Motherboard shot is it possible to replace?

TheTwoOfUs

TheTwoOfUs

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I managed to bugger the motherboard on my ACER laptop by plugging the power lead into a USB port (I know it was stupid but in my defence it was dark and I was stood the other side of the laptop). Anyway I took it to a local PC shop who sent it away somewhere down south who after 5 weeks sent it back saying that it wasn't economical to repair. Estimate being about £3/400.The laptop cost just under £1k a couple of years ago. Any suggestions? Funny ones acceptable as it might cheer me up.
 
find one of the numerous small businesses on ebay that break up damaged laptops for parts and source a used motherboard
 
Replacing a motherboard, especially in a laptop is not for the fainthearted.

And even when done it might reveal further faults.

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Probably just better to buy a new one now, £300 to 400 will buy the same spec as you had when it was new.

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a couple of weeks ago my sister asked me to fix her laptop, as the local shop said beyond economical repair. The keyboard was knackered but unlike most other laptops, the keyboard was welded into the top fascia of the laptop. the manufacturer wanted £150 for the part alone without the labour.
I went online and found a video demonstrating how to fit a third party keyboard, which involved snapping off plastic lugs inside and ripping out the broken board to leave the empty shell

On opening the case, I next had to remove all the add on components attached to the motherboard and then screen and the motherboard itself. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I pressed on and broke off all the melted plastic retaining tabs I could get at then carefully lifted one end of the keyboard baseplate and tore it out, snapping several more hidden tabs.

After cleaning out all the debris, I then began reassembly, first gluing in the keyboard sourced on ebay for £15. Working methodically I put back everything previously removed ensuring that I got all the ribbon cable catches latched again (very fiddly) and the processor fans were bedded onto new thermal paste

It took 2 hours, and although worrying of anything had failed, it booted up immediately and worked as it should. Don't be afraid to try a laptop repair if you can source the parts cheap enough, although fiddly, it can easily be achieved on a kitchen table if you have the patience
 
TheBig1 said:
a couple of weeks ago my sister asked me to fix her laptop, as the local shop said beyond economical repair. The keyboard was knackered but unlike most other laptops, the keyboard was welded into the top fascia of the laptop. the manufacturer wanted £150 for the part alone without the labour.
I went online and found a video demonstrating how to fit a third party keyboard, which involved snapping off plastic lugs inside and ripping out the broken board to leave the empty shell

On opening the case, I next had to remove all the add on components attached to the motherboard and then screen and the motherboard itself. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I pressed on and broke off all the melted plastic retaining tabs I could get at then carefully lifted one end of the keyboard baseplate and tore it out, snapping several more hidden tabs.

After cleaning out all the debris, I then began reassembly, first gluing in the keyboard sourced on ebay for £15. Working methodically I put back everything previously removed ensuring that I got all the ribbon cable catches latched again (very fiddly) and the processor fans were bedded onto new thermal paste

It took 2 hours, and although worrying of anything had failed, it booted up immediately and worked as it should. Don't be afraid to try a laptop repair if you can source the parts cheap enough, although fiddly, it can easily be achieved on a kitchen table if you have the patience
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When an old one of mine got a knackered keyboard I went down the chicken road and just bought a USB external mini keyboard!:whistle:
 
In a similar situation with the autoroutress's laptop, I bought one from Ebay with a broken screen and cracked case. The motherboard was fine, and transferred relatively easily with a bit of care - all screws and connectors, no soldering and ungluing required.
 
What has annoyed me is that they have returned it as in their opinion it was uneconomical to repair. Surely that should have been my call to make? Maybe they don't have confidence in their own ability to do the work.
 
Bin it.
A motherboard is just about all the innards in a laptop.
Lesson learned.
 
TheTwoOfUs said:
What has annoyed me is that they have returned it as in their opinion it was uneconomical to repair. Surely that should have been my call to make? Maybe they don't have confidence in their own ability to do the work.
Click to expand...
Guess they will be saying the cost to repair will be more than the cost to buy an equivalent spec'd new one on which you'll have a full warranty.
 
They qouted £300-400 for a high end laptop which cost £1000 A couple of years ago.

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TheTwoOfUs said:
They qouted £300-400 for a high end laptop which cost £1000 A couple of years ago.
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Doesn't really surprise me. From memory a company will depreciate a laptop by a minimum of 33% in first year alone. It also depends on how the components (eg CPU, AGP, etc) have moved on over the timeframe.
 
I am a fan of Dell Latitude laptops. With a small screwdriver any parts can be replaced. Probably why they are popular with large organisations eg NHS . I recently had a chinese cheapy laptop die on me. Just a single circuit board in it, totally un repaireable.
I have two latitudes, one is 20 years old and still going strong, running Win XP.
 

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