Steps to remove and replace DC jack soldered to motherboard

posted in: Miscellaneous Tips | 1
Steps to remove and replace DC jack soldered to motherboard.

Soldered DC jacks are very common these days. A wide variety of laptop motherboards have the DC jacks built-in and it is not very convenient for repair.

In this post I explain the steps I go through during the process of removing and replacing a regular DC jack soldered to a regular laptop motherboard. A full description of the equipment and supplies shown in this guide available here.

Continued

Replace the keyboard without replacing the top case

posted in: Miscellaneous Tips | 8
Replacing only keyboard without full top case assembly.

Today I show how you can replace only the keyboard without replacing the full laptop top case even though the keyboard is not removable. This is a DIY hack so proceed at your own risk but I guess you have nothing to lose anyway.

You will need a cheap disposable soldering iron as we are going to melt some plastic. A $3.99 iron from Harbor Freight will work just fine for that. Prepare to work in a well ventilated area because it’s going to stink.

Continued

How I fix flash drives with damaged USB ports

posted in: Miscellaneous Tips | 5
Flash drive with bent USB port

Today I show how I fix flash drives with damaged USB ports in order to recover the data. I show a few different damage scenarios and my way of fixing it.

If you have very important files on a damaged USB drive, you should use professional data recovery service instead of trying to fix it yourself. Just had to mention that.

Continued

Laptop does not start. Is it bad power jack or motherboard?

posted in: Miscellaneous Tips | 451

Let’s say your laptop does not start at all. You plug in the power adapter and press on the power button, but the computer will not react. It’s dead and the power or battery charge LED will not light up.

What could be wrong? Is it bad power jack or the motherboard is dead?

Laptop top cover removed

By the way, the power jack (DC-IN jack) is the power socket on the side or back of your computer where you plug the AC/DC power adapter.

I’ll explain how to perform basic troubleshooting and find out what is wrong. This is only for experienced people, who know how to disassemble laptops.

Continued

How to apply thermal grease on processor

posted in: Miscellaneous Tips | 66

This guide explains how to apply new thermal grease on a laptop processor (CPU).

Thermal grease (thermal compound or paste) has to be applied on the top of the processor before you install the heat sink. Thermal grease helps to conduct heat more efficiently.

In some laptops you can remove the heat sink without removing the CPU fan. In my case, I had to remove the fan first.

Remove cooling fan

Continued

How to remove CD from failed optical drive

posted in: Miscellaneous Tips | 37

Remove CD DVD disc from laptop

In this guide I explain how to remove a CD or DVD disc from a failed optical drive or not working laptop.

Let’s say the computer does not turn on but there is a disc stuck inside the optical drive and you want to get it out.

I think most people know this trick but some don’t. Continued