Is my computer fried?

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OmiOMy

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Last night, my laptop computer started acting strangely. The power cord started not being detected, and attempting to move it to get better take didn't work. The cable just would not register.

I'm pretty sure that the problem is the AC adapter port. When it's plugged in, the cable has some play. It had the occasional problem before, but outright not detecting the thing in any position is new. Previously, seating the cable harder would work, but now it does not.

Am I out of luck? Can a pro fix it? Can I fix it?
 
Probably a broken connector. Most laptops have ports for the power cable to plug into. If it's anything like my dad's old HP laptop, it's probably a pain in the ass to fix because of the way it's in there. Sometimes you get lucky and its easy to get to and someone can just fix it (My old school laptop entire back panel is 3 screws, no hassel, can see what the problem is exactly), other times the service panel is part of the shell of the laptop and requires the keyboard and shit to be taken off to take off the back pieces to get to the part where the stuff is (My mothers HP for example) Of course it's possible that's not the problem, it could be a bad cable as well or what Maxx said about the solder joint.

Most important thing: If you don't know what you're doing, don't screw with it. Just have someone look at it. (Preferably someone who isn't a scam artist, we all know the geek squad is a scam XD lol, atleast my local one is)
 
Mostly what Maxx said, with my addition of snapped wire within the cable (usually happens close to the jack/plug where it gets handled a lot), dirt or fluff within the plug mating surfaces or upon the metal contacts....can't think of owt else at the moment as I'm earwigging my mum's phonecall 😳
 
As above, it might not need soldering. Laptops are a bit tedious to take apart, but not difficult. Here's an example video showing how to replace the DC power socket on one particular laptop:

[video=youtube;rzUwcwDYhZE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzUwcwDYhZE[/video]

Otherwise, I've seen a few adverts suggesting that a repair shop could do this for £50 to £100 (probably the same in US dollars).
 
I'll have it looked at, and I'll bring the cable with me when I do. I've never attempted to take apart a computer, and I have zero experience with solder either.
 
Update: there is an entire situation with the motherboard, and it needs outright replacement. Because of this, everywhere says that it would be cheaper to just replace once parts and labor were factored.

I'm in trouble.
 
OmiOMy said:
Update: there is an entire situation with the motherboard, and it needs outright replacement. Because of this, everywhere says that it would be cheaper to just replace once parts and labor were factored.

I'm in trouble.

Yeah, It's often cheaper to just replace the entire laptop, take the hard drive out of it, and back everything.
 
OmiOMy said:
Update: there is an entire situation with the motherboard, and it needs outright replacement. Because of this, everywhere says that it would be cheaper to just replace once parts and labor were factored.

I'm in trouble.

I had that happen to me last summer. I had to buy a new computer. :(
 
Maxx said:
Sorry to hear that.

Don't pitch the old computer though as it may be possible to remove the drive and recover the data when you get can afford a new laptop.

There are inexpensive adapters that allow you to connect an internal drive to another computer. You have to remove it from the old one, but you don't have to worry too much about damaging stuff (other than the hard drive!) taking it apart since it's already dead.

I'm sure there are plenty of youtube videos that would show how to do this for your specific laptop. Everything is on youtube.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/454623/USB_30_25_SATA_Hard_Drive_Adapter_with_Case

That's the plan. There is too much important stuff on the hard drive to salvage. It might take a while, but I plan on getting it all back. I'm not losing six years of writing. This year is not going to do THAT to me.
 
If I may suggest a quick option to check. As others have mentioned issues with socket cable etc are most likely spot on and especially when you’ve had a history of manipulating cable to get it to work. But we have seen many ac adapters fail as the electrolytic capacitors in particular in switchmode power supplies will dry out and go open circuit with age. A simple check with this is if you have a multi meter check the voltage output on cable of course this is assuming cable is ok. A new power supply would be a simple fix. You said you had it looked at and were told it needs a new mb which may be the case if socket is Damaged on the board but sometimes they will tell you something like that if they think it could be a can of worms to try and fix. Definitely give the power supply a viltage test if you can just to rule it out.
All the best.


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OmiOMy said:
Last night, my laptop computer started acting strangely. The power cord started not being detected, and attempting to move it to get better take didn't work. The cable just would not register.

I'm pretty sure that the problem is the AC adapter port. When it's plugged in, the cable has some play. It had the occasional problem before, but outright not detecting the thing in any position is new. Previously, seating the cable harder would work, but now it does not.

Am I out of luck? Can a pro fix it? Can I fix it?

I might be able to help, I've got a good amount of experience with some laptops. If you would like to PM me with the specifics (make and model) and I can let you know if it's something I've got experience with.
 
I second the 'save the hard drive' sentiment. I do that with all of my old computers. If it 'dies' and I can't fix it, I remove the drive and keep it. So now I have like...four hard drives sitting around because I use an adapter to plug them into my new computers and pull the files I need off. I keep them as a sort of "Enormous Floppy Disk". XD

And yeah, I don't trust Geek Squad. They kept trying to hassle me when I went in and asked for a new hard drive for my laptop. (I already KNEW what I needed, but my mom said "Just ask them where it is." Which led to Geek Squad trying to get me to let them work on it.) And I said "No. It just needs a new hard drive. The old one is corrupting information because it's so old and well-used."
 
I can feel your pain. I have had different computers bite the dust on me and it's no fun. But salvaging your old HD is a great idea and you have two options: get an adapter so you can just rip the info out or get an external HD enclosure--if those are inexpensive enough--and after you back up your important stuff, you can reformat and use your "new" external HD as a backup device.

I learned how important backing up was when I was using one of my old Amigas and I had a head crash on my hard drive. Ouch...
 
We checked the power supply — it's working fine so that's ruled out.
 
Best of luck! I've had people in my family who suffered from the broken dc port problem inside their laptop. Due to the risks involved when opening up most laptops and how everything is put together kind of haphazardly, I typically refuse to open up laptops for repair, unless it's for something simple like adding more SODIMMs, replacing hard drives, 802.11 adapter, or replacing the monitor. I've had too many failures when trying to completely disassemble a laptop and trying to put it all back together can be very difficult unless you take A LOT of pictures.

Best of luck solving this issue, your best bet is to take it to a professional who preferably has a policy like a local computer store here has which is "If we can't fix it, we'll buy it"
 
Last night, my laptop computer started acting strangely. The power cord started not being detected, and attempting to move it to get better take didn't work. The cable just would not register.

I'm pretty sure that the problem is the AC adapter port. When it's plugged in, the cable has some play. It had the occasional problem before, but outright not detecting the thing in any position is new. Previously, seating the cable harder would work, but now it does not.

Am I out of luck? Can a pro fix it? Can I fix it?
Borya said:
I might be able to help, I've got a good amount of experience with some laptops. If you would like to PM me with the specifics (make and model) and I can let you know if it's something I've got experience with.
Is it by chance a Dell? I've got a 3537 inspiron and I'm on my fourth adapter. Dell makes it impossible to replace it with any other adapter and also make it with a built in bug with one of the wires, it literally snaps and you can't repair it. The good bit is the older ones (like mine) there are more adapters than there are surviving laptops. I got this last one off Ebay and it cost about 9 dollars. Much cheaper than a new computer. Dell says using a third party adapter is a "security risk".
 
LittleSissieJolie said:
Is it by chance a Dell? I've got a 3537 inspiron and I'm on my fourth adapter. Dell makes it impossible to replace it with any other adapter and also make it with a built in bug with one of the wires, it literally snaps and you can't repair it. The good bit is the older ones (like mine) there are more adapters than there are surviving laptops. I got this last one off Ebay and it cost about 9 dollars. Much cheaper than a new computer. Dell says using a third party adapter is a "security risk".

Yeah, Dell can be a real pain but then again they are my personal fav. Most are easy to fix and parts are easy to find.

that's one thing that does piss me off the adapter, I have an Alienware 18 and it has a model specific adapter, and it can't be bought from Dell anymore and never did have an aftermarket part.

Your adapter fits about 50 or 60 other Dell models that's why there are so many of them available, That's a good thing though!

just if you didn't know never pull the connector out by the wires, always by the plastic barrel.
 
It's a Lenovo G560. The adapter has been voltimeter tested and it is working. It's the original one, too—I'm notoriously delicate with my cables, I even still have my original 3DS cable despite being on the 3DSXL for two years now.

There is good news though! A friend has volunteered his services in computer repair and offered to look at it for free. He says the repair might be a simple one. It's all a matter of actually getting out there. Which is, admittedly, the tricky part.
 
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