Laptop repair...
Mar. 9th, 2012 04:18 pmDONE!
About a couple weeks ago a bug was flying around and I swatted at it; I ever so barely tapped the bottom of the bezel, just barely touched it with my fingertip. The screen fizzled and then went black with a quiet hiss.
Okay the machine is still on and I can see that the screen is still displaying; there just isn't any light, which means either inverter board or backlamp failure. Probably inverter because that's what I physically hit; the inverter is located in the very bottom of the bezel. I take the bezel off and take the inverter out to survey the damage.
The last time I replaced my inverter, I ordered a part that was technically compatible, but not designed to fit inside this machine, because it's almost too short to reach the wires it connects to. So the connection has been loose. I assumed this was a factor of the failure. However, when I look at one of the wires I see that one connector is black and kind of disfigured. So now I can't be sure that a new inverter will fix anything because maybe it's a problem with the connector, now.
I call my dad, and his number is disconnected for some reason so i send him an email. Lawrence later tells me he's visiting grandma in Korea. Meanwhile I drag the laptop to a repair shop a couple miles off.
The guy turns on my laptop, he doesnt open it yet but looks at the darkened screen and says "your screen is cracked. Look at the lines here."
And I'm like thinking "W. T. F. I didn't hit my screen. That's my fucking desktop. It's inverter or fucking backlamp." Don't get me wrong, this guy still knows so much freaking more than I do, but I kind of know the difference between tapping the bezel and, say, putting my fist through the monitor.
He quotes $180 or depending on the part. I don't have 180 fucking dollars. I have a dad who does the same job, and I am only here because Dad's out of the country. I leave without bothering with a diagnosis.
I order another inverter but after a week I get a mail saying the part was damaged, so I have to order another one. Dad answers my email and says he'll be back on the 6th, call him then. On the 7th, I take some shitty pictures of the damage and send them and it takes him one fucking second to say "your connector had a spark and it's burnt." I don't want to send the whole thing to him if it's such an easy fix, so he explains how I just need to sand the carbon off and stick the new inverter in and voila. The inverter arrives yesterday, I buy sandpaper today and pick the carbon out of the connector and we have a happy laptop once more.
Cost: $11 (inverter), + $4 (400-grit sandpaper) = 15 bloody dollars. And I was still able to use the laptop the entire time by hooking it up to a monitor. Maybe it took a bit longer but I saved a shit-ton of money by being patient.
About a couple weeks ago a bug was flying around and I swatted at it; I ever so barely tapped the bottom of the bezel, just barely touched it with my fingertip. The screen fizzled and then went black with a quiet hiss.
Okay the machine is still on and I can see that the screen is still displaying; there just isn't any light, which means either inverter board or backlamp failure. Probably inverter because that's what I physically hit; the inverter is located in the very bottom of the bezel. I take the bezel off and take the inverter out to survey the damage.
The last time I replaced my inverter, I ordered a part that was technically compatible, but not designed to fit inside this machine, because it's almost too short to reach the wires it connects to. So the connection has been loose. I assumed this was a factor of the failure. However, when I look at one of the wires I see that one connector is black and kind of disfigured. So now I can't be sure that a new inverter will fix anything because maybe it's a problem with the connector, now.
I call my dad, and his number is disconnected for some reason so i send him an email. Lawrence later tells me he's visiting grandma in Korea. Meanwhile I drag the laptop to a repair shop a couple miles off.
The guy turns on my laptop, he doesnt open it yet but looks at the darkened screen and says "your screen is cracked. Look at the lines here."
And I'm like thinking "W. T. F. I didn't hit my screen. That's my fucking desktop. It's inverter or fucking backlamp." Don't get me wrong, this guy still knows so much freaking more than I do, but I kind of know the difference between tapping the bezel and, say, putting my fist through the monitor.
He quotes $180 or depending on the part. I don't have 180 fucking dollars. I have a dad who does the same job, and I am only here because Dad's out of the country. I leave without bothering with a diagnosis.
I order another inverter but after a week I get a mail saying the part was damaged, so I have to order another one. Dad answers my email and says he'll be back on the 6th, call him then. On the 7th, I take some shitty pictures of the damage and send them and it takes him one fucking second to say "your connector had a spark and it's burnt." I don't want to send the whole thing to him if it's such an easy fix, so he explains how I just need to sand the carbon off and stick the new inverter in and voila. The inverter arrives yesterday, I buy sandpaper today and pick the carbon out of the connector and we have a happy laptop once more.
Cost: $11 (inverter), + $4 (400-grit sandpaper) = 15 bloody dollars. And I was still able to use the laptop the entire time by hooking it up to a monitor. Maybe it took a bit longer but I saved a shit-ton of money by being patient.
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