Gaming Notebook Fried

[ha2fb]

* Wrong Section/Thread - Mods please direct to correct one *

■The notebook is a Toshiba Satellite X205-9800. My daughter spilled coffee onto it and now it's junk. I believe the mobo is destroyed. I have disassembled the notebook, and tried starting it with no success. I continue to get the power led light on for 5 secs and then it goes off. So am I right about the observation? If not let me know. Also the warranty obviously does not cover this, and the price to have repaired is outrageous.

■Now I need another computer obviously so I'd like to do the following - Take all hardware that I can from this, and transfer to a barebone. I don't need anything top of the line, just something that will work. Is this even possible, or am I Shyt out of luck?

■So in short can I build a affordable replacement with some of the left-over hardware? Or is the current notebook repairable?

 

[frozenlead]

I don't think that replacing a notebook with your hardware will be cost effective (or easy...), but first let's exhaust our ideas of your current notebook working again.

The first thing I would do is remove the battery and PSU, and test them both. If they are operating (Voltage, current, and temperature) within their stated specifications (for temperature, just feel them. If they get so hot they burn you, then they're damaged), then they likely are okay. You can use a multimeter to do this...if you don't have one, then just lay this aside and pray they work.

Next, let's get rid of all the components that can possibly be screwing with the rest of the machine that may work. Take off that laptop's hard disk, optical drive, any attached devices, one stick of ram (if you have two), and use an external monitor (if able) to boot it and see what pops up. (make sure the machine is dry!!!) You can even disconnect the touchpad and keyboard - the notebook doesn't need them to boot.

What makes you think the motherboard is destroyed? Is there any evidence of burns, or shorts, or anything of the sort? (remember to not only look, but smell too - burned electronics have a distinct smell...if you've never had the opportunity to smell them, you'll know what it smells like when/if you smell it, after you real back and make a gagging noise.)

 

[ha2fb]

Well I just tried what you've suggested (hard drive, optical drive, 1/2 ram removed, and boot onto separate monitor) with no success. I have a friend that has same notebook, I'm going to see if his power adapter will change anything. There is no distinct smell to the computer either.

On a notebook the psu is the power adapter right? What type of power tester do I need to get? I see they come in different pin categories.

How would I hit the power button if the keyboard is disconnected?

 

[frozenlead]

On a notebook the PSU is the AC/DC adapter, yes.

What kind of notebook is this? I've never, ever seen a notebook that has its power button integrated into the keyboard.

What do you mean different pin categories? Pretty much every notebook ever made (Except for Apple machines, which I don't recommend you buy, let alone work on) uses a standard 2 pole coax connector. It's a little pin inside of a larger circle.

For a power tester any simple multimeter will work.

 

[dwellman]

frozenlead: Thinkpads have power button on the "keyboard".

 

[frozenlead]

are they really in the same module?

Also still doesn't explain the power connector..

 

[dwellman]

Yes. . same module. . . to power up a disassembled Thinkpad, have to connect the keybaord.

For instance, this is from a T4x. It's not a great picture, but you can see the Access IBM button and the volume keys on the top left and the power button near the top middle.

 

[ha2fb]

All I know is that I followed this guide to disassemble - http/www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-X205/take-apart-laptop-2.htm (look at step 13 for keyboard info)

The notebook is a Toshiba Satellite X205-9800

A friend has same computer, I plugged his power adapter into mine, and there was no success.

 

[ha2fb]

... bump ...

* I completely took the notebook apart to the mobo. I don't see any black marks, or anything of that sort, but I really don't know where to look. What should I do from this point? How can I find out if the mobo, cpu, or another component is the main factor that it's not working? please help!

 

[Narr]

Your power supply is probably defective I hate to you on that but only trial and error will help you out.

 

[dwellman]

Try to power the board without anything attaches and see if you get lights. . . or with the CPU (and only the CPU) in and speakers connected, you should get beeps if the board is good.

 

[ha2fb]

I plugged the mobo, and speakers up to it. When i plug in the PSU the fan (closest one to the PSU) ticks for a second then stops. It moves like 1/8" of an inch? Same thing happens when I hit the power button - light comes on then goes off after 5 seconds avg. I'm not sure how to use only the CPU.

 

[dwellman]

Ok, that last description reminded me I have seen this before on Compaq boards. I ended up tossing the boards.

If it's worth it to you you can try to buy a replacement board on the Ebay. Or elsewhere, but since it's a relatively new. . . hey it is out of warranty, right?

 

[overclockingrocks]

replacement boards on ebay are a crap shoot at best. I'd say just go buy a whole new machine. laptops are cheap enough now that replacing last year's top end is relatively cheap this year. As for warranty good joke lol no warranty would cover liquid damage unless you bought accidental damage protection.

Anyways just chalk it up to stupidity and buy a new laptop and for the love of God don't let anybody eat or drink around it.

 

[ha2fb]

Yeah i pretty much need to. Sucks because I paid $1200 for it, and you just can't fork out that type of money whenever you know? I guess im in the market for around $500 that can play WOW and have good computing power. I'll upgrade the video card later once able to afford it- I'm thinking of http/www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-inspiron-518?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~desktop-inspiron-518_anav_5~~ what do you guys think? I'm going to post this in the other discussion for more input as well.

 

[chuckels59h]

That's not a bad price for the features. Vid is a little weak, but hopefully a pci-e slot available? Not bad at all. sucks about the laptop, beides coffee is acidic and eats componants, ask me how I know,lol.

 

[chuckels59h]

P.S., stick the laptop HD in a usb housing to retieve the data.

 

[ha2fb]

yep, definitely will be. I guess time to move on to another project, lol.