Tech and Talk > Computing Clubs > Team Helix > [Serious] When it rains, it pours.... :-p

[Serious] When it rains, it pours.... :-p

So sorry Jo.

If it might be any help to you:

Tiger Direct has refurbished laptops for less than $260 that are nice. Sure, the warranty isn't too good, but what good is a factory warranty anyways?

»www.tigerdirect.com/applications···otebooks

If you need any advice on what to choose, the DSLR hardware reviews forum is really good. There are guys there that put me to shame as far as knowledge.

FWIW, a few months back I helped my BIL choose a refurb laptop from tiger and so far it has been really nice for my sister. It is a surprisingly nice system for 320.

Of course, the hot deals forum has a list of sites in their FAQ that can help you find a good deal on a new laptop. Dell has an outlet, for instance.

Unless you have critical data to recover, I wouldn't pay that to fix a 2 year old system when there is no guarantee that it will fix it or even last if it does get fixed.

IMHO, the motherboard with CPU should be about 120 and labor about 90 max. If you bought the board yourself, you might get it for 60, but unless you are pretty experienced with fixing computers, tackling a laptop repair is a real challenge because disassembling is quite puzzle like, and re-assembly is even harder, you need a tiny magnetic screw driver, good eyes, steady hands, a white floor if any screws drop, and a sheet of paper that you can make a drawing of where each screw goes, because different screw types go in different holes.

If you want to tackle it, obtain the repair manual for your laptop and be SURE to read it through before starting. Usually manufacturers keep manuals online.

But personally, I wouldn't spend more than 100 on a 2 year old system with little guarantee that the new board will be any better.

For about 100 more, you can get something nicer, new, and more powerful. You won't have much warranty, but to be honest, most laptops seem to die right after warranties end anyways.

Whatever you do, make certain you have a backup storage drive, an external, and keep the data on it so if your future system borks, you'll be ok to not lose everything...

Would you like help in choosing something?

Once again, so very sorry for what you are going through.
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Join Teams Helix and Discovery. Rest in Peace, Leonard David Smith, my best friend, you are missed badly! Rest in peace, Pop, glad our last years were good. Please pray for Colin, he has ependymoma, a brain cancer, donate to a children's Hospital.

reply to jopfef
At least you had a state income tax refund to handle things!

I was bracing myself for a story about one of your critters, so I was relieved to find out that, although these kinds of things don't make for a good day, everyone is alive and well at the end of the day.
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Jamais le mal n’aura le dernier mot. La foi et l’amour déplacent les montagnes de la haine.
- Marguerite (Maggy) Barankitse

reply to jopfef
I agree with signmeuptoo...replacing a motherboard is expensive and a pain for a notebook.

However Jo, what this might be: If your HP is a model that uses a discrete Nvidia GPU, there is a well-known issue with the solder on the BGA (Ball Grid Array) getting too hot, and leeching to where there is no longer a proper connection. This is not an issue for lappys with integrated video, just those with a higher-end discrete Nvidia GPU. It was actually a fault of Nvidia, where the GPU runs hotter than the expected specification.

The trick is finding somebody who is comfortable with advanced soldering techniques. They can re-flow the solder on the BGA, and then you are good to go.
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Deeds, not words

reply to PeteC2
As far as the re-flow, that is where the oven trick comes into play. Redoing a ball grid array requires special ball solder and a special, highly controlled soldering station that heats the small area.

If you remove the motherboard from the system and completely clear it of parts, you can try the oven trick (google it) which is to put the board in an oven for a specific amount of time at a very controlled temperature. It only works some of the time.

The equipment needed to unsolder and re-solder a BGA is pretty expensive AFAIK. It involves IR heating at a very controlled temp for a specific period of time.

Ball grid array is where the junctions for soldering are on the underside, inaccessible except by indirect heat and a very controlled heating is required.

The oven trick sometimes heats the solder just enough to let it flow so very little to re-terminate where it has separated, due to heat.
--
Join Teams Helix and Discovery. Rest in Peace, Leonard David Smith, my best friend, you are missed badly! Rest in peace, Pop, glad our last years were good. Please pray for Colin, he has ependymoma, a brain cancer, donate to a children's Hospital.

reply to PeteC2

reply to jopfef
I can see you wanting to fix it if you put 1300 into it. If you can return the motherboard if it doesn't fix it, I agree, worth the risk, must have been a feature filled system when you first bought it.

You are pretty fortunate to have a pal that can work on laptops that well, admittedly, I still find them a little daunting because taking them apart can be intricate and things can break pretty easily.

I've said this before: If they can make desktops that only need two screws to open, they could do it with laptops. With labor being so cheap where they are built, they elect to make them harder to work on. I find that pretty a pretty annoying thing.

At the shop I worked at briefly we had 8.5 x 11 sheet magnets. We made a drawing on paper of the parts positions, put it over the magnet, and laid parts in position.

Usually the most delicate step is the removal of the keyboard to get under and at the screws on the top side, and also the removal of the screen/lid. I have bad eyesight and shaky hands, so I don't like doing it. But give me a desktop to fix and I am fine.
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Join Teams Helix and Discovery. Rest in Peace, Leonard David Smith, my best friend, you are missed badly! Rest in peace, Pop, glad our last years were good. Please pray for Colin, he has ependymoma, a brain cancer, donate to a children's Hospital.

reply to jopfef
Hi Jo:

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm late as usual, but thinking and praying for you none the less.


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Lordy, I have loved some ladies and I have loved Jim Beam and they both tried to kill me in 1973.