10 year old laptop problem

Associate
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7 May 2016
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Hey guys,

So my girlfriends laptop has been shutting off randomly for a while, I changed the battery as I thought it was down to that, but no luck. So after trying different parts and every possible fix I could, I have today noticed that the charger seems to be very intermittent when you touch it, sometimes the slightest movement can shut the laptop off, other times it takes nothing. I opened the laptop today and it seems that at the entry point where the charger connection plugs in, the motherboard seems to have some solder problems. I have posted 2 images below, I think the solder needs redoing, but some advice would be great. The charger connector was also getting very hot for a while, I am sure this is why. Anyway the laptop no longer powers on now, so any help would be great.

Images:

Top right on the below image, you can see the 6 solder points
https://ibb.co/0cWDyqm
https://ibb.co/p4Vfm3n
 
Soldato
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20 Oct 2008
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12,096
They do need some attention.

Do you own a soldering iron and solder?

If it shuts off immediately that presumably means the battery is completely dead (not surprising if it's the original).
 
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Hi, no I will need to order a soldering iron, the battery isn't dead mate, I bought a 2nd battery and it is doing the same. I have never soldered before, can someone point me to the right place and tell me what I need, I am not afraid to give it a go.
So seems I need a soldering iron, braid and flux. What else? Where shall i buy this stuff guys? I hope I won't need to replace the jack, I can't find one.
 
Last edited:
Associate
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It would be cheaper to give it away for some one else to fix it.


Diy u need . Soldering iron, solder, flux, wick.
Get onto utube, u can find tutorial s on how to solder.also take a multimeter and check if its not shorted. If it is it wont
power on.


Ebay has all u need.
 
Soldato
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Buy yourself some isopropyl alcohol, leaded solder and a de-soldering pump too - maybe even a cheap multimeter to test for continuity. When buying the braid, try and get some with flux in, but it's not overly important as you'll be buying some flux anyway. I'd probably buy a new charger socket too, for piece of mind.

What I would do is clean the whole area with isopropyl alcohol first. Then apply some flux the existing joints of the charger socket. Next use your soldering iron to apply the leaded solder to the existing solder first. Then use the de-soldering pump to remove the solder from the joints. At this point the charger socket should start to feel look, but don't be tempted to yank it off with your hands - use the braid to mop the remaining solder, being careful to remove the braid with the soldering iron so it doesn't stick to the PCB. Then gently push each pin down with the soldering iron to release the socket and it should soon come free.

With the charger socket removed, clean up the area with the soldering braid and finish off by cleaning with isopropyl alcohol. Then solder two opposite pins of your new charger socket into place - make sure the socket is flush with the PCB before soldering the rest of the pins. If you chose to buy a multimeter, you can test for continuity between each track and pin of the socket - if you get a small break, you might be able to repair it by scratching the trace back to the copper and applying a tiny amount of solder to try and repair it.

If all is well, proceed to testing, If it doesn't work first time, check your soldering and traces again. Good luck either way.

I should confess that I'm not a skilled solderer. But thanks to YouTube I've been able to repair one or two minor things - nothing complicated though! I would recommend bigclivedotcom and My Mate VINCE if you want to see how people go about repairs.
 
Soldato
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There's a UK based guy on youtube adamant something that does this kind of stuff, seems crazy to invest into soldering kits/parts at the bottom end without any experience, you'll likely just be chucking money at something you have little chance of fixing (without a bit of know-how and half-decent kit).
 
Associate
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I am going to try and fix it myself, and I am quite skilled at most things and I am sure that I will use the soldering bits again if I can learn. Do you guys think I will be able to reuse the same headphone connector that I am soldering? I cant find a replacement.
 
Associate
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yes u can reuse same connector. u have to remove old solder and applie new one. soldering is about practice the more u do the better u get. if i were u i would try it first on some wires or a trash pcb anything but your laptop.
 
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OK thanks, I found a kit on amazon with everything required and it's not too expensive. I am ordering it now, hopefully I can do it, I like a challenge.
 
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My soldering kit is here, came with everything excepy flux. The issue with you guys thinking something has been getting hot does make sense. The charger was boiling hot to touch and connector for some time, until last week i change thermal paste on gpu and cpu and temps on both plummeted. So without flux im not sure i can do this, the kits has all sorts but whether or not this is enough i dont know. I see in this kit

Solder wick, soldering paste (is that flux?), solder pump, multimeter (never used one of them), soldering tips, a pcb (guessing thats for practice), solder holder ans stand and lots more. From amazon for £21.95, plusivo kit. I have never done this clearly haha
 
Associate
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Solder wire? Or u have solder paste as wire?
Try using wick on your jack and clean solder off it. But might be hard with out flux.
I guess utube is your friend for a weekend .
 
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