Friday, December 30, 2011 How to test LCD screen inverter in a laptop

In this post I explain how I test the LCD screen inverter board in a laptop computer.
The screen inverter failure is very similar to the backlight lamp failure. In both cases the screen gets very dark and the image on the screen becomes very faint, barely visible under a bright light.
If you suspect the inverter board failure, I know only one reliable way to test that. It’s either replacing the inverter board with a known good one and see if it works, or connecting a known good backlight lamp and see if your presumably bad inverter lights it up.
In most cases I go with the second method – testing the laptop with a known good backlight lamp. Why? Because backlight lamps are pretty much universal. The same backlight lamp will work with many different inverters as long as they have matching connectors. I’ll talk about these connectors later.

How to fix hardware problems without taking apart the laptop

Here’s how you can fix, or to be precise, work around some hardware problem without taking apart the laptop.

1. Network port failure.
In most laptops the network port (aka RJ-45 port) is soldered directly to the motherboard. If for some reason the network port fails (I’m talking about hardware, not software failure), the whole motherboard has to be replaced.
Instead of replacing the motherboard, you can use a PCMCIA network card (aka LAN PC card). You plug this card into the available PC slot in your laptop and get a network port instead.

Fixing laptop after liquid spill

In this post I provide a few tips on fixing a laptop after liquid spill.

IMPORTANT: If you spilled something on your laptop you should stop using it right away, even if the laptop appears to be running good. Right after the spill you should turn it off, unplug the power adapter and remove the battery. The laptop should be disassembled as soon as possible and all internal parts should be inspected for liquid damage.

Liquid spills are very unpredictable and even a small amount of liquid spilled on the laptop can cause a serious damage.

IF YOU SPILLED A SMALL AMOUNT OF LIQUID ON THE KEYBOARD

Thursday, December 29, 2011 How to repair broken touchpad connector on laptop motherboard

In this post I explain how to repair broken touchpad cable connector on laptop motherboard.
Let’s say you were fixing a laptop yourself and accidentally damaged the touchpad connector or any other similar connector. The problem is the touchpad connector soldered to the motherboard and it’s impossible to replace it with regular soldering tools. Also, these connectors are not sold separately which makes the replacement even more impossible.
Well, the connector is broken and cannot be replaced. Let’s try to repair it. We’ll do it using the same technique as for fixing the broken keyboard connector.
On the following picture you see a typical laptop touchpad connector. The connector has а white base (permanently attached to the motherboard) and locking tab (moving part).

Friday, December 2, 2011 Laptop screen shows strange colors. What could be wrong?

I’ve been asked this question many times and today I’m addressing the issue.