.

[R G]

My HP laptop is also a piece of junk. I have had it less than six months.

Right around Christmas the LCD was flickering and then after about 10 minutes it totally went blank. I would restart it and it would work for about 10 more minutes.

Finally dicked around with HP tech support and they had me update the bios and then after it still was messing up they asked me to send it in.

They were very fast in getting the repair done. Got in back after about 3 or 4 days...all under warranty. Was disappointed though as when I got it back the hard drive crapped out and would not even boot up after I got it back....

Now I am waiting on a new hard drive....

[Megabyte]

those little boxes for different screws or whatever :)

Glad that it's working again, congratz.

don't even get me on the various screws

I'm more annoyed by the number of case screws which have apparently fallen out over the years than anything else right now :confused: Some case parts are missing more than half their screws.

There is no amount of relief I can express over the comps repair though. I've got this thing so personalized and optimized for my use I had forgotton what using most other comps was like. Even using my work desktop (which has a significantly faster processor, better memory/HD, and a MUCH better video procesor) for everything felt like using a clunky machine. I have a much greater appreciation for system optimization technuiqes over better hardware right now.

[stryker]

I just looked at the pictures and HOLY CRAP Byte uses the same mouse as me.


That's all i got.:this:

[Megabyte]

worst is I don't use that mouse ;)

That'd be my sister's laptop/mouse in some of the pics (the non-disassembled laptop).


I use a radioshack optical mouse, never wireless. Too unreliable for gaming purposes.

[stryker]

The reason i like my/your sister's mouse is because if you press the silver button in the back, the case jumps off. It totally took me by surprise the first time I pressed it. It reveals the battery.

[Merdoc.]

Wow, I'm getting a AW computer for school, and all around deeds, here are the specs


Aurora™ m9700

Processor: AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile ML34 1.8GHz 800MHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows® XP Professional - Free Upgrade to Windows Vista Business!
Chassis: 17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD with Clearview Technology - Conspiracy Blue
Motherboard: Alienware® NVIDIA® Mobile SLi Chipset
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR SO-DIMM at 400MHz - 2 x 512MB
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 80GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 5,400 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Optical Drive: 24x10x24 CD-RW / 8X DVD Combo w/ Software MPEG2 Decoder
Video/Graphics Card: 256MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
Sound Card: High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Wireless Network Card: Internal 802.11b/g WiFi Card
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth® Device
Primary Battery: Alienware® m9700 12-cell Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Mobile Bags: Alienware® Odyssey Messenger Bag
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mousepad
Alienware Extras Hidden Category: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black

[-Dape-]

Omg, AW own anything.