Advanced Technical Support

Archive for the ‘Laptop Repair’ Category

Question:

I just ghosted my vista laptop 120 Gigabyte hard disk over to a brand new 640 Gigabyte SATA drive and the laptop just reboots and never shows the vista boot screeen?

Answer:

If you boot the vista boot disk up and fix the boot with advanced options, I it will repair the boot sector and allow Vista to load. Alternatively, you can boot the windows XP cd to command prompt only and run fixboot.

Running fixboot from a windows XP cd will also wipe any boot virus out, if you ever get one that erases your boot sector, or just infects it.

Dell Inspiron Power Jack

If your dell laptop will not charge without wiggling the cord around, Here’s how to do the fix yourself:

Dell 5150/1100 series Slideshow

Other dell inspiron laptops are similar to the Instructions above

Parts: Dell Inspiron power jack Fix Kit & Instructions NR

Generic instructions:

1. Remove power and battery
2. Remove power on button strip
3. Remove Keyboard
4. Remove LCD Cable from video card
5. Remove Wireless minicoax cables from the wireless card
6. Remove the screen from the laptop body
7. Flip the laptop
8. Remove screws from the panels and remove cards and ram
9. Remove case screws and keep track of them.
10. Remove cd-rom and hard disk
11. flip laptop and remove any other screws holding the case together.
12. pop the shell apart, remove the bays that interfere with the removal of the motherboard
13. remove the VGA standoffs
14. remove the video card and processor fans
15. remove the motherboard from the case.
16. Prep and use desolder wick to remove old component and clean up the thru holes.
17. put the new component into the board ( be certain you put it on the correct side of the board)
18. Flip the board and solder the component in, be sure to flow solder evenly on each leg.
19. allow all to cool and reassemble by reversing the steps above to rebuild the laptop.
20. Plug the unit into the wall and see if it will charge the battery/start the computer without the battery in.

Enjoy the repaired computer.

Many of you have dell laptops, and many of you are starting to have wobbly screens. I’ve replaced a number of hinges on other laptops, however with most laptops the hinge itself is fine. The problem actually stems from the fact that the hinge is steel, the screws are steel, however the mount with the threaded holes is aluminum. So, as you open and close the lid, you wobble the screws and stress the aluminum and the screws get loose. Eventually, the hinge doesn’t turn but the plastic does and pop, you’ve got a damaged “Hinge” where the plastic gets loose and the screen won’t stay in place..

I assembled an online picture presentation with all the information you need to perform the repair.

Dell Inspiron 6000,1505, 1525 hinge repair.

Dell Inspiron 9300, 1705 hinge repair.

Total cost of repair all sourced at my local ACE Hardware store:

4 4×40  screws ($0.11 each) = $0.44

4×40 Tap and appropriate drill bit=$6.54 including tax.

Total cost for repair $6.98