Laptop is dead. How to troubleshoot.

In this post I’ll explain how to troubleshoot a dead laptop and find the problem. The following troubleshooting tips are not model and brand specific.
Let’s take a look at different failure scenarios.
Example 1. The computer is absolutely dead. 
When you plug in the AC adapter and press on the power button, there are no signs of life at all. It appears to be dead.
What you can do ?
1. Make sure the wall outlet is working and the AC adapter is getting power from the outlet. Try another wall outlet.
2. Test the AC adapter, make sure the voltage output is correct. You can test the adapter with a voltmeter.
3. If the adapter is good, try reconnecting the battery. Remove the battery, wait for 1-2 minutes, plug in the adapter and try turning it on again.

If the adapter doesn’t pass the test with a voltmeter, replace it with a new one and test the computer. I always recommend buying an original replacement adapter from the manufacturer, not a generic one.
There could be more than one adapter available for your model.
The voltage output on your new adapter must be exactly the same as on the old one. The amperage, on the other hand, can be the same or higher.
If previous troubleshooting steps didn’t help, it’s possible your computer has a problem with the motherboard or DC power jack. In this case it’s necessary to disassemble the laptop and test the DC jack.
Example 2. The computer turns on and makes normal startup noises, the LED lights turn on but noting appears on the screen.

First of all, take a closer look at the screen under bright light. It’s possible the screen shows the image but it’s very faint. In this case you’ll have to troubleshoot the backlight failure.
On the other hand, if the screen shows no image at all, test the laptop with an external monitor (or TV) connected to the VGA port or DVI port or HDMI port.
You can toggle video output between internal and external modes by using Fn keys:
– Fn and F4 keys simultaneously on HP laptops
– Fn and F5 keys on Toshiba laptops
– Fn and F7 keys on IBM laptops.
Other laptops may use different key combinations.

If the external monitor works fine but the internal screen has no image at all, the problem can be related to:
– Poor connection between the video cable and screen or motherboard. Try reconnecting the video cable on both ends and check out if this helps.
– The screen failed. Replace it with a new one.
– The video cable failed. Replace it with a new one.
– The motherboard failed.

If both, the internal and external monitors show no image, the problem can be related to:
– Failed memory (RAM).
– Failed motherboard.

– Try reconnecting the memory module, maybe it’s not making good connection with the slot.
– Try cleaning contacts on the memory module.
– Try moving the memory module into another slot.
– Try replacing the memory module with another one.
If you have two modules installed you can try removing them one by one, it’s possible that one of the modules failed. Try moving modules from one slot to another.
If changing or reseating memory doesn’t help, you can try this:
Removing the battery, hard drive, DVD drive and other components you can easily access. Try turning on the laptop without these components installed.
It’s possible one of them failed and it’s preventing the entire computer from starting up properly.

Also, try turning on the laptop with an external monitor while the video cable is unplugged from the motherboard.
If external image appears after you disconnected the video cable, apparently there is something wrong with the cable. Replace it with a new one.

If the computer is still dead, try removing other internal components (wireless card, modem, keyboard, etc…) and test it with an external monitor after each removed part.

The last step is testing the laptop as a barebone system.

On this picture you see my final test. The motherboard has been removed from the base and I assembled a basic barebone system on my bench.
The bare bone system includes:
1. Motherboard (like in most cases it has onboard graphics chip).
2. CPU with the cooling module.
3. Known good memory module.
4. The power button board.
5. Known good AC adapter.
If the system still doesn’t turn on, it’s either bad motherboard or failed CPU.
If you computer shows garbled or distorted image, check out this post.

LCD screen turned completely white

What can you do if the laptop LCD screen turned completely white? From my experience I can tell that this problem may be related to the following:
1. Loose connection between the video cable and the LCD screen.
2. Defective LCD screen.
3. Defective motherboard (I assume the graphics card is integrated into the motherboard).

Here’s an example of a laptop with white screen. When you turn on the laptop, it starts but the image on the screen is completely white right from the beginning. In my case it was a Toshiba Satellite M45 laptop but this problem may occur with any other brand.


Most likely you still can use the laptop with an external monitor. Just connect the monitor to the VGA port on the back or side of your laptop and then switch the video output from internal to external mode.
On Toshiba laptops you can toggle between internal and external screens using Fn+F5 keys. Hold down Fn and press on F5 until you get video on the external monitor.
On IBM laptops use Fn+F7.
On HP laptops use Fn+F4.
It’s possible that you have to use a different key combination on your laptop but you get the idea.
On some laptops, in order to be able to use the external monitor, you have to connect it to the laptop and then restart the laptop so the external monitor is detected by the laptop.

I noticed that in some cases the laptop screen may turn white because of poor connection between the video cable and the LCD screen. If you want to check this connection, you’ll have to take apart the display panel because the connector is located on the back side of the LCD screen.
These laptop service manuals and disassembly instructions may be useful.

I always check the video cable connection first. Reconnecting the video cable may fix your problem.
If reconnecting the video cable doesn’t help, most likely you have a problem either with the LCD screen or with the motherboard.

The best way to find out witch one is causing the problem is testing the laptop with another working LCD screen. Without this test you’ll have to guess because as I mentioned before this could either bad motherboard or bad LCD screen.
You’ll have to disconnect the video cable from the LCD screen (connector 2) and the inverter board (connectors 3 and 1). After that you connect another working screen and test video.

For this purpose I’m using one of my test LCD screens. My test screen is cracked and because of that you see a wide white band in the center but it still works fine for this test.
The original screen is white but my test screen works normal (except the crack of course) and I can see the image. After this test I can tell that the problem must be related to the screen.

After I assembled everything back together and connected the original LCD, it’s still white.
CONCLUSION. In my case this problem is related to the LCD screen and it has to be replaced.

Installing internal wireless card

This tutorial explains how you can install internal wireless card into an older laptop. I assume that your laptop is “wireless ready” which means it has a slot for the wireless card and equipped with wireless antennas, but missing the wireless card. Why did I make this tutorial for an older laptop? Because all new laptops are sold with the wireless card.

I’ll take as an example my Dell Latitude C840 laptop. As you see on the picture, it has a slot for the wireless card and one antenna cable. That’s strange, most laptops have two antenna cables, white and black. One cable goes to the main connector on the wireless card, another cable goes to the auxiliary connector. Probably you’ll ask me which antenna cable connects to which connector? I think it doesn’t really matter because both antenna cable are identical.

My main concern was finding the right device driver for the wireless card I plan to install into my laptop. As you know, without correct driver it will not be recognized by the operating system and will not work at all.
Likely, I have a spare wireless card from another not working Toshiba laptop and this card worked perfectly.
You can find this wireless card by the model number: WM3B2200BG.

In order to install the wireless card into the slot, just push it into the slot at a 30 degree angle (step 1) and then press on the card (step 2) until it’s locked.

After the card is locked in the slot you can connect the antenna cable. In my case, I snapped the antenna cable on the main connector. If you have two antenna cables, snap one of them on the main connector on the wireless card and another one on the auxiliary connector. As I mentioned before, I don’t think it matters with cable goes to which connector. Both antenna cables are identical.
Finally, you’ll have to download and install the wireless card driver. If you use the same card as I did (WM3B2200BG), you can download driver from the Intel website here.
Select the operating system, download and install the driver.
You have a couple of different options:
1. Download and install the driver only. Use this option if you want to use Windows wireless connection utility. That’s what I did because I prefer using Windows tools.
2. Download and install both the wireless card drive and the connection software. Use this option if you want to use Intel’s software application. It’s totally up to you.

As you see on the picture above, the wireless card successfully connected to the wireless access point at 54Mbp/s.

How I fixed memory slot failure

Is it possible to fix laptop memory slot failure with a guitar pick? Yes, it is. You will not fix the memory slot itself, but you can work around the problem.
Today I received a Toshiba Satellite Pro 4600 laptop with the following complaint:
The laptop starts and works properly, but recognizes only one of the two memory modules installed. The laptop has two 256MB RAM modules installed, but registers only 256MB.
 

First of all, I removed the memory cover to find out if both memory modules are installed correctly. The laptop had two 256MB Kingston modules installed and they were seated properly.


When I started the laptop and entered the BIOS setup menu, I found that only one of the two memory modules is detected and the laptop registers only 256MB (262144KB) of RAM instead of 512MB (524288KB).
Just a side note. In the computer world 1MB=1024KB. That’s why 256MB=262144KB and 512MB=524288KB.
I tried reseating both memory modules but it didn’t help.
After that I tried installing both memory modules in both memory slots one by one and here’s what I found. The laptop worked absolutely fine when both memory modules were installed into the slot A, but failed to boot with both memory modules installed into the slot B.
Apparently, there is nothing wrong with the memory modules and the laptop has a faulty memory slot B. The memory slot is permanently soldered on the motherboard. If one of the slots fails you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard or use the laptop with only one working slot.
Buying a new motherboard for this older laptop wouldn’t make any sense because it’s too expensive, but the laptop is still in a good working condition except the faulty memory slot B, so I continued playing with that trying to find the solution.

I noticed that the laptop start normally with the memory module installed into the faulty slot if I slightly press on the module with my thumb. And this gave me an idea.

This guitar pick is going to fix my laptop.

I installed both RAM modules back into the slots and then placed the guitar pick over the module in the slot B as it shown on the picture.

I thought if I close the RAM door it will press on the guitar pick/memory module and it will have the same effect as pressing on the module with my thumb. And it worked!

Both memory modules were detected properly and the laptop registered all 512MB. After “the fix” I tested memory with Memtest86+ and the laptop passed the test.
I wouldn’t call it the best solution for fixing a faulty memory slot but in some cases it will work.
By the way, I didn’t charge the customer for this “repair”, he knows what is going on and how I “fixed” his problem.

Service manuals for Sony Vaio

Today I found a great source with service manuals for Sony Vaio VGN series laptops and notebooks. Links to the service manuals were posted on one of the Russian forums (comment 13). Not sure for how long these service manuals will be available for downloads but they are the time of wringing this post. Some files are large and it might take some time to download them, so be patient.
All service manuals are in PDF format and you can download them using below mentioned links.

Service manuals for Sony Vaio laptops and notebooks:




Sony VGN-A


>> Get it here


Sony VGN-FS


>> Get it here




Sony VGN-AR


>> Get it here


Sony VGN-N


>> Get it here




Sony VGN-AX


>> Get it here


Sony VGN-S


>> Get it here




Sony VGN-B


>> Get it here


Sony VGN-SZ


>> Get it here




Sony VGN-BX


>> Get it here


Sony VGN-T


>> Get it here




Sony VGN-C


>> Get it here


Sony VGN-TX


>> Get it here




Sony VGN-FE


>> Get it here


Sony VGN-U


>> Get it here




Sony VGN-FJ


>> Get it here


Sony VGN-UX


>> Get it here




 
Here’s another source for older Sony Vaio PCG series laptops and notebooks. Thank you to www.elhvb.com



PCG-R505AFE
>>Get it here
PCG-FX777, PCG-FX877
>>Get it here


PCGA-DSD5, PCGA-DSM5
>>Get it here
PCG-R505JE, PCG-R505JEK, PCG-R505JEP, PCG-R505JL, PCG-R505JLK, PCG-R505JLP, PCG-R505JS, PCG-R505JSK, PCG-R505JSP
>>Get it here


PCG-SR27, PCG-SR27K
>>Get it here
PCG-C1VP, PCG-C1VPK
>>Get it here


PCG-FX210
>>Get it here
PCG-GR150, PCG-GR150K, PCG-GR170, PCG-GR170K
>>Get it here


PCG-FX220, PCG-FX220K, PCG-FX240, PCG-FX240K, PCG-FX250 PCG-FX250K, PCG-FX270, PCG-FX270K
>>Get it here
PCG-GRS150, PCG-GRS170
>>Get it here


PCG-FX290, PCG-FX290K
>>Get it here
PCG-GRS175
>>Get it here


PCG-FXA32, PCG-FXA33, PCG-FXA35/D, PCG-FXA36
>>Get it here
PCG-GRV550
>>Get it here


PCG-FXA53, PCG-FXA59
>>Get it here
PCG-GRZ530
>>Get it here


PCG-GRX670, PCG-GRX690
>>Get it here
PCG-VX89, PCG-VX89K, PCG-VX89P
>>Get it here


PCG-NV290
>>Get it here





 
If you know other sources for Sony laptop manuals, please feel free to post links in comments.
Do you have a problem with your Sony Vaio laptop? Post it here, somebody can help you.

How to replace backlight lamp (CCFL)

In this guide I will disassemble a laptop LCD screen in order to remove and replace the backlight lamp (CCFL).
Replacing the backlight lamp is not an easy task even for experienced technicians. If you do something wrong you will permanently damage the LCD screen and have to buy a new one. Proceed on your own risk and do not blame me.
Some recommendations before you start:
1. Work in a clean room. You don’t want dust and lint inside your LCD screen.
2. Make notes, so you know how to assemble your screen back.
3. Take pictures.
4. Before you remove something, take a closer look at the part and memorize how it is assembled.
5. When you are assembling the screen, remove dust and lint with compressed air. Do not use cloth.
The backlight lamp (CCFL) is located inside the LCD screen, so we are going to take it apart. In this article I’m not going to explain how to remove LCD from a laptop, it’s been covered before.


Remove sticky tape and foil from the back of the screen and glue it somewhere so you can reuse it later, when you assemble the screen.

Removing tape from the backlight cables.

On my screen the green circuit board was glued to the plastic frame with a double sided tape. Carefully unglue the circuit board. Be very careful, do not flex or bend the circuit board.

The circuit board has been unglued.

Place the LCD screen on the side and start removing the metal frame witch secures the LCD to the plastic frame. There will be many latches on all sides of the frame, you can unlock them with a small screwdriver.

Continue separating the metal frame from the plastic base.

On the following picture you can see that frame, LCD with the circuit board and screen base have been separated. Be careful, do not touch internal components with your fingers. Handle all internal components by the sides.

Place the metal frame and LCD with the circuit board aside. You’ll need them only when you assemble everything back together.

There will be a few transparent layers inside. Carefully remove them from the screen base. Do not separate the layers, just put them aside together.

Keep everything organized, so you have no trouble assembling the screen.

Start removing the metal cover from the backlight lamp (CCFL).

The backlight cover has been removed.

The backlight lamp (CCFL) cables are routed through small plastic hooks.

Unroute the backlight lamp cables.

Now probably the hardest part in this disassembly process – removing the backlight lamp and reflector. The backlight lamp is secured inside the reflector so you have to remove both and then separate them.
Before you remove the backlight lamp and reflector take a closer look how it’s assembled and mounted to the screen base. Fitting the backlight and reflector back in place could be a very challenging task.

The reflector is glued to the screen base with a double sided tape.

After the reflector has been unattached from the screen base, you can start removing the backlight lamp. As you see on the picture, I marked the left side of the reflector with a red dot so I know where the red cable goes when I assemble everything back together.

The backlight lamp (CCFL) has been removed from the reflector.

In order to access the backlight lamp leads you’ll have to remove the rubber caps from both side of the lamp. I’m not sure if you can touch the backlight lamp with your fingers, so I would use rubber gloves.

Cabled on both sides of the backlight lamp are soldered to the backlight leads. In order to access the leads you’ll have to remove the black insulator on both side of the lamp.
Unsolder both cables from the old backlight lamp and solder them to a new one.

You can test the new backlight lamp (CCFL) before you install it back into the screen. Connect the backlight lamp into the inverter board and turn on the laptop. The backlight lamp should light up.
From my experience, on some laptops the backlight lamp will not light up until the video cable is connected to the LCD screen. In this case you’ll have to assemble the LCD screen and then test it.

DC power jack repair guide

This guide will explain how to repair a failed or loose DC power jack on a laptop computer yourself.
Disclaimer: I’ve made these instructions only for people experienced with soldering and repairing computers. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this job, please do not open the laptop or you can permanently damage your computer. Take your laptop to a professional repair shop instead.
Use this repair guide at your own risk.

For this repair you’ll need the following tools.
1. Soldering iron or soldering station. I use Weller WES51 soldering station and for this job I set temperature to about 800-850°F.
2. I use high-tech rosin core silver-bearing solder from Radioshack with diameter 0.022″ ( Catalog #: 64-013 ). I think standard rosin core solder will work just fine.
3. Desoldering pump for removing solder around component leads. I use Edsyn Soldapullt pump, model DS 017.
4. 99% isopropyl alcohol and tooth brush for cleaning the motherboard from flux.
5. A new DC power jack.

Laptop DC power jack repair guide.


As you see on the following picture, the solder drop on the positive terminal looks different than on other three contacts. That’s where the problem is. The positive pin is not making a good contact with the motherboard and because of that power to the laptop cuts off when I move the power plug inside the power jack.
I’m going to desolder the power jack from the motherboard, clean contacts on both power jack and motherboard and then solder it back in place – this is the proper way fixing the power problem.

Start desoldering process with adding some new fresh solder to all three contacts. This will make old solder more flowable, easier to remove.

While heating one of the contacts, remove the solder from this contact using the desoldering pump. Repeat the same steps with all power jack contacts until you remove as much solder as possible.

Grab the power jack and carefully try removing it from the motherboard. Most likely you will not be able to remove the power jack the first time because there will be some solder bridges left between the contacts and traces on the motherboard. Carefully wiggle the power jack without applying any significant force and at the same time heat up all contacts one by one. This will help you to remove the power jack.

The DC power jack is almost removed from the motherboard.
Be careful. Inside the positive hole there is a copper sleeve which connects the terminal on one side of the motherboard with the traces on the other side. If you are removing the power jack with force, you can pull the sleeve from the hole. You don’t want to do that.
UPDATE: If you accidentally removed the internal sleeve, check out this post: How to fortify damaged power jack connection.
So, do not apply any force and make sure the solder is melted when you are removing the power jack. I hope you understand what I’m talking about.

After the power jack is removed, clean all oxidized contacts with a knife.

Apply a fresh coat of solder to all contacts on the power jack.

The power jack terminals will look dirty because of melted flux.

You can remove the flux using the tooth brush and alcohol. It’s not necessary but it will make your job looking clean.

Apply a fresh coat of solder to all power jack terminals on both sides of the motherboard.

This side has been coated.

And this side has been coated too.

Now you can install the power jack back on the motherboard. Put something under power jack so there is no gap between the jack and the motherboard. Now you are ready to solder the jack back in place.

Solder all power jack pins.

The job is done and the laptop DC power jack is fixed. B-E-A-utiful!
Now just install the motherboard back into the laptop and you are done.