Laptop damage and best options

Mercutio · 21 Jun 2012 at 10:57

In March last year (2011) I purchased a laptop.

The laptop had some problems and has had a prior repair. When it came back there was no sign of the power adapter. As I "got lucky" with the repair (was caused by an external part so was possible it wouldn't get fixed under warranty) I bought a replacement power supply which was the same as the one originally bundled with the laptop (made by Delta Electronics).

Now, it seems this replacement PSU wasn't QUITE so high grade, the plug into the back of the laptop doesn't fit so well (was FRACTIONALLY loose). While in Greece with my girlfriend the power plug has melted onto the power pin in the back of the laptop and eventually snapped the pin off (just the pin, socket is ok).

Considering this may come back as a "sorry, not our problem" response when I get it away for warranty (will try it that way first) do I have any other options?

The laptop was around £850 and bought on a barclaycard. The adapter was from a UK supplier who makes a big deal of using the official power adapters etc. The adapter has caused the damage.

Mercutio · 21 Jun 2012 at 10:59

As a random thought. Could I not buy a well fitting adapter, fit a pin into it with some form of "spongy" metal contact at the end? The power supply does still semi work, just requires a lot of force to keep the centre pin that's lodged in the cable connected. It's not ideal but if it saves me otherwise I'd consider it

I COULD solder a pin in place but again, not ideal, might not last and i'm not sure how the components behind the socket would handle with the heat of a soldering iron. Something that makes a good contact, is slightly pliable and "bounces back" into shape would be ideal.

This second post of course assuming there's no good suggestions on chasing someone to pay for it while keeping remainder of warranty (bout 10 months left).

Richyyy · 21 Jun 2012 at 11:04

From what you are saying I am presuming you mean the powerjack?

Most places won't accept that under warranty they will just blame yourself, however it is worth a try. If not either take it to a local computer shop or if you know someone who is quite good at soldering (or yourself) then it isn't too bad of a job. The parts can be bought online for quite a cheap price.

It also may not be soldered to the actual board, depending on the model it may be a cable connected to the board or an actual daughter board that attaches to the motherboard.

I wouldn't try to bodge it, it will cause you too many problems and if the problem gets worse it can damage the motherboard which is going to cost you more in the long run if you wanted to replace it.

It depends on your area but that sort of job shouldn't cost much more than £50 if you take it to a local shop. However like I said, it is worth trying to send it back first and taking it from there.

Out of curiosity what is the laptop model etc?

edscdk · 21 Jun 2012 at 11:06

get the socket fixed ~£60 or replace it youself if you can solder and are brave ~£2.50

Richyyy · 21 Jun 2012 at 11:11

edscdk said:
get the socket fixed ~£60 or replace it youself if you can solder and are brave ~£2.50

I wouldn't say brave, it is quite a easy job if you take your time.

The only problem you will have is trying to unsolder the existing powerjack from the board, the solder they use is just terrible and take a LOT of heat to eventually melt.

Thekwango · 21 Jun 2012 at 11:23

i wouldn't really suggest doing the soldering yourself, unless you are competent with a soldering iron and have the right solder tips and heatsinks. it's the old adage of 'it's easy if you know' if you dont you could make a proper pigs ear of it and possibly cause more damage.

Mercutio · 21 Jun 2012 at 11:27

Richyyy said:
From what you are saying I am presuming you mean the powerjack?

Most places won't accept that under warranty they will just blame yourself, however it is worth a try. If not either take it to a local computer shop or if you know someone who is quite good at soldering (or yourself) then it isn't too bad of a job. The parts can be bought online for quite a cheap price.

It also may not be soldered to the actual board, depending on the model it may be a cable connected to the board or an actual daughter board that attaches to the motherboard.

I wouldn't try to bodge it, it will cause you too many problems and if the problem gets worse it can damage the motherboard which is going to cost you more in the long run if you wanted to replace it.

It depends on your area but that sort of job shouldn't cost much more than £50 if you take it to a local shop. However like I said, it is worth trying to send it back first and taking it from there.

Out of curiosity what is the laptop model etc?

Above all noted, cheers. The laptop is, unfortunately, the one in the signature, MSI GX660R. It looks to be based on someone else's chassis tho as I've seen a deviltech (German) laptop with the same chassis.

Richyyy · 21 Jun 2012 at 11:34

Mercutio said:
Above all noted, cheers. The laptop is, unfortunately, the one in the signature, MSI GX660R. It looks to be based on someone else's chassis tho as I've seen a deviltech (German) laptop with the same chassis.

Just had a little look, the part isn't going to cost you very much. If you are thinking of getting it repaired at a local shop I would see how much they would charge if you supplied the part. It is cheaper that way, most places work on a set fee for this problem (including myself) and don't take into account the cost of the part even if it costs £3.99 or £13.99, you might save yourself a little money that way.

As Thekwango said, if you aren't 100% confident or have little knowledge of soldering etc I wouldn't tackle it yourself, as I said above soldering the new part on is easy however taking the old one off is a pain 90% of the time!

Mercutio · 21 Jun 2012 at 11:41

Soldering I can do but never had anything i've handled yet that needed a heat sink so maybe better to let someone else have a go.

I had a quick look around for the part too (and found a strip down video on youtube) so it does all depend on how much someone would charge for the work.

Is the general opinion that i'm screwed trying a warranty fix for it? Any angle chasing the company that sold me the part as it wasn't quite to spec and caused the damage?

What tools other than iron and solder sucker would be needed if I was to have a look at it myself?

Meaker · 21 Jun 2012 at 11:42

MSI sell barebones so thats why other companies use a similar design. But yes you can get the jack fixed. Also delta sell multiple versions of the same brick with the same model number but different connectors.

Richyyy · 21 Jun 2012 at 11:49

Mercutio said:
Soldering I can do but never had anything i've handled yet that needed a heat sink so maybe better to let someone else have a go.

I had a quick look around for the part too (and found a strip down video on youtube) so it does all depend on how much someone would charge for the work.

Is the general opinion that i'm screwed trying a warranty fix for it? Any angle chasing the company that sold me the part as it wasn't quite to spec and caused the damage?

What tools other than iron and solder sucker would be needed if I was to have a look at it myself?

I have never used a heatsink, ever.

I actually don't use a soldering iron to take it off either, I have a aoyue 968 which I use the hot air to melt the solder (much higher heat + more consistent).

Every way is different to do the job as it depends on the tools you have plus the laptop etc.

Tools I personally use are the above soldering station, compressed air (much better than a soldering sucker as long as you are careful), aluminium tape for protecting parts of the board close to the powerjack, maybe a little screwdriver too. I also clean the board a lot with mek and iso alcohol during the process of unsoldering.

If you are in any doubt I wouldn't attempt it yourself! Don't want to persuade you into something you are not comfortable with and break it

I forgot to mention, you shouldn't be charged more than £50 which includes parts. It depends on your area really...

Mercutio · 21 Jun 2012 at 13:03

Don't worry on the persuading. I'll not risk it if I'm not sure. I'm generally fairly "handy" with things like this tho.

I think my plan of action at the moment is to get onto MSI, talk to them about if it's going to be a warranty repair, check the price if not. If it's silly priced (like they want to just replace the whole mainboard) then time to look at it either myself or get it done.

The advantages of self fix is that I could take the iron, pump, screwdriver set and a new power adapter with me when I go Greece again in a few weeks and fix it before I leave.

I might take a look at a few other bits of PCB's i've got that I don't have use for (old drive enclosures etc) and see how hard I find it on those.

If MSI will do it under warranty then I think that's almost certainly my best option