Broken Laptop Advice needed

[questioner1]

Hello,

I'm in a pretty tough situation.
I had a laptop (Acer ), and i had an Arduino connected to it with usb. Somehow the arduino caused a short circuit (or at least I think it was the Arduino that caused it), which broke my arduino (a part of it literally melted away). And my laptop was broken ever since.
I brought it to the store i bought it for repair (the BCC store). But they're saying that it is the LCD panel that has to be repaired, for 241,19 Euro's
I just can't see how that can be possible, because:

When i turn the laptop on, the light on the power button and the fan is on for like 1 or 2 seconds. Then it just powers down again. The screen indeed never goes on.
If there is a short circuit between the usb and the computer, how can the screen be the only thing broken? And if the screen was the only thing broken, wouldn't the computer then at least go on and run windows? To me it seems the motherboard or something HAS to be broken as wel.
I just don't trust the BCC when they say the screen is the only thing that has to be repaired. I'm afraid for having to pay another bill after this.

What do you think? Is it possible that the screen is the only thing that is broken in my laptop?

I'm actually in a bit of a hurry, because I have to respond within a couple of days, whether I'm going to pay or not.

Thank you.

 

[schm1tty]

Hello,

I'm in a pretty tough situation.
I had a laptop (Acer ), and i had an Arduino connected to it with usb. Somehow the arduino caused a short circuit (or at least I think it was the Arduino that caused it), which broke my arduino (a part of it literally melted away). And my laptop was broken ever since.
I brought it to the store i bought it for repair (the BCC store). But they're saying that it is the LCD panel that has to be repaired, for 241,19 Euro's
I just can't see how that can be possible, because:

When i turn the laptop on, the light on the power button and the fan is on for like 1 or 2 seconds. Then it just powers down again. The screen indeed never goes on.
If there is a short circuit between the usb and the computer, how can the screen be the only thing broken? And if the screen was the only thing broken, wouldn't the computer then at least go on and run windows? To me it seems the motherboard or something HAS to be broken as wel.
I just don't trust the BCC when they say the screen is the only thing that has to be repaired. I'm afraid for having to pay another bill after this.

What do you think? Is it possible that the screen is the only thing that is broken in my laptop?

I'm actually in a bit of a hurry, because I have to respond within a couple of days, whether I'm going to pay or not.

Thank you.

Super easy way to tell if its the LCD or not, plug a monitor into your laptop and then press the key that switches to an external monitor (on my laptop it is Fn+F4 but yours certainly might be different). If the laptop will display on another monitor, its obvious that the motherboard and other components are in working order. This should aid in your judgment in replacing the LCD.

Good luck!

 

[questioner1]

But that would be impossible, because the computer doesn't even start for longer than 1-2 seconds. So I guess you would say that that proves it's not just the LCD?

 

[plasmastorm]

if the system is only powering on for 2 seconds it sounds more likely the motherboard ram or cpu is dead. Out of those 3 i would put money on the motherboard.

If it was just the screen, or even the backlight that just lights up the screen then the system would still boot as normal but with no picture.

Take it to an independant store that know how to fix things, i'll garuntee it;s not the screen going by what you have said.
I probably fix 10-15 laptops a week with screen faults or other hardware issues, it aint a screen fault

 

[questioner1]

if the system is only powering on for 2 seconds it sounds more likely the motherboard ram or cpu is dead. Out of those 3 i would put money on the motherboard.

If it was just the screen, or even the backlight that just lights up the screen then the system would still boot as normal but with no picture.

Take it to an independant store that know how to fix things, i'll garuntee it;s not the screen going by what you have said.
I probably fix 10-15 laptops a week with screen faults or other hardware issues, it aint a screen fault

Thanks sooo much for the advice. I have called it off. I will take it to an independent repairer.
Thanks aloot.

 

[pete_the_dragon]

Thanks sooo much for the advice. I have called it off. I will take it to an independent repairer.
Thanks aloot.

Thanks sooo much for the advice. I have called it off. I will take it to an independent repairer.
Thanks aloot.

Hi, Sorry to Hijack the thread a little, but I have had the EXACT same thing happen to me last night.

I had the arduino plugged in, switching a larger circuit through a MOSFET, and a loose wire momentarily caused 18V to run into the Arduino ground. This ran through the computer and everything turned off immediatley.

When I start up the computer, the fan whirs, the power light comes on, then it turns off straight away.

Did you have any joy repairing your laptop, after what seems to be an identical problem, and how many pennies is it going to cost me?

Thanks a million!

Pete