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June,2014

TableOfContent

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………11.Basictools………………………………………………………………………….22.PartsoftheLaptop……………………………………………………………113.InstallingOperatingSystemsonLaptops&Netbooks……..264.LaptopDisassembly………………………………………………………….655.CD/DVDDriveRepairing………………………………………………….1056.RecoverLostDatafromaDeadHardDrive……………………..1147.LaptopScreenRepairing………………………………………………….1278.LaptopPoweronProblem……………………………………………….1399.LaptopMotherboardComponent……………………………………17210.TheSolderingProcess……………………………………………………17911.MotherboardRepairing…………………………………………………192

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Introduction

Iwrotethisbookforpeoplewhowanttoupgrade,repair,maintain,andtroubleshootlaptopandnotebookcomputersaswellasforthoseenthusiastswhowanttoknowmoreaboutlaptopsorportablePChardwareingeneral.

Nocomplicatedtechnicaltheory,fullypracticalbasedstepbystepguidebook.Itwillgivesyouacompleteandtothepointknowledgeonwhattodotorepairyourlaptop.Itisnotthatbasicthatyougetbored.Stillhasaveryeasytounderstandlanguagethatalltypeofpeoplecanlearnfrom.Evenyoudon’tneedanyprevioustechnicalknowledgetoreadandunderstandthebook.Ifyouwouldliketostepintolaptoprepairworld,Irecommendthisbookhighly.

ThisisabookthatgoesdeeperintotheMotherboardEndofLaptopRepairing.Afterreadingthebookinit’sentirety,thenrereadingitasecondtime,youshallabletorepairabunchoflaptopmotherboards.

Thisbookiswrittentoteachforthosepeoplewho–

1.Technicallyinclinedandwanttoknowhowtosuccessfullyrepairalaptopornotebookcomputer.2.Whoisserioustolearntomakehiscareerasalaptoprepairtechnician.3.Individualtoknowhowtorepairandmaintainhisownlaptop.

Thisbookisacompleteguidebooktofulfillthoserequirements.

ThisbookwaswrittentoallowabetterunderstandingastohowexactlyaLaptopcanfailandhowanindividualsuchasyourself,cantroubleshoot,diagnoseandproperlyrepairthefaultyissue(s)thatmayarisewhilesavingatonofmoneyratherthansendingittoarepairfacilityorbuyingnewreplacementparts.

GreatforcurrentStudentsenrolledinTechnologyrelatedcourses,asthisinformationisnottaughtinclasses.

Pleasetakethetimetoreadthisbookinitsentirety,thenre-readitagaintoensureyougetaclearunderstandingofallitscontent.IalsorecommendthatyoupurchasemyFirstbookreleaseentitled:World’sFirstCompleteGuidetoLaptop&NotebookRepair.–Suitableforallagegroupsandlearninglevels–thisbookwillteachyouwithoutallthetechnicaltermsused,andwillexplain,stepbystep,ingreatdetail.Iwillnotincludeallthearithmeticequationsused,orthespecificdetailedcomponentschematics,rather,IwillreplacethoseconfusingtermswitheasilyunderstandablereplacementtermsforyourconvenienceandtoallowabetterunderstandingfortheBeginnerorinexperiencedtechnician.

Chapter1

BasicToolsIntroduction

InthischapterIamgoingtodiscussaboutthetoolsthatareneededtoalaptoptechnician.HereIwilllistthecommonnamesofthetoolsthen,Iwillgiveabriefdescriptionofthattool’susagesrelatingtoLaptoprepairing

1.ScrewdriversforLaptop

Thisisnottheaveragesizedscrewdriver,asthatwouldbetoolargeforthetinyscrewsusedonlaptopstoday.Thisisthemicro-sizedscrewdriver,whichcanbeboughtatyourlocalHomeImprovementstore.Imyselfuseanallin-onescrewdriverthathousestheextratipsinsidethescrewdriveritself.Then,Ialsousethescrewdriverset

fromanEyeglassRepairKit.YoucanpurchaseonefromyourlocalAutoPartsStore(asktheclerkforassistanceinlocatingone)andyouwilldefinitelyneedthemultipletippacktoallowdifferentsizesfordifferentlaptopmodels.

2.MiniPliers

Isuggestthatyoubuyminineedlenosedpliersbecausetheyareeasiertouseonthemicrosizedcomponentsthatmakeupthelaptop.ThepliersIuseare3incheslong,Ifindthatthenormalsizedpliersarewaytoobiganddonotreachintocertainareasthattheminican.

3.Scissors

Yeah,scissors,weneedascissors.Thesmallerthebetterwhenobtainingyourscissors.Iusehaircuttingscissorsbecausetheyaresmallandthecuttingtipsarethinandnarrow.

4.

ElectricalTape

Thisisusedtowrapcablesandwires,andusedtosecureorflattenwire

orcabletracksonorinthelaptop.ItrynottousethisonwireorcablewrappingifpossiblebecauseIhavefoundthatovertimethetapewillslowlyunravelandcanbecome―stickyontheouter-side.

5.ShrinkWrapTubing

Thesecanusuallybefoundinvarietypacks,thelargerofthesizeswillbetheoneyouusemostcommonlyinlaptoprepair.Theseareplacedovertherepairareaonthewireorcable,theyarebasicallyrubbertubesthatyoucuttoyourspecificallyneededlength,thenheatthetubetoshrinkittothesizeofthewireorcablebeingrepaired.

6.CopperFoilTape

Alesscommonitemused,thoughyouwilleventuallyneedthisifyouarerepairinglaptopsonaregularbasis.ThiswillbeusedformotherboardPCBrepairandmorecommonlyusedforDCJackC-ringreplacement/repair.

7.AdjustablePliers

Thisisalesscommonlyusedtool,thoughitwillbeneededattimes.I

8.LiquidFlux

willrarelyusethisonaDCJackrepairtogentlywigglethejackloosefromthedesolderedcontactpads.Youwillfindotherusesforthistoolsoitisagoodtooltoaddtoyourcollection.

Forthistool,IrecommendthatyougetbothapasteformandtheliquidPENform.Botharereadilyavailableonlocalstoreforasmallprice,yetarehardtofindlocallyatastore,youcantryshoppingatRadioShackforFluxPaste,butdoubtfultheyhavethefluxpens.

9.PlasticPryingTools

Thesewillbeneededforalmosteverylaptoprepairprocedure.When

able,youwillALWAYSuseplasticovermetaltodisassembleorworkonthelaptoporanyelectroniccomponent.Therearevariouskindsthatareusedandneeded.Aguitarpickisthemostusedtool,notaflimsypickratheraslightlythickerguitarpickthatcanwithhold

bendingbackandforthnumeroustimes.

10.2PartPlastic/MetalEpoxyGlue

Youwillfindmanyvarietiesofthisproductandwillhavetochoosethebestoneforyourself,ItypicallyusetheBlack/Clearmix…Asithasalongerdryingtime,itwillallowmorestrengthovertimeandholduptoheatexposure.Thiswillbeusedinmanyareasofthelaptop,andbeingthatalaptopmotherboardisSelfGrounded…itcanbeuseddirectlyonthePCBtocovercomponentsortraces.AcommonuseforthisEpoxyisforDCJackRepair,asitwillbeusedinthelaststepandappliedtothe

jacksrearendandsidestohelpsecureittothemotherboard.AlsothiswillbeusedtobracetheJackwhenthelaptopslowercasesDCJackholdingcagebreaks(commonissueforToshiba–newermodellaptops).

11.ThermalPaste

YouwillonlybeusingSilverthermalpasteinaLaptop,NeverCeramicPaste.Laptopswilluse2coolingsources….EitherSilverpasteorathermalpad.Padswillbehardto

repurchase,andsilverthermalpastewillbereadilyavailableforsaleeverywhere.Ifapartorcomponentoriginallyusedathermalpad,itishighlyrecommendedthatyoukeepusingapadandnotswitchitoutto

usingpaste…Thesepadsalsoareusedtocoveragapwhichisleftforthatspecificpartforthermalexpansionandcontraction.

12.30to50WattSolderingIron

Youcanuseanybrandoftheseandtheyaretypicallydisposable.I

recommendthatyoudodisposeofthecheapersolderingironsafter10orsouses,orgetyourselfsomeTinnertorefreshthetip.Idorecommenda50wattironforlaptopcomponentrepairasitwillallowforbetter―flowofthesolderduetothehighertemperatureoutput.

13.Solder

TheaverageRosinCoreSolderwilldo,getyourself1.0mmsolder,anythickeranditwillapplytoheavily.

14.Toothbrush

This,believeitornot,isthesecondmostusedtoolinLaptopRepair.

Yes.Atoothbrush…Youwillusethisoneachandeverylaptopyourepair.Whyyouask?Thetoothbrushisusedtocleananyandallpartsandcomponentsinandonthelaptop.Cleaningthelaptoppartsasyourepairisdetrimentaltothelongevityofthelaptopslife.Itisusedtocleanthe

keyboard,themotherboardandanycasepart.Moredetailedusageswillfollowthroughoutthisbookandshouldbeappliedasinstructed.

15.Toothpicks

Thesehavemanyusesandareahandytooltohavenearby.Usedtoapplyfluxes,usedtoapplyepoxies,alsocanbeusedtohelpplugorunplugcertainribboncablesorthin

wire(s).

16.CircuitBoardCleaningSolution/WD40

Thissolventisusedtocleanthemotherboard,andIwillclarifyitsusesthroughoutthisbook.WD40ismorereadilyavailabletopurchaseandcansuffice.Again,IwillalsoexplainhowtoproperlyuseWD40tocleancomponents/removefluxandsoforth.

17.ThinTippedBlackPermanentMarker

Thisisusedoftentomarkscrewholes,ortomarktheareasofdamageonthelaptopsparts.

18.Multi-meter

19.HeatGun

ThiscanbeboughtatyourlocalHomeImprovementstore,andyouwillfindawidevarietyofqualitychoices.Forabeginner,itisoktopurchasethecheapestMulti-meterto

learnitsusesandfamiliarizeyourselfwithit.

Thebetterthequalitythebetterthefinalresultsofyourrepairswillbe.Onaverage,youwanttouseatleastaheatgunwithswitchablesettings…Onethatwillproducetemperatureof700to800degrees.IuseaRYOBIheatgun,120v,11a,Temp:200-1100degreesFarenheit.

20.HeatGunAddOnTips

YouwillfindforsaleonanylocalelectricalstoreortheWeb,tipsfortheheatgun…thesearethesameorsimilartothetipsusedinprofessionalReworkstations(I’llexplainwhataReworkStationislaterinthebook).Therearealotofdifferenttipsyoucanbuyandalotofdifferentsizestochoosefrom.Youwillbuytheseaccordingtoyourspecificneeds.Ipersonallyusethe

Conetelescopingtips,andtheSquareGPUCoveringtips

Chapter2

PartsoftheLaptopIntroduction

Alaptopisaportablepersonalcomputerwithaclamshellformfactor,suitableformobileuse.Theyarealsosometimescallednotebookcomputersornotebooks.Laptopsarecommonlyusedinavarietyofsettings,includingwork,education,andpersonalmultimedia.

Alaptopcombinesthecomponentsandinputsasadesktopcomputer;includingdisplay,speakerskeyboard,andpointingdevice(suchasatouchpad),intoasingledevice.Mostmodern-daylaptopcomputersalsohaveawebcamandamic(microphone)pre-installed.[citationneeded]Alaptopcanbepoweredeitherfromarechargeablebattery,orbymainselectricityviaanACadapter.

Iwillquicklygooverallthebasicandadditionalpartsandcomponentsthatmakeupyourlaptop.

1.Palmrest

Thisisthepartthatyouplaceyourhandsonwhentyping,itisbasicallythewholetop-halfofthelowerhalfofyourlaptop–minusthekeyboardandmediastrip.Whenreplacingthepalmrest,itiscommonforthereplacementparttoalsoincludethetouchpad.

2.Keyboard

Selfexplanatoryhere…Ifrepairingthekeyboard,thesimplestwayisto

replacetheentirekeyboard,thoughSinglekeyreplacementpartsarereadilyavailableonanycomputerhardwarestore.12

3.DisplayScreen

Thisiswhatproducestheimages,accessiblebyremovingthefrontbezel.Crackedscreenscannotberepairedanddoneedtobereplaced.

4.CCFLBulb

Thisislocatedinthedisplaypanelandwillbefoundonthebottomendofthescreenstretchingfromtherightendtotheleftend…TheCCFL

5.DisplayCable

bulbisenclosed..inanopenendmetaltraythathugsthebottomedgeoftheglasspanelonthescreenandshinesthelightupthroughtheglasspaneltoilluminatetheentirescreenevenly.

Thesearemadespecifictoeachmodellaptopandarenotinterchangeable.¾ofthecablewillhousethe–datawiresandtheother¼willhousethe

Power/Negativewiresfortheinverter.

6.DisplayPCBstrips

ThispartislocatedinsidethePowerInverter-laptopscreen,inthemiddle-bottomofthescreenhousing.Someinverterswillbelocatedindifferentplaces,italldependsonthemodel,andthosearerare…likeontherearsideofthescreenorthesideofthescreen…

butagainthosearerare,andyouwill90%ofthetimebereplacingonelocated

justbelowtheactualdisplaypanel.Thescreenlightplugismadeinsuchawaythatyoucannotreversetheplugandaccidentallyplugitinthewrongway,rather,itwillonlyplugintotheinverterthecorrect

way(oneportislargerthantheother).

7.LEDlightstrips

Thesearethenewersourceoflightforlaptops.ThelightemittedismuchbrighterandwhiterasopposedtotheyellowishtinttoaCCFLbulb.LEDlightstripswillhavetheinverter/converterbuiltintotherearsidecircuitboardpanelonthescreenandtheywillnothaveaphysicalinverterboardunderthescreen.

8.HingeSet(L&R)

Thehingesattachtothebottombaseofthelaptopandwillsecureoneitherendoftheinnerscreen,securingitselftothescreensrearcover,thensecuringthescreenbyusingHingerailsthatrunupeach

sideofthescreen.

9.Touchpad/Mouse

Anotherself-explanatorypartthateveryoneshouldalreadyknow…Someofthesewillhavethecapabilityofbeingdisabledorreenabledbyabuttonlocatednearbyonthepalmrest,

somewillnot.

10.MediaStrip

Thispartislocateddirectlyabovethekeyboardandwillsometimesincludethehingecoverswithit.Itwillusuallyincludethepower

button,andsomelightediconssuchasbatterymonitor,harddrivemonitor,15luetoothandWi-Fimonitor.Somelaptopswillallowtouchsensitivebuttonsandsomewillbepushbuttons,thoughall

willbelabeled.Thispartisusuallyjustasnapinplacepart,thoughifitissecuredtothelaptop,itsscrewswillbelocatedinthebatterybayandontheundersiderearendofthelaptopnearthecorners.

11.OpticalDrive

ThisincludesaDVDdrive,acddriveaBlu-rayplayerorsimilar.

12.HardDrive

Thisiswheredataisstored,thelaptopcanusedifferentkindsofharddrives.Thecurrent3mostcommonfoundareSATA,PATAIDEandSSD.SSDreferstoSolidStateDrives,whicharesimilarlookingtoalaptopsWi-Ficard.TheSSDisthenewestofthesethreedrives.ThePATAIdeistheoldestofthethree.TheSATAandPATAdrivesareidenticalexceptfortheconnectionplugends,astheybothusePlattersandmagneticstostoredata.SSDcardsaremadewithnomovingparts.Thisiswhatmakesthemdifferentthanthetypicaldrive.TheywillnotproduceheatliketheSATA/PATAdrives,mostcommonlyusedinFanless

Netbooks.

13.Wi-FiCard

Thiscaneitherbelocatedonthebottomsideofthelaptop(mostcommonplace)ortheupperside–underthekeyboard.Thispartisoneofthemoststablepartsonthelaptopanditwillrarelyfail,soifyouareexperiencingWi-Fiissues,youwouldtestallsoftwareendissuespriortochangingthewirelesscard.Thebrandofthecardwillbelistedonthestickerofthecard,andwillhelpyouindeterminingwhatdriverto

useforthatspecificlaptop.ItisoktomismatchthecolorguidefortheWi-Fiantennawires.Typicallythewiresarewhiteandblack,andwillhavecoloredarrowsontheWi-Ficardshowingyouwhatwiretoconnecttowhatsiteinputplug.Itisoktoplugtheblackontothewhiteportandvisaversaasitwillstill

allowforsignalgainoftheantennawires,becauseremember,theyarejustthat,antennawires,notpowerwireswhichabout60percentofthelaptopsshippedoutoftheFactory

comemix-matched–reversedwiresfromday1…

14.EthernetCard

Mostlaptopswillhavethisintegratedintothemotherboard,andsomewillhaveanextensionboardthatconnectstothemotherboard.Usedforinternetaccessornetworkingpurposes,everylaptopwillhaveoneoftheseonit,whetherintegratedoracard.

15.PowerButton

Usuallylocatedjustabovethekeyboard,somelaptopswillplacethe

powerbuttonindifferentareas,likethelidofthelaptop,orthefrontofthelaptoporitssides.Powerbuttonscanbeleverstyle,buttonstyle,touchsensitiveorswitchstyle.Most

commonisthepushbuttonstyle.Whenapowerbuttonispressed,itpushesabuttonpadonthe

motherboardoradaughterboard.

16.LidLockLever/Switch

Thesecanbeahooklatchstyleortheycanbemagnetic.Themorecommonstyleisthehookandlatchstyle.Thisusesapush-pulllever,orabuttontolockandunlock,whichreleasesthelidfromthebottombaselockingportslots.Themagneticstylehas

novisibleworkingpartsbecausethemagnetsarelocatedinthelidand/orthebottombaseofthelaptop.

17.HingeCover(

Hingecoverswillsecuretothebottombasetypicallyusingasnapandtabsystem,andsomewillsecurewithbothsnaps/tabsandscrews(1or2).So,firstlookforanyscrewsandremove,thenattempttounsnapthemfromthebottombase.Youmustuseplasticpryingtoolstodothistonotscratchthelaptop.AguitarpickisaLaptopTechniciansbestfriend,andyoushouldruntothestore

rightnowandbuy5or10ofthem.

18.BottomBase

Ifyouflipthelaptopoverwhenit’sclosed,youwillencountertheBottomBaseofthelaptop.Thiswillusuallyhaveremovablecoverslocatedsomewhereonit(harddrivecover,Wi-Fiport

cover,etc…).

19.USBExtensionBoard

EachlaptopmodelwilluseadifferentUSBconfiguration,somewilluseUSBextensionboardsandsomewilljusthavetheintegratedUSBportsthatcomeonthemotherboard.ThisextensionboardisusedtostretchPortstooppositesidesofthelaptopwhenitisnotpossibletouseintegratedports.Theyconnecttothe

motherboardusingaplugin(daughterboard),orawireand/orribboncablesandplugs.

20.EthernetExtensionBoard

ThesewilltypicallybeEthernetExtensionBoardincludedontheUSBextensionboardthough

canbeontheirownboardsaswell.

21.RubberShoes/Feet/ScrewCovers

Rubbershoeswillbefoundonthebottomofthelaptopandwillalsobefoundonthefront

bezelofthescreen.

22.CaseCovers

ThesearethecoversthatarelocatedonCaseCoverstheundersideofthelaptop.Typicallytheywillindividuallycoverthecomponents

separately.Forinstance,theharddrivewillhaveitsowncover,usuallysecuredby2or4screw’s,Wi-Ficardaccessbaywillsometimeshaveitsowncovertoo.TheRAMDIMMslotsarealwaysaccessiblefromcasecoversandwillusuallyhavetheirowncover.Somelaptopswillcombinethecoversinto1largecoveror2separatelargercovers.

23.Motherboard

ThelaptopsmotherboardistheMaincomponentofalaptop…Itusuallytakesup¾of

theinsideofthebaseofthelaptop.

24.DCJack

Thisiswhereyouplugthechargercordintoonanylaptop.Theyaretypicallyelongatedboxshapedhavingpowerpinsontherearsideandcenter…andgroundingpinsoneithersides.Iwilldiscussrepaironthispartlaterinthisbook.Replacementjacks

canbeboughtoffanycomputerhardwarestoreandareallusuallyunder$10USDperpart.

26.RAM25.DockingPort

TheseareusedmoreofteninanOfficeatmosphereratherthanthetypicalhome.

LaptopRAMwillbeavailableindifferentspeedsandusuallythelaptopwillallowthevariousspeeds,thoughsomeareBIOSprogrammedtonotacceptanythingbutthedefaultRAMassigned.Forinstance,alaptop

thatwasrunningDDR2666speedshouldbeabletoalsorunthenextslowestspeedof555/533andpossiblythe444.

27.Bluetoothcard

TheinternalBluetoothcardsarenottypicallyintegratedintothemotherboard,theyareusuallypluggedintothemotherboardandwillsitina―cagesomewhereonthelaptopscasing,somearescrewedontothemotherboardusingriserscrewstolevitateitawayfromthemotherboard.

28.WwanCard

ThiscardisidenticaltotheWLANcardortheWi-Ficard.Andisnot

installedoneverylaptop,ratheritismorefoundonthebusinessendlaptopsorthegaminglaptops.Wwaniscommonlyusedforcorporationsorlargersizedbusinessesrunningcrosscountryorworldwideserversornetworks.SamegoesfortheGamingbasedlaptopsliketheAlienwarem17xwhichusesWwantoGameOnline.Alotofmanufacturersoflaptop

motherboardswillapplytheportcontactpadsbutdonotinstalltheportduetospecificlaptopcasespecsandtheportnotfittingcertainlaptopcaseconfigurations.

29.Webcam

Laptopwebcamshavenothadalotofimprovementinthepastfewyears,Ican’tthinkofanylaptopmodeloffhandthathasagoodWebcam.Ifalaptopdoeshaveone,itwillusuallybelocatedontheupperportionofthefrontofthescreen.Itwillusuallyhaveamicrophonelocatedrightnexttoitornearby.Thesearealmostalwaysstationarycamerasanddonotmoveinanyway,thoughtherearemodels

thathavemovablecameras.Acerhassomemodelsthatusedaspinningcamera.Itcouldrotateupordown,thoughnotleftorright.

30.PCSlotCard/SD/MMC

Thesewillbefoundonboththesidesandthefrontofcertainlaptops,morecommonlyfoundonnewerlaptops.TheyallowtheuseofexternalcomponentssuchasMemorycards,EthernetNetworkcards,Modemsandsimilar.

32.HDMI/Other31.VGAOut

Thisisaportthatwillbefoundonalmosteverylaptopeverreleased.Itisusedtoconnectanexternalmonitororviewingdeviceto.ItisVideoOut,notVideoIn.ThemostcommonthingtoconnecttothisportisaDesktopComputerScreen.

HDMIportsarefoundoncertain

newerlaptops,mainlyinstalledonthe―entertainmentbasedlaptop,ortheGamingLaptop.ItcanpassVideoandAudiotoandfromthetelevisionorsimilarsource.DVIorminiDVIportsare

alsousedoncertainlaptopstopass

video.

33.ScreenBezel

ScreenBezelsarethescreenframesthatcoverthefrontsideofthescreen.MostbezelswillsecuretotherearpanelbyaSnap-Tabconnection,oftenalsousingscrewsatall4cornersandsometimesinthecenteroftheupperandorlowerscreenbezel.ScreenFrontBezelscanalsobesecuredwithdoublesided

tapefromthemanufacturer.

34.ScreenRearCover

35.Battery

Thisistheshellorlidofthelaptopwhichisthebacksideofthelaptopsscreen.Thesecanneedreplacingfromabusetothehinges.TheRearScreenCoveristypicallyconnectedtoboththehingesandthefrontbezel,thoughitcancrackandbreakifthehingesbecomelooseorweak.

AlllaptopshaveabatteryasitistheentirereasoningbehindtheLaptopitselfanditsportabilityability.Laptopbatteriesaremadewithdifferentstrengthorvalues.Theyalsomakebatteriesforthesamemodelwithdifferentshapestothem.Forinstance…ADelloriginalbatterythatwas

soldwiththelaptopratedat3800mAH.Thatsamemodelhastheabilitytorunabetterbattery;the4300mAHversion,orbetteryettheyoffera6600orhigher…Thehigherthenumber,thelongerthebatterywillholdacharge.LaptopbatterymanufacturerswillmakethehighermAHbatteriesusinga

differentshapethantheoriginal,theywilladdabumptothebatteryortheywillextendthelength/widthofthebattery.PersonallyIprefertheBumpadditionbatteriesbecausetheywilllifttherearendofthelaptopupintheairwhichwillkeepitsbasecooler.

36.ACAdapter

Thisisalsocommonlycalledthe―chargingcordanditspurposeistosupplythecorrectamountofpowertothelaptop.ThecordendoftheACAdapterwhereitplugsintothewalloutletistheACendofthecord,where120voltsaretravellingthroughtothecenterinverterpowerbox.Inthisinverterbox,theACcurrent(alternatingcurrent)isconvertedtoDCcurrent(directcurrent),then,travelsto

theplugtip.Inthisplugtip,youwillcommonlyfind2mainwires…Thecenter―powerwireandtheoutertwistedgroundingwire(usuallywrappedaroundtheentirecircumferenceofthecable)

37.InternalSpeakers

Alllaptopswillhaveinternalspeakers,though90%ofthemarenotofgreatquality.Theyaretheremoreforthe—dingsandpings¡andbeepingnoisesthatthedefaultsoundthemeproduceswhenbrowsingwindowsexplorerorinternetexplorer.Theyarenotreallymeanttobeblastingmusicfromatitshighestlevel.

Therearesomemodels,though,onceagainintheentertainmentandgamingbuiltseriesoflaptops.Theywilladdsubwoofersandtweetersandamplifierstoenhancetheaudio.

38.Audio/Headphone/Mic.–OutPort

Mostalllaptopswillhavethissetlocatedsomewhereonit.Itiswhereyouconnectanexternalmicrophoneorheadphonesorexternalspeakerorevenanexternalamplifier.

39.PrinterPort

Theseusedtobefoundoneachandeverylaptop,butnowyouwillrarelyfindtheseonyourlaptopastheyarebecomingoutdatedduetotheuseofWi-Fi,USBandBluetooth.Itisa25pinportandwouldconnectaparallel/serialcabletoyourprinter.Thelistaboveistheparts/componentsthatarethemostcommon,

theonesthattypicallyalllaptopswillhave…Yes,thereareothersnotlisted,buttheyneednotbediscussedinthisparticularbook.

Chapter3

InstallingOperatingSystemsonLaptops&NetbooksIntroduction

Tothoseofyouwhohaveneverinstalledanoperatingsystem,Iwillexplainthebasicprocesstakenbeforegoinganyfurther.AlwaysrememberthatwhenreinstallinganOS,youwillalsoneedtore-setupyourWi-Fi…Soifthisrepairisnotforyourself,youmustensurethatthepersonyouaredoinganOperatingSystemReinstallforknowstheirWEPorWAPkeytobeabletoreinstalltheirNetworkSSIDandKEY.Thereareacouplewaystostartthisprocess.FirstwouldbeputtingtheOSinstallcd/DVDintotheopticaldrive.

HowToInstallWindowsXPProfessional

PictureofHowToInstallWindowsXPProfessionalThissetofinstructionsisteachyouhowtoeasilyinstallWindowsXP.Injust10easysteps,youwillbeabletoinstallandrunWindowsXPfromyourlaptopornotebook.

Step1:InsertyourWindowsXPbootabledisk

OpenyourCD-RomdriveandinsertyourWindowsXPdisk.YoucannowclosetheCD-RomDrive.

Step2:HowtobootfromaCD/DVD

Youmustbepoweredontoejecttheopticaldrivetrayortoinsertcdintoslot.Nextyoucantryusingyourcorresponding-Fkey,suchasF12orF11totellthelaptoptobootfromCD/DVD.SomelaptopdefaultBIOSsplashstartupscreensettingswillshowyouforabriefsecondthecorrect-FkeytopresstobootfromCD.Thiswilltakeyoutothebootoptionsmenu.

Nowthatyouareinthebootoptionsmenu,youwillneedtousethearrowkeysonyourkeyboardtomoveoverthechoiceforanOnboardorUSBCD-ROMDrive.PressEnter.

AfteryouhavepressedEnter,mostWindowsXPdiskswillpromptyoutopressanykeytobootfromtheCD(Asseeninpicture2).Whenthisappears,youwillhaveonlyafewsecondstopressanykeyonthekeyboard.IusuallychoosetheSpace-barbecauseitistheeasiesttofindandpress.

Step3:BeginningtheProcess

AfteryouhavechosentobootfromtheCD,youwillhavetowaitafewminutes.ThediskwillcheckyourharddrivetoseeifwindowsXPiscurrentlyinstalledonit.Afterthediskhasmadeitscheckyoushouldseeascreenliketheoneinthefirstpictureonthispage.

YouwillwanttopressEnterbecauseyouareplanningoninstallingWindowsXPonyoursystem.Ifyourealizethatyouhavedataonyourharddriveandneedtobackitup,nowwouldbethetimetopressF3andexittheinstallationprogramtobackitup.

Step4:LicensingAgreementandBeginSetup

ThenextpagethatyouwillseeistheWindowsXPLicensingAgreement.Onthispage,youcantakethetimetoreadthroughtheagreement,butitisjustsayingthatyouwillnotbebreakinganylawsusingthisproduct.IpersonallyjusthitF8(toagree)andmoveontothenextstepintheinstallation.

AfterpressingF8,youwillcometothebeginningoftheWindowsXPsetup.Onthispage,youwillwanttopresstheEsckeyonthekeyboard.Thiswilltelltheprogramnottotryandrepairthecurrentinstallation.

Step5:DeletingthecurrentPartition

ThenextstepininstallingWindowsXPistodelettheoldpartitiononyourharddrive.Youwillseeascreensimilartotheoneinthefirstpictureofthispage.YouwillwanttoscrollovertheC:partitionthatiscurrentonyourharddrive.ThenextthingyouwillneedtodoisclicktheDkey.ThiswilltelltheprogramthatyouwanttoDeletethecurrentpartition.

AfteryouclicktheDkey,youwillseeascreenliketheoneinthesecondpicture.OnthisscreenyouwillwanttopresstheLkeytoconfirmthedeletionofthepartitionoftheharddrive.

Step6:BeginningtheInstall

Nowthatyouhavedeletedtheoldpartition,youwillneedtobesurethatpartitionisselectedandpresstheEnterkey.ThiswilltelltheprogramthatyouwanttoinstallWindowsXPonthatpartition.

Step7:ChoosingtheTypeofInstallation

Inthisstep,youwillwanttochoosewhetheryouwanttohavesystemdoaquickinstallationorastandardinstallation.Forthepurposesofthissetofinstructions,Ihavechosentodoastandardinstallation.Afterchoosingyourmethodofinstallation,youwillwanttopresstheEnterkeytocontinuetotheinstallation.

Step8:AllowingWindowsXPtoInstall

Thisstepwillprobablybethelongeststep.ThisisbecauseyouareatthemercyofthesystemandhowfastitinstallsWindowsXP.AfteryouhavepressedtheEnterkeyinthelaststep,youwillseethescreeninthefirstpicturehereappear.Thiswillmeanthattheprogramisrunningtheinstallation.

Overtime,theprogressbarwillmoveacrossthescreen,asshowninthesecondpicturewheretheprogressbarisattwenty-fivepercent.AftertheInstallationhasfinishedplacingthefilesystemonyourharddrive,youwillseetheprogramrestartyourcomputer.Donotbealarmedatthis.itwillbootbackupandyouwillseeascreensimilartothethirdpictureonthispage.

Step9:ChoosingyourKeyboardLayout,organization,andComputerName

Thefirstscreen(seeninthefirstpicture)thatwillcomeupwillbeascreenforyoutoselectthelanguageandkeyboardstylethatyouwishtouseforyournewinstallationofWindowsXP.IhavechosentousetheEnglishLanguageandtheUSkeyboardlayout.YoumayselectanyconfigurationthatyouarecomfortablewithandthenpresstheNextThenextthingtheprogramwillaskforisthenameandorganizationthatthisinstallisaffiliatedwith(asseeninthesecondpicture).Youwillwanttofillthisinwithyourinformation.Afterfillingintheinformation,youwillpresstheNextbutton.

Whenthenextscreencomesup(asseeninthethirdpicture),youwillwanttochoosethenameyouwanttogivetoyourcomputerandthepasswordtheAdministratorofthecomputerwillhave.PresstheNext

Step10:ChoosingyourTimeZone

Youwillnowseetheareaforyoutochoosethetimeanddatetobesetonthecomputer.ThiswillcorrespondtotheTimeZoneinwhichyoulive.IliveintheCentralTimeZone,soIhavechosentohavethedateandtimecorrespondtothat.Youmaypickwhicheveryouwouldlikefromthismenu.

AfterchoosingtheTimeZoneyouarein,youwillneedtomakesurethetimeiscorrect.Thiscanbedonebycheckingthetime(asseeninthesecondpicture).

Step11:WaitingforInstallationtocontinue

Nowyouwillneedtowaitfortheinstallationtocontinuebeforeyoucandoanythingmore.

Step12:DisplaySettings

Theinstallationwillpromptyoutoimprovethedisplaysettings(asseeninthefirstpicture).YouwillneedtopresstheOKbuttonforthistocontinue.

AfterpressingtheOKbutton,youwillseeanotherboxappear(liketheoneinthesecondpicture).ThisboxwillwantyoutopresstheOKbuttonalso.

Step13:ProtectingyourComputerandGivingitaUser

AfterpressingOKinthelaststep,youwillseetheMicrosoftWindowswelcomescreenappear(likethefirstpicture).Onthispage,youwillwanttopressthenextbuttonatthebottomright.

NowyouwillseeascreenpromptingyoutoprotectyourPC.YouwillwanttodecideifyouwantWindowsXPtohaveautomaticupdatesonornot.Ichosetohavethesystemdoautomaticupdatingtosavefromthehassleofhavingtobesurethecomputer’suserrememberstoupdatethecomputer.Aftermakingyourchoice,youwillneedtopressthenextbuttoninthebottomright.

Nowyouwillbepromptedtogivethecomputerauser.ForthepurposesofthissetofinstructionsIgaveitausernamed“MyName”,butyoucannamethisuserwhateveryouwouldlike.Aftergivingthecomputeratleastoneuser(youmaywanttogiveitmany),youwillneedtopressthenextbutton.

Step14:FinishingtheInstallation

Afterpressingthenextbutton,youwillseeaThankyouscreen.OnthisscreenyouwillneedtopressFinish.

Thiswillbringupascreensimilartothesecondpictureonthispage.

Nowyouwillseethatthecomputerhasloggedyouinforthefirsttime.Youshouldseeascreenlikethethirdpictureonthispage.

IhopeyouenjoyedthetutorialonhowtoinstallWindowsXPProfessional!

HowtoInstallWindows7onLaptop

XPinstallisdifferentthanWindows7install.WithXP,itisalittlelessgraphicalandwillaskyoumorequestionsthanwillWindows7.InaWindows7install,youwillstartbychoosingCustominstall.InevereverrecommenddoinganUpgradeofanyversionofOSinstall…simplynotneeded.Followthroughthepromptsanduntilyougettothescreenshowingtheharddrivepartitions.Hereyouwillmakeadecisiontowipetheentireharddrivecleanortosavecertainpartitionsorpartialpartitions.

IfyouneedtosaveDATAfromthepreviousOperatingSysteminstall,thenyoucanleaveallpartitionsastheyare,eveniftheWindows7operatingsystemisanupgradetowhatwaspreviouslyonthedrive(likeXPorVista).Simplykeepthedefaultchoicepartitionselected…whichwillbethelargestsizedpartition,thesystempartition…andinthiswindowyouwilljustchoose―NEXTandnotmesswithanyothersetting.1.Turn“ON”yournotebookandinsertoperatingsystemDVDintodrive.

2.PressF12toselectbootdeviceandselect“CD/DVD/CD-RWDevice”thenpressenter.

3.YourLaptopwillautomaticallystartbootingfromDVDbypressinganykey.4.Windowswillautomaticallystartloadingfiles.Itwilltakefewminutes

5.Anewwindowwillappear,selectsuitablelanguageandtimeformatthenclicknext.6.Click“InstallNow”etupbuttonwillstartinitiatingas.results

7.Readandacceptthelicensetermsbyclickingthecheckboxandpressnext.8.Select“Custom(advanced)”settings

9.Inthisscreenwindowssetupwillshowallexistingpartitionsofdrive,deletethepartitionsonebyonebyselectingdriveoptions.10.HighlightDrivepartitionandselectdelete.

11.PressOK.

12.Afterdeletingallpartitionswindowssetupwillshowcompleteunallocateddiskspace,selectNew.

13.Defineyourrequiredspaceandpress“Apply”.

14.ClickOK.

15.ClickNext.

16.Finallywindowswillstartinstallingitsfilesandthenrestartsystemautomatically.

17.Typeusernameandpressnext.18.Typepasswordandpressnext.

19.Selectuserecommendedsetting.20.Selecttimeanddatethenpressnext.

21.InstallationhasbeensuccessfullycompletedremoveOSmediafromdrive

WordOfWarning!!!DoNotReinstallAnyOperatingSystemUnlessYouAreSureYouHaveACopyOfTheEthernetandorWirelessCorrespondingDrivers…TheOSInstallitselfmightnotloaddriversforeitherwhichwillleaveyouwithnointernetcapabilityuntiltheyareinstalled.

DriverInstollation

Onceattheirmainpageofthewebsite,youwilllookfora―Services&Supportor―Driversn&DownloadsorsimilartogettotheirDriversPageforyourmodel.Next,youwillbeallowedtochooseyourLaptopsmodelnumberandseriesnumber.TherewillusuallybealisttochoosefromoranAutoDetectfeatureonthatWebPage.OnceatyourDriversWebPage,youcanseethelistofallyourdriverssuchasEthernet,Chipset,Audio,Wi-Fi,BIOS,etc…Downloadoneorallofthem,andifneeded,youmighthavetoflipthroughthedifferentoperatingsystemversionstofindallthedrivers…therewillbeaplacesomewhereonthatpagetochangewhatoperatingsystemversionthedriversare

for…

IfinstallingfromaUSBdevice,makesurethatyousettheBIOSsettingtoallowthelaptoptoboottothatUSBdevicefirst.

Chapter4

LaptopDisassemblyIntroduction

Iwillexplainherehowtodisassembleanylaptop,andnotjustfocusononespecificmodel.Iwillteachyouthiswaybecausethereisageneralrhythmtotheplacementofthescrewsanddifferenttypesused.Withalllaptops,youwillstartthedisassemblingbyflippingthelaptopovertoitsbottomside.Useafoampadifavailablesoyoudonotscratchthelid/cover.

Thesedirectionsaretodisassemblethecompleteunit.Youwillneeda5.5mmNutDriver,amediumsizePhilipsscrewdriver.

Beforedisassembly,makesurethe

notebookispoweredoff.

1.RemovingtheBatteryPack

Toremovethebatterypackfromthebatterybay,followthestepsbelow:1.Turnthenotebookupsidedown.2.Slidetherightbatteryreleaselockinthedirectionofthearrowtounlockthebatterypack.

3.Slidetheleftbatteryreleaselatchinthedirectionofthearrow.Thebatterypackwillpop-upautomatically.Gentlyprythebatterypackfromitshousing.

NOTE:Alwaysstartlaptopdisassemblybyremovingthebatterypackfirst.

2.RemovingtheHDDModule

FollowthestepsbelowtoremovetheHDDmodule:

1.Turnthenotebookupsidedown.2.RemovethetwoM2.5x4screwssecuringtheHDDcompartmentcover.

3.PulluptheHDDcompartmentcoverinthedirectionofthearrow..

4.RemovethetwoM2.5x4screwssecuringtheHDDmoduleinplace.

5.PullthetabtoremovetheHDDmoduleinthedirectionofthearrow.

6.RemovethefoursilverM3x3screwstotakeofftheHDDcase.

7.RemovetheHDDmodulefromtheHDDcase.

3.RemovingtheDDRRAM

FollowthestepsbelowtoremovetheDDRRAM:1.Turnthenotebookupsidedown.2.RemoveoneM2.5x4screwandoneM2.5x18screwsecuringtheRAMcover,andthenremovethecover.

3.PushthelatchestoreleasetheRAMmodule.Aspringwillforceoneendofthemoduleup.

4.Graspthemoduleandpullitout.

4.DisassemblingtheODD(CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW…)

Followthestepsbelowtodisassembletheopticaldrive(ODD):1.Turnthenotebookupsidedown.2.RemovetheM2.5x10screwsecuringtheODD.3.InsertaflatscrewdriverintotheslotasshownandgentlypushouttheODD.

4.RemovethetwoM2x3screwsfromthebracketplate,andthenremovethebracketplate.

5.RemovingtheKeyboard

Openthedisplaypanelandfollowthestepsbelowtoremovethekeyboard.1.Liftupthestripcoverfromtherightsideandremoveit.

2.RemovethetwoM2.5x4screwssecuringthekeyboard.3.Turnoverthekeyboard,revealingthekeyboardcableunderneath.

4.Useathintoolsuchasascrewdrivertoleveruptheconnectorbracketanddisconnectthekeyboardcablefromthemotherboard.

6.RemovingtheSwitchBoardOpenthedisplaypanelandfollowthestepsbelowtoremovetheswitchboard.1.RemovethetwoM2.5x4screwssecuringtheswitchboard.

2.Removetheswitchboard.7.RemovingtheWirelessLANCard

ToremovethewirelessLANcard,followthestepsbelow:1.Turnthenotebookover.RemovethetwoM2.5x4andtwoM2.5x18screwssecuringthethermalcover.

2.Removethecover.

3.DisconnectthethreeantennasfromthewirelessLANcard.

4.RemovethetwoM2x3screwsattachingthestand-offbrackettothemotherboard.

5.Removethestand-offbracket.

6.GraspthewirelessLANcardandpullitout.

CAUTION:DonottouchtheconnectorsonthewirelessLANcardoronthecomputer.Debrisontheconnectorsmaycausetheunittomalfunction.

8.RemovingtheSystemFan

Toremovethesystemfan,firstremovethewirelessLANcard.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:

1.Turnthenotebookover.RemovethethreeM2.5x4screwssecuringthesystemfan.

2.Disconnectthefanconnectorfromthemotherboardasshown,andliftoutthesystemfan.

9.RemovingtheThermalModule

Toremovethethermalmodule,firstremovethewirelessLANcard.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.Turnthenotebookover.Removethefourspringscrewssecuringthethermalmoduletothemotherboard.

2.Liftandremovethethermalmodulefromthemotherboard.

CAUTION:Whenyouremovethethermalmodule,usetheCPUgreasetooltoremovethegreaseontheCPUandthermalmodule.Reapplyfreshgreasebeforereinstallingthethermalmodule.

10.RemovingtheCPU

ToremovetheCPU,firstremovethewirelessLANcard,andthermalmodule.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.TurnthecamontheCPUsocketwithaflat-bladescrewdriversothatthenotchonthecamisalignedwiththeopensideoftheCPUsockettounlocktheCPU.

2.GentlyliftouttheCPU.

11RemovingtheBluetoothModule

ToremovetheBluetoothmodule,firstremovethekeyboard,andswitchboard.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethetwoM2x3screwssecuringtheBluetoothmoduletothelogiclower.

2.DisconnecttheBluetoothcable,andremovetheBluetoothmodule.

12RemovingtheRobsonCard

ToremovetheRobsoncard,firstremovethekeyboard,andswitchboard.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethetwoM2x3screwssecuringtheRobsoncardtothelogiclower..

2.RemovetheRobsoncard.

13.RemovingtheLCDModule

ToremovetheLCDmodule,firstremovethekeyboard,andswitchboard.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.DisconnecttheLCDpower(LVDS),CMOS,andmicrophonecablesandpullthewirelessantennasfreefromthelaptopasshown.

2.RemovethefourM2.5x4screwssecuringtheLCDmoduletothelogicupper.

3.RemovetheLCDmodule.

14.DisassemblingtheDisplayandtheInverterBoard

Todisassemblethedisplayandinverterboard,firstremovethekeyboard,andswitchboard.Thenfollowthesesteps:1.Removethesixscrewpadsasshown.

2.RemovethesixM2.5x6screwssecuringtheLCDbezeltotheLCDmodule.

4.CarefullyinsertyourfingersbetweenthedisplayandtheLCDbezelasindicatedbythearrow,andgentlypryuptheLCDbezel.

4.Removethefivescrewsmountingthedisplay,inverterboard,andLVDS/CMOScabletotheLCDcover.TwoM2.5x6screwsonthedisplay.TwoM2.5x4screwsontheinverterboard.OneM2.5x4screwontheLVDS/CMOScable.5.Disconnectthetwoconnectorsoneithersideoftheinverterboard.Removetheinverterboard.

6.Gentlyliftoutthedisplay.RemovetheeightM2x3screwssecuringthehingestothe

display.7.DetachtheLVDScablefromthebackoftheLCDpanel.

15.RemovingtheCameraModule

Toremovethecameramodule,firstremovethekeyboard,switchboard,LCDmodule,LCDdisplay,andinverterboard.Thenfollowthesesteps:1.DisconnecttheCMOScablefromthecameramodule.

2.RemovetheM2x3screwsecuringthecameramoduletotheLCDcover.Removethecameramodule.

16RemovingtheLogicUpper

Toremovethelogicupper,firstremovethebatterypack,HDD,memorymodule,ODD,keyboard,switchboard,wirelessLAN,systemfan,thermalmodule,CPU,Bluetoothmodule,andLCDmoduleasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Followthestepsbelowtoremovethelogicupper.1.Turnthecomputerupsidedownandremovethe14M2.5x8screwsfromthebottomsideofthenotebook.

2.RemovetheM2x3screwandM2.5x8screwsecuringthelogicuppertothelogiclower.

3.TurnthecomputeroveragainanddisconnectthepowerUSBboardFFC,touchpad,andfingerprintercablesasshown.

4.Liftoffthelogicupper.

17RemovingtheLEDBoard

Toremovethefrontboard,firstremovethelogicupperasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethetwoM2.5x4screwssecuringtheLEDboardtothelogiclower.

2.RemovetheLEDboard.

18.RemovingtheMotherboard

Toremovethemotherboard,firstremovethelogicupper,andLEDboardasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethefourM2.5x4screwssecuringthemotherboardtothelogiclower.

2.DisconnecttheUSBboardFFC,speakerandaudioboardcables.RemovetheDC-INsocketfromitshousingandliftoutthemotherboard.

3.TurnoverthelaptopanddisconnecttheMDCcardcable.

19.RemovingtheModemCard

Toremovethemodemcard,firstremovethemotherboardasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethetwoM2x3screwssecuringthemodemcardtothemotherboard

2.Removethemodemcard.

20.RemovingtheVGABoard

ToremovetheVGAboard,firstremovethemotherboardasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethefourspringscrewssecuringtheVGAheatsinktotheVGAboard.

2.RemovetheVGAheatsink.3.RemovethetwoM2x3screwssecuringtheVGAboardtothemotherboard.

4.RemovetheVGAboard.

21.RemovingtheAudioBoard

Toremovetheaudioboard,firstremovethelogicupper,LEDboard,andmotherboardasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethetwoM2.5x4screwssecuringtheaudioboardtothelogiclower.

2.Removetheaudioboard.

22.RemovingtheUSBBoard

ToremovetheUSBboard,firstremovethelogicupper,LEDboard,andmotherboardasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethetwoM2.5x4screwssecuringtheUSBboardtothelogiclower,andremovetheUSBboard.

23.RemovingtheRJ11Port

ToremovetheRJ11port,firstremovethelogicupper,LEDboard,andmotherboardasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.LifttheRJ11portfromitshousinganddetachthecabletoremoveitfromthelogiclower.

24.RemovingtheTouchPadButtonBoardandTouchPad

Toremovethetouchpadbuttonboardandtouchpad,firstremovethelogicupperasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethetwoM2.5x4screwssecuringthetouchpadbuttonboardtotherearsideofthelogicupper.

2.Disconnectthetouchpadbuttonboardcablefromthetouchpadmodule.

3.Removethetouchpadbuttonboard.

4.Disconnectthetouchpadcable.

5.RemovetheM2.5x4screwsecuringthetouchpadbrackettothelogicupper.Liftoffthebracketandremovethetouchpad.

25.RemovingtheFingerprinterModule

Toremovethefingerprintermodule,firstremovethelogicupperasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovetheoneM2x3screwsecuringthefingerprintermoduletotherearsideofthelogicupper.

2.Removethefingerprintermodule.

26RemovingthePowerUSBBoard

ToremovethepowerUSBboard,firstremovethelogicupperasdescribedintheprecedingsections.Thenfollowthestepsbelow:1.RemovethetwoM2.5x4screwssecuringthepowerUSBboardtothelogicupper.

2.RemovethepowerUSBboard.

Chapter5

CD/DVDDriveRepairingHowtoFixaLaptopCDDrive

Yournotebook’sCDdriveisoneofthefirstcomponentstogobellyup.Adeadlensisthemainreasonbehindanopticaldrive’sfailuretoreadorwritedatatoaCD.Anotherreasonmightbeadamageddrivebelt,butitcanbereplacedwithanewone.Anaverageopticaldrivelastsforayearandstopsfunctioningbecausethelaserwearsoutorslipsoutofalignment.

Ifyournotebook’sopticaldrivestopsreadingorwritingdata,thenyoushouldreplaceitwithanewdrive.However,youcaneasilyfixalaptopCDdriveifthereisaminorsoftwareorhardwareproblem.Thisguidewillassistyouintroubleshootingyournotebook’sopticaldrive.

UseMicrosoftFixit

Microsoft’sveryownsoftwarefixallowsuserstofixCD/DVDdriveproblems.Installandrunthisprogramifanyofthefollowingproblemsoccurs:

YournotebookopticaldriveisdisabledTheopticaldrivecannotreaddataItcannotwritedatatoaCDorDVDNoCD/DVDdriveiconTheopticaldrivedriverismissingorcorrupt

VisitMicrosoft’sofficialFixitsiteandclickontheRunbuttontodownloadtheprogramonyourdesktop.

Step1:Double-clickontheinstaller.Onceready,itwillaskyoutoacceptthetermsandconditions.ClickonAccept.TheinstallerwilldownloadadiagnostictoolpackageandtheFixitengine.

Step2:Youwillseetwooptions.Clickontherecommendedoption.Thediagnosticwilldetectproblemsandapplyapatchifitfindsany.

Step3:ChooseyourCD/DVDdrive.Next,selectanyoneofthetwooptions.Ifyournotebook’sopticaldrivehasreadingissues,selectthefirstoption.FortroubleshootingCDwritingissues,selectthesecondoption.

Step4:Thenextscreenwillaskyoutoinserta

readable/writeablemedia.Basedonthechoiceyouhavemade,insertawriteable/readableCDandthenchoosetheopticaldrive.

Step5:TheFixitenginewilldetectandtroubleshootproblems.Oncecomplete,itwillshowthecompletionwindowwithstatusshowingas“Fixed”.

SystemRegistry

Can’tseetheCDROMdriveonMyComputer?Well,theproblemmightbeconnectedtoyourWindowssystemregistry.AregistryentrymaygetcorruptedbyuninstallingCDburningsoftware.Becauseofthis,WindowscannotaccesstotheCDROMdrive.Tofixthis,followthesesteps:

1.Start>Run>typeREGEDITandpresstheEnterkey.Thiswillopentheregistryeditor.

2.Navigatetotheregistryentryasshowninthe

screenshotabove.

3.Youwillfindtwounwantedentries–UpperFiltersandLowerFilters.Right-clickeachentryandclickonDelete.Youcanalsosingle-clickonthemandpressthedeletebuttontoremovethem.

4.ExitthewindowviatheFilemenuandrebootyournotebook.YoucannowseetheCD/DVDicononMyComputer.

LaptopDVDTrayWon’tEject-HowToOpenACDOrDVDDrive

TherearequiteafewreasonstheDVDtrayinyourlaptopmightfailtoopenwhenyouhittheejectbutton.Abouttheworstthingitcanbeisifthemotororgeartrainfailed,whichwouldmeanreplacingthedrive.IfthediscinthedriveplaysOK,youknowthatthepowerandtheconnectorarefine.Ifnot,youshouldtryreseatingthedriveinthebay.It’salsopossibleforthedrivetobelockedinsoftwarebytheoperatingsystem,orforapowermanagementscheme

tohavecutpowertothedrive.Checkthesebyrightclickingthedriveiconandcheckingproperties,orlookingatyoupowermanagementsettings.But,whenallelsefailsandyoucan’tgetthediscoutofthedrive,there’salways,THEMIGHTYPAPERCLIP.

CDandDVDdrivesforcomputershavebeendesignedwithanemergencyreleasemechanismsincetimeimmemorial.UnlikeyourDVDplayerforyourTVoryourstereoCDplayer,thediscinyour

computerdrivemaybemuchmorevaluablethanthedriveitself.Yes,ifyouownthesoftwarelegally,youshouldbeabletogetareplacementfromthesoftwarecompanyforamoderatecharge,butmaybeyouneeditnow.Inanycase,the

emergencyreleasefortheDVDtraydoesn’trequireanyspecialtoolsorskills,justapaperclip.Startbyunbendingalegofthelargestdiameterpaperclipthatwillfitinthehole

onthefaceplateofthedrive.Next,insertititstraightintothehole,andifyou’relucky,therewillbeealittleclickbeforeitgoesinveryfar,andthetraywillpopoutafractionofaninch.

Inthepicturetotheright,Ihaven’tusedanyforceatall,beyondgentlypushinginthepaperclip,andtheCDtraypoppedoutthatfarbyitself.Fromhere,it’saneasytasktopullitoutallthewaysothedisccanberemoved.Below,I’mopeningtheDVDdriveoutofaSonyVaio,butthetraydidn’tspring

outwhenthepaperclippushedintherelease,whichyoucantellbyfeel.SoIhadtopullonitwithmyfingernailbehindtheplasticfacadewhiledepressingtherelease.Itopenedprettystifflyforthefirstfractionofaninch,andthenpulledrightouttherestoftheway.Thatprettymuchcoverswhatyou’llencounterwithmanuallyopeninganopticaldrive,eitheritwillpopopenassoonasthepaperclipworksthelatch,oryou’llhavetohelpitalong.

Butthereareinstancesinwhichtheemergencyreleasewon’tgetthetraytoeject.Theworstoftheseisifadiscshatteredathighspeedandjammedallthemechanicsupwithlittleshardsofplastic.You’llknowthisisthecase

bythenoiseifyougentlytiltthedrivebackandforth.Anotherpossibilityisthatanadhesivelabelpeeledoffinthedriveandhas

gummeduptheworks.Ineithercase,theoddsofthedrivebeingsalvageablearen’tverygood,butifitwasalabelfailure,youshouldbeabletorescuethediscbydisassemblingthedrivearoundituntilthetrayejectsorthediscisaccessible.Andbeforeyourush

outandbuyasupposedgenericreplacementforthedrive,rememberthatwhiletheconnectormaybestandard,thedriveshelliscustomized,andyoumaynotbeabletotransferalloftheshellhardwarefromonedrivetoanotherformounting.

HowtoCleanCD/DVDDrives

WhenyourCDorDVD(disc)drivestartsgivingyouproblems,yourfirstthoughtmaybetoreplaceitortakeittotherepairshop,butagoodcleaningmaybeallitneeds.

Belowarethreemethodstocleanthediscdrive.Theeasiestmethodistheleasteffective.Thehardestmethodisthemosteffective.Sincethehardestmethodtakessometimetodo,Irecommendthatyoustartwiththeeasiestmethod.Ifitsolvesyourproblems,congratulations.Ifnot,trythenextmethod.

1.TheCleanerDiscmethod–this,theeasiestmethod,usesaspecialcleanerdiscwhichcanbepurchasedincomputerstores.Thediscusuallycomeswithalittlebottleofcleanersolution.Applyafewdropsofthesolutiontothediscandinsertitinthediscdrawer(besuretoreadandfollowtheinstructionsthatcomewiththecleanerdisc).Thedrivewillturnthediscandcleanthelens.

Unfortunately,thisonlyworksadequatelyabouthalfthetime.

2.TheCleaningStickmethod–thisiswhatIdoindesperationwhenthecleanerdiscdoesnotworkandIdon’twanttodisassemblethedrive.Sinceallthatisneeded(atleastinmymindthisistrue)isalittlemorepressureappliedtothelens,Istartoutinsearchofathin,flexiblestickofsometypewhichisatleastsixincheslong.Itshouldnothavesharporroughedgesthatwouldscratchthelens.Next,getasoft,thinclothandputwaterorrubbingalcoholinthemiddleofit.Placeoneendofthestickunderthewetpartoftheclothandslideitintotheopeneddiscdrawer.Thegoalistorubthewetclothonthelenstocleanit.Donotapplysomuchpressurethatyouwillscratchandruinthelens.Alsotryblowingintothediscdrivetoremoveanydirtthatmayhaveaccommulatedinit.Ifyoudonotsucceedatthis,proceedtothenextmethod

3.TheDisassemblymethod–thismethodshouldworkbutitrequiresyoutodisassemblethedrive.Soifyouarenotcomfortablewithtakingthedriveapart,pleasetakeittoacomputerrepairshopandletthemdoit.Takethecoveroffyourcomputer,unplugthecordsfromthebackofthediscdrive,removeanyscrewsholdingitin,andslideitout(youmayneedtoremovethefaceplateontheendofthedrawertogetthedriveout).Removethescrewsinthedrivehousingandtakethecoveroff.Thebottomsideofthedriveisacircuitboard,soifthatiswhatyouseewhenyoutakethecoveroff,figureouthowtoaccesstheotherside.Onthecorrectside,youshouldseealensthatrunsonatrack(thereisnoharminmovingthelensalongthetrackbutdonottouchthelensitself).Useawet,softclothtocleanthelens.Sometimesadiscdrivemalfunctionsbecausethereistoo

muchdustordebrisinit,sobesuretocleanouttheinsidewitheithercompressedair,asoftcloth,oracottonswab.Reassemblethediscdrive,putitbackinthecomputercase,andcrossyourfingers.Hopefully,itwillworkwhenyouturnonthecomputer.

Ifthesemethodswork,that’sgood.Ifnot,youneededabetterdiscdriveanyway..

AdditionalTips

Rebootyourlaptop.Whenitrestarts,quicklypresstheF8key.Thiswillinitiatethesafemode.InsertCDinyournotebook’sopticaldrive.ItmayreadCDs.IthoughtmyDVDdrivewasdead,untilIswitchedtosafemode.NowmydeadCDdrivecanreadCDsbutnotDVDs.

Updateyouropticaldrive’sdrivers.PressStartandtypeDeviceManagerinthesearchbox.ClickonitandchooseDiskDrives.Right-clickontheATAdriveicon.ClickonupgradedriverandthenclickSearchautomatically.Ifthere’sanupgradeavailable,itwillbedoneautomatically.

Adirtylensmightbeoneofthecausesbehindfailuretoread/writedatatoaCD.Acanofcompressedairmightprovequitehandyinremovingdustfromtheopticallens.YoucanalsouseaCDdrivecleaningdisktoremovedust,lintandstaticfromtheopticallens.

IfanyoftheabovetipsdonotfixyourlaptopCDdrive,considerreplacingitwithanewone.IwouldrecommendexternalCDdrives.Theyarequiteaffordableandlastlongerthaninternalopticaldrives.

Chapter6

RecoverLostDatafromaDeadHardDriveIntroduction

Harddrivesfail.It’safactoflifeforanyonewhousesacomputer.Ifyoustoreirreplaceableinformationonyourharddrive,thenafailurecanbeacatastrophe.Butcanyourecoverthefamilyphotos,workdocumentsorfinancialdatathatyoukeptmeaningtobackup,butneverdid?Theremightbehope,sodon’tgiveuponthatbrokenharddriveyet.

We’regoingtodescribethewarningsignsofaharddrivefailure,explaintheinternalpartsofaharddriveandwhytheyfail,andthenwe’llgothroughafewstepsyoucantaketorecoveryourdata.Whilethefilescan’talwaysbe

recovered,there’sachanceyoumightbeabletoretrievethem.

Justrememberonething—evenifyourfilescanberestored,itwilltakehoursoffrustratingeffortandmightcostyouquiteabitofmoney,too.Thebestwaytofixadeadharddriveistosenditinunderwarrantyandreplaceitwithyourbackupdrivethathasallyourfilessafelystoredonit.Infact,afterreadingthisarticle,you’llfindthatagoodback-upplanwillkeepyoufromeverexperiencingthehorriblefeelinginthepitofyourstomachwhenyourealizethatallofyourfilesmaybegone.

WhyDrivesFail

Aharddriveisamechanicaldevicewithseveralmovingparts.Magneticplattersstorethedataitself,whileamotorizedspindlespinstheplatters.Aread/writearmmovesacrosstheplatters,retrievinginformationorputtingdownnewdata.Thearmismovedbyanactuator,andtheread/writeheadsthemselveshoveraninfinitesimaldistanceabovethe

platters.Thedistanceissosmallthatasinglepieceofdustcangetintheway.

Ifanyoftheharddrive’smechanicalpartsfails,thewholedrivewillfail.Thepartsoperatewithincredibleprecision,soharddrivesareratherfragile.Circuitboards,spindlemotors,ballbearings—anyofthesepartsaresusceptibletofailure.Theworsttypeoffailureisknownasaheadcrash.Inthiscase,theread/writeheaddropsdowndirectlyontotheplatterand

scrapesawaythemagneticmaterial.Thedatainthatcaseistotally,permanentlylost.Dataonunaffectedpartsoftheplattersmayberecoverable,butusuallydataarespreadaroundtheplatters,soaheadcrashisreallybadnews.Othermechanicalfailurescanbebothacurseandablessing.It’sacursebecauseitcanbedifficultandexpensivetogetreplacementpartsandfindsomeonewhocanmaketherepair.It’sablessingbecause,aslongastheplattersweren’tdamaged,thedataarestillthere.Ifyoucangetthedriverunningagain,thedatashouldbeaccessible.

Thefailuremightbenon-mechanical.Yourcomputerusesaspecialindexandfilestructuretoreadallthefilesstoredonthedisk.Ifthisindexbecomescorrupted,thecomputerwon’tbeabletoseeorreadthedata,eventhoughit’sstillthere.Inmanycases,thiscanberepairedwiththepropersoftware,althoughitcanbetricky.

There’sonelastareawhereadrivecanfail,andit’sparticularlyinsidiousbecausethedriveactuallydidn’tfailatall—thedrive’sconnectiontoyourcomputerfailed.Hard

drivesconnecttoyourcomputer’smotherboardviaavarietyofinterfaces,IDE,PATAandSATAbeingthemostcommon.Ifthisconnection,orthecircuitonthemotherboardthatcontrolsthedisk(calledthediskcontroller)hasfailed,thesymptomscanmimicthesymptomsofaharddrivefailure.

SignsofHardDriveFailure

Alltoooften,harddrivesfailwithnowarningwhatsoever.Oneminutethecomputerisworkingfine,thenextyouhavea“bluescreenofdeath”andallyourdataisgone.So,what’sthelessonhere?Don’trelyonwarningsignstopredictharddrivefailure.Assumethatyourharddriveisgoingtofail,andbackupcriticalfiles.Ifyouhaveareliableback-up,you’llsaveyourselfmanyheadaches.Somemechanicalcomponentscanfailgradually,however,sooccasionallyyou’llknowwhenadrivefailureisimminent.Thesewarningsfallintotwocategories:soundsandperformanceproblems.

Ifyouspendalotoftimesittingnearyourcomputer,you’reprobablyfamiliarwiththeusualsoundsitmakes.Ifyouheartheharddrivemakinganyunusualnoises,that’sprobablyacluethatsomethingisgoingwrong.Grindingorscreechingnoisesmightmeanthebearingsorspindlemotorarefailing.Aclicking,clunkingorclangingsoundcouldbetheread/writearmslammingbackandforth.Sometimesthesesoundscanbesubtleanddifficulttodetect.Ifyouthinkyou’rehearingfunnynoises,openyourcomputer’scaseandlistenwithyourearclosetotheharddrivewhilesomeoneelseusesthecomputertosaveormovesomefiles.

Performanceproblemsincludeasuddenincreaseinthefrequencyoffreeze-upsandcrashes.Ofcourse,thesetypesofperformanceproblemscanbesymptomaticofanynumberofcomputermaladies,fromvirusestomemoryleakstonon-driverelatedhardwarefailures.Amorespecifictell-tale:savingormovingfilessuddenlytakesavery,verylongtime.Whenyourunintoanyofthesesymptoms,backupanythingthatisn’talreadysavedandhopethedrivelastslongenoughtogeteverythingyouneedcopiedtoanotherdisk.

ExternalHardDrive?CheckWhetherTheIDE/SATAtoUSBEnclosureIsOK!

Whenyourexternalharddrivefails,itcandosoforallthesamereasonsaninternaldrivecanfail.Sometimes,however,it’snotthedrivethatstopsworking,butaconnectionwithintheenclosure!Andinthatcase,thedriveiseasytorevive.

Beforeyouopenupanyhardware,besuretodischargeyourbody’sstaticelectricity,i.e.groundyourself.RemovetheharddrivefromitscasinganduseaIDE/SATAdatacableandpowerconnectorto

installthedriveinternallyonyourdesktopcomputer.Alternatively,youcangetanIDE/SATAtoUSBadapteroranewUSBenclosure,soyoucanhookthedriveupexternallyviaUSB.

InternalHardDrive?MakeSureTheHardDriveConnectionsAreOK!

Sometimes,it’snotthedrivethatfailed,butthephysicalconnectionofcablesthatconnectthedrivewiththecomputer’smotherboard.Youcanonlywishthatthisisyourproblem!Sobeforeyouhireanexpensivetechnician,makesurethedataandpowercablesarefirmlyconnectedonbothends.

Topreventhazardstoyourhealth,it’sessentialtoturnoffthecomputerandunplugthepowercord.Asmentionedabove,youalsoneedtodischargeyourbody’sstaticelectricity,i.e.groundyourselfbeforeyougetworkingonyourcomputer’sinternals.ThenopenupthecaseandmakesureallconnectionsareOK.

OnceyouhavemadesuretheconnectionsareOK,bootthelaptopagain.

What’sThatSound?

syouaretryingtogettheharddrivetorun,listentothesounditismaking.Isitcompletelydead?Orisitstillspinning?Whatexactlydoesitsoundlike?CompareyoursoundtothelistofharddrivesoundsprovidedbyDataCent.Thiswillhelpyoudiagnosethetypeofdamage.

Thedamagecanbeeitherinternalorexternal.Aclickingsound,forexample,issuggestiveofamalfunctioninghead,i.e.internaldamage.Acompletelydeaddrive,ontheotherhand,couldbeduetoafaultyprintedcircuitboard(PCB),whichwouldbeexternaldamage.

IsTheHardDriveRecognized?

Sometimes,youcanhearyourdrivespinning,butitneverpopsup.Ormaybeit’scompletelydead.Topinpointthetypeofdamage,trytomanuallycheckwhetherornotthedriveisrecognizedbyyourcomputer.

YoucandothisviatheBIOSincaseit’stheprimaryharddriveandyourcomputernolongerboots.Afteryouturnonthecomputer,entertheBIOSbypressingatriggerkey,whichcouldbe[DEL],[ESC],[F2],or[F10],dependingonthemanufacturer.WithintheBIOS,navigatethroughtheavailablemenustofindwhereitlistswhichtypesofdrivesareconnectedtothecomputer.Usually,thisinformationisfoundundertheAdvancedmenu,butyoumightalsofinditindirectlyunderBootsettings.

Ifyouhavehookedupthedrivetoanothercomputer,youdon’tneedtoaccesstheBIOSat

all.InWindows,clickthekeycombination[Windows]+[R],whichwilllaunchtheRuninputwindow.Typecmdintothefieldandhit[Enter].ThiswillopentheCommandPrompt.Heretypediskpartandhit[Enter],toopentherespectivetool.Inthediskpartwindow,typelistvolumeandhit[Enter]toshowalldrivesconnectedtoyourcomputer.

Ifthedriveisrecognizedandthusappearsinthelistabove,butdoesn’tshowupasanaccessibledrive,chancesareWindowsonlyrecognizesthePCB,butthedriveitselfisdamaged(internaldamage).Inotherwords,ifthedriveisrecognizedinanyshapeorform,thePCBismostlikelyworkingandreplacingitwillnotfixtheharddrive!

IsThePrintedCircuitBoardBroken?

Asmentionedpreviously,yourdrivecanbedamagedinternallyorexternally.TheexternalPCB,ifdamaged,isrelativelyeasytoreplace.However,datarecoveryspecialistswarnthatswappingthePCBcanruinthedriveandcauseyoutolosealldataonit.Soifyoudocareaboutyourdata,bettererronthesideofcaution.

EvenifyoucanseethatyourPCBisdamaged,theremightstillbeinternaldamage.Moreover,asmentionedabove,replacingthecircuitboardyourselfcandamageyourdrivefurther,whichreducesyourchancesofrecoveringyourdata.

NotethatmanywebsitesnowsellPCBsandprovideguidestofindexactlytherightcircuit

boardforyourdrive.YoucaneasilyfindthemonGoogle.

Witchcraft&Wizardry

Whenmyharddrivefailed,thePCBwasfine;thedrivewasstillrecognizedandspinning,butitdidn’tshowupinWindows,meaningIcouldnotaccessit,andnosoftwarerecoverytoolcouldhelpme,either.SoIputmylasthopeintosomeofthoseobscuretricksthatyou’llfindfloatingaroundtheInternet,likeshakingthedrive,hittingitontoahardsurface,exposingittodryheatintheoven,orstickingitinthefreezerovernight.Ifyouhaveanyideahowaharddriveworks,thenanyofthesemethodsshouldgiveyoutheshivers!

Well,Ididn’tdaretomeltmydrive,butmysuspicionwasthattheheadwasstuck.SoIdidshakeit,buttonoavail.SinceIcouldfollowthereasoning,IalsowrappedmydriveinanairtightZiplocbackandstuckitinthefreezerovernight.Theideaisthatthelowtemperaturescausemetalstoshrinkandcontract.Soiftheheadwasstuck,the

coldmightgetitunstuck.Inpractice,thatdidn’tworkeither.AndIprobablycausedcondensationtosettleontheharddriveplatter,whichcouldhavecausedalotmoredamage.IeventuallygaveupandstoredthedriveforafutureinwhichIwashopingtobeabletoaffordprofessionaldatarecovery.

TroubleshootingaDeadDrive

Whenyourdriveseemstohavegivenuptheghost,therearesomestepsyoucantaketodeterminewheretheproblemlies.IfyourcomputerisrunningWindows,thefirstthingyoushoulddoisrebootthecomputerandgointothebasicinput/outputsystem(BIOS).UsuallyyoudothisbypressingtheDeletekeyduringtheboot-upsequence-watchforon-screenprompts.BIOShasautilitythatautodetectsdrives.Runthisandseeifthedriveshowsup.Ifitdoesn’t,theremaybeaproblemwiththeconnectionsbetweenthedriveandthemotherboard.Checkallthoseconnections.

Ifthedrivedoesshowup,thenyoucanrunsomemorediagnostictests.You’llneedanotherfunctionalcomputertoaccomplishmostofthese,unlessyou’veplannedahead.Findthemodelnumberandmanufacturerofyourharddrive.Gotothemanufacturer’sWebsiteandlookforthecompany’sproprietarydiagnosticsoftware.You’llhavetodownloadandthenburnittoaCD-ROMorsaveittoafloppydisk,dependingonwhatthe“dead”computerisequippedwith.Bootthedeadcomputerfromthediagnosticdiskandrunit.Thediagnosticsshouldgiveyousomeindicationofwhattheproblemis,althoughsometimesitwillfindnoproblems,eventhoughthedriveisstillnotworking.

Youcanalsocreateabootablevirusscandiskandscanthedeaddriveforanyvirusesthatmightbecausingtheproblem.Ifyourcomputerisinfected,youmaybeabletousethevirusscandisktorepairtheproblemaswell.

Ifallhasgonewell,atthispointyoushouldhavearoughdiagnosis.Youmightnotknowexactlywhat’swrong,butatleastyou’veruledsomethingsoutandnarroweditdown.Butwhatifnoneofthosetroubleshootingstepsworked?Tryconnectingthedrivetoanothercomputer,onethatyouknowworks.Thiswillletyouknowiftheproblemisreallywiththedriveitself.

Also,openyourcomputer’scaseandlistencloselytothedrivewhenyoubootupthecomputer.Isittotallysilent?Thatmeanstheplattersaren’t“spinningup,”indicatingaseriousmechanicalproblem.Doesitmakeanyofthewarningsoundswementioned

earlier?Remember,thesearealsoasignofmechanicalfailure.Ifitsoundsperfectlynormal(generally,asteadyhissastheplattersspinandinternalcoolingfansactivate—althoughdifferentdrivesmakedifferentsounds),thentheproblemisprobablynotmechanical.

HardDriveRepair

Ifyou’vedeterminedthatyourdrivehasamechanicalproblem,youmayhavesomedifficultiestoovercome.Thedrivemightbefixableandyourdatarecoverable,butitmightrequireaprofessionalrepair,whichcancosthundredsoreventhousandsofdollars.Themainreasonforthisisthatworkontheinternalsofaharddrivehavetobedoneina“cleanroom”environment.Anypieceofdustontheplatterscanruinthedrive.

Youcouldattemptamechanicalrepaironyourown,butyou’llneedtofindexactreplacementpartsfromtheexactmodelandversionofthedrive.Thiscanbeahugechallengeallbyitself(evenforprofessionaldatarecoveryexperts).Youmightbeabletoreplaceadeadcircuitboardyourself,butspindle

motorsandread/writeactuatorsareverydifficulttodealwith.Alsonotethatopeningyourharddrive’scasewillvoiditswarranty.Ifyoudodecidetogothisroute,remembertonevertouchtheplattersthemselves.Theoilsfromyourfingertipsareenoughtoruinthedrive.

Aproblemwithacorruptfilestructureordiskindexissolvedwithspecialsoftware.Therearesomeutilities,suchasfdisk,builtintomostoperatingsystemsthatcanbeusedforthispurpose,butyouhavetobeverycareful.Changingthepartitionsinthedriveorformattingitmightsolvetheproblem,butyou’llloseallyourdata.AnotheroptionistouseaspecializedrecoveryutilitysuchasDiskWarriortorepairtheproblemwhilekeepingasmuchofyourdataaspossible.Somecorruptedfilesmaynotberecoverable.

Chapter7

LaptopScreenRepairingIntroduction

Laptopscreenstodaywilluseoneoftwocommonlightingsystems.BotharestillconsideredLCDScreensbecausetheyare.TheImagetothescreenisLiquidCrystalDisplay;itisonlythelightingthatwillchangeforthese2types.

LEDlightonalaptopisnewertechnologybecauseallscreensusedtouseonlyCCFLbulbs.TheCCFLbulbisathinglasstubewithaprotrudingmetalpliablerodoneitherside.Wiresaresolderedtobothendsofthebulbthenattachtoaplugthatwillplugintothepowerinverter…Youwillneedtosolderthewirestotheendsifyoueverneedtoorderareplacementbulb.Youcanhoweverusuallyfindreplacementbulbsthatcomeprewiredwithplugsalsoattached.Yougetthesamesizebulbasyourscreenspecsspecify.

Howtoreplaceabrokenlaptopscreen

Gettingareplacementscreenandtools:Tobeginyourfix,you’llneedafewsimpletoolsandareplacementLCDscreen.Fortools,Irecommendascrewdriverwithavarietyofsmallbits,suchasaPhillips#00andaTorxT5.It’salsoagoodideatohaveafewthinmetalbladesorplasticspudgers.Thesearereallyhandyforremovingthetrimthatsurroundsthescreen.

AsforthereplacementLCD,youshouldbeabletobuyoneeitherfromthelaptopmanufacturer’sauthorizedpartsdealerorathird-partysupplier.Dependingthescreen,theyusuallycostbetween$50and$250dollars—moreifit’sahigh-enddisplayoryoubuyanOEMreplacement.Regardless,you’llwanttobuyanewscreenthatmatchesyourbrokenoneexactly.Theonlysurewaytodothisistoremovethebrokenone.

Thewayyoushouldbereplacing/orderingthescreenistoremovethescreen,thenlookatthewhitelargestickerontherearsideofthescreen.Itwilltellyoutheexactpart

numberofthescreen,itwillalsoshowyouthetype/modelofscreen.Thesenumbers/lettersareimportantinensuringyoureceiveanexactreplacementpart.

Thereplacementscreenpartreplacementnumberwillalmostalwaysincludethescreenssizeinthenumber.

Hereisatypicalscreenpartordernumber:LP173WD1HD+(TL)(A2)17.3”

Noticeinthenumberthatthescreensizeisinit(LP173),youwillfindthisinmostallscreennumbers.Now,noticethe(TL)andthe(A2)…thisisveryimportantthatyoureplacewiththesameexactnumbers.Ifyoudon’t,youareriskingdamagingthelaptop,orthescreensimplywillnotwork,itwillshowgreycolororawhite-out.

1.Removethescreenbezel:Afterdisconnectingthepowersupplyandremovingthebattery,carefullyexaminethebezelaroundthescreen.You’llneedtoremovethisbezeltoaccessthescrewsthatholdtheLCDpanelinplace.

Onthislaptop,severalrubbercushionshidescrews,whichholdthebezelinplace.I’llneedtoremovethesecushionsandthescrewsthatareunderneath.

Withthehiddenscrewsremoved,Iusedathinmetalbladetopoplooseoneofthebottomcornersandworkedmywayaroundthebezelwithaplasticspudger.

Note:Yourlaptopmaynothavecushionsorhiddenscrews.Thebezelmaysimplysnapontothelidorbeheldinplacewithdoublesidetape.Just,adaptmyinstructionstofityourspecificlaptop.

Regardlessofhowyoudoit,you’llneedtocompletelyremovethebezel.

2.RemovethebrokenLCDpanel:WiththeLCD’smountingbracketsexposed,youcanremovethescrewsthatsecureittothelid.Thenrestthedisplayfront-side-downonthecaseanddisconnectitscable.

Ifyourlaptopwasmadebefore2010andhasaLCDwithfluorescentbacklights,itwilllikelyhavetwocables.ButasthisisanLED-backlitLCD,itonlyhasone.

Now,locatethemanufacturer’slabelandnotethemodelnumber.Usingthisinformationyoushouldbeabletobuyanexactmatchforyourbrokenscreen.3.InstallthenewLCDpanel:Onceyournewscreenarrives,unpackitandmakesureitmatchestheoldone.

thedimensions,mountingbrackets,andconnectorallmatch,youreadytoinstallthescreen.Connectthenewpaneltothecable,positionthepanelinthelid,andsecureit

usingtheappropriatescrews.

4.TestthenewLCDpanelandreinstallthebezel:Beforereattachingthebezel,it’sagoodideatotestthenewpanel.Reconnectthebatteryandpowercableandturnthemachineon.Ifthedisplayworks,youcanreattachthebezelandanyexternalscrewsandrubbercushions.Therepairisnowcomplete.

Asfixesgo,thisoneisn’ttootough,butitdoestakealittlepatienceandplanningtomakesureyougettherightreplacementscreen.

PowerInverterIssues

ThePowerinverteristheonlypartleftforscreenrepairing.

Youcanonlydosomuchtorepairtheinverteriffailureoccurs.TheonlythingIhavefoundthatworksabout%60ofthetimeistochangethetransformerblockontheInverter.Itisthepartwiththecopperwirewrappedallaroundit…alongrectangularshapedcomponentwithlegsonbothends(usually2to3ononesideand2to6ontheother–thelegsattachingtocontactpadsontheinverterboard.Youwillneedtouseasolderinggunandfluxpaste.

ThejobofaLaptoppowerinverteristoconvertDCpowercurrentbackovertoACpowercurrent,thisisdonebecauseanLCDbulbneedsmorepowerthandcvoltagecanprovide.

Whenapowerinverterfails,youwillloseyourlighttothescreen,thebulbwillstillbegood,andthescreenisstillgood,thedisplaywillevenberunningwithoutlight.

Theeasiestwaytotestafaultyinverteristoreplacewithaknowngoodone.Anotherwaytotesttheinverteristoattachanotherdisplaypaneltoyourlaptop..ifthatotherscreenaswellhasnolight,you’vejustruledouttheLCDbulbasbeingtheproblem…youknowthisbecauseyouknowforafactthatthesecondaryscreenthatyou’veattachedisa“knownworking”screen…andthatithasa“good”bulb.

Chapter8

LaptopPoweronProblemIntroduction

Therearequiteafewdifferentreasonswhyalaptopcanhaveissuespoweringon.ThemostcommonwouldbeafaultyDCJack.ThoughotherthingslikeafaultyGPU,orincorrectlyseatedRAM,orablownmotherboardcomponent,abadbattery,adamagedharddrive,ashortintheacadapter,orevenliquiddamagecanaswell…Soyousee;itisnotonlythepowerareathatcanfailrenderingthelaptopunabletopoweronandstaypoweredonitcanbeavarietyofdifferentissues,anditwillbeuptoyoutodoprocessofeliminationtestingtoruleoutallotherpossibleproblemsandpinpointtheexactcomponentcausingtheissue.

Let’sSay…Thelaptopinfrontofyouwillpoweronwhenthepowerbutton/switchispushed,itwillevensplashtheBIOSscreen(thescreenshowingtheLaptopsmanufacturerslogo),thenshutsitselfdown.

Okay,Nowfortheprocessofeliminationtestingtodeterminetheissue.Youwillwanttofirstcheckalltheeasiestthingsthatyoucan,theeasiestpartstoaccessgetlookedatfirst.

BatteryIssue

Startbyremovingthebattery.PlugtheACAdapterinandtrypoweringon…Ifthesame,continueon…

RAMIssue

Next,removetheRAMcoverontheundersideofthelaptop(someRAMslotsarealsosituatedunderthekeyboardonthetopsideoftheMotherboard;youwilldeterminethelocationandreseatbothsticks.ThenattempttopowerbackonafterreseatingtheRAM.ReseatingtheRAMmeansthatyouremovebothRAMsticksandplacethembackintotheDIMMslotsagaintoensuretheyareinstraightandnotatanangleorslightlyajar.

Ifyouarestillgettingthesamefailurewhenpoweringon,thenpulloutbothsticksofRAMagainandjustuseonestick,placingitinDIMM1first,thencheckingPower,thentryingjustDIMM2,thentryingtopoweron,thentakingthe2ndstickofRAManddoingthesamething…tryingDIMM1thenDIMM2…ThatwilleitherruleouttheRAMasbeingtheissueifnothingchanges,oritwillcorrecttheissue,whichwouldalsotellyouthatyouhaveafaultyDIMMslotifthelaptopRunsandPowerson

goodwith1missingRAMstick…

HardDriveIssue

NextyoucanmoveontotheHardDrivebysimplyremovingit.Youwanttoremove/unplugitfromtheportandsetitaside,thentrypoweringupthelaptopbecause

iftheharddrivehadanyissueswithitthatwerestoppingthelaptopfrompoweringon,removingthedriveshouldbypasstheissueandallowthelaptoptoturnon.Liquiddamagetotheharddriveisacommonreasonthiscanhappen…Liquiddamagetotheinternalcomponentscancause

powerredirectionwherethecontactpadsjoinandwhenthisoccurs,itwilltellthemotherboardtoshutdowntopreventfurtherdamage.Ifthelaptopisstillnotpoweringon,continuewithprocessofeliminationtesting…

SoyouhavenowruledouttheBattery,theDCJack,theRAM(memory)andtheharddriveasbeingthecausingissue.Notehere,that,youhaveruledouttheDCJacksimply

becauseitispoweringoninitially,then,shuttingdown.Ifthejackwerefaulty,youwouldgetnopowerinitially,ortheshutdownswouldbemoresporadicandonlyoccurwhenthecordorplugweremovedslightly.Batterywasruledoutsimplyforthefactthatremovingitdidn’tchangethefault.

So,nowthatyoustillhavealaptopthatwon’tpoweronproperly,andyouhaveruledouttheeasierparts/components,youwillnowhavetomoveontodisassemblingthelaptoptobegintroubleshootingandviewingallpartsandcomponents.Whiledisassemblingthelaptop,youwillbelookingforcertainthingsalongthewayastherootofthefailurecausingthelaptoptonotpowerupproperly.Youwillbasicallybelookingateverything.SomethingassimpleascrossingpinsinsidetheEthernet/cat5cableinputportthatarebentandtouchingoneanother,orpossiblyevencrossedpinsinsidetheUSBportcancausethelaptoptopoweronthenshutdown.Soyouwillneedtocloselylookatallpartsandcomponentsnowtodeterminewherethefailurehasoccurred.

LiquidDamageIssue

Nowwewilldiscusswhattolookforwithliquiddamagetoalaptopandwhythatcouldbethereasonforthelaptopnotpoweringupcorrectly.

ThisisatoughRepairtohandle…ButIhavehadgreatsuccessinrepairingmotherboardsthatreceiveliquiddamage…AndImheretosharemyknowledgetoyou…

Manytypesofliquidcan/willspillontoLaptops,themostcommonbeingwater,beer,milk,wine,tea,Coffee,juiceetc.

Eachoftheseliquidcausedamage,thougheachwillcausedamageindifferent

ways.

Whenlookingforsignsofliquiddamage,firstyouwanttopressdownonallthekeysofthelaptopskeyboard,youaredoingthistofeelfor―crispinessorstickingkeys.Sincemostliquidspillswilloccuroverthekeyboard,thisisthefirstplacethatwillbeaffected.Ifakeyboardissaturatedinliquid,andthatliquidhappenstoflowthroughtheprotectiveplasticfilmunderthekeys,itcandamagethedigitizercontactpadsofthekeyboard,itcanalsotravelthroughthekeyboardanddowntothemotherboard.Mostpeoplewillleavethebatteryin

andcanevenleavethelaptoppluggedinafteraspilloccurs,butwhattheydon’trealizeisthattheelectricitythatistravellingthroughthelaptopiscontinuingtocausedamagetoalltheareasthatcontainliquid.The

liquidwilldryeventuallyifleftuntouched,thoughitwilltakealotlongertodryifanyliquidleakedinsidethelaptopscaseandintothemotherboardarea.Ihaveseenliquidspills2monthsoldthatstillhad―puddlesofliquidstillresidingonthemotherboardandonthecomponents.

ThiscanoccurunderICchips,underprotectivestickersthatareplacedonmostmotherboards,andevenintheopenareas.

Youshouldnowalsolookatthepalmrestandbottombase,youwillbelookingforliquidstreamremains.Whenliquidtouchesthecaseparts,itismorevisibleontheinnersideofthepartsthantheouter,thoughstillvisibleontheoutertoo.

Liquidwillleavea—trailofevidencebehindwhenspillageoccurs,youwillseetheplastichasturnedadifferentcolorandwillhave¨Dflow¡Îremainsfromtheliquid.Whendisassembled,youwillalsolookatthemotherboardforanyremainsofliquid.LiquidwillalsoleaveavisibletrailonanyPCB(printedcircuitboard).Waterwilldrycleartowhitishincolor,Powderylookingwhendried.Milkwilldry

toawhitecolor;itcanalsostaythickandnotcompletelydissipate.Coffee,Soda,Beerwillalldrytoadarkbrownishtotan

colorandwillalsousuallystayprettythick-notcompletelydissipating.Waterseemstocausethemostdamageofalltheliquidscommontoaspill.

LiquidthatisleftonanyPCBthathaspowersuppliedtoitwillcorrodethesoldercontactsonthePCB.Thisiswhereyouwillbeabletovisuallyseeawhitishpowdery(lookslikebatteracid)substance.ItwillcontinuetocorrodetothepointthatitwillcausethatcomponenttoshortoutandpossiblycontinuetofurtherdamagesurroundingcomponentsandthePCBitself.Worstcasescenarioisthatthelaptopcouldpotentiallysetfire.And,yes¡-alaptopcanmostcertainly-setfire…Ihavepersonallyseenithappennumeroustimes,IhavealsohadcustomersthatwereFireChiefsthatwouldshowmethepicturesofthehousesburnttotheground,thenshowingmethephotooftheburnt/meltedlaptopwiththeirlidsstillopenasbeingdeterminedthecauseofthefire.

Somostimportantrulehereifpotentialliquiddamagehasoccurredistoremoveanyandallsourcesofpowerrunningthroughthelaptop,rightdowntotheCMOSbattery(iftheplugintype)…thencompletedisassemblyofthelaptopisamust,youmustremovealltracesofpastandpresentliquidorresidueorcorrosion.

Anylaptopthathassufferedfromliquidspillshouldbecompletelydisassembledandinspired.

Eachspecificliquidwillappeardifferentlyonthemotherboard,anddependinghowlongithasbeenthereandifpowerwasstillonwhenthespilloccurred.Itwillalsososignsofcorrosion.

Thisiswhatyouwillbelookingfor(corrosion)…withwateritwillappearasawhiteishcolorandkindofpowdery.

IuseaproductcalledCRCelectricalGrade2-26precisionlubricantspraytostartmy

motherboardcorrosioncleaningprocess.

Iuseasoft–bristledToothbrushtoinitiallycleanthemotherboard..applyingalightamountofspraytothebristles..thetoothbrushwont

ruinthemotherboard,Norwillitripofanycapacitorsorothercomponents..anditwillsafelyremovethecorrosionandhelptopreventitfrom

returning.

Youwanttoinspectbothsidesofmotherboard,startattheDCjackarea,lookattheshoulderpinsofthejacktoseeifanywhitepowderysubstanceexistorpossiblyshorterpinconnections..thenyouwillstartbylookingatallthecapacitors.Youmightneedamagnifyingglasstogetacloseview..LookintheRAM(DIMM)ports,lookingatthegoldspinstoseeifanyhaveatarnishedlookoragainapowderysubstanceonthem,cleanthepinswiththetoothbrush.

UsetheCRC2-26sprayonthetoothbrushbristles.Thendabthetoothbrushontoapieceofpapertoweltoremovesomeofthespray.Youdon’twantthetoothbrushtobewet..itshouldhaveaverytinyamountofsprayonit..thenbackonforthoncapacitors,resistors,MOSFETsetc..thathavevisiblecorrosion.

Youneedtoalsochecktheportthatyourvideodisplaycableplugsintoonthemotherboard..lookintoitforanycorrodedpins..cleanwithtoothbrush.Lookatthedisplaycableplugendtoo.Andcleanifnecessary.Ifyouknowwheretheliquidinitiallyspilledthenyoucanusuallydirectyourmotherboardcleaningtothatspecificarea.Butifyoudon’tknowandallliquidhasalreadydriedthenIsuggestyougooverthewholemotherboardwithyhetoothbrushandspray.Thendosellcircuitboardcleaneratelectricstores.ButIhavehadsuchgoodsuccesswiththeforementationedspraythatitisallIuse.

Ifyouareaseriousrepairtech.Irecommendedyoupurchasesomethingcalledcapacitorwizard.

Thisisalaptoptechiniciansmusthavetool.Itwilltestyourincircuitcapacitorsandwillgiveaccurateimmediateresults.Itwilltellyouthebadonesandthegood

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ones.Nomoretakinghoursuponhoursusingamultimeter.Nomorefindingastablenegativepostandnomoremisdiagonosedcapacitors.Itwilltestothercomponentsonthemotherboardaswellwhenusingthemeter.Icanfullytestamotherboardinamatterofacoupleminutes.WithmydigitalmultimeterIttookmehours.SometimedaysandstillIwasleftwanderingonsomeusingthemultimeter.Butnotwiyhyhecapacitorwizard.Asitmeasuresdifferentlythanamultimeter,itmeasureESR(EquivalentSeriesResistance)andthemeterprobesarenonpolar.

VideoRelatedIssue

Alllaptopshaveavideocard;othercommontermsforthevideocardare-graphicscardor-GPU(graphicsprocessingunit),graphicschipsetor-videochip.The-videochipisintegratedonthemotherboard,andthe-videocardisproprietaryinthatitconnectstothemotherboardusingaZIFslot(zeroinsertionforce)thensecuredbyscrews

Avideocardorchipwillfailmainlyduetothermalbreakdown.Themostlikelyreasonforthisbreakdownisoverheatingofthelaptop.Overheatinghappenswhenthefanandheat-sinkassemblybecomeclogged.Aheat-sinkistypicallyametalmix/blend,mainlybeingcopper.Itisalsofragile.Youdonotwanttobendorflextheheatpipeoftheheat-sinkoryouwillincreasethechanceofoverheatingduetoincorrectmotherboardthermaltemperaturereadings.Theendoftheheat-sinkwillhave―radiatorfinsattachedtotheheatpipeend.Thesemetal/copperfinsaidinthecoolingandheatdissipationbypushingtheheattothepipeendandthencarryingitthroughthefinsandouttheexhaustport.

Asshowninthephoto,thedustanddebriscanbuildup…Similartoalaundrydryer’slinttrapthatyouremoveandempty…exceptthelaptopdoesn’tallowonetoeasilycleanthiswithoutcompletedisassemblyofthelaptop.Atoothbrushisusedtoclean

betweenthefinsoftheheat-sink,removealldustanddebrisfromtheheatsink.Youwillthenneedtounscreworun-bracethefanfromtheheat-sinktoproperlycleanthefan.Thesewillbemicrosizedscrewstypically4ofthemandsomemightbehiddenunderplasticstickers.

Fan/Heat-SinkSeparationandCleaning

Separatethefanlidfromthefanbasetoclean.Mostfanswillbemagneticnotballbearing,andyouwillbeabletopullthefanbladeoffofthefanbasetocleanit.Runthetoothbrushinbetweenthefanbladesfromthetopsideandbottomsidesofthefan.Itisagoodideatoalsouseapapertowelorsimilar(Iwillsprayglasscleaneronit,thenfolditabunchoftimestomakeitthicker,thenrunthewettowelinbetweenthefanblades)tobettercleanit,alsocleaningthebaseofthefanhousing.Reassemblethefanandreattachittotheheat-sink.Reapplyanythermalpastetotheheat-sink’scoolingpadsifneeded.Ifyouplanonaddingthermalpastetotheheat-sink,First,ItabsolutelymustbeSilverThermalPaste,notCeramic(silverincolor,notwhiteorpinkincolor).Also,youabsolutelymustremoveanyremaining―oldthermalpastefromboththeHeatSinkandtheChiporCPUitiscovering.Toremoveoldpaste,usedenaturedalcoholonapapertowel,rubaway.Iftheoldpasteisrealthickandcrusty,useaguitarpickorflatplasticcardortoolto

gentlyscrapeawaythepaste.Importantherenottogougetheheat-sinkthermalplateifyouarescrapingthepasteaway…thatiswhyyouwoulduseplastictoremoveit,orjustapapertowel.

TheCPUwillalwaysusethermalpastebecauseitdoesnotgetashotastheGPUdoes.TheGPUwillalmostalwaysuseathermalpadandnotpaste.Thermalpadswillallowforthenaturalthermalexpansionofthechipsetandwillallowforthegreatestheatdissipation.DonotreplacethethermalpadwithacoppershimonaNVidiachipset…Youmustreusethethermalpadonthevideochip.

WhyGPUCancausePowerIssue

Okay,nowbacktotheGPUandwhy/howitcancausePowerIssueswiththelaptop.

TypicallyamotherboardwillhaveaNorthbridgechipset,aSouthbridgechipsetandaGPUchipset(3SeparateICChips),thoughtheneedforsmallerandthinnerlaptopshasledtonewertechnologypartsandcomponents.AlotoflaptopswillintegratetheSouthbridgechipsetandtheGPUintooneICchip.AgoodexampleistheHPDVseries,whichmainlyusedanAMD/NVidiaorIntel/ATIChipset.TheAMD/NVidiaICwoulduseintegratedSouthbridge/GPUonabouthalfofthemodelsreleased.Iftheheat-sinkonlyhasoneadditionalcoolingthermalpad(besidestheCPUpad),thenchancesaretheGPUandSouthbridgechipsetsareintegrated.Iftheheat-sinkhas2additionalthermalcoolingpads,theoneclosesttotheCPUwouldbetheGPUandthefurthestistypicallytheSouthbridgechipset.TheNorthbridgedoesnotproduceheat.

TheCPUisoneofthemoststablecomponentsinalaptopandtherewillbenoneedtodiscussanyrepairtothatpartinthisbook.Theycan“fail”thoughandifareplacementCPUisreadilyavailable,youcantryexchangingjusttoruleouttheCPU.Butchancesare,itisnottheCPUthatiscausingtheissue(unlessyouinstalledanincompatibleone

TheGPUconnectstothemotherboardusingaBGA(ballgridarray)connection;thisisaconnectionthatdoesnotallowforphysicalremovalofthechipwithoutspecialequipment(reworkmachineorsimilar

AsopposedtoaZIFFsocketCPUwhereinsteadofsolderball–tocontactpadconnection,youhavepinsprotrudingfromtheCPUandfittingintothematchingpatternontheZIFFCPUdock.

ThermalOver-ExposureiswhatcreatesfailuresintheBGAconnectiongridoftheGPU(videochip).TheheatcombinedwithsomeGPUsusingincorrectsolder;willbreakdownthesolderballcontactconnectionovertimeandoverprolongedexposuretooverheatingconditions(cloggedfan/heat-sink).

VideoChipBGARework(Reflow)

Thecoinstackplaysseveralrolesinthereflowprocess..Andisthereasonwhymymethodworks.

IuseacoinstackbecauseoftheavailabilityofaCoinworld-wide.Istartedoutbeforereleasingthismethodusingablockofsilver,whichequaledtheweightof6quartersand2

nickels..andsincecoinareeasyforeveryoneWorldwidetoobtain..Iwentwiththecommonchoice.

Theimportanceofweightingthechipismyothermainkeyreasonforthismethodandit’ssuccess.It’samatterofthelawsofsciencethatanythingbeingheated..especiallytothetemperatureofthereflow..willwanttoexpand(asapposedtocontracting)andbynaturethechipwillwantto“expand”andriseupfromtheconnection.Thisisalsowhysealentisusedbymanufacturers.

Onceyouhavereachedthecorrecttemperatureortimelength,letthecoinstacksitontopofthechipuntilcooled.Thenremovethecoinstackandthissheets/foil.

IwilltakeaminuteheretoExplainHotAirReflowingandDebunktheMythsSurroundingtheuseofHotAirasopposedtoInfrared.

Useofa-HotAir¡Îgun,ifdoneright,willworkexactlyasareworkmachine.Afterall,itisthesameexactsetupasareworkmachineexceptforthePCBbraces,temperaturedialsandthemetalsupportingarmtoholdtheheatsource.

Therearedifferencesbetweentheuseofinfraredandhotair,thoughtheaveragepersonwillnotbeabletoobtainoraffordanexpensiveinfraredreworkmachine,whichiswhythisbookwillteachyoutheProfessionalReflowingHotAirMethod,ForUseonAnyandAllVideoChipsets.Infraredwilltransferheatwithoutoverheatingthesurroundingareas;itismoreconstantsourceofheatandwillpenetratethePCB/ICsmorerapidly.Thoughwiththerightheatgunandtherightinstructions,hotaircanandwillobtainsimilarresults.InfraredisrecommendedforReballingandreplacingtheGPU,butforreflowing(whatistaughthere),HotAirisnotonlymorecostefficient,convenientandcosteffective.

MONITORINGTHETEMPERATUREDURINGTHEVIDEOCHIPREFLOWPROCESS

TIPSFORASUCESSFULREFLOW:

RemoveChipSealant:MostGPUChipsetswillhavesomesortofsealantorglueusedontheedgesofthechiptosecureittothemotherboard(usuallyred,black,orclear)Ihavehadmanysuccessfulrepairswithoutremovingthissealant,thoughitisbesttoremoveitpriortoreflowtoallowthefluxandheattoenter.

Removalofthesealantshouldbedoneaspartofthereflowprocess,thebeginningoftheprocess.YoubeginheatingtheGPUwithoutthecoin-stack,holdingthetipoftheheatgunroughly3inchesawayfromthechipata45degreeangleandcirclingthechipwhileyouheatit.Youmovearoundthechipinacircularmotionaimingtheheatbetweenthechipandboard.ThebestthingtodowouldbetogettheConeTip(lookslikea3tiercake)fortheprocess.UseeithertheconetiporanexactfitSquaretipforreflowing.

BeginheatingthechipandmonitorthetemperaturewithanInfraredLaserGuidedThermometer(ifavailable)toatemperatureof145degreesCelcius.

REMEMBERthatyoumustinsulateanypartsorcomponentsthatwillmeltorcanbedamagedfromtheextremetemperature…Thiswouldincludeanyplasticplugports,CPUDock,RAMDIMMportsetc…UsetinsheetsorAluminumFoilorsimilar…NoneedtowrapthemotherboardlikeaPresentthough,justthecomponentsintheimmediatearea.ItisalsoagoodideatocovertheCMOSbatterywithfoil;orremoveiftheplug-intype.

Onceyouhavereached145degreescelcius,youwilluseaminiflatheadscrewdrivertoremovethesealant.Notagoodideatousearazorbladefordoingthisbecauseifyouaccidentallydigintothemotherboard,youcouldriporbreakoneofthetracesonthemotherboardthatrunundertheGPU(thereareHundreds).Carefullyholdthemini-screwdriverata45degreeangleandimmediatelyaftertakingtheheatawayfromthechip,youwanttobeginscrapingawaythechipsealant.Nvidiachipsetswillmainlyusetheredglue,andtheamountwillvary.Somewillapplyitindotsaroundthechip,somejustatthe4corners,andsomewillusethesealantthewholewayaround.Applyslightpressuretostartthescraping/peelingoftheredepoxy…donot―digǁ…youwantthescrewdriverasflatandparalleltothechip/motherboardasyoucangettohelppreventscrapingoftheboardorchip.Ifyouhavereachedtherighttemperature,removalshouldbeeasy,asitshould―peelǁrightoffandaway.Donotdigunderthechipasyoucandamagetheconnectionorcausethermalspotting;especiallyifyouwedgeanyepoxyunderit.Youmightneedtoheatthechipacoupletimestocompletelyremovethesealant,ifyounoticeitbecomingharderto―peelǁthesealantyouwillneedtoapplymoreheat(usuallytwiceissufficient).

PreheattheUndersideoftheMotherboard:-Beforethereflowprocessisstarted,yet,afterthechipsealanthasbeenremoved,youcanbegintopreheattheundersideofthemotherboardpriortoreflowingtheGPUChipset.Thisshouldbedonewithoutmovingthemotherboardduringthereflowprocess.Meaning,youshouldonlybeheatingtheundersideoftheboardifyoucansetthemotherboardupinsuchawaysothataftertheundersideisheated,youcanquicklymovetothetop-sidewheretheGPUistobeginheatingthatimmediatelywithoutmovingthemotherboard.HowThisIsDone:Iworkonamarbletable,soheatisnotafactorwhenworriedaboutruiningthe¨Dworkarea¡Î,andIwillplacethemotherboardovertheedgeofthetabletoexposethedirectundersideofthemotherboard.Youarenotheatingtheentireundersideofthemotherboard.Rather,youareheatingjusttheareadirectlyoppositefromtheGPU(abouta2inchby2incharea).

Youwillnotdothisiftheundersideoftheboardhasplasticcomponentsplacednearthatareabecauseyouwillruntheriskofmeltingordamagingtheseparts.Youcanalsodothisbyusingboardbraces,whetheryougetyourselfaprofessionalPCBbracingsystem,orgo

toyourlocalHomeImprovementstoreandmakeyourselfone.Youwillneedtohaveonewiththecapabilityofeasilyflippingoverorcapableofflippingtheboardoverwithoutdisconnectingitfromthebraces.Useaconetipontheheatgunifableto,heattheundersideoftheGPUandmonitorthetemperatureusingyourinfraredthermalgun.Youwanttoheattheareatoaround180degreescelcius,thenasquicklyaspossible,youwillbeginheatingtheGPU.Butwait…

UseLiquidFluxonGPUduringReflow:RightnowistheperfecttimetoapplyanyliquidnoresiduefluxtotheoutsideoftheGPU.YoucanbuyaPenApplicatorversionofLiquidFlux,asopposedtoabottlewithaneyedropper(morecommon);IrecommendyouinvestinthePenstyle.Toapplythepenstyleflux,youwillshakethepenforafewsecondstomoistenthetip,dabthetiponcetoreleasefluxintothetip,thencarefullyapplytheliquidfluxaroundthechipsedgewhereitmeetsthemotherboard,thegoalisthatwhentheheatisapplied,thefluxwillflowunderthechiptoreachtheBGA.YoudonotwanttocreatePuddlesunderthechipsodonotusealotofflux,youwantenoughsothatyouseeitresidingontheboard,yet,notsomuchthatitstartstospreadandflowwithoutheating.

Isthepenisnotavailabletoyou,andyouareusingadroppertoapplytheflux,youshouldapply1droptoeachside,orahalfdropifableandspreaditdownthesideusingthetipofthedropper.Ordon’tusethedropperanddipaQ-Tipintothefluxbottletoapplytheflux.

FanMod:ModificationoftheLaptopsFanThermalControlFeaturecannotbedoneonallfans.Matteroffact,therearefewmodelsthatwillallowthis.ThelaptopsCPU/GPUfanisthermalcontrolled,andcertainfansusingafourthcontrollerwirecanallowyoutodisablethefanspeedcontrolandrunthefanatfullspeed–fulltime.

TakeforinstancethefanusedontheHPDVseries(notall)(theTX,2000,6000,9000models)useawhitewire(4wirestotal)asthethermalcontrollerwire.Ifyouremovethiswhitewire,thefanwillrunatfullspeedthewholetimeitispoweredon.Ifyouattemptthisonadifferentmodelandyougotopoweritonbutthefandoesn’tspinatall…YouwillnotbeabletoModthatfanandwillhavetore-plugthewirebackin…Doingthisandhavingitnotworkwillnotharmthelaptopor―blowanything.

Todothemod,youneedyourMicro-sizedflatheadscrewdrivertopulltheplugwirelockupwardtoreleasethewirefromtheplugtip.Lookonthewhiteplugtipofthefan,youwillseethinlockingtabsononlyoneside(theoppositesideistheflatside).Thisisthetabyouwillbepryinguptoreleasethewirefromitshousing.Youwilltakethewirethatyouremovedandbenditupwardsecuringittothewiresetusingelectricaltapeorusingheatshrinkwiretubing(purchasedinelectronicsorhomeimprovementstores)

WhyAThermalPadIsUsed,NotPasteorShims:LaptopcomponentssuchastheGPUandCPUandintegratedRAMwillgenerateheatwheninuse.AndtheLawsofScienceandPhysicswilltellyouthatanypartthatheatsandcoolswillalsoexpandandcontract.Whydoyouthinktheheat-sinksontheCPU/GPUallhavesomesortofspringloadedmechanismtosecurethem,whetheritisheattreatedmetalthatwillallowforflexing;or,screwsonRiserpoststhathavemetalspringsattachedtothem.

TheCPUdoesnotgenerateasmuchheatastheGPUandiswhyusingthermalpasteissufficient.CertainGPUswillgeneratemoreheatthanothers,anditisusuallytheGPUsthathavetheSouthbridgechipsetintegratedintothemmakingthechipboththeGPUand

SouthbridgeChipsetinone.Itisimperativethatathermalpadisused.Again,whydoyouthinkthemanufacturersusethem;definitelynotto―cutcostsǁ;they’reusedforareason.

ThermalPadsareusedontheGPUtoallowforthenaturalexpansionandcontractionoftheChipandtheupperflipchipthatissecuredtoallGPUs.Youcan’tphysicallyseethisoccurrence,yetitdoeshappen.LaptopmotherboardrepairingdealsalotwithScienceandPhysicsalongwithElectronics,soitisgoodtoknowalittleofeachofthesecategoriesofstudy,themoreyouunderstandofeach…thebetter.

IfyoureplacethepadwithsomethinglikeaCopperShim,youruntheriskofapplyingtoomuchpressuretotheupper―flipǁchipanddamagingitoritsBGAconnectiontotheGPUchip.―Yahǁ,youwillfindalotofpeopleontheinternettellingyouthatyoushoulduseashimtoreplacethepad…Yettheyhavenocluewhatthey’retalkingabout…theydonotknowhowthesecomponentsoperatetoeducateanyoneonthesubject.AshimcanbeusedonGPUsthatdonotgeneratemassiveamountsofheat,likesomeIntelGPUsorcertainATIGPUsbutIneithercondone;norrecommendyoudothis.

Ifyouremovethethermalpadthinkingyoucanjustapplysome―freshǁsilverpastetotheGPU…youarewrong.Thereisa―gapǁbetweentheheat-sinkandtheGPUsupperflipchip,soifyouuseonlypasteontheGPU,theheat-sinkwillnotmakecontactwiththesurfaceoftheGPU…thepasteisnotthickenough,andtheheat-sinkmustsitonthesurfacetoproperlydissipatetheheat.

MotherboardIssues

ThelaptopmotherboardcanhavemanydifferentissuesBlownVoltageRegulator–

VRchipsarealsocalledMOSFETs.Theywillbeoneofthemostcommonboardfailurecomponentsyouwillcomeacross.TheywilltypicallyfailneartheDCJackortheDCJackinputplugport(bothupperandundersidesofthatarea…)

Somereasonstheycanfailinclude:

PowersurgeorPowerDip,Liquidcontact,boardflex,contactwithanymetalobjectwhilepowerisrunningthroughlaptop,pressuretothepalmrestorreferredfailureduetoanothercomponentfailingsuchasacapacitororseriesofcaps.Youcansometimes

visuallyseewhentheyhaveafaultorhaveblown.TheywillrevealacrackorcanhaveacircleshapedburnmarkonthesurfaceiftheICitself.

Whilefailingcapacitorstypicallyresultsinsysteminstabilities,occasionallyfailedcapacitorswillleadtoafailureofthevoltageregulatorsonthemotherboard.Therearetwocommontheoriesonwhythishappens.

Thefirst(andsimple)theoryisthatthefailingcapacitorsdevelopaveryhighleakagecurrent,overloadingthevoltageregulatorsandcausingthemtooverheat.ThesecondtheoryisthatasthatasthecapacitancedecreasesandtheESRincreases,thebuckcontrollerfortheload.SincemostoftheMOSFET’sheatoutputisproducedduringtheswitchingtransistors,theincreasedfrequencycausesthemtooverheat.

Acapacitorrated2200Fmayexperienceadropincapacitytoaslittleas75F.Thedesignengineermighthaveassumedthatitmightdropupto50%overitslife,butnotto5%ofitsoriginalvalue.Thestabilityofthebuckswitchingregulatoriscompromisedbysuchadramaticdropandtheregulator,svoltageoscillatoriscompromisedbysuchadramaticdropandtheregulator’svoltageoscillates(perhapswildly)tovoltagesabovetheabsolutemaximumratingoftheICstowhichthesupplyisconnected.

ThemostcommonfailuremodeofthevoltageregulatorisfortheMOSFETtoshortcircuit.Causingthesystem,spowersupply(5or12voltsdependingonthemotherboard)tobeapplieddirectlytotheCPU,northbridge,RAMorothercomponents.This,inturn,causesthosepartstocatastrophicallyfail.Amotherboardwithsymptomsoffailingcapacitorsshouldbetakenoutofserviceuntilitisrepairedinordertopreventfurther

damage.

TheBesttoolforexaminingalaptopmotherboardisyoureyes…youneedtovisuallyinspectthemotherboard.Mostofthetimewillbeabletoseeifacapacitorhasblownorpopperyouwillbeabletoseeifaregulatorchiphasblown,oraMOSFEThasblownjustbyit’sappearance…

Alaptopthatwon’tpoweronislikelycausedbyablowncapacitor.Belowisanenlargeviewofblowncapacitor.

Youneedtophysicallyinspectthemotherboard,usingalightedmagnifyingglass,youcanfindanexactreplacementfortheblowncapacitorbyremovingonefromadeadmotherboard.Otherwiseyouwillneedtobyesomecapacitor.

Symptomsofablowncapacitor:-WhenyouplugintheACadapter,andthegreenpowerlightonyheadaptorgoesout…resultinginnopowertothelaptop.

Ifyoufindablowncapacitor,youneedtoreplaceit.Youdesolderitfromthemotherboard.Youmustbeextremelycarefulindoingso,becauseifyouoverheadthecontactpadsthatthecapacitorconnectto,youwon’tbeabletoresolderanewcapontothemotherboard.Addatinyamountoffluxpastetoeachendofthecap,thenuseathindesolderingbrald(solderwick)andtouchtheendofthecapwithit,takeyoursolderinggunandtouchittothedesolderingbraid–thentouchingthecapacitorendtoremovethethinlayerofsoldercoveringit.Youdin’tneedtoremoveallthesolder.Dothisonceagaintotheoppositeend.

NowyouuseaMicro-sidedflatheadscrewdriverandgentlytouchthesideofthecapacitor,andatthesametime,gentlyapplyressurewiththescrewdrivertothesideofthecaptopushitsidewaysoffit’spad.Heattheendtomeltingpoint.Thenquicklyswitchtotheoppositeendandheat.Thecapacitorwillpoppffandrolloffit’spad.Nowyoucansolderanewone.

IfthelaptopispoweringonbyitselftheinstantyouplugintheACAdapterorinsertthebattery,chancesarethereisamis-seatedplug,cableorwiresetattachedtothelaptopormotherboard.Toremedythis,youshoulddisassemblethelaptop,then,reassembletohopefullycorrectthefault.

Chapter9

LaptopMotherboardComponent

LaptopMotherboardIcidentificationCommonLaptopICChip.

POWERSUPPLYCHIP:-(MAX1632,MAX1904,MAX1634,SB3052,SC1402,LTC1628,TMP48U,ADP3160/ADP3167,ADP3168,APW7060,ETC)

IOCHIP:-(PC97338,PC87392,FDC7N869,FDC37N958,LPC47N227,LPC47N267,PC87591S/PC87591L/PC97317IBW/PC87393VGJPC87591EETC)

CPUpowersupplychips:-(ADP3166,ADP3170,ADP3421,AIC1567,CS5322,FAN5056,ITC1709,MAX1710/MAX1711/MAXl712,HIP6004)Chargedischargecontrolchip:-(MAX745,TC490/591,AAI3680,ADP3806,DS2770,LTl505G,MAXl645B,MAX745,MB3878,AAT3680,ETC)

CPUtemperaturecontrolchip:-(MAX1617,MAX1020A,AD1030A,CM8500,MAX1989,DS1620,GraphicsBrandchip:-(ATI,NVIDIA,S3,NEOMAGIC,TRIDENT,SMI,INTEL,FW82807,andCH7001AEthernetchips:-(RTL8100,RTL8139,IntelDA82562,RC82540,3COM,BCM440LF8423,LF-H80P,H-0023,H0024,H0019,ATPL-119

SoundaudioChip:-(ESS1921,STAC9704,AU8810,4299-JQ,TPA0202,8552TS,8542TS,BA7786,AN12942,AD1885,ALC655,APA2020/TPA0202

PCCardChip:-(R5C551,R5C552,R5C476,R54472PCCardpowersupplychips:-(TPS2205,TPS2206,TPS2216,TPS2211,PU2211,M2562A,M2563A,M2564ACOMportchip:-(MAX3243,MAX213,ADM213,HIN213,SP3243,MC145583

Keyboard-chip:-(H8C/2471,H8/3434,H8/3431,PC87570,PC87591Keyboardchip:-(H8/3434,H8/3437,H8/2147,H8/2149,PC87570,PC87591,H8S/XXX,M38857,M38867,M38869)BatteryICchip:-(BQ2040BQ2060BQ24700BQ2470lBQ24702/BQ24703M61040FP..)Memorycontrolchip:-(CM8501/CM8501CM8562)ClockIC:-(CS950502CY28404CICS9248-153ICS954218ICS9248-151ICS9248-39ICS950901,WINBOND,)Lcdbacklightcontrol:-(MAXl522/MAXl523/MAXl524OZ960)Ddrmemorypowersupply:-(MAX8794NCP5201SC1486/SCl486ASC2616TPS51020ISL6520,ISL6537CM8501,ISL6224ISL6225)OtherCommonchipset:-(AAT3200AAT4280AMS1505,MIC2545,MIC5205,ADP3168,AICl567,cM8562,CMl9738,CSS5322,DSl620)MosfetsUsedCrystal(14.318Clock)ConnectorSocket(display,battery,dvdrom,modem,keypad,touchpad,onoffpaneletc)

Chapter10

TheSolderingProcessThischapterwillgiveyouthecompleteguideofsolderinganddesolderingcomponents.

SolderingTechniqueRequiredTools

Beforediscussingsolderingtechniques,oneshouldmustsetupa\solderingworkstation”.Thefollowingisalistoftoolsforatypicalsolderingstation.

1.Variabletemperaturesolderingiron:usedforapplyingheattojointsduringthesolderingprocess.2.Dampsponge:forcleaningsolderingirontip.3.Rosin-coresolder:toelectricallyandmechanicallybondacomponenttothePCB.4.Wirecuttersorsidecutter:fortrimmingcomponentleadsandstrippinginsulationfromwires.

5.Needlenosepliers:forholding,placingandshapingcomponents.6.Desolderingpumpand/ordesolderingbraid:forremovingsolder.7.Scotchtapeand/ora\ThirdHand”:forsecuringcomponents.8.Safetyglasses:foreyeprotection.Thesearemandatoryinthelab.

9.Magnier:toprovidemoredetailduringintricatework.Amagnifyingglassisconvenient,butanilluminatedmagnierisbetter.10.Lightsource:topreventeye-strain.11.Ventilation:toextractanddispelfumesgeneratedduringthesolderingprocess.

12.Flux:tocleancomponentsandPCBpads.13.Acidbrush:toassistintheremovalofuxresidue.

PriortosolderingitisagoodideatohaveallcomponentsorganizedasitwillmakepopulatingthePCBmoreecient.MakeaBOM(billofmaterials)forthePCB,andensurebeforesolderingthatthecomponentshavebeencollected.TheschematicandPCBlayoutwillalsobereferredtowhenpopulatingtheboard

ImportantSolderingTips

Thefollowingtipsprovideaquickguidelineonhowtomakeproperjoints.

Cleanliness:Allparts,includingthesolderingirontip,mustbecleanandfreefromgrease,oxidationandcontamination.Solderdoesnotflowovercontaminatedareas;moreover,solderisrepelledbydirt.Severecontaminationisevidentwhensolderbeginsto\bead”.Acommonsourceofcontaminationisoxidation.Oldcomponentsandcopperboardswilloftenhaveanoxidelayerthatpreventsagoodsolderjoint.EnsureallcomponentshaveshinyleadsandthePCBhascleantraces.Anabrasivesuchasablueorpinkeraser,emerypaper,orstellwoolcanbeusedtoremovetheoxidizedlayerfromthe

PCBboardandcomponents.

Tinning:Inadditiontobeingclean,thesolderingirontipmustalsobetinned(coatedwithsolder).Tinningthetipallowssoldertoowonthecomponentsmorequicklyratherthanthesolderingirontipitself.Tinninginvolvesaddingafewmillimetresofsoldertothetipandthenwipingandrotatingthetiponthedampspongetorevealashinysurfaceonthetipofthesolderingiron:athinlayerofsolderwillcoator\tin”thetipofthesolderingiron.Whendonesoldering,tinningtheironisrequiredtoprotectthetipfromoxidationtherebydramaticallyincreasingitslife.

Temperature:EnsurethatboththecomponentleadsandthePCB’scopperlayerareheatedatthesametime.ThesolderingirontipshouldcontactboththecomponentandthePCBpad.Thiswillensurethateachsurfaceisrelativelycloseintemperatureresultinginagoodjoint.Ifthereisatemperaturedierencebetweenthetwosurfaces,thesolderwillforma\dry”joint.Solderingironsaretypicallysetaround650Fahrenheit,dependingonthelead-tinratioofthesolderbeingused.Toomuchheatcausesexcessive\sputtering”offlux,andtoolittledoesn’tmeltthesolderinatimelymanner.

Duration:ThedurationthattheironisincontactwiththecomponentandPCBisdependentonthesizeofthejointandyoursolderingirontemperature.ForthetypicalPCBthrough-holejoint,itshouldtakeafewsecondstoheatthejointandapplythesolder.Thiswillrequirepractice,sodon’texpecttobefastifyouareabeginner.Excessiveheat(severalsecondsinduration)willdamagesensitivesemiconductors.Ifthisisaconcern,useaheatsinkattachedtothecomponentleads:sometimesassimpleasanalligatorclip.Theseconcernscansometimesbeavoidedbysolderingsocketsinsteadofthesemiconductoritself.

Adequatesoldercoverage:Iftoolittlesolderisapplied,thejointwillnotmakeasecureconnectionandwillcauseerraticbehaviour.However,iftoomuchsolderisapplied,thejointmaybridgewithadjacentjointsresultinginelectricalshorts.Howmuchsoldertoapplycomeswithexperience.

Handling:Mostmodernelectronicssystemscontainstatic-sensitivedevices.Useproperhandlingprocedurestominimizethelikelihoodofdamage:groundingwrist-straps,groundedsolderingirons,groundingmats,etc.

Precautions

SolderingIronsgetveryhot(600-8000F,315-4250C),pleaseensureyoufollowprecautionsduringuse.Basicsafetyprecautionsarelistedbelow.

Neverleaveyourironturnedonwhileunattended.

Turnthesolderingironoffwhenitisnotbeingused.Iftheironisleftonforlongperiodsofidletime,thesolderingirontipwillbedestroyedthroughoxidation.

Eyeprotectionmustalwaysbewornwhensoldering.Hotfluxcanspitupandintoanunprotectedeye.IntheCapstoneDesignLab,useofeyeprotectionismandatory.

Ifthecordofthesolderingironisdamaged,informthelabstawhowillensureitisreplaced.

Neversetthesolderingirondownonanythingotherthananironstand.Topreventburningyourngers,useneedlenosepliers,heatresistantgloves,orathirdhandtooltoholdsmallpieces.

Familiarizeyourselfwiththesafehandlingofallmaterialsusedduringthesolderingprocess.Thisincludessolder,flux,alcohol,anddesolderingbraid.EachhasaMaterialSafetyDataSheet(MSDS)andcanbefoundinthelaboronline.\SafeOperatingProcedures”arefoundpostedonthewallclosetothesolderingfacilities.

HowtoSolderThrough-HoleComponents

MostofthesolderingdoneintheCapstoneDesignLabisthrough-hole.Athrough-holejointisatypeofsolderingjointinwhichthecomponentjoinswiththePCBpadthroughaphysicalholeintheboard.ThefollowingstepswillillustratehowtomakeaproperthroughholesolderjointonaPCB.

1.Ensurethattheprintedcircuitboardandallcomponentsareclean.Cleaningcanbeachievedwithamildabrasiveand/ortheapplicationofflux.

2.Pluginthesolderingiron,turniton,andletitwarmupfor2-3minutes.3.Wetthesolderingstationspongewiththewaterprovidedinthelab.Donotwetthespongeinthebathroomorthewaterfountain.

4.Cleanthetipofthesolderingironandtinitwithsolder.5.Insertthecomponentintotheholes.Ensurethatthecomponentissecurebytapingthecomponentorbyusingathirdhand.Optionally,thecomponentleadscanbeclinchedasshowninFig.below,however,isnotrecommendedfortwo-sidedboardsastheflowofsoldertothecomponentsideisrestricted.

6.Applythesolderingirontiptoonesideofjointmakingcontactwiththecomponentleadandtheboardcopperfoil,ensuringthatbothareheateduptothesametemperature.

7.Slowlyaddafewmillimetresofsoldertotheothersideofthejoint.DONOTapplysoldertothesolderingirontip.IfenoughheatwasappliedtothePCBpadandcomponentwire,thesolderwillowfreelyontothejoint.

8.Removethesolderwhenthejointissuitablycovered.

Thegoalistogetthejointtobea“fillet”:acurve

9.IfthePCBisdouble-sided,thesoldershouldowthroughtheholearoundthecomponentleadandmakeabondonthecomponentsideoftheboard(oppositetothesidethatthesolderwasapplied).Ifthis\wicking”doesnotoccur,theholemaybeundersized,clinchingcouldbeblockingthesolder’spath,orthecomponentleadisnotclean.

10.Removethesolderingironandallowthejointtocoolnaturally.

11.Cuttheleadofthecomponent,ifnecessary.

GoodSolderJoint

JointExample

HowtoSolderSurface-MountComponents

Surfacemountsolderingrequiresmoreexperienceandskillthanthroughhole.Itisrecommendedthatonepracticeswiththrough-holepriortoat-temptinganysurfacemountsoldering.Asthenamesuggests,surfacemountinvolvessolderingacomponenttoeitherthetoporbottomsurfaceofaPCB.Dependingonthefootprint,thepadsareusuallyaspacedclosertogether(nerpitch),makingthe

solderingmoresusceptibletosolderbridges,etc.

Theactualsolderingofthejointsissimiliartothethrough-holemethod.Onediculty,however,ismaintainingthepart’salignmentonthePCBpads.Agoodtechniqueisoutlinedhere:

1.AlignthecomponentonthePCBpads.Thiscanbeaidedwiththeuseoftweezersanddentalpicks.

2.SecurethecomponenttothePCBbyapplyingasmallamountofpressureontothetopofthecomponentusingasmallslotscrewdriver.Anindexngerrestingontheendofthescrewdriverprovidesenoughforcetosecurethedevice.3.SolderoneofthecornercomponentleadstothePCBpad.

4.AligntheremainingpadsandsoldertheoppositecornerPCBpad.5.Soldertheremainingpadsinapatternthatdoesnotbuild-uptoomuchheatinthedevice

TestingConnections

AftercompletelysolderingacomponenttoaPCB,itisgoodpracticetoensureconnectivitybetweenthecomponentwireleadsandthePCBpadstheyaresolderedto.ADMM(DigitalMulti-Meter)issucienttodetermineconnectivity;manyDMMsincludeanaudibleconnectivitysetting,butfailingthis,measurethejointresistance.

DesolderingTechnique

Desolderingmayberequiredforseveralreasons:

acomponentmayhavefailedawrongpartwasinstalled;

adesignmodicationnecessitatesachange;orifaboardcontainsexpensivecomponentsthatcanbesalvaged.

Whateverthereason,therearethreecommontechniquestoremovesolderfromajoint:usingadesolderingpump,adesolderingwick,ordesolderingiron.

Regardlessofthemethodused,ifitispermissibletodestroythepartduringremoval,thenalotoftimeandeffortcanbesaved.Forinstance,usingwirecutterstotrimoffallthepinsofathrough-holeICsotheycanberemovedindividuallymakestheremovalprocessmucheasier.Inmostcases,avoidingdamagetothePCBisofparamountimportance.

SolderPump/Sucker

Adesolderingpumpisexactlywhatitsoundslike:apumpthatsucksupsolder.Usuallythepumpisspring-loadedandprovidesarecoilwhenreleased.Thefourstepsbelowoutlinehowtodesolderajointusingadesolderingpump.

1.Primethedesolderingpump.Thisinvolvesdepressingthedesolderingpumpspring.Thepumpwillclickwhencorrectlydepressed.

2.Heatthejointfromonesidewiththesolderingirontip.Wait1-2secondsuntilthesolderbeginstomeltfromthesolderingironheat.

3.Putthepumptipontheothersideofthe

joint.Don’tbeafraidtoactuallytouchthejoint.

DesolderingBraid/Wick

4.Pressthedesolderingpumpspringreleasebuttontosuckupthesolder.Thisprocedureshouldberepeatedifthejointhasasignicantamountofsolder.IfdonecorrectlythejointshouldeventuallyAdesolderingbraidremovessolderfromajointusingatechnique

knownas\wicking”.Desolderbraidisapieceofmaterialthatspongesupmoltensolderbycapillaryactionthatdrawssolderawayfromthejointthebraid.Thefollowingprocedureoutlinesthebasicstepsinvolvedindesolderingajointusingdesolderingbraid.

1.Placethedesolderingbraidoverthejoint.

2.Pressthedesolderingbraidontothejointwiththesolderingirontip.Thiswillapplyheattothedesolderingbraidandthejointallowingthemoltensoldertoflow.

3.Waitforthesoldertomelt.Thesoldershouldflowontothebraidandawayfromthejoint.

4.Cutoffthesoldercoatedportionofthedesolderingbraid.Thereshouldbeno

coppervisibleintheportionthatisremoved:braidisveryexpensive.

DesolderingIron

Usingadesolderingiron,availablewithhigher-endsolderingstations,issimilartousingasoldersucker.Thedesolderingironisessentiallyasolderingironwithabuilt-invacuum.

1.Makecontactbetweentheironandthejointtobedesoldered,ensuringthevacuumopeningisnotblocked.

2.Oncethesolderonthejointhasbecomemolten,depressthebuttonontheirontoactivatethevacuum.Itisveryimportantforthelifeofthedesolderingironthatthevacuumassemblybecleanedaftereverysessionofuse.Pleaseaskthelabpersonnelforadescriptionofthecleaningprocedure.

Aswithanormalsolderingiron,thedesolderingirontipshouldbetinnedbeforeandaftereveryuse.

RemovingComponentsEffectively

ToremoveacomponentwithlittleornodamagetothePCBorcomponenttakespracticeandpatience.Oftenwhenremovingacomponent,PCBpadsandtracksmaybedamagedby\lifting”o

theboard.BelowaresometipsthatmaybeusefulwhenremovingcomponentsfromaPCB.

Desolderalljointspertainingtoacomponentpriortoremoval.Itmaybenecessarytogooverthejointsseveraltimesbeforeallthesolderisremoved.Practicepatience.

Usepliersandgentlypulloncomponentswhileapplyingheattothejoints.Theassistanceofafriendcanhelpwiththis.

Donotpullwithforce,becausethePCBpadsandtrackswillbedamaged.Donottryandremovecomponentsbypryingthem.Donottrytopushthecomponentoutoftheholeswiththesolderingtip.ThiswillcertainlyliftthecopperpadoofthePCBandruintheirontip.Inordertogetbetterthermalconductivitybetweentheironandthesolderjoint,itissometimeseectivetoaddasmallamountofsolder.

Chapter11

MotherboardRepairingIntroduction

NowIgettheimpressionthatmotherboardsscarealotofpeopleinthisfield,youknowpeopledon’twanttodealwiththemorreplacethemortrytofixthem.It’salittledauntingtotrytodiagnosethemotherboarditmightseem,butwhatI’mgoingtellyouisit’sprettyeasy.Here’sfourmainsymptomsthatcouldgowrongwiththemotherboardandtheyare

Foursymptomsofabadmotherboard:

1.Computerwon’tturnon2.Componentswon’twork3.Computershutsdownrandomly4.Computeractsabnormally

1.computerwon’tpoweron

Wegotalaptopthatdoesn’tpoweron.Howcanyoutellifthemotherboardisbad?Well,youjustaskyourselfwhyelsewouldn’tacomputerpoweron?Numberone,ifit’sonbatterypower,thebatteryisdeadorthebatteryisbadandnumbertwotheACadaptercouldbebad,solet’srolloutnumberone.Pullthebatteryout,keepthebatteryoutofthecomputerforthistestandthentakeyourACadapterandcheckthevoltagewiththevoltmeterandI’mgoingshowyouhowtodothatrighthere.Takeavoltmeterandwhatyouwanttotestforisvoltage.Putthemeterat20voltsDCandtakethetip,thepowerjacktip.Youholdyourblack,yournegativeontheoutsideofthetipandyouputtheredintheholeintheinsideofthetip.Beverycarefulnottotouchtheredandtheblackandthetipstogether,otherwiseitwillcreateashortcircuit.Afterdoingthesethings,besureyouhave19voltsDCorjustabout19voltsDCregisteredonyourmultimetersowecanknowthatthepoweradapterworks.Now,justtomakesuretheconnectionsistight,kindabendthepowercordalittlebitandmakesurethattheregistered19voltsDConthemultimeterorvoltmeterwillnotfluctuateormovewhenyoubendthepoweradaptercordalittle.Okayifyou’restillgetting19voltsDCwhenbendingthepoweradaptercord,jigglethepoweradaptercordalittlebitaroundmakesurethatthere’snocrimsonwire.Now,afteryoubendthepoweradaptercordandjiggleitandyoustillhave19voltsregisteredonyourmultimeter,thenthepoweradaptertipisprobablygood.Alotoftimeyouknowthetipwillbreak,greatinthisareahere,andyouwouldn’tgetthat19voltsDCafteryoudothat,afterit’sbroken.Soinsteadofjusttakingthewholecomputerapartandfindingoutifthelaptophasappropriatelygoodpowerjack,testthepoweradapterfirst.

Nowanotherreasonamotherboardmightnotturnedonisbecauseit’snotgettingpowertothepowerjack.Powerjackmightbedamaged,soabsorbwhatyoucanfromtheoutsideandseeifit’sthepowerjackislooseordetachedfromthemotherboardandifitisthen

youknowyouhavetoreplacethepowerjackprobably,butifitlookslikeit’ssecuretheonlywaywewe’regonnabeabletotestthepowerjackistogetdowntothemotherboardlevelandlookitwherethepowerjackissolderedontothemotherboardandthisIcoverinmanyofthecasestudyvideos.Otherthingsthatmaycausealaptopmotherboardnottopoweron…

Nowthere’safewotherthingsthatmightcauseamotherboardnottoturnonorcomputernottoturnon,itcouldhaveabadprocessor,butbadprocessorarefairlyrareIwouldsay1outof75computersareworkingon,it’stheprocessorratherthanthemotherboardthat’sbadandalsothere’slikemaybethepowerbuttonontheactuallaptopisbrokenorsomethingmechanicallikethat,butagainthat’sunlikelybutyoucouldcheckthosethingstoo.

2.Componentswon’twork

Okaynumbertwo,componentsonalaptopwon’twork.Forexample,aCDdriveorawirelesscarddon’tshowupinwindows.Whethernotworkingproperly,wellthatcouldpossiblybeamotherboardbutthewaytotestthatistoreplacethatcomponent.IfyourCDdriveisnotworkingreplacetheCDdriveifit’sstillnotworkingmaybetheCDdrivecontrollerorthemotherboardisbad.I’vehadthathappenedonacoupleToshibalaptopsIworkedon.I’veboughtabrandnewCDdriveputitin,stillnotworking,stillwasn’trecognizedbytheBIOSanditwasabadmotherboard.NowHP,Ialsohadaproblemoftheirwirelesscardbutitwasn’tthewirelesscardsthatwerebaditwastheactualcontrolleronthemotherboard,thatcontrolsthecardthatwasbad.Ithinkitwaspositionednexttoachipthatgotrealhotlikethegraphicschiporsomethinglikethat,onthemotherboard.Soifyouhavealaptopwithcomponentsnotworking,youreplacethecomponentsandthey’restillnotworkingthenyoumighthaveabadmotherboard.Nowhowdoyourolloutifwindowsisn’tcausingthisproblemortheoperatingsystem’snotcausingtheproblem.Well,testitwithadifferentoperatingsystems.ThisisalwaysagoodtestofthemotherboardusinglikeLinuxdistributionlikeknoppixorusingtheUltimateBootCDforwindows.ThesearebothbootableCD’sandit’sessentiallytestingthehardwareofalaptopbecauseyou’rerunningitonadifferentoperatingsystems.Lastthingtotryifcomponentsaren’tworkingandyoususpectisyourmotherboard.Flashthebiosofthemotherboard,maybetheBIOSgotcorruptedsomehow,andsincetheBIOSislikehandlesthebasicfunctionsofacomputer,maybeit’snotdoingit’sjobandcausingsomeabnormalactivityinthecomputer.

3.Computershutsdownrandomly

Okaynumberthree,laptopshutsdownrandomly.Nowthisisacommonsymptomofalaptopoverheating.Solet’smakesureit’snotanoverheatingproblemandhowdowedothat?Well,whatIdoisItakeacanofcompressedairandIblowitinthelaptop,inthebottomwherethefanisandalsointheheatsink,onthesideofthecomputer.Ifyoudothisyoumightseecloudsofdustcomeoutandthat’sagoodthingthatyouwanttomakesureyougetallthechunksoutofthelaptopbeforeyouturneditbackon,becausethosechunksofdustthatmightstillbestuckinthere,mightcausethefanbladestoactually

stick.Igooverthisinthecasestudyvideosseveralofthem.WatchhowIdothatthereandyoucanseeinactionyouknowcleaningoutlaptop,gettingolddustoutofit.Now,onceyougetthedustoutofalaptopandyou’resurethatthefanisspinningandtheairwaysareclean,ifthecomputerkeepsshuttingdownafterthis,youcanbeverysurethat’snottheCPUoverheatingthat’scausingtheproblembuttheproblemwiththemotherboard.IhadsystemswhereIopenedthemupImakesurealltheairwayswereclean,Imakesurethattheheatsinkwasmakingagoodconnectionwiththeprocessor,putitallbacktogetherandthecomputerstillpowerdown.Itturnedoutitwasabadmotherboard

4.Computeractsabnormally

Okaynumber4,thecomputerorthelaptopactsabnormally.Itbluescreens,thingsaren’tworkingthewaythey’resupposeto,itdoesn’tbootupeverytime,itdoesn’tbootupatallsometimes.Now,firstIwanttomakesureit’snotWindowsthatcausingaproblem.Soagainwe’renotgoingtodealtomuchforthesoftwaresidestodoallyourWindowsfixesandmakesureWindowsisn’tcausingtheproblemorlikeIsaidbefore,justrunknoppixwhichisagoodLinuxdistribution,theUltimateBootCDforWindowswhichisalsogreatandthenyou’llknowWindowsisn’tthethingthat’scausingtheproblemthen.Ifyou’restillhavingproblemswiththecomputeractingabnormally,starttakingoutcomponentsonebyone.Taketheharddriveout,youcoulddothatifyou’rerunningitfromaliveLinuxdistribution.Taketheramout,replacetherammaybewiththestickaroundthatyouknowisgoodthatyouhavearoundintheshop,takethewirelesscardouttaketheCDdriveout.StarttakingcomponentsoutonebyoneandgetthemotherboarddowntobasicslikeCPU,onestickofram,motherboardandpower,andhookupthescreen,andjustmakesurethatitgoeson.Butbreakitdowntobasicssoyou’resurethatit’snotacomponentthat’scausingtheproblem.Soonceyouhaveitofbrokendowntobasicsandyou’resurewindowsisn’tcausingtheproblem,thenit’sprobablyabadmotherboard.Okayit’sabadmotherboard.

DeadMotherboard:TotalPowerLoss

Laptopdoesnotstart.Isitbadpowerjackorpowerfuse?

Let’ssayyourlaptopdoesnotstartatall.Youpluginthepoweradapterandpressonthepowerbutton,butthelaptopwillnotreact.It’sdeadandthepowerorbatterychargeLEDwillnotlightup.

Whatcouldbewrong?Isitbadpowerjackorthemotherboardisdead?Bytheway,thepowerjackakaDC-INjackisthepowersocketonthesideorbackofyourlaptopwhereyouplugtheAC/DCpoweradapter.

I’llexplainhowtoperformbasictroubleshootingandfindoutwhatiswrong.Thisisonlyforexperiencedpeople,whoknowhowtodisassemblelaptops.

Firstofall,testtheAC/DCpoweradapterwithamultimeter.It’sverylikelythatthereisnotingwrongwiththelaptopandyourproblemisrelatedtothepoweradapter.

Iftheadaptertestsfineandoutputcorrectvoltage,disassemblethelaptopandremovethe

topcover.

Asyouseeonthefirstpicture,inmylaptopthepoweradapterplugsintotheDC-INpowerjackwhichisconnectedtothemotherboardviaaharness.InsomemodelstheDC-INpowerjackissoldereddirectlytothemotherboard.PluginthepoweradapterandmeasurevoltageatthepointwheretheDC-INjackorDCharness(likeinmycase)connectedtothemotherboard.

IfyouarereadingthesamevoltageasontheACadapter,itmeansthepowerjackorharnessworksproperlyandtheproblemisrelatedtothemotherboard.

Ifthereisnovoltage,mostlikelythereisaproblemwiththejackorhardnessandithastobereplaced

Bytheway,insomecasetheproblemcouldberelatedtothefusewhichisusuallylocatedsomewhereveryclosetothepowerjack/harnessconnector.Youcantestthefusewithamultimeter.

Ifthefuseisbad,themotherboardwillappeartobedeadevenifthereisnothingwrongwiththepowerjackandAC/DCadapter.Ifthat’sthecase,replacingthebadfuseshouldfixtheproblem.

NopowerProblem

Diagnosis,CauseandRemedy:

ThefirstthingIdidwastestingthepoweradapterwithamultimeterinordertoverifywhetherthepoweradapteristheonethat’scausingthenopowerproblemornot.Thesupplyvoltageindicatedonthepoweradapteris19v,whenItestedit,thesupplyvoltageisjustnormal.Sincethepoweradapterisjustokay,ourconcentrationnowisonthelaptopitself.Inordertoascertainwhetherthemotherboardofthelaptoporotherperipheraldeviceswhichisconnectedtothelaptopcausesthenopowerproblem,wehavetodisassemblethelaptoppiecebypiece.Afterunscrewingallthelaptopparts,Iindividuallypullouteachperipheraldevices.Aftercompletelytakingoutalldeviceswhichisconnectedtothelaptop.Inowseparatedthemotherboardinordertobetested.ButfirstIcleanoutallthedustfromthemotherboardforthisisalsoaonefactorwhichcausesthemotherboardelectroniccomponentstobeshorted.Becausewhendustgetsthickitwillbecomeaconductor.

Soyouneedtobeawareofthis,everytimeyoudisassemblealaptopmotherboardyouneedtofreethemotherboardfromalldust,tobesurenotthedustistheelementcausingthemotherboard’selectroniccomponentpartstobeshorted.Aftercleaningallthedustfromthemotherboard,Iscanallthecomponentstoseewhetherthereareanydryjointsornot.Dryjointsmeanslooseorpoorsolderconnections.Poorsolderconnectionsonalaptopmotherboardusuallyoccurwhenyourlaptopisalreadywell-advancedinyears.Ididnotfindanypoorsolderconnectionsonanypartofthemotherboard,butforcontentmentIjustcarefullyresolderedalltheSMDcomponentsespeciallyonthepowersection.

Note:AlllaptopnowadaysisdesignedonaSurfaceMountedDeviceorSMDmode,andthisisrarelyhavedryjoints.ButforsatisfactionIcautiouslyresolderedalltheSMDcomponentsparticularlytheSMDcomponentsnearthedcpowerjack.

Afterresolderingallthesectionsthatneedstoberesoldered,Iinsertedthedcpowerplugadaptertothedcpowerjackandseewhetherthepowercomesup.Unfortunately,theconditionoftheproblemremainsthesame.Inowtestedalltheelectronicpartsonthemotherboardtofindoutwhetherthereareanyshortedelectronicelementpartswhichcausesthenopowerproblem.Aftertestingallthecomponentsthatcouldbetestedmerelywithamultimeter,Icouldnotfindanyshortedparts.TheonlypartsthatIstillnotcheckedwasthedcpowerjackandthefuse

ThefinalstepthatIdidwastestingpowerjackfrominputtogroundforshort.WhenItestedit,voila!theproblemfoundbecauseitisreallyshorted.Iusedx1rangeofmymultimetertoseethefaultandeitherwaythere’sadeflection.WhenIgoontestingthefuse,Ifoundthatthefusewasalsoopen,therateofthefuseis5.5amperesanduponfurtherinspectionIfoundashorteddiode.

Thereasonwhythepowerjackterminalswereshortedisbecauseoftheshorteddiodethatisconnectedtothepowerjack.Replacingthediodeandthefusebringsthelaptoptolife.

MoreAboutMotherboardRepairingABOUTTHEPCB

TheLaptopsmotherboardorPCBwhichstandsforPrintedCircuitBoardismadeupoflayers(itisn’tjustathickgreenplasticboard).Theselayerswillbe―layeredwithtraces.Thetracesarecopper―wiresthoughnotalltracesare―wirethattravelallthroughouttheboard.OncetheLayersandTracesareSetandtheboardOvercoatisApplied,TheHolesorLandsareapplied.Allaredrilledorlaseretched.Thencontactpadsareaddedtotheholes.Somewillhaveonlysurfacepads,andsomewillhavec-capsandlandsthatgothroughtheholeandouttotheoppositesidewithacontactpadattachedtobothsidesandhavingacontact―wallthroughtheentirewallofthehole.Thepurposeofthe―wallinthecenteroftheholeistomakecontactwiththetraceinsidetheboardlayerscorrespondingtotheholespositioningonthePCB.

TheLaptopsMotherboardwillbecoloredGreen(someareblue),Alwayshaving2shadesofgreen(orblue);alightgreen/blueandadarkgreen/blue.Thedarkgreenbeingthe―baseboardcolorandthelightgreenprintedontoindicateTracepathsandcomponentsections.Thenyouwillseewhitelinesprintedallovertheboardwhichwillcorrespondwiththeschematicsdataontheboardcomponentlayout.Themanufacturersstampthelinesinpositiontodiagram-outthecomponentpartnumbers;andprintedlabeling;foreverycomponent.

ABOUTLAPTOPSCHEMATICS

http://www.laptopschematic.comwillhavealotofSchematicsavailableforyouhttp://www.eserviceinfo.com/index.php?what=search2&searisanotherplacetoobtainSchematicsforLaptopPCBshttp://laptop-schematics.com/anothergreatplaceforschematics

http://notebookschematic.com/?tag=kt2-motherboardschematicTryhereaswell

LaptopmotherboardSchematicssheetsareavaluabletoolinlaptoprepairandwillbeneededforcertainmotherboardrepairs.Theschematicswillbethe¨Dblueprints¡Îofthemotherboardanditslayers.Itwillshowyouthecomponentslocation,thecomponentspowerrating,andifitrunsinaseries,itwillrevealthatalso.

Whenrepairingthemotherboard,youwillrefertotheschematicssheetwhenyoucanbothvisuallyseethedamagedcomponent,andalsowhenyoucan’tseeanyfaults.Theschematicssheetwillhelpyouwhentracere-routingisneededbyshowingyouallsurroundingareas(allsidesandbeneathareainquestion).Ifyoucanvisuallyseethefaultycomponent,theschematicssheetwilltellyoutheexactpartnameanditsrating.Thisinformationwillallowyoutoproperlytestthefaultandproperlytestpost-repairforcontinuity.

MOTHERBOARDREPAIRINGTECHNIQUES

Let’ssay,forinstance,thatthelaptophadalossofAudio,andyouhavealreadydeterminedthatthespeakersthemselvesarenottheissue.Youcanlookatthemotherboardschematicssheetblockdiagramtolocatethepathoftheonboardaudioandlocateallcomponentsonthatpath.Thiswillallowyoutohopefullylocateifthereisafault.TheaudiowilltravelfromtheSouthbridge,ortheGPU/Southbridge,andyouwillseeitbranchouttodifferentcontrollersections,liketheamplifier,themicrophone,theaudiojacks/modemetc…Eachsectionhavingitsownsetofcomponentslikevoltageregulators,resistors,capacitors,controllerICs,diodesetc…Knowingthefaultycomponentslocationinrelevancetoallothercomponentswillhelpyouindetermininganyhiddenfaultsandhelpyoubetterdirectyourtestinginsteadofhavingtotesttheentiremotherboard.

Knowinghowtheinitialfailureoccurredisverybeneficialtohelpingtolocatethefault.Ifyouknowthattheproblemisrelatedtoalightningstormandthepowerwasgoinginandout,youcandirectthediagnosingtowardsthepowerinputandleadingtracks.Thiswouldincludeallcomponentsonthosepaths,likevoltageregulators,tantalumcapacitors,resistors,diodesandrelated.Alsoyouwoulddeterminefromtheschematicssheets,thepropertestingvoltage/amp/currentofallthosecomponents.Letussaythatthatdidinfacthappentothelaptopinquestionwiththefault.YouwouldbeginbymakingsuretheACAdapterisproperlyfunctioning.Movingon,youwouldbeginavisualandaudioinspectionofthemotherboard.

Youraudioinspection:

Listeningcloselytoafaultymotherboardwillsometimesrevealthefaultslocation,oratleastshowtheendresultofablownseriesofcomponents.

Youwillsometimesbeabletohearblowncomponentsmakingahighpitchedbuzzingnoise,oritwillsometimesbeabeepingnoise,thensometimesitcanalsobeclickingnoises.

Yourvisualinspection:

Thevisualinspectionisthemostimportantpartofmotherboardtesting.Itcanalsobethedifferenceinhoursoftestingasopposedtodirectlynoticingtheissue.

Printedcircuitboards(PCBs)arevulnerabletoenvironmentalinfluences;forexample,thetracesarecorrosion-proneandmaybeimproperlyetchedleavingpartialshorts,whiletheviasmaybeinsufficientlyplatedthroughorfilledwithsolder.Thetracesmaycrackundermechanicalloads,oftenresultinginunreliablePCBoperation.Residuesofsolderfluxmayfacilitatecorrosion;thoseofothermaterialsonPCBscancauseelectricalleaks.Polarcovalentcompoundscanattractmoisturelikeantistaticagents,formingathinlayerofconductivemoisturebetweenthetraces;ioniccompoundslikechloridestendtofacilitatecorrosion.Alkalimetalionsmaymigratethroughplasticpackagingandinfluencethefunctioningofsemiconductors.Chlorinatedhydrocarbonresiduesmayhydrolyzeandreleasecorrosivechlorides;theseareproblemsthatoccurafteryears.Polarmoleculesmaydissipatehighfrequencyenergy,causingparasiticdielectriclosses.

AbovetheglasstransitiontemperatureofPCBs,theresinmatrixsoftensandbecomessusceptiblecontaminantdiffusion.Forexample,polyglycolsfromthesolderfluxcanentertheboardandincreaseitshumidityintake,withcorrespondingdeteriorationofdielectricandcorrosionproperties.Multilayersubstratesusingceramicssufferfrommanyofthesameproblems.

Conductiveanodicfilaments(CAFs)maygrowwithintheboardsalongthefibersofthecompositematerial.Metalisintroducedtoavulnerablesurfacetypicallyfromplatingthevias,thenmigratesinpresenceofions,moisture,andelectricalpotential;drillingdamageandpoorglass-resinbondingpromotessuchfailures.TheformationofCAFsusuallybeginsbypoorglassresinbonding;alayerofadsorbedmoisturethenprovidesachannelthroughwhichionsandcorrosionproductsmigrate.Inpresenceofchlorideions,theprecipitatedmaterialisatacamite;itssemi-conductivepropertiesleadtoincreasedcurrentleakage,deteriorateddielectricstrength,andshortcircuitsbetweentraces.Absorbedglycolsfromfluxresiduesaggravatetheproblem.Thedifferenceinthermalexpansionofthefibersandthematrixweakensthebondwhentheboardissoldered;theleadfreesolderswhichrequirehighersolderingtemperaturesincreasetheoccurrenceofCAFs.Besidesthis,CAFsdependonabsorbedhumidity;belowacertainthreshold,theydonotoccur.Delaminationmayoccurtoseparatetheboardlayers,crackingtheviasandconductorstointroducepathwaysforcorrosivecontaminantsandmigrationofconductivespecies.

Alightedmagnifyingglassorbetteryetamicroscopewouldhelpyouwiththevisualinspectiontobringyourfieldofviewupcloseandallowingyoutolookforfaults.Youcanbuyaheadsetmagnifyingglassthatrestsonyourheadandhasmultiplelensestoallowyougreatermagnification.TheheadsetalsohasbuiltinadjustableLEDlights.Thiswillallowyoutoworkwithbothhandsfree.Youwillinspectallcomponentsforphysicaldefects.VOLTAGEREGULATOR

VRswilltypicallyneedtobetestedwithamulti-meter.Tovisuallyinspecttheregulator,youwouldbelookingatthecontactarms,mainlywheretheymeetwiththecontactpads,lookingformeltedsolderaswell.Usuallyboardflex(heatcontractionandexpansionof

themotherboard)willcausetheVRsarmtobecomemis-seatedfromthepad.WhenaVoltageRegulatorfailsduetoapowersurge,itwillhavevisiblesignsoffailure.Youwillneedto―zoomǁintocloselylookatthesurfaceoftheVRchip.Youwillseeaburnareausuallycircleinshapeandcansometimesbeassmallasapin-headoraslargeasthechipsizeitself.CertainblownVRswillstillallowthelaptoptocontinuerunning,yettheblownVRswillalsocontinueto―shortǁandifleftunattendedandcontinuouspowerisapplied,itcancausethesurroundingareatoburnandpossiblysetablaze.Ifyouinfactdoseevisualdamage,youwillreplacethatvoltageregulatorfromthemotherboard.Usuallyitwillonlybethat1VR,andnottheset(ifinasetorseries).FirstareatocheckisrightneartheDCInput(whethertheDCJackLands,orthePlug-InDCJackPort)area,lookinginthedirectareaandalsoontheoppositesideofthemotherboard.TheHPdv9000,dv6000are2goodexamplesthathavecommonfailuretotheVoltageRegulatorchiplocatednearitsdcjackinputplugport.ThisVRblowsquiteeasilyandmostlikelyduetopoor/cheapmanufacturing.Groundingpinwillusuallybethelastpin,schematicscanhelpyouonthepincountofneeded,andwilltellyouthelastpinslocationandpossibleothergroundingpins(soyoudon’tgetfalsereadings).Onceyouplacethemulti-metersnegativeprobeonthegroundpin,youwillgoaroundthearmsstartingfromarm1andcontinuingaround.Totestforcontinuity,youwouldsetthemulti-metertobeeporscreechwhenpositivepowerisdetected.ToreplacethefaultyVR,youwillneedanexactreplacementVR.Youcan’tjusttakeonethatresemblesthefaultyoneoffofanalternatemotherboardandexpectittowork.Itwillmostlikelyhaveadifferentratingthantheoneatfaultandcancauseothernearbycomponentstoblowlikeoscillatorsorcaps.YoucanlocateanexactseriesmotherboardandremovetheVRfromittouseinreplacementofthefaultyone.Thismightbeyourbestoptionforreplacingthecomponentifyoudonotrepairlaptopsonaregularbasisandhaveaccesstocomponentinventorysurplus.Lookingupthepartnumber(zoominontheICsurfacetofindit),theneitherGoogleit,orgoonEBaytolocateanexactpartmatch.Ifyougetluckyyouwillfindit,youjusthavetohopetheseller/vendorallowsthepurchaseofasingularoneandnotrequireyoutobuyinBulk(usuallyacaseor144).CAPACITOR

Thecapacitor,orceramiccapacitor,ortantalumcapacitor…willalsobeacomponentyouwanttocloselylookatifyouarelookingtodiagnoseaPowerfailurelikealightningstrike(myexample)andaPowersurgeordipoccurred.Visualinspectionwillrevealcracksinthecapacitororcracksinthecontacttrayandpads.Electrolyticcapacitorswilltestdifferently,astheywillleakandwillbulgewhenfailing.AusefultoolformotherboardtestingisaUSBmicroscope.Theyaresoldinvariousstrengthsandeventhecheapest–loweststrengthscopewillhelpgreatlyinseeingthecomponents,especiallywhenyouareabletoviewitonamonitorandsavethecaptionstodisk.

ThewayacapacitorshouldbetestedisOutOfCircuitTesting,anycomponentforthatmatter.In-CircuitcapacitortestingcanbedoneusingaCapacitanceMeter,InCircuitESRmeter.OTHER

Thepowerinductorandthepowerchokecoil(s)canalsobeaffectedinamotherboardfailureissue.Youwillbeabletofeeltheheatresonatingfromthemusuallyafterfailure.

Resettablefuseswillfailbutrarelywill…BIOSchipsetswillfailtoo,theywillgetblowoutsinthecenterareaofthechipssurfaceandisusuallyvisible.

IMPORTANTAddition

Alotofmotherboardfailuresarenotadirectresultof―motherNatureǁorthemis-useoreventhermalormechanicalbreakdown.ThereareotherNotWellKnownwaysamotherboardcomponentcanfail.PackagingandStorageisone.ThemoisturecontentandchemicalexposureinthepackingmaterialscangreatlyaffectthelongevityandstabilityoftheMotherboardandComponentsthereof.Thiscancause―motherboardWarpǁ,itcanalsodeterioratecertainaffectedcomponentsontheboard,evendamagingthecontacts.Itwilldeterioratethewiresandcablesmakingthembrittleandfragile,itcancausealotofharm.Anotherhiddencauseleftundiagnosedcanbeanincorrectlycoveredtraceorland(manufacturerdefect).Thiscancauseshorts,itcancausetrailblow-outsbecausetheheatgeneratedfromthePCBscomponentswillfurtherwearawayatthefaultareas,causingthatcomponenttofail,whichforexamplecanthrowdcvoltagethroughapathrequiringnodc.

Anotherhiddencauseleftundiagnosedisasolderchiporballthatwasleftontheboardafterthemanufacturercompletedbuildontheboard.Thispiecemighthavestucktoanareaontheboardhavinga―negativecontact,thenatsomepointthatchiporballwasknockedloosebeingknockedaroundinsidethelaptopuntileventuallytouchingavoltageregulatorpositivepinarmorsimilarcomponentspowercontact.Which;inturn,wouldblowthat;oranyrelatedcomponent,leavingnosuspecttothecauseofthefailureuponinspection.

THEPOWERCHOKECOIL,PowerInductors&Chokes

Achokeisacoilofinsulatedwire,oftenwoundonamagneticcore,usedasapassiveinductorwhichblockshigher-frequencyalternatingcurrent(ac)inanelectricalcircuitwhilepassingsignalsofmuchlowerfrequencyanddirectcurrentbyhavinganimpedancelargelydeterminedbyreactance,whichisproportionaltofrequency(seeInductorandInductance).Chokesaretypicallyusedastheinductivecomponentsinelectronicfilters.

Thenamecomesfromblocking—“choking”—highfrequencieswhilepassinglowfrequencies.Itisafunctionalname;thesameinductorisoftencalleda“choke”ifusedtoblockhigherfrequencies,buta“coil”or“inductor”if,say,partofatunedcircuit.

TheEnd