Common Sockets In Our Market

Socket AM2:

Socket AM3:

Socket 775:

Socket 1155:

Socket 1156:

Most common laptop hardware problems

In this post I will summarize most common laptop hardware related problems ever mentioned on this site.

I will not be digging into the operating system related problems, only laptop hardware issues.

I’ll provide most common laptop failure descriptions and give some suggestions how to troubleshoot or repair the problem.

Problem 1.
Laptop doesn’t turn on at all.

Problem description: When you plug the AC adapter into the laptop, there are no lights turning on at all. When you push on the power button, nothing happens. The laptop appears to be completely dead, makes no sounds, no indications of life.

Possible problem:
- AC adapter failed and the battery discharged completely. First of all, test the AC adapter. If it’s dead, replace the adapter.
- DC jack separated from the motherboard (or DC jack broken) and the laptop doesn’t get any power from the AC adapter. In this case the DC jack has to be replaced.
- Laptop motherboard failed. If that’s the case, most likely the laptop not worth fixing.

Here are some tips for testing laptop AC adapter and DC jack connector.

Also, make sure to read step-by-step instructions for troubleshooting dead laptops.

Problem 2.
Laptop turns on but screen is blank.

Problem description: The laptop turns on, LED lights on the laptop turn on, cooling fan works but nothing appears on the screen. The screen is completely black and blank. There is no image on the screen at all, not even a very dim image.

Possible problem:
- This problem could be related to the memory failure. It’s possible one of the memory modules failed and the laptop doesn’t turn on because of that. In this case you can try reseating memory modules to make sure they are making good contact with the slot. You can try removing memory modules one by one and test the laptop with only one memory module installed. You can try replacing memory modules with new modules.
- If reseating/replacing memory modules doesn’t help, try removing the hard drive, DVD drive, modem, wireless card, keyboard, etc… In other words, disassemble the laptop to bare minimum and test again. If the laptop still doesn’t turn on, most likely you have failed motherboard or processor.

Read this guide for barebone laptop troubleshooting.

Problem 3.
Laptop turns on and off repeatedly.

Problem description:The laptop turn on without showing any image on the screen. After a few seconds the laptop turns off by itself. Then it turns on and off again. It continue turning on and off repeatedly until you power off the laptop completely.

Possible problem:
Most likely it happens because of some kind of motherboard failure. You can try reseating/replacing memory as I described in the Problem 2. If it doesn’t help, I would say this is motherboard related failure.
In most cases it’s not worth replacing the motherboard, better to buy a new laptop.

Problem 4.
Laptop makes noise while running.

Problem description:
The laptop turns on and everything works fine, except it makes some constant weird grinding or rattling noises. Some laptops make noises all the time, other laptops have them intermittently.

Possible problem:
In most cases this noise is coming from the cooling fan or laptop hard drive. You can turn on the laptop, wait until it starts making noise and after that listen closely on the bottom of the laptop. If the laptop starts making noise when the cooling fan starts running, most likely you have a failing fan. Replace the cooling fan.

If the laptop makes noise even when the fan not spinning, probably it’s coming from the hard drive. Back up all personal data from the hard drive as soon as possible, it can fail any moment. Replace the hard drive.

Here’s another technique to figure out if the noise coming from the fan or hard drive. Remove the hard drive from the laptop and stat the laptop. Wait until it warms up and the fan starts spinning. If the laptop still makes same noise even when the hard drive removed, most likely it’s bad fan.

Problem 5.
Laptop shuts down or freezes while in use.

Problem description:
The laptop turns on and runs properly but after a while it freezes or shuts down without any warning. When it happens, the laptop feels hot on the bottom. Also, the cooling fan works harder than usual.

Possible problem:
Most likely this is heat related issue. It happens because the cooling module gets clogged with dust and the laptop cannot “breath” properly. The laptop shuts down or freezes because the processor (CPU) overheats. Cleaning the cooling fan and heatsink should fix the problem.

Here’s how you fix laptop heat related problems.

Problem 6.
Laptop battery not charging properly.

Problem description:
The laptop battery stopped charging properly. It’s not charging at all or charges only after you adjust the position of AC adapter plug inside the power connector on the laptop.

Possible problem:
- Failed battery.  If the battery stopped charging completely try reconnecting the battery first. If it doesn’t help, remove the battery and try running the laptop just from AC adapter. If the laptop runs fine from AC adapter but doesn’t charge the battery at all, most likely it’s either bad battery or motherboard problem. Try replacing the battery first.
- Loose DC power connector. If the battery charges only after you adjust the position of AC adapter tip inside the connector, this is DC jack related problem.

Here are some tips for troubleshooting battery charging problems.

Problem 7.
Screen light doesn’t work or fails while the laptop running.

Problem description:
The laptop starts properly but after a while the screen light turns off. The image still appears on the screen but it’s very dark. In some cases the screen light never starts but you still can see a very faint image on the screen. In all cases the laptop video appears to be fine on the external monitor or TV.

Possible problem:
Most likely it’s either the screen inverter or screen backlight lamp (CCFL) failure.  Both fail very similarly causing the screen light to go off. In order to trobuleshoot this kind of failure effectively, you’ll need some spare parts: either new working inverter or known good backlight lamp.

The following article explains how to troubleshoot laptop backlight failure.

Problem 8.
Laptop has strange or garbled image on the screen.

Problem description:
The laptop turns on properly but shows bad, wrong or garbled image on the screen.

Possible problem:
- Graphics card failure. First of all, test your laptop with image output on the external monitor. If you see the same problem on the external screen, most likely this is graphics card related failure.
- If the problem appears only on the laptop screen, it could be related to one of the following: poor connection between the video cable and motherboard or LCD screen or failed video cable or failed LCD screen.

This article shows some examples of failed laptop video and explains how to narrow down the problem.

Also, read this article explain why a laptop shown strange colors on the screen.

Problem 9.
Some laptop keyboard keys stopped working.

Problem description:
The laptop turns on and runs properly but some keyboard keys do not work at all or type wrong characters.

Possible problem:
Most likely this the keyboard failed. Laptop keyboards are not repairable. If some keys stopped working, you’ll have to replace the keyboard.

Problem 10.
Missing or broken keys on laptop keyboard.

Problem description:
A key got separated from the laptop keyboard.

Problem solution:
If a key got separated from the keyboard, it’s still possible to fix it without replacing the entire keyboard.
Hopefully you didn’t damage the key hinges.
If you have many keys missing, probably it makes sense to replace the whole keyboard.

The following article explains how to attach a key back to the keyboard.

Problem 11.
Laptop makes repetitive beep sound on startup.

Problem description:
You turn on the laptop but there is no video on the screen. Instead, the laptop makes repetitive beeping sound. You can “fix” the problem if you press on the keyboard keys.

Problem solution:
Most likely it happens because there is a stuck key on the keyboard. In this case you’ll have to replace the keyboard.

Problem 12.
Liquid spilled on laptop.

Problem description:
You spilled something on the laptop and it’s stopped working.

Problem solution:
Liquid spills are very dangerous and unpredictable. If it happened, turn off the laptop ASAP, remove the battery and do not use it until all internal parts are inspected for liquid damage.
It’s sill possible the laptop will work again after you clean the damage.

This post explains how to deal with laptop liquid spills.

How To Disassemble Toshiba Satellite Laptops

Toshiba Satellite L305D or L305 stopped showing video on the LCD screen. Video on the external monitor works just fine but nothing appears on the internal screen, it’s completely blank. What could be wrong?
The LCD screen doesn’t work because the video cable got disconnected from the motherboard.
I have seen a problem like that on a few different Satellite L305D laptops. Not sure why it’s happening but check this out.
In order to access the video cable connector you’ll have to remove the keyboard first.
Using a sharp object lift up and remove the keyboard bezel.

Under the bezel you’ll find two screws securing the motherboard. Remove both screws.
Lift up the keyboard and place it upside down on the palm rest. Be careful, the keyboard is attached to the motherboard.

You’ll find the video cable connector under the keyboard.

If you look very closely, you’ll see that the video cable is half way out of the connector on the motherboard.

Plug the video cable back into the connector and test the laptop now. Does it help?

How to disassemble Sony Vaio Laptops

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In this guide I will show how to disassemble a Sony Vaio VPCS111FM laptop in order to fix broken power button.
Also, this laptop has another model number on the bottom: Model PCG-51211L.
Here’s what happened. The power button got pushed into the laptop case and stopped working. It wasn’t possible to turn on the laptop at all.
In order to figure out what’s going on I had to disassemble the laptop base and take a closer look at the power button.


By the way, here’s my previous post explaining how to replace LCD screen on Sony Vaio VPCS111FM laptop.
STEP 1.
Make sure the laptop is turned off. Remove the battery.

STEP 2.
Remove four screws securing the hard drive and memory cover.
It’s not necessary to remove the memory cover for the purpose of this guide. I’m doing it just to show where laptop memory located.

STEP 3.
Remove two screws securing the hard drive assembly.
As you see, both memory modules can be accessed on the bottom of the laptop.

STEP 4.
Slide the hard drive assembly to the shown direction to disconnect it from the motherboard.
Remove hard drive assembly from the laptop.

STEP 5.
Remove two screws securing the DVD drive.

STEP 6.
Push DVD drive with a screwdriver and pull it from the laptop.

STEP 7.
Remove all screws from the bottom of the laptop.
NOTE: my Sony Vaio VPSS111FM laptop had both hinge covers missing. I don’t think you’ll have a problem removing them.

STEP 8.
Remove the express card cover.
Don’t forget to remove one screw located under the cover.

STEP 9.
Now you should be able to lift up the bottom cover and remove it from the laptop.

STEP 10.
The bottom cover removed.

STEP 11.
Under the top cover you’ll get access to the cooling fan assembly (fan and heatsink).
If the cooling fan looks dirty, blow the dust off the fan and heatsink.

STEP 12.
Remove screws securing the express card board.

STEP 13.
Disconnect the power button board cable from the express card board.

STEP 14.
Carefully lift up the right side of the express card board to disconnect it from the motherboard.

STEP 15.
The express card board still connected to the laptop by two wires (wireless card antenna cables). It’s not necessary to disconnect them. Just put the board aside.

The wireless card attached to the bottom side of the express card board.

STEP 16.
Remove one screw securing the power button cover.
Lift up and remove the cover.

Now you can see why the power button got pushed in.
The power button board mounted on the metal frame which is part of the top cover assembly.
A part of the metal frame where the power button board attached broke off.

STEP 17.
Remove the broken metal frame with the power button.

STEP 18.
Remove one screw securing the power button board to the frame and remove the board.

Now I’m going to glue the broken metal piece back to the main chassis.
I’ll be using JB weld Cold Weld compound to attach two metal parts.

I glued broken parts and let it cure overnight.
The next day I assemble the laptop and voila! The Sony Vaio VPCS111FM power button fixed!

How to disassemble IBM Laptops

In this guide I explain how to replace the cooling fan assembly in an IBM  ThinkPad T43 laptop. This laptop was starting up with a “Fan error” message indicating the cooling fan failure. The fan is a part of the heat sink assembly and when the fan fails, the whole cooling assembly has to be replaced.
Also you can use this guide for removing and replacing the keyboard and hidden memory module.

Turn off the laptop, unplug the AC adapter and remove the battery.
STEP 1.
Remove three screws securing the keyboard on the bottom of the laptop.
The first memory module can be accessed through the door on the bottom.
It’ not necessary to remove the memory module in order to replace the cooling fan.

STEP 2.
Insert a sharp object between the bottom of the keyboard and palm rest and carefully lift up the keyboard.
Place the keyboard upside down on the palm rest.

STEP 3.
Disconnect the keyboard cable from the motherboard.

STEP 4.
Remove the keyboard.
If you are looking for a new keyboard for an IBM ThinkPad T43, you can find it here.

STEP 5.
The cooling fan assembly is hidden under the palm rest and cannot be removed until the palm rest is removed.
The second memory module is located under the keyboard.

STEP 6.
Now we are going to remove the palm rest.
Remove all marked screws from the bottom of the laptop.

STEP 7.
Disconnect the touchpad cable from the motherboard.

STEP 8.
Start separating the palm rest assembly from the laptop base.

STEP 9.
Remove the palm rest assembly.

STEP 10.
Remove three screws securing the cooling fan assembly.
Disconnect the cooling fan cable from the motherboard.
The cooling fan assembly part number is printed on the label.

STEP 11.
Lift up the right side of the cooling fan assembly.

STEP 12.
Remove the cooling fan assembly.

In order to find a new cooling fan assembly, I would suggest searching by the IBM FRU part number. In my case the part number is 26R7950.
You can buy a new cooling fan assembly here.

STEP 13.
Clean up the CPU and GPU chips with an alcohol swab.
Do not forget to apply fresh thermal grease on the CPU. You don’t have to apply thermal grease on the GPU because it will be covered with thermal pad located on the heat sink.

A new cooling fan assembly should come with thermal grease pre-applied on the heat sink. Also, it comes with thermal pad for the GPU.