Over the past 3 years most laptop screens have been switched over from a roughened glass surface to a smooth anti-reflection coated surface. While it was ok to clean the old style screens with an alcohol-based cleaner such as Windex, doing so for a glossy screen will damage the coating, eventually turning it yellow. There are several non-alcohol based screen cleaners out there some of which can be ordered online and some bought at an office supply store. Here’s a link to further discussion on the topic.
Don’t Clean Your Glossy Laptop Screen with Windex
November 14th, 2007White Lines on the Laptop Screen
November 13th, 2007
If you experience white vertical lines on your laptop screen (in this case, a Toshiba Satellite P35), then the circuit board in the screen assembly is going bad. The whole screen assembly needs to be replaced.
Hard to Find Laptop Replacement Parts
November 13th, 2007We recently did a screen replacement on a Sharp Actius MM-20 ultraportable notebook. This is a 4 year old laptop with a low production volume, so a new replacement screen was nowhere to be found. What we ended up doing is waiting for a “dead” Actius to come up on auction on eBay and purchasing it. We then used the screen from the dead laptop for the replacement. So, if you are unable to find a new replacement part, sometimes the best option is to buy a non-functioning model and salvage the replacement parts.
Don’t Take Out Your Laptop Motheboard Unless You Know What You’re Doing!
November 2nd, 2007I ran across this post in a Craigslist forum:
…Ok, here’s what i did, since people urge me not solder new dc jack myself, so i called Laptop repair service in beaverton area. They told me that the charge cost is going to be $150. But if i took out the motherboard (which they only need motherboard) it would cost $75 (to solder) . So i did took out part and gave to tech guy in Laptop Reapir service to solder the new one ( they provide the part, not the one i order from the internet). total soldering time was 1 hour. So, i took it back and reassembled the laptop and powered it up. The good part was that power came up, but it keeps rebooting itself every 5 seconds and it seem the monitor doesn’t come on at all…
To me, this is crazy! In order to take the motherboard out, you need antistatic protection and antistatic packaging as well as specialized knowledge on how to take the motherboard out and how to keep track of the connectors and the screws. As evidenced in the post above, the results speak for themselves. And if you do have all the skills, why not just finish the job yourself and solder the jack. Otherwise, do me a favor, send the whole laptop in (but not to this guy!).
Laptop Keyboards: Repair or Replace
October 31st, 2007We often work on laptops with damaged keyboards: sticky keys, non-functioning keys, and missing keys. The question that our customers often ask us is whether the keyboard should be repaired or replaced. We always advise to replace, the reason being is that labor is 2/3 of the total cost and labor is the same is not more for a keyboard repair. Also this way you’re getting a new keyboard with a greatly reduced chance of additional malfunction.
October 2007 Most Popular Laptops
October 31st, 2007Here’s a list of Notebook Review’s most popular laptop/notebook computers as of Oct. 2007. From a laptop repair standpoint, these are more desirable due to better availability of replacement parts.
- Dell Vostro 1500 (Core 2 Duo processor, 15.4″ screen, released 2007)
4.9% / 5730 - Lenovo ThinkPad T61 (Core 2 Duo processor, 14.1 or 15″ screen, released 2007)
3.6% / 4262 - Sony VAIO SZ (Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processor, 13.3″ screen, released 2006)
2.3% / 2710 - Dell XPS M1330 (Core 2 Duo processor, 13.3″ screen, released 2007)
1.8% / 2169 - Toshiba Satellite A200 / A205 (Core 2 Duo processor, 15.4″ screen, released 2007)
1.6% / 1902 - HP Pavilion dv6500t (Core 2 Duo processor, 15.4″ screen, released 2007)
1.5% / 1734 - Sony VAIO FZ (Core 2 Duo processor, 15.4″ screen, released 2007)
1.4% / 1700 - Dell Inspiron 6400 (Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processor, 15.4″ screen, released 2006)
1.4% / 1697 - HP Pavilion dv6000z (AMD Turion X2 processor, 15.4″ screen, released 2006)
1.4% / 1689 - Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (Core Duo processor, 14.1 or 15.4″ screen, released 2006)
1.4% / 1601
Laptop Power Jacks
October 31st, 2007One of the most common repairs that we do is resoldering detached laptop power jacks. The cause of this malfunction can be roughly broken down into two reasons:
- Manufacturing defect – When the power jack was soldered at the factory, the solder joint was not made strong enough to withstand normal daily wear. We have seen very-well taken care of laptops with this problem.
- User misuse – If the AC adapter plug is left in the laptop while its being moved around, or if the AC adapter plug is worn or damaged, premature failure of the power jack will result. We have seen power jacks literally split in half because of a damaged AC adapter plug.
While there is not much you can do about 1.) simple preventative maintenance can help avoid 2.). If the AC adapter plug is worn or its a very tight fit into the power jack, replace it. Its cheaper than a power jack repair.
Laptops Restored Blog
October 31st, 2007I’m the owner of a laptop computer repair business in Tucson, and since I see recurring problems with laptops day in and day out, I have decided to share my insights with the community at large on how to keep your laptop properly maintained and from having to visit our facility or someone else’s. I will also include content on virtual and physical security and any products that have caught my eye. Please feel free to comment and share your knowledge also.