BTW, I have a servicable laptop with one problem. The electrical jack where the power cord plugs in is faulty and it need to be replaced. I have been told it’s one of the toughest repairs on a laptop. Can this be true?
same thing happened with one of my stepkids’ computers...cost around $200 to get it fixed...and is, apparently, a fairly common issue...the jack was partly broken off and very loose
The problem with the power jack was a standard issue with early HP Pavilions. When mine went bad I had to use the cradle for power during the last two months until I got my new Dell. This is so common that I located online instructions and a site in the U.K. which would perform the service for around $50. (Don’t ask. I have lost the references.)
Yes, it is a pain! minimum charge here to take the laptop apart and inspect it is $135.00.
The reason to inspect it is that sometimes the motherboard is cracked or damaged by people wiggling the jack or propping the adapter plug on something so it makes contact and the board breaks.
At that point replace the laptop.
It is not hard but some laptops have the power plug on the system board. The best repair is a new system board. You might be able to repair the connect to the system board but I would not want to warranty the repair.
I have done it.
It is difficult.
You need to be very, very careful. Hot solder and a finely etched computer board... well, you know what I mean.
That’s assuming it is servicable at all, because there are a million ways to solder the connector to the board. You might not even be able to get to it.
I have a Dell Latitude laptop. After about 6 mos the power adapter socket broke. It was on warranty. A service tech came to my house and replaced the motherboard. About a 1 hr job plus 2 hrs of his travel time. Glad I had the warranty.
It’ll happen again so most of the time I keep it in the docking station.
“BTW, I have a servicable laptop with one problem. The electrical jack where the power cord plugs in is faulty and it need to be replaced. I have been told it’s one of the toughest repairs on a laptop. Can this be true?”
Yep. Anything tougher means it’s cheaper to just buy a new laptop.
Jack is soldered to the MOBO with up to six legs. To access MOBO, it has to be removed, which means the ENTIRE laptop has to be disassembled into its constituent pieces. Then you have to know how to desolder and remove the jack without destroying the MOBO with heat and or static, resolder the new jack, reassemble the whole thing, and then pray that the damn thing works when you get it back together, because there are no intermediate assembly steps that can be tested. Furthermore, how does the tech know the laptop even worked BEFORE the jack went bad? He doesn’t. This is the one repair that I offer no guarantee that the laptop will work when I’m done. No charge of course if it doesn’t, though.