Question How concerned should I be about this?

[matchgirl42]

I'm an average user with just enough know-how about the innards of computers to do basic hardware repairs, but I'm no expert.

So this is a bit of a saga, back in January my sister bought an ASUS Vivobook 17 for me, from Best Buy, shipped to my home. When I opened the box and started up the laptop, I noticed a small spot of cosmetic damage on the plastic around the screen, but I'm not the type to fuss about a small amount of cosmetic damage as long as the item works correctly (but I guess it's time to start doing so!).

Within a few weeks of use, I started noticing the system tray battery icon switching back and forth between "plugged in, charging" and "battery power" while the laptop was plugged in; when the icon read "battery power" the time remaining was fluctuating between as little as an hour to 137 hours; and the brick on the charge cord was getting very hot. I went to the ASUS website, which directed me to take the unit to a Best Buy store for diagnostics, as Best Buy is an authorized service center for/is under contract with ASUS to provide warranty repair for ASUS laptops purchased from Best Buy.

When the unit was brought to Best Buy, they said they couldn't even diagnose it for us, since we hadn't purchased Best Buy's extended warranty, and without us purchasing the Geek Squad service plan. So I had to contact the ASUS warranty department via phone, explain that Best Buy refused to service it, and get an RMA so I could send the laptop to ASUS's repair center.

The ASUS repair tech said they couldn't reproduce the problem, but since there was cosmetic damage, they voided my warranty and sent the unit back to me.

Figuring I had nothing to lose at this point, and wanting to upgrade the RAM, I opened up the laptop today, and found that the connector between the battery and the motherboard, where it plugs into the motherboard, was slightly loose (I fixed it, it's tight now). So if anyone else is having these kinds of power-related symptoms with an ASUS laptop, a possible avenue to check. I'm currently charging the laptop back up (posting this from my old laptop), so I don't know yet if that fixed the power-related symptoms, but it hopefully should.

However, while I had the laptop open, I found a few other possibly concerning things:

• the HDD hard drive was loose and out of its bay, and there doesn't appear to be any mechanism to hold it in place in the bay aside from the back cover (there are 4 holes for screws in the HD itself, but no screws were present that I could find inside the laptop, and no holes in the laptop case/in the bay for screws either)
• the connector between (presumably) the motherboard and two of the USB ports was crimped. (I have a picture, but the "post a thread" page is not letting me insert it. It's hosted on imgur however, at

  https://imgur.com/a/NUNkDxr

  View: https/imgur.com/a/NUNkDxr
  

Do I need to worry about those two USB ports going bad? Or the hard drive developing issues?

Thanks!

 

[mrmike16]

Hi, so I read through the saga. The first thing that popped up to me was "Best Buy". I am editing out my opinion on it because I feel like that might not be allowed.

Anyway, the first thing you should do is run diagnostics. If that is really an HDD and not an SSD, then it dangling around in the laptop freely made it very prone to physical damage. They obviously did not put much care into the manufacturing of this laptop.

You should also immediately get screws and put the HDD in place. It may need a bracket of some sort- you can look up the disassembly of your laptop model (not just VivoBook 17, there should be more numbers and letters after that) and base your knowledge of what it should look like on that.

As for the USB, I don't see the issue so clearly on the image but I think as long as they are connected securely to the motherboard, the connectors in the USB slot are OK, and the USB devices can be inserted properly, it should be fine.

Also make sure everything is backed up. That should really be the first thing.

If the battery issue isn't solved, your power adapter may be problematic. Try it with a different one.

 

[matchgirl42]

Hi mrmike16,

Thanks for the reply.

The crimping I'm referring to is on the long silver strip (about 1/2 inch wide) that runs across the image, below the fan. The best I can figure, they had to bend/crimp it during manufacturing because it wasn't lined up properly with where it's connected to (the board for the USB ports). If you look at that connection in the image, the blue part on the silver strip isn't seated 100% straight in the connection. The USB ports haven't had any issues up to this point, but I'm wondering if they will in the future, and if there's any way to seat the connection better to prevent any such issues, without further damage to the silver strip.

And yes, physical damage to the HDD is what I'm concerned about. I don't know if it was moving around freely inside the laptop before I opened it up - this case was difficult to open even with a spudger, I had to try all four corners to get it to come up, finally took using the spudger in one of the hinges to get it open. So the laptop wasn't sitting still during this process. But when I did finally get the back cover off, the HDD was sitting on top of the RAM bay next to the HD bay. I did double-check the connection to the motherboard, it was tight. And the laptop is slim enough that the back cover stands a good chance of holding it in the bay when it's in place and screwed down.

Thankfully I don't store personal/data files on my laptop itself, I have a 2TB external hard drive (SSD) that I use as a server of sorts where I keep those types of files. ASUS also factory restored the laptop during diagnostics. The laptop is still charging (I drained it down to 5% before opening the laptop for safety, as it's not your typical plug-n-play battery, it's screwed into the case inside, with a wired connection to the motherboard. Yeah. Not impressed with ASUS or Best Buy right now. This thing appears to be very cheaply made.), but I'll run diagnostics first thing once it's charged, and I'm looking at options to secure it in the bay already. May have to put it in a bracket that's superglued to the case, we'll see.

 

[mrmike16]

Hi mrmike16,

Thanks for the reply.

The crimping I'm referring to is on the long silver strip (about 1/2 inch wide) that runs across the image, below the fan. The best I can figure, they had to bend/crimp it during manufacturing because it wasn't lined up properly with where it's connected to (the board for the USB ports). If you look at that connection in the image, the blue part on the silver strip isn't seated 100% straight in the connection. The USB ports haven't had any issues up to this point, but I'm wondering if they will in the future, and if there's any way to seat the connection better to prevent any such issues, without further damage to the silver strip.

And yes, physical damage to the HDD is what I'm concerned about. I don't know if it was moving around freely inside the laptop before I opened it up - this case was difficult to open even with a spudger, I had to try all four corners to get it to come up, finally took using the spudger in one of the hinges to get it open. So the laptop wasn't sitting still during this process. But when I did finally get the back cover off, the HDD was sitting on top of the RAM bay next to the HD bay. I did double-check the connection to the motherboard, it was tight. And the laptop is slim enough that the back cover stands a good chance of holding it in the bay when it's in place and screwed down.

Thankfully I don't store personal/data files on my laptop itself, I have a 2TB external hard drive (SSD) that I use as a server of sorts where I keep those types of files. ASUS also factory restored the laptop during diagnostics. The laptop is still charging (I drained it down to 5% before opening the laptop for safety, as it's not your typical plug-n-play battery, it's screwed into the case inside, with a wired connection to the motherboard. Yeah. Not impressed with ASUS or Best Buy right now. This thing appears to be very cheaply made.), but I'll run diagnostics first thing once it's charged, and I'm looking at options to secure it in the bay already. May have to put it in a bracket that's superglued to the case, we'll see.

Ah, now I see what you're talking about. As long as it isn't ripped, it should be fine.

Even if there isn't a lot of room to move around in the laptop, the HDD could still be damaged quite easily like that in a moving laptop. However, they are stronger than they used to be.

Laptop batteries unfortunately come like that these days. There are almost no plug-and-play style batteries in modern laptops anymore. The wire on it connecting it to the motherboard is also normal. I usually like ASUS laptops, but it appears this one was unlucky. At least it is still replaceable - That too is getting more and more uncommon.

 

[matchgirl42]

Hello again mrmike16,

So, update. There does not appear to be any damage to the HDD so far, thankfully, after running checks in both Windows and Linux Mint (this laptop is dual-booted because I find Windows 10 to be extremely frustrating to use, but I keep it for things that just will not work in Linux). The symptoms of the power issue haven't repeated yet either, so fingers crossed that tightening the battery's connection to the motherboard worked. The RAM upgrade also succeeded, it now has 20GB of usable RAM (it came with 12GB).

As for securing the HDD in the bay, I went ahead and opened the laptop back up today to take pictures. It is in a bracket, it's just that the bracket is not in any way attached to the bay or the chassis, and there are no screws or screw holes in the bay or chassis to do so. I would like to attach/secure it, if anyone has any ideas on how though it would be greatly appreciated. Not sure, now that I looked at it again, that superglue will adequately secure it. There are rubber bumpers on the sides of the bracket, and I both game regularly as well as stream videos a lot, so...

HDD in the bracket out of the bay (upside down):

https://imgur.com/4dvPFE0

View: https/i.imgur.com/4dvPFE0.jpeg


Side of HDD bracket:

https://imgur.com/zm8Xb6F

View: https/i.imgur.com/zm8Xb6F.jpeg


And yeah, ASUS was my go-to for a while, they were known to make decent laptops in all budget ranges, but my opinion of them after this experience has plunged dramatically. I'm starting to wonder, between the cosmetic damage to the plastic on the side of the screen that it came with, and the loose connection between the battery and the motherboard, if I was sold a refurbished unit as new.

(Speaking of the battery, another thing I find interesting is that it is secured to the chassis with screws, but the HDD is not. Go figure.)

 

[mrmike16]

Hello again mrmike16,

So, update. There does not appear to be any damage to the HDD so far, thankfully, after running checks in both Windows and Linux Mint (this laptop is dual-booted because I find Windows 10 to be extremely frustrating to use, but I keep it for things that just will not work in Linux). The symptoms of the power issue haven't repeated yet either, so fingers crossed that tightening the battery's connection to the motherboard worked. The RAM upgrade also succeeded, it now has 20GB of usable RAM (it came with 12GB).

As for securing the HDD in the bay, I went ahead and opened the laptop back up today to take pictures. It is in a bracket, it's just that the bracket is not in any way attached to the bay or the chassis, and there are no screws or screw holes in the bay or chassis to do so. I would like to attach/secure it, if anyone has any ideas on how though it would be greatly appreciated. Not sure, now that I looked at it again, that superglue will adequately secure it. There are rubber bumpers on the sides of the bracket, and I both game regularly as well as stream videos a lot, so...

HDD in the bracket out of the bay (upside down):

https://imgur.com/4dvPFE0

View: https/i.imgur.com/4dvPFE0.jpeg


Side of HDD bracket:

https://imgur.com/zm8Xb6F

View: https/i.imgur.com/zm8Xb6F.jpeg


And yeah, ASUS was my go-to for a while, they were known to make decent laptops in all budget ranges, but my opinion of them after this experience has plunged dramatically. I'm starting to wonder, between the cosmetic damage to the plastic on the side of the screen that it came with, and the loose connection between the battery and the motherboard, if I was sold a refurbished unit as new.

(Speaking of the battery, another thing I find interesting is that it is secured to the chassis with screws, but the HDD is not. Go figure.)

All laptop brands quality has deteriorated drastically in the past few years. However, if the laptop was indeed used or refurbished and sold as new, I would put the blame on the reseller (Best Buy) first.
Glad those issues have been fixed. As for the HDD, if there are really no screw-holes in there, I would assume the holes are either hidden under something or there is a missing mechanism that is supposed to be in there. I still suggest, like in my previous post, to look at what it is supposed to look like in a disassembly video.

 

[matchgirl42]

All laptop brands quality has deteriorated drastically in the past few years. However, if the laptop was indeed used or refurbished and sold as new, I would put the blame on the reseller (Best Buy) first.
Glad those issues have been fixed. As for the HDD, if there are really no screw-holes in there, I would assume the holes are either hidden under something or there is a missing mechanism that is supposed to be in there. I still suggest, like in my previous post, to look at what it is supposed to look like in a disassembly video.

I only wonder if it is a refurbished unit sold to me as new; I can't prove it, alas.

I did look at several tear-down/upgrade/HDD replacement videos for this particular model, the laptop appears to be designed that way, for the back cover to hold the HDD (in the bracket) in place inside the bay. Still makes me uncomfortable that it might shift. I don't sling my laptop around or travel with it regularly (only when I have to evacuate due to hurricanes) - it's either on my lap or left on my daybed after it's shut down for the day, and I keep it on a 3-fan Cooler Master brand cooling pad, which is on top of a lap desk - but again as you noted, HDDs are more prone to physical damage from movement inside the chassis than SDDs are. If there's a way to secure it to the bay or chassis without causing damage I'd feel better. This is the first time I've ever seen a laptop hard drive that wasn't securely fastened with screws either inside the bay or to the chassis, really took me by surprise when I opened the laptop and saw it was out of the bay.

My old laptop btw, a Dell Inspiron 15, the one I'm still using right now while I migrate everything back to the new laptop, also had a design flaw that I found out when I upgraded the RAM on it a few years ago: in order to take the back cover off to access the RAM, you have to remove the optical drive, which...kills the drive.

Sometimes I wonder about laptop design, I really really do.

 

[mrmike16]

I only wonder if it is a refurbished unit sold to me as new; I can't prove it, alas.

I did look at several tear-down/upgrade/HDD replacement videos for this particular model, the laptop appears to be designed that way, for the back cover to hold the HDD (in the bracket) in place inside the bay. Still makes me uncomfortable that it might shift. I don't sling my laptop around or travel with it regularly (only when I have to evacuate due to hurricanes) - it's either on my lap or left on my daybed after it's shut down for the day, and I keep it on a 3-fan Cooler Master brand cooling pad, which is on top of a lap desk - but again as you noted, HDDs are more prone to physical damage from movement inside the chassis than SDDs are. If there's a way to secure it to the bay or chassis without causing damage I'd feel better. This is the first time I've ever seen a laptop hard drive that wasn't securely fastened with screws either inside the bay or to the chassis, really took me by surprise when I opened the laptop and saw it was out of the bay.

My old laptop btw, a Dell Inspiron 15, the one I'm still using right now while I migrate everything back to the new laptop, also had a design flaw that I found out when I upgraded the RAM on it a few years ago: in order to take the back cover off to access the RAM, you have to remove the optical drive, which...kills the drive.

Sometimes I wonder about laptop design, I really really do.

You get that many hurricanes?

Maybe the best solution here is to just switch to an SSD. Does the hard drive bay have plastic points that go into the screw holes instead of screws? This reminds me a bit of how desktop PC designers attempt to make screwless designs.

Taking out the optical drive kills it? How so?

And yes, I think they are letting their first grade kids design their laptops now. At least they might become more colorful.

 

[matchgirl42]

You get that many hurricanes?

Maybe the best solution here is to just switch to an SSD. Does the hard drive bay have plastic points that go into the screw holes instead of screws? This reminds me a bit of how desktop PC designers attempt to make screwless designs.

Taking out the optical drive kills it? How so?

And yes, I think they are letting their first grade kids design their laptops now. At least they might become more colorful.

In the last 6 years I've had to evacuate 4 times, I'm in a flood & mandatory evacuation zone, and hurricanes have become more frequent, alas. So I pack up the essentials I can't lose, and I go. Thankfully no major damage yet (knock on wood), just moderate flooding, some downed/dead trees on the property and power/cable line damage. But better safe than sorry.

I was thinking it over more last night, might try to put more rubber stops around the bracket inside the bay, to hold it in the bay more securely, so that it'd have to be pushed on to get it out of the bay, vs now when it just falls out on its own when the back cover's off. There are no plastic points or anything else that are supposed to go into the screw holes.

I'm not sure exactly how removing it killed the optical drive, but it did. Had to send it to Dell on a warranty RMA, they had to replace the drive with a new one. (They at least honored their warranty!) The design was "plug and play," there was a slot with prongs it plugged into, but I inspected it thoroughly before doing the RMA, the prongs were not bent or damaged in any way. I pulled it out evenly, put it back evenly after upgrading the RAM, and the drive was dead. shrug just another example of poor design I guess. Of course, laptops nowadays don't come with optical drives anymore.

(That laptop also has a removable keyboard which also has to be removed to get to some of the screws holding the back cover on. The design is so weird.)

 

[mrmike16]

Wow. I have had my share of hurricanes but never had to evacuate.
Definitely better safe than sorry.

Exactly as you said, they made sure to secure the battery and apparently forgot that the HDD needs protection. And the battery wasn't even plugged in correctly. There are definitely design flaws and careless manufacturing on this model.

Never ignore cosmetic damage on new products, I think that is the lesson to be learned here.

Dell is good at honoring their warranty, but their problem is the people honoring it usually have no idea how to fix things. Usually laptops back in the day had to have their keyboards removed in order to access their components, but even then they usually had a specific door on the back for the RAM.