RE: Laptop power problem

[John Hedtke <john -at- hedtke -dot- com>]

Kevin has raised a good point here: sometimes it's not the adapter in 
the laptop, but the cable just past the edge of the molded plug 
that's gone awry.  You can find this out easily enough by trying a 
different power supply.  If all goes well, it's more likely the power 
cable to the molded plug and not the (much more expensive) piece in 
the laptop itself.

Yours truly,

John Hedtke
Author/Consultant/Contract Writer
www.hedtke.com <-- website
541-685-5000 (office landline)
541-554-2189 (cell)
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At 07:55 AM 4/8/2008, McLauchlan, Kevin wrote:
>First, find out what the repair-shop's minimum is.$50 for a guaranteed
>repair might be worth it for a couple more years of laptop.
>$200 might not be justifiable.
>$50 for "this might fix it, but no guarantee" would likely not be worth
>it.
>If you are the least bit adventuresome, you can try some tinkering.
>If any of the mating parts can be accessed, it might be possible to do
>some judicious bending and prying. At some point, there's a prong that
>goes into a hole or slot and is gripped. If the prong is solid, you
>can't do much with it. If it's folded metal, you can possibly expand it
>a bit. Alternatively, the gripping female parts might be accessible
>enough to bend, so that they press more firmly against the male parts.
>
>However, if the actual joint is not the problem, it might be that the
>cable has flexed one time too many near the connector (do you often plug
>in the laptop then jam the back of it against the wall ... or against
>some other surface... the cat? ... that puts bending pressure on the
>cables?) and has broken conductors that make contact only when the cable
>is held "just so". In that case, you can futz around until you locate
>the break, cut the cable open and repair it easily.
>
>In many cases, the socket in the laptop is soldered directly to a
>circuit board. If any of the solder joints is weak, it might not have an
>actual soldered contact anymore and only be making contact when the
>cable is levering the socket in the right direction. The solution to
>that is to reflow the solder around the pins that join the socket to the
>board in the laptop. You'll need a soldering iron. That's still not the
>$50 that John mentioned, but the little things add up in a hurry to the
>point where it becomes worthwhile to pay somebody who:
>a) knows what they are doing
>b) has tools and equipment already.
>
>Kevin
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:
>techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> >
>[<mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr->mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-
> > l.com] On Behalf Of John Posada
> > Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 15:39
> > To: Nancy Allison
> > Cc: TECHWR-L
> > Subject: Re: Laptop power problem
> >
> > I've now gone through maybe six laptops (Dell and HP/Compaq) and not
>once
> > have I had this type of problem. Me thinks the salesman is full of
>crap.
> > It
> > seems that this should be fixable by having a reputable shop replace
>the
> > female plug where you insert the power cable...what could it
>cost..$50.00?
> >
> > On 4/7/08, Nancy Allison <maker -at- verizon -dot- net> wrote:
> > >
> > > Intensely annoying!
> > >
> > > The power connection to my laptop has become increasingly
>unreliable.
> > When
> > > I plug in the power cable, the connection isn't made, and the laptop
> > > continues to work from the battery. I used to be able to jiggle the
> > > connector to get it to settle in so the connection would persist.
> > >
> > > Now, short of standing and pushing down on the connector with my
>thumb,
> > I
> > > can't get the connection to stay up. I am currently using my backup
> > cable,
> > > which has the same problem but it is not as severe (yet).
> > >
> > > At the computer store where I bought it (and where the warranty is
>long
> > > outdated), the salesman said that this is the "dirty little secret"
>of
> > > laptops and that lots of them have this problem. Only IBMs and
>Apples
> > have
> > > solved the problem (the Macs by splitting the cable into four, with
>four
> > > magnetic connectors).
> > >
> > > Have you encountered this problem, and were you able to solve it?
>Maybe
> > my
> > > backup cable will last until the laptop is obsolete, but if it
>doesn't,
> > I
> > > will have no way to use my laptop.
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > John Posada
> > > Senior Technical Writer
> > > NYMetro STC President and Program Chair
>
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