Laptop board replacement?

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-12-02 11:24pm

*Sigh* Finally got "closure" on that laptop of mine, the HP Pavilion dv1040us that I've mentioned before. Got it back from a repair place, and it wasn't the hard drive that was causing problems, it was apparently the DC jack and the motherboard; maybe a surge or short-circuit between them. Either way, powering up is infrequent (power not going through?), battery can't be charged (hence little portability), I don't know if it'll stay on even after it powers up...

Apparently the only solution at this point (the DC jack's already been replaced) would be to get a new motherboard and somehow try to swap it myself, but I don't know how workable that is...

Seggybop · Post by **Seggybop** » 2006-12-02 11:33pm

OK, weird coincidence, but I had this exact problem with my computer yesterday.

I found a service manual online, opened up the computer, and resoldered the power jack. This fixed both the intermittent powering and the battery charging.

If your jack was already replaced I would check to be sure that all the connections are being made properly, since the contacts are probably damaged. I had to use excessive amounts of solder to make a good connection because the board was a bit burnt.

Post by **Beowulf** » 2006-12-02 11:35pm

replacing laptop MB: yuo = h0sed.

Try and resolder the jack.

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-12-03 12:26am

Seggybop, what's your model? (Mine is discontinued according to About.com, while the HP Parts Store had almost nothing available for it.)

If your jack was already replaced I would check to be sure that all the connections are being made properly, since the contacts are probably damaged. I had to use excessive amounts of solder to make a good connection because the board was a bit burnt.

It seems that the jack is indeed replaced, as I was told that the original was damaged; the original's "rod" seemed loose, while the one that was inside today seemed to at least be tighter fit. (The replacement of the jack was done by a branch of this.)

Unfortunately I'm a layman at this. I just found a manual as well on Amazon (which makes it seem that it'd be more tedious than difficult to open the computer/isolate the relevant area), and have soldered wires before, but I don't know how to do so for a power jack or where the contacts are. Although, are you saying that even despite a short circuit/burn simply resoldering would fix it?

P.S. Is it safe to use a 90W AC adapter replacement for a 65W AC adapter with hopelessly frayed internal wiring?

Sikon · Post by **Sikon** » 2006-12-03 01:15am

Edward Yee wrote:P.S. Is it safe to use a 90W AC adapter replacement for a 65W AC adapter with hopelessly frayed internal wiring?

Check the voltage. The wattage figure references maximum power, so it should be fine with a laptop consuming less power. Just make sure both adapters have the same voltage output.

Seggybop · Post by **Seggybop** » 2006-12-03 01:42pm

I have a HP/Compaq TC1000 which is also discontinued.

Probably the only way you could get a replacement board if necessary would be to try ebay.

As for the viability of resoldering it and how exactly one would go about doing it. it's hard to say without actually looking at the current condition. As long as there's any remnant of the original contacts still intact, it should be possible though.

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-12-05 11:15am

After looking for replacement boards and finding little that's viable, I'm afraid that for the moment, unless I have the time/gumption to do so (my living space isn't the greatest for this sort of work), this laptop's effectively down. I thank you for the advice, but at this time it doesn't look viable.

*Is now looking for a replacement* If you've any under-$1000 recommendations...