We repair/replace lots of laptop screens. About half are from accidental damage and half from age-related breakdown. When looking at replacement costs, its is intuitive to think that smaller screen sizes would cost less. But the opposite is true. Replacement of 12.1″ and 13.3″ laptop screens costs considerably more than 14.1″ and 15.4″ screens, and also more than 17″ screens. So when choosing a laptop that may be subject to frequent use and possible screen breakage, go with a 15.4″ screen. These are the least expensive to replace and have the highest availability.
Consider Repair Costs when Choosing Laptop Screen Size
May 5th, 2008How Laptop Repair is Different from Desktop Repair
April 7th, 2008General computer repair stores outnumber laptop repair stores by at least 10-1 even though about 50% of personal computers sold now are laptops. This brings up the question whether laptop repair is specialized enough that a tech well versed in desktop repair may not be adequately qualified to perform laptop repair. The short answer is yes. Of course there are numerous computer repair stores and technicians that are excellent at repairing laptops but it is not to be assumed that if someone can do desktop repair, that they can do laptop repair.
Laptop computer repair is a distinct discipline for the following reasons:
- The types of repairs are different. Power jack repairs, screen replacements, keyboard replacements etc. are not done on desktop computers.
- The types of accidental damage that occur with laptops are different. Examples are drops and liquid spills.
- Electronic components are packed much more tightly inside a laptop with numerous tiny proprietary connectors. A tech must be skilled in repairing a laptop without causing further damage.
- Disassembly is more complicated for a laptop. A distinct procedure must be followed for each laptop manufacturer and laptop model. Also, in a typical disassembly, 40 or more tiny screws of different sizes must be removed and kept track of.
So the lesson here is: When taking your laptop to a computer repair store, make sure the technicians have adequate experience with laptop repair as compared to desktop repair.
ASUS Z7100 Screen Turns On and Off
April 1st, 2008We recently repaired a ASUS Z7100 laptop with a display that turned on and off intermittently. At first I suspected that it was an inverter or a back light problem but when the display would turn off, I also noticed a distortion in graphics right before. This led me to suspect the video card or chip. This particular laptop had a separate video card which made diagnostics easier. When taking the heat sink off of the video chip, I observed that the bonding pad was torn and did not adhere well to either the heat sink or the chip. I replaced the heat sink on the chip with new thermal compound and the laptop worked fine afterward. So what I initially suspected was a display problem, turned out to be overheating of the video chip.
Water damage to laptop memory stick disables laptop
March 11th, 2008
Mail-In Service for Laptops Restored
December 6th, 2007For customers living outside of Tucson, Laptops Restored is now offering mail-in service.
Laptop Power Jack Repair: Its Safer to Replace the Jack Rather than Resolder the Existing Jack
December 4th, 2007From experience with multiple laptop power jack repairs, we have concluded that the laptop power jack should be replaced all of the time, even if it looks to be in good shape and just the solder joint is bad. If the existing jack is just resoldered and not replaced, there is a significant probability that it will fail in a short order of time.
HP/Compaq Power Jack Class Action Lawsuit
December 4th, 2007This website details the proposed class-action settlement regarding power jack failures with HP and Compaq laptop computers:
“If you purchased an HP zd7000, HP Compaq nx9500, HP zx5000, zv5000, R3000 or HP Compaq nx9100 series notebook, this is to inform you of a proposed class action settlement that could affect your legal rights. Under the terms of the Settlement, eligible class members in the United States will be entitled to a repair, a reimbursement or a discount certificate. “
An Alternative to Power Jack Repair
December 4th, 2007
If you have a faulty power jack, there is an alternative to disassembling the laptop and resoldering a new power jack. Many laptop models have a “universal” slot on them to plug into a docking station or to connect a universal cable. This cable will also have a power connection. The downside to this approach is that the universal cable will often cost as much as a power jack repair.
Compaq Presario R3000 Power Jack Repair
November 26th, 2007
Before
After
We recently had a Compaq Presario R3000 in for a power jack repair. We took some before and after photos of the solder connections for the power jack. In the “before” photo, the black lines ringing the solder connections is where the solder joint cracked and broke the electrical connection. No rings are evident after a new power jack was soldered on.
Top 6 Causes of Laptop Display Failure
November 14th, 2007Fixing display problems is one of our most frequent repair tasks. In our work we have dealt with many different causes of display failure. Here are the 6 most frequent ones.
- Cracked Screen – This one is obvious, usually resulting from physical trauma to the laptop. In all cases, the screen needs to be replaced.
- Failed Inverter – The inverter is the circuit that provides the high voltage to the LCD backlight. When it fails, the display is dark, but if you look at the display at an angle, you will be able to see a dim image.
- Vertical White Lines – See this post. The driver circuit to the screen is going bad. Either replace the whole screen or the circuit (we always replace the whole screen to reduce problems down the road).
- Colors are the negative image or bleeding – This can happen after a liquid spill. Liquid got in to the screen and/or the driver circuit. We replace the screen in this instance.
- Glowing “dark” screen – In this case the inverter and the backlight are working but the screen is not getting a signal from the motherboard. The cause is either a bad motherboard or a bad cable that goes to the screen from the motherboard.
- Laptop screen doesn’t turn on when the display is lowered and raised – If the display turns on and off when it is raised, but sometimes doesn’t turn back on after being lowered and raised, then the lid switch is the problem. The contacts need to be cleaned or the lid switch needs to be replaced.