Devanchya
Smile
Premium
join:2003-12-09
Ajax, ON
 ·Bell Sympatico
| Repairing a busted laptop
You may have read that my laptop was killed by Homeland Security. It was 100% a mistake, and was due to the christmas rush. Basicly the laptop fell off the roll belt at the airport and landed on the ground. Smack.
There didn't appear to be any damage at the time, and it was packed, and the flight was going to leave soon.
Got to California. The disk crashed. Dead. REplaced disk, installed looked fine. Restarting computer after another reboot and screen went blank and would not turn back on. Took out disk, tried no go.
- Blank Screen. Laptop lights up. No sound.
So I'm thinking of trying to repair it. It's a very good laptop, a bit old (1.5 years) but is dual core etc.
So what is the best way to do this? It's an HP dv9330ca.
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MacGyver
Bell Sucks
Premium,ExMod 2003-05
join:2001-10-14
Orleans, ON
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Bell Sympatico
1 edit | This is going to hurt, but I'll say it: I would sell the old laptop as-is for parts with full disclosure as to what happened, and buy a new one. A new laptop, at today's low prices, means the amount of time and money you could spend trying to fix all the problems could be more than a new unit, especially if the main board is damaged.
Check with your homeowner's insurance as this might be covered.
I'll also recommend that this get moved to the Hardware Help Forum for expert opinion.  |
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Devanchya
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Premium
join:2003-12-09
Ajax, ON | New laptop already done.
This is more of a hobby. Figured I'd ask here since there's no Fry's around |
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Kalford
Seems To Be An Rtfm Problem.
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-20
Ontario
| Some things I might ask myself when "resurrecting" dead units
Does the laptop work with an external monitor?
Does cycling through the screen "choices" give you anything on the screen at all or is it as black as when it is powered off? Is there any flicker to it at all when you boot up?
Are there post beeps on boot-up? What does the manual (or HP support) say about them?
Does the boot-drive require a special partition for HP's like the old Compaqs did?
For parts info on your specific laptop - go here. . . .
»h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/Searc···=GA184UA
While riskier, it might be cheaper to buy from another source - refurbished, used, end-of-line stock.
These folks at notebooksolutions might be able to help in that regard. (While they might not stock the parts, they may be able to source them)
»www.notebooksolutions.ca/zc/
You could also see if you can find another of the same model "on-the-cheap" (again refurb or used) that you could use for spare parts.
You may even get lucky and be able to find a similar model that has the same required parts as what you nee.
For example the following link shows all the different models that use the same display as your 9330.
»h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/Part_···2952-001
It doesn't look like they have your specific model on the following site. . .
»repair4laptop.org/disassembly_he···ard.html
but other models might be close enough to yours to provide some asisstance in ripping the thing apart.
and don't forget your egg carton ice cube tray to label and put your parts in.
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psafux
Got Grep?
VIP
join:2005-11-10
| reply to Devanchya
a lot of times, reseating the memory will fix that exact issue (the latter one, not the hard disk problem of course).
pull the hard drive, battery, any other devices you can access easily, like the wireless card or modem if its simple enough for you.
if it still doesn't POST, or give any type of error beep that can be looked up, the board is shot.
Given the fact the system was dropped, its a possibility that is the case.
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Yes. the cat in my avatar is indeed mine. |
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neonhomer
Honoray Mythbuster
Premium
join:2004-01-27
Edgewater, FL
clubs: | reply to Devanchya
Could try reseating the video cable. It is just a press-fit, and if it landed top down, it could have come unseated.
I know HP has some service manuals floating around on the net. Same thing with Dell. |
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CheckFire
join:2004-01-01
Abbotsford, BC | reply to Devanchya
This link is as good as a service manual if used correctly.
»h20181.www2.hp.com/plmcontent/NACSC/SML/ |
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