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Topic: Help with a faulty laptop (Read 877 times)

legendary
Activity: 1789
Merit: 1008
Keep it dense, yeah?
May 26, 2014, 03:55:20 PM
#27
Depends. Cheapest is around £200 for an compact Acer one, but from £300-500 is what you can expect on average to pay. Obviously that's not including macbooks and shit.

What is your usage? If it is just for using the web and documents then I would go for one of those smaller machines with the SSD, you will notice how zippy they are instantly.

It's a nice cheap replacement that should serve you well. You can get some pretty decent machines for £300 or too, but again you will be limited in what you can use them for.

I'm a MacBook Pro user, I don't think that I could move away from this now, maybe to a *nix OS, but never to Windows.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
May 26, 2014, 03:52:45 PM
#26
It sounds to me like the cutting out was potentially a short circuit, assuming that you were just tinkering with the laptop without any earthing gear.

As for the situation you find yourself in, I would consider replacing the laptop. Unless it is worth quite a bit and is otherwise fine, I would say that it is false economy/too much hassle to sort it.

Sell the machine on eBay/Craigslist/Gumtree as faulty, and buy a new machine that fits your needs. You can pick up pretty good laptops cheap these days, and you will be pleasantly surprised with how much people pay for faulty goods on eBay.

Hope that helps!

probably not worth it to sell on ebay.. as shipping the laptop itself would cost him $15 or whatever that is in pounds.

I think it's the connector that is fucked now. One of the tiny little prongs or whatever they're called is bent and I cant get anything to come up on the screen. Hope the screen isn't fucked as if it is there'll be no point fixing it.

if the screen is fucked, you could easily buy a new panel.. easy to replace. or you could take the screen out of a broken laptop and see if that works.

Cheapest on ebay are like £60. Be better off just buying a new one (which I still might do).

How badly bent? You can still get it straightened up in most cases. If it's too small for your fingers, try with a credit card.

Not ridiculously so, just a little. I'll try bending it back into shape later. How do I find out what sort of replacement connecter I need?

how much are laptops in the UK anyways? probably something like 15% higher than in the U.S. i'm guessing. suckers, your prices are higher than your former colonies  Cheesy

Depends. Cheapest is around £200 for an compact Acer one, but from £300-500 is what you can expect on average to pay. Obviously that's not including macbooks and shit.

here in the united colonies of america, you can get an 4th gen i5 15" laptop for $400.
global moderator
Activity: 3794
Merit: 2615
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May 26, 2014, 03:46:42 PM
#25
I think it's the connector that is fucked now. One of the tiny little prongs or whatever they're called is bent and I cant get anything to come up on the screen. Hope the screen isn't fucked as if it is there'll be no point fixing it.

if the screen is fucked, you could easily buy a new panel.. easy to replace. or you could take the screen out of a broken laptop and see if that works.

Cheapest on ebay are like £60. Be better off just buying a new one (which I still might do).

How badly bent? You can still get it straightened up in most cases. If it's too small for your fingers, try with a credit card.

Not ridiculously so, just a little. I'll try bending it back into shape later. How do I find out what sort of replacement connecter I need?

how much are laptops in the UK anyways? probably something like 15% higher than in the U.S. i'm guessing. suckers, your prices are higher than your former colonies  Cheesy

Depends. Cheapest is around £200 for an compact Acer one, but from £300-500 is what you can expect on average to pay. Obviously that's not including macbooks and shit.
legendary
Activity: 1789
Merit: 1008
Keep it dense, yeah?
May 26, 2014, 03:32:27 PM
#24
It sounds to me like the cutting out was potentially a short circuit, assuming that you were just tinkering with the laptop without any earthing gear.

As for the situation you find yourself in, I would consider replacing the laptop. Unless it is worth quite a bit and is otherwise fine, I would say that it is false economy/too much hassle to sort it.

Sell the machine on eBay/Craigslist/Gumtree as faulty, and buy a new machine that fits your needs. You can pick up pretty good laptops cheap these days, and you will be pleasantly surprised with how much people pay for faulty goods on eBay.

Hope that helps!
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
May 26, 2014, 02:49:06 PM
#23
I think it's the connector that is fucked now. One of the tiny little prongs or whatever they're called is bent and I cant get anything to come up on the screen. Hope the screen isn't fucked as if it is there'll be no point fixing it.

if the screen is fucked, you could easily buy a new panel.. easy to replace. or you could take the screen out of a broken laptop and see if that works.

Cheapest on ebay are like £60. Be better off just buying a new one (which I still might do).

How badly bent? You can still get it straightened up in most cases. If it's too small for your fingers, try with a credit card.

Not ridiculously so, just a little. I'll try bending it back into shape later. How do I find out what sort of replacement connecter I need?

how much are laptops in the UK anyways? probably something like 15% higher than in the U.S. i'm guessing. suckers, your prices are higher than your former colonies  Cheesy
global moderator
Activity: 3794
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May 26, 2014, 02:46:24 PM
#22
I think it's the connector that is fucked now. One of the tiny little prongs or whatever they're called is bent and I cant get anything to come up on the screen. Hope the screen isn't fucked as if it is there'll be no point fixing it.

if the screen is fucked, you could easily buy a new panel.. easy to replace. or you could take the screen out of a broken laptop and see if that works.

Cheapest on ebay are like £60. Be better off just buying a new one (which I still might do).

How badly bent? You can still get it straightened up in most cases. If it's too small for your fingers, try with a credit card.

Not ridiculously so, just a little. I'll try bending it back into shape later. How do I find out what sort of replacement connecter I need?
sr. member
Activity: 288
Merit: 250
May 26, 2014, 02:37:46 PM
#21
I think it's the connector that is fucked now. One of the tiny little prongs or whatever they're called is bent and I cant get anything to come up on the screen. Hope the screen isn't fucked as if it is there'll be no point fixing it.
How badly bent? You can still get it straightened up in most cases. If it's too small for your fingers, try with a credit card.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
May 26, 2014, 01:39:51 PM
#20
I think it's the connector that is fucked now. One of the tiny little prongs or whatever they're called is bent and I cant get anything to come up on the screen. Hope the screen isn't fucked as if it is there'll be no point fixing it.

if the screen is fucked, you could easily buy a new panel.. easy to replace. or you could take the screen out of a broken laptop and see if that works.
global moderator
Activity: 3794
Merit: 2615
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May 26, 2014, 12:45:55 PM
#19
I think it's the connector that is fucked now. One of the tiny little prongs or whatever they're called is bent and I cant get anything to come up on the screen. Hope the screen isn't fucked as if it is there'll be no point fixing it.
sr. member
Activity: 288
Merit: 250
May 26, 2014, 10:33:46 AM
#18
Thanks. I just tried it without the battery and it started to power up but I took the harddrive out. I put it back in and it seems to be booting up but the screen obviously isn't in right as it's completely black. Is there any way I can fuck it up by trying to fit the screen whilst it's powered on because otherwise I can't see if it's connected properly or not? I think it's the actual cable that connects the laptop to the screen that's lose/dodgy so that should be pretty cheap and easy to fix I imagine. At least I hope so.

did you remove any ribbons/cables? yeah, sounds like that's the issue.. i actually read up on some guides, and it seems like those cables are often the defective part. if that cable is soldered on, then that would suck  Cheesy
Yep, this sounds about right. Chances are a cable isn't plugged right. Make sure all cables are fully plugged in. Some may seem to be, but they can often go in further. If you were handling mostly ribbon cables, I doubt you fried anything. Try and check the pugs and if you can, connect to an external screen to see if anything appsars there.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
May 26, 2014, 03:21:20 AM
#17
Thanks. I just tried it without the battery and it started to power up but I took the harddrive out. I put it back in and it seems to be booting up but the screen obviously isn't in right as it's completely black. Is there any way I can fuck it up by trying to fit the screen whilst it's powered on because otherwise I can't see if it's connected properly or not? I think it's the actual cable that connects the laptop to the screen that's lose/dodgy so that should be pretty cheap and easy to fix I imagine. At least I hope so.

did you remove any ribbons/cables? yeah, sounds like that's the issue.. i actually read up on some guides, and it seems like those cables are often the defective part. if that cable is soldered on, then that would suck  Cheesy
global moderator
Activity: 3794
Merit: 2615
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May 26, 2014, 02:37:13 AM
#16
Thanks. I just tried it without the battery and it started to power up but I took the harddrive out. I put it back in and it seems to be booting up but the screen obviously isn't in right as it's completely black. Is there any way I can fuck it up by trying to fit the screen whilst it's powered on because otherwise I can't see if it's connected properly or not? I think it's the actual cable that connects the laptop to the screen that's lose/dodgy so that should be pretty cheap and easy to fix I imagine. At least I hope so.
sr. member
Activity: 288
Merit: 250
May 25, 2014, 07:37:47 PM
#15
If it's not the power supply/adapter, then it must be fried. If you had any sort of energy or electricity when you touched the inner part of the screen, it can damage all other components of the computer.

The light on the charger still works. You sure this is true about shorting everything else? Hopefully it's just the battery.
Most laptops work even without a battery as long as they are plugged in. In fact, even if you have a battery, if it is fully charged, it will usually circumvent it and the power will go straight to the laptop itself. This makes me think that the problem is with the laptop. Try booting it while plugged in without the battery and see if it works. If it doesn't, then something is definitely fried. Does absolutely anything happen when you try to boot it up? Also, make sure it is not just a simply issue. Maybe open it back up and make sure that the power button cable is correctly plugged in to the motherboard (yes, it happens). These cables are usually quite short and can unplug with ease.

If you live in a dry area where you get those small electric shock regularly (when touching door knobs or light switches) then chances are good that it's fried.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
May 25, 2014, 06:55:05 PM
#14
If it's not the power supply/adapter, then it must be fried. If you had any sort of energy or electricity when you touched the inner part of the screen, it can damage all other components of the computer.

The light on the charger still works. You sure this is true about shorting everything else? Hopefully it's just the battery.

I think it is time to buy a new laptop. With the money you earn from signature, I think it would take you less than a week of posting.  Smiley

More like a month of posting, although maybe a fortnight with these new upcoming rates  Cheesy.

probably not the matter.. you could just remove it and plug the charger in to see.
b!z
legendary
Activity: 1582
Merit: 1010
May 25, 2014, 09:33:16 AM
#13
If it's not the power supply/adapter, then it must be fried. If you had any sort of energy or electricity when you touched the inner part of the screen, it can damage all other components of the computer.

The light on the charger still works. You sure this is true about shorting everything else? Hopefully it's just the battery.

I think it is time to buy a new laptop. With the money you earn from signature, I think it would take you less than a week of posting.  Smiley

More like a month of posting, although maybe a fortnight with these new upcoming rates  Cheesy.

You guys take posting too seriously.
global moderator
Activity: 3794
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May 25, 2014, 04:14:04 AM
#12
If it's not the power supply/adapter, then it must be fried. If you had any sort of energy or electricity when you touched the inner part of the screen, it can damage all other components of the computer.

The light on the charger still works. You sure this is true about shorting everything else? Hopefully it's just the battery.

I think it is time to buy a new laptop. With the money you earn from signature, I think it would take you less than a week of posting.  Smiley

More like a month of posting, although maybe a fortnight with these new upcoming rates  Cheesy.
full member
Activity: 121
Merit: 100
May 25, 2014, 01:08:42 AM
#11
I think it is time to buy a new laptop. With the money you earn from signature, I think it would take you less than a week of posting.  Smiley
sr. member
Activity: 288
Merit: 250
May 24, 2014, 10:30:17 PM
#10
If it's not the power supply/adapter, then it must be fried. If you had any sort of energy or electricity when you touched the inner part of the screen, it can damage all other components of the computer.
global moderator
Activity: 3794
Merit: 2615
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May 24, 2014, 06:26:16 PM
#9
I prefer desktops too but there's not really much space in my room for one the way it's laid out at the moment. Might need to make some space, but I do like having a laptop so I can work in bed haha and take it with me. Could do with both really. Laptops aren't ideal for heavy usage.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
May 24, 2014, 06:21:44 PM
#8
i kind of like having my desktop.. i can pretty much diagnose and fix any issue if a component breaks. on a laptop, it's really hard to change the parts and all. 24" screen is cool too.

in the U.S., you can buy an i5 loaded laptop for $400-$500 though.
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