My laptop is dead

[Joelacrane]

Well, my laptop is finally dead. The power connector was unreliable, so I took it apart and soldered it back onto the board. Upon reassembling it it will not boot, just a black screen. I feel retarded for messing with it.

It may have been just an old Pentium 2, but that laptop got used more and pushed harder than any laptop I've ever seen. My friends with their brand new laptops don't use them nearly as much as I used my old Tecra.

So now, I have to fall back onto my Axim for a mobile computer until I figure out a way to obtain another laptop. Any suggestions? I'm a student. It needs to be able to run Windows XP smoothly, thats just about my only requirement.

Any sympathy would be appreciated.

[Cybrid]

Well, my laptop is finally dead. The power connector was unreliable, so I took it apart and soldered it back onto the board. Upon reassembling it it will not boot, just a black screen. I feel retarded for messing with it.

It may heve been just an old Pentium 2, but that laptop got used more and pushed harder than any laptop I've ever seen. Noonne, not even my friends with brand new laptops take advantage of them like I did with mine.

So now, I have to fall back onto my Axim for a mobile computer until I figure out a way to obtain another laptop. Any suggestions?

I'm a student. A laptop needs to be able to run Windows XP Home.

Any sympathy would be appriciated.Dude, that sux... :(
Consider it a learning experience...I've broken a few repairs myself and gotten better as I got some experience. :)
Take it apart again and start component testing. See if your solder is shorting something.

[Joelacrane]

The laptop is a Toshiba Tecra 8000. The reason I took it apart: The power connector was not working all of the time, I was always having to mess with the cord to get it to go onto AC. Upon taking it apart, it looked like one of the solder joints on the mobo/connector was cracked. I soldered it back together, and then I plugged just the mobo into the power adapter. I then used a test light on the underside of the board to make sure the connector was getting power consistently.

It was my first ever solder job. Wasn't clean, but it is miles away from any other components so it should be fine.

Upon re-assembly, as mentioned, it would not start. Black screen. The lights all come on normally, and they also indicate that my solder fix didn't work.

I'm tempted to buy another lower-end Tecra and yank the mobo out of it.

[Cybrid]

Clear the CMOS,
Re check all the connections;
Drive, Display, keyboard and anything else that you had to take apart.
Don't spend money on it! Save the cash for a new laptop.

[Cybrid]

Upon re-assembly, as mentioned, it would not start. Black screen. The lights all come on normally, and they also indicate that my solder fix didn't work.Ok, so the lights are on but no-one's home? :)
Check the display connections and test by using an external VGA monitor.

[Joelacrane]

Even if I do get it working again, I'll still have to deal with that connector. Not sure how to fix that. Are those a common Radioshack item?

[Joelacrane]

I also cannot find out how to reset the CMOS. Unplug batteries and hit the power button? I just cant seem to find a solution.

[Joelacrane]

You aren't going to believe this...

The ram wasn't seated correctly. I did check it, but when I put it in the second time, I once again seated it incorrectly.

My solder job didn't work. Also, my second battery must have discharged in storage, it refuses to take a charge. My main battery "holds a charge" but only lasts about 20 minutes. Man, these things are frustrating.

I'm very VERY glad to have it back.

[Cybrid]

Glad to see "It's alive!!". :D
Ok, so now back to the solder...Any Pics?

[Joelacrane]

Its possible, but it would be a ton of work to get the laptop back apart again. How critical is it?

I really think the connector is messed up inside.

[r@dimus]

Go to Google and run a search for used laptops. You'll get links to several outfits and one of them is bound to have some old Pentium II's for sale. You would probably be surprised at how cheap those models are.

[Jason Dunn]

Moved to Off Topic since that's exactly what it is. :wink:

[clbsvi]

I suggest you buy a new laptop. Prices versus features are lower now than anytime in the past 2 years. I prefer Toshiba, currenly owning a Tecra A4 Series with 1024MB RAM and a 100GB Hard Drive. I use an optical mouse. The unit has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. I use Norton's latest 360 Systemworks for virus protection, and Spybot Search and Destroy V1.4 for Spyware control. Unlike many iconoclasts out there, I prefer Intel processors (currently a 1.73Ghz Centino, moving to the fastest Core2 Duo I can afford-- of course not in this laptop. It's time for a new one anyway, and no I am not filthy rich, just filthy. and Microsoft Windows, now XPSP2, moving soon to Vista Home Edition. My favored wordprocessor is MS Works vs Office. My ISP is AT&T's Deluxe Broadband and Telephone suite. Their tech service is awesome, and I require a lot of technical care and feeding. AT&T's cash incentives amount to about $350.00 US, enough to pay for the service for a year or to buy a low-end laptop. Let us know what you finally chose to do. And Good Luck. The lads here at PPC Thoughts are the best tech jocks around and their advice is excellent, allowing for a wide divergence in skill levels and preferences.

[Joelacrane]

More issues. My power connector is still unreliable, but I have a friend who mods Xboxes and does all sorts of soldering and stuff, he works for Intel. I haven't seen him in awhile, he lives several hours away, but when I do, I'm going to ask him to take a look at it. He will probably know where to get a new connector and he will probably even solder it on for me.

The problem is bad, but it has gotten even worse. My battery is now unreliable. When I insert it (Laptop running or not...), the charge light comes on and then goes off. Sometimes, It stays on and turns green. Since the battery is usually not showing up, whenever that cord gets moved, the laptop shuts off. Great.

I need a Toshiba Tecra 8000 repair forum!

Searching Google does me no good, it just comes up with batteries for sale.

[isajoo]

...................

[Joelacrane]

He would, but they dont have any. They tossed all the old ones 2 weeks ago.

He did point out that for about $400, I can get a decent 1.8 Celeron on TigerDirect.com. I would go ahead and order one, but Halo 3 hits the shelves in exactly 1 month, and I want to have an Xbox 360 for that event. When Halo 2 came out, I was the guy that didnt have an Xbox. Not happening this time.

[Joelacrane]

Good news. A friend of mine sold me a laptop. Its a Gateway 7617 Mobile. Its tiny tiny tiny. Very thin and light without the expansion bay. Pentium III 933mhz, 380-something MB of ram, 20gb hdd, worn out battery, and then a floppy and DVD/CD-RW drive in the expansion bay. Got it for $80. I thought it was a pretty good deal.