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Other Discussion Boards => Technology & Information => Topic started by: Rama Set on April 27, 2017, 06:04:59 PM

Title: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: Rama Set on April 27, 2017, 06:04:59 PM
I stood up and my leg caught on the power cord of my thinkpad X201, dragging it off the desk and crashing to the floor. Now, whenever the power cord is plugged, the fan (I think it's the fan) squeaks, the laptop beeps repeatedly and the screen flickers. The laptop also will not boot if the power cord is plugged in.

The question is: how bad is it? The obvious follow up question is: do I bother fixing it, or shell out another $250 for a new one?
Title: Re: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: Lord Dave on April 27, 2017, 06:25:21 PM
Ok so good news is, it's not dead if it works on battery power.

Bad news is, it sounds like you crossed some wires so all that voltage going into the laptop plug is fucked up.

Good news is that if that really is all it is, you could (if you have the skills) fix it.  Getting a replacement part might not be easy though.

Of course, you should check your power cord first.  Stick a volt meter to it and make sure it's outputting the voltages and the polarity correctly.
Title: Re: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: honk on April 27, 2017, 06:58:44 PM
Build a proper PC, you pleb.
Title: Re: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: Rama Set on April 27, 2017, 07:39:03 PM
Ok so good news is, it's not dead if it works on battery power.

Bad news is, it sounds like you crossed some wires so all that voltage going into the laptop plug is fucked up.

Good news is that if that really is all it is, you could (if you have the skills) fix it.  Getting a replacement part might not be easy though.

Of course, you should check your power cord first.  Stick a volt meter to it and make sure it's outputting the voltages and the polarity correctly.

I don't have the skills or a voltage meter. How much do you think would a repair shop charge me?

Build a proper PC, you pleb.

I bought it on Parsifal's recommendation, and it has been the finest $250 laptop I could have asked for. If you have an issue with that, take it up with him. Preferably in irc so it can be in the best of Saddam thread.
Title: Re: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: juner on April 27, 2017, 08:10:15 PM
Build a proper PC, you pleb.

I bought it on Parsifal's recommendation, and it has been the finest $250 laptop I could have asked for. If you have an issue with that, take it up with him. Preferably in irc so it can be in the best of Saddam thread.

It took Saddam like six months to build a PC after he'd already acquired the parts...

Also just buy a new (old) one. They are even cheaper now. You can get a refurb for under $150.
Title: Re: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: Rama Set on April 27, 2017, 08:14:38 PM
Build a proper PC, you pleb.

I bought it on Parsifal's recommendation, and it has been the finest $250 laptop I could have asked for. If you have an issue with that, take it up with him. Preferably in irc so it can be in the best of Saddam thread.

It took Saddam like six months to build a PC after he'd already acquired the parts...

Also just buy a new (old) one. They are even cheaper now. You can get a refurb for under $150.

Part of me feels bad just sending this to the trash heap.  But then part of me is lazy too.  $150 where?  eBay?
Title: Re: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: juner on April 27, 2017, 08:22:52 PM
Part of me feels bad just sending this to the trash heap.  But then part of me is lazy too.  $150 where?  eBay?

Newegg has refurbs for $140. I'd keep the one you have for spare parts. The refurb might be in worse cosmetic condition, so you can just swap things to get the nicest looking one.
Title: Re: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: Lord Dave on April 27, 2017, 09:53:40 PM
$250?  Yeah... any repair shop would charge you closer to $500.

Get a new one, swap the HDDs and call it a day.
Title: Re: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: Pete Svarrior on April 28, 2017, 10:29:44 AM
Yeah... any repair shop would charge you closer to $500.
Really? For (probably) re-soldering a power connector? Either the American market really sucks, or you got hella ripped off at some point, Dave.
Title: Re: Soooo, I may have broken my laptop
Post by: Lord Dave on April 28, 2017, 11:00:02 AM
Yeah... any repair shop would charge you closer to $500.
Really? For (probably) re-soldering a power connector? Either the American market really sucks, or you got hella ripped off at some point, Dave.
Ever see the prices at Best Buy?  If they can't fix it at the shop (ie. anything that involves replacing hardware more than a HDD) they send it to a warehouse shop.

I may be exaggerating but it's certainly not gonna be less than $200.  Especially since they aren't gonna be like "Well, let's just re-solder this." They'll replace the whole damn main board.  Heck, level 1 data recovery is like $200.  (level 1 is "I deleted it by accident or formatted my drive")

(Small shops are few and far between so I can't say what they'd charge.)