Something Odd

Hey All,

I have fixed, repaired, and engineered many computer systems over the past 17 years.  I am often learning new things.  It is a lot of fun and quite entertaining, especially for someone who is OCD like me.  :)

Recently, something new and strange came across my desk. 

It started out like a normal project.  A fairly new laptop computer that had a bad video card.  One long beep followed by two short beeps.  As most of you may know, laptop computers have most everything integrated onto the motherboard.  So, as I expected, I was looking at a motherboard replacement.

This was an HP dv9825nr.  As I started looking for a motherboard, I was seeing $350ish dollars.  I took this laptop apart.  WHAT A MESS.  I stopped counting at 60 screws, and I still hadn't gotten the motherboard out of the plastic yet.  It took nearly 30 minutes just to get the motherboard out of the plastic.

As I talked with the customer, spending that kind of money on a repair was just not worth it.  If you add the cost of the motherboard, labor, and the fact that the computer is about 2 years old, it might be worth investing in another laptop.

In my search I found some unusual repair methods, particularly geared to motherboard repair for the nvidia video chipset and the Lenovo T41.  There is this process called "reflow" where you heat the motherboard with a propane torch or heat gun to fix the video chipset problems.  WTH is up with that.  Next they will be showing the process of using a hammer to fix any keyboard.

However, I saw a bunch of these articles, and after consulting with the customer, we decided to give it a try.  After all, what was the worst that could happen, bbq motherboard?

So, I went down to the local hardware store and rented a heat gun.  I protected all of the plastic components with aluminum foil so they wouldn't melt and began to heat the motherboard.  I did this for about 10 minutes.  I let it sit overnight.

I then began the tedious process of putting this silly thing back together.  I had to undo it 4-5 times simply because I forgot to fish some wire through or attach something.  This is perhaps the worse laptop I have ever taken apart.

Anyway, I got it all back together and wouldn't you know it, IT WORKED.  Well I'll be dog gone.

So now, I have a new tool to add to my computer repair kit.  1 heat gun.