Shorted laptop motherboard

[klewan]

I've got a 3 year old Acer laptop that is no longer working. No fans, lights, or anything else is working. Working wall wart and 19.5 volts into the motherboard at the power jack. I pulled the back cover and found a piece of chrome plated metal nested around the copper heat sink bar. Finally figured out it was some kind of vibration damper that had come loose. This thing was skating around all those solder joints on at least half the motherboard. So I'm pretty sure it shorted something out and that's why I have a dead laptop.

Is there any fuse or circuit breaker to protect the motherboard? I've looked, but I'm not sure what a motherboard fuse would look like. It's an ACER 7736z-4088, if that helps.

Any help or SWAG's appreciated.

[bg]

I do Acer's and no, there's no protection save for thermal.
Some are Foxconn others are something else.

Go to ebay, pick a used one, replace, crank it up and good to go

http://community.acer.com/t5/Acer-Forum-Discussions/ct-p/boards

[wendys]

o

I do Acer's and no, there's no protection save for thermal.
Some are Foxconn others are something else.

Go to ebay, pick a used one, replace, crank it up and good to go

http://community.acer.com/t5/Acer-Fo...ns/ct-p/boards

you misunderstood the question and situation.

a piece of metal broke off and shorted to points on the motherboard which fried it.

i am pretty sure there is no protection for this there cannot be. however it maybe that only a few components burnt out. unless these burnt components are visibly burnt i dont know how you could identify them for replacement.


if there were any fail safes like fuses they would have to be in between all components which we know is not the case. if anything the only fuse woukd be near the input of the power supply juat in case too high of a voltage was applied
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[Darryl Licht]

If you've never replaced a lappy mobo, you may want to have someone do it!
It's a royal pain in the south end!
So many tiny screws, many the same threads, but differing lengths, put wrong screw in wrong place and your... screwed!

[dchang0]

A video camera or lots of photos is pretty much the only way to remember which screws go where... If the laptop is cheap used on ebay, don't bother fixing it. Buy the replacement laptop, swap out hard drives (usually easy), then sell the broken one for parts.

[klewan]

Motherboard Update

Thanks for the replies. Acer does a good job of helping get the screws back in the correct spot. They mold into the case the length and diameter of the screw in that spot. So find the 2mm X 3.5mm screws and install under the battery for example.

I did some more web search and I think I found something that looks like a fuse. I think I'll take it to the Pro and get his opinion....

[Deadbolt]

I've got a 3 year old Acer laptop that is no longer working. No fans, lights, or anything else is working. Working wall wart and 19.5 volts into the motherboard at the power jack. I pulled the back cover and found a piece of chrome plated metal nested around the copper heat sink bar. Finally figured out it was some kind of vibration damper that had come loose. This thing was skating around all those solder joints on at least half the motherboard. So I'm pretty sure it shorted something out and that's why I have a dead laptop.

Is there any fuse or circuit breaker to protect the motherboard? I've looked, but I'm not sure what a motherboard fuse would look like. It's an ACER 7736z-4088, if that helps.

Any help or SWAG's appreciated.

Most boards have short paths built in. What you describe is halfway between "manufacture / design negligence" and "just plain wearing out"

To me it sounds like this part was intended to eventually fail. Im sure thats not comforting - so lets talk issues : does your motherboard on that comp have an avenue to of sending error codes? If you can get an error code or two, that would generally help determine if its just a poorly seated component vs total fry of an integral component

[NoSpam]

If you're not getting any power to the board, but can read voltage at the power supply, then it is indeed a dead board. They are made to be replaced, not fixed. Even if it was something simple like a broken solder at the power supply, no manufacturer would take the time to diagnose that, let alone fix it. Component boards can be replaced separately, but they would not be the cause of your no-power situation.

[the86d]

Most notebooks I have seen with a fried board recently is because people put them on a couch, comforter, or pillow causing ZERO airflow via an underside vent, so they overheat, and they are S-O-L. The cost of a new cheapie notebook (for only surfing the Internet and listening to music) is about what it is worth in time and money to replace/repair a board from the MFR, but a new one would have a 1 year warranty.

These days most notebooks are made to last the 1 year warranty and that is it... unless you pay out the nose, but most of those only come with a 1 year warranty too!

[billofrights]

I regularly sell used laptops on ebay, usually 3-4 years old, and they normally end up going for 90-120. You'd pay that much for a motherboard and likely more for labor. Keep it to tinker if you like but I'd say just get a used replacement. I'd offer to hook you up but I just shipped out the last one I had on hand, d'oh!

And don't discount the experience you get from putzing around with dead ones. I used to do sales in an awful computer store until I started pulling apart dead/ damaged laptops that people gave me. Learned enough to start fixing them and now it's a pretty substantial part of my job.

[klewan]

Update

Motherboard is dead. I asked the tech about using my OEM Win7 restore discs on another computer or motherboard, if I can find a used one. He said the anti-priracy junk won't let me use my copy on another computer. Is this true? I paid for the Win 7, so I'm not stealing anything from MS. Just want to use it on another computer. Is it possible to use it again, or am I screwed?

Again, thanks for any replies.

[NoSpam]

Motherboard is dead. I asked the tech about using my OEM Win7 restore discs on another computer or motherboard, if I can find a used one. He said the anti-priracy junk won't let me use my copy on another computer. Is this true? I paid for the Win 7, so I'm not stealing anything from MS. Just want to use it on another computer. Is it possible to use it again, or am I screwed?

Again, thanks for any replies.

Yes and no.

1) No: Licensing-wise, your OEM license is tied to the machine it came with.

2) Yes: Technically speaking, if it is an OEM Win7 full install disk, it will work on another PC. If it is an OEM restore disk, it will only work on OEM equipment. Legally speaking, it is still bound to the rules of #1.

[ldsnet]

Once you register Win7 with a particular CPU, it has been "used" and can not be registered with another CPU (even on the same motherboard).

As to the shorted laptop motherboard; unless you are a skilled micro technician it will be cheaper and easier to buy a new machine than to repair the old one. As fast as technology advances you can get a faster machine for less money