Piece rattling around in sons laptop

rose28454

My son has an 18 month old laptop and has been having a problem with the connection to the battery. It has been constantly switching itself off. At the weekend a piece broke off inside and it was the pin that connects the battery lead to the inside of the laptop. We went to PC world where it was from and they referred us to their Tech Guys ( on a 0845 no!). They said it would cost £217.00 to have it picked up and fixed. Anybody any ideas how he can have it fixed cheaper than that.

isofa

What is the make / brand and can you contact the manufacturer directly? I assume it's out of warranty?

FallingDownMan

The Tech Guys is PC World's (or Currys/Dixons) support group.

Referring to another thread, this is one reason why extended warranties are (my opinion) essential on laptops. It'd be repaired for free if you had one. But this doesn't help you if you don't have one, of course.

Pins breaking off like this from the power socket is very common and it needs a new part - how much of a new part depends on the laptop (I think some models might need a new motherboard, but mostly not), and this needs to be fitted.

The manufacturers usually charge an arm and a leg, as do PC World's support if you're not in warranty.

You need to contact various computer repair people and get them to quote you. Then choose the best price/service based on what you know.

It is unlikely to end up being dead cheap. Reputable repairers will charge something like £30 an hour and minimum 2 hours just to look at it. Then there's the part, and how much that costs depends on the manufacturer. But it shouldn't cost as much as PCW were quoting.

iwanttosave_2

albertross wrote: »

If it is 18 months old, you could try using your sale of goods act rights, which covers you upto 6 years, try sweet talking the manufacturer 1st, then if that doesn't work use SOGA with the retailer, there are pro forma templates on the web to register your complaint.

Alternatively, buy a soldering iron, and have a go yourself.

We did the latter, backed it all up and got the part, which cost £2 from Maplin and did it ourselves. I'm using it now

albertross_2

iwanttosave wrote: »

We did the latter, backed it all up and got the part, which cost £2 from Maplin and did it ourselves. I'm using it now

Glad to hear it, most people would balk at the idea. Getting the part and taking it to bits is the hardest bit.

thebyp

albertross wrote: »

Glad to hear it, most people would balk at the idea. Getting the part and taking it to bits is the hardest bit.

I tend to find putting it back together harder. Strange how there's always that Ikea screw left over, even when its a laptop...

Stephen_Leak

I'm a PC tech' in a school, and it was the motherboard screws that used to be the problem.

Some hold the "mobo" to one half of the casing and others then hold the two halves of the casing together by going through the "mobo". There are also sometimes fixing holes that aren't used in that model. I now use little self-adhesive paper dots in two colours to not only mark which ones are used, but also which "type" they are.

To be honest, there are usually so many little screws, that missing one or two won't stop it working. However, it could be problematical, if it has to go back for a major warranty job in the future, as it shows that someone has been trespassing!

Alias_Omega

I would try and source a local computer shop that is willing to take a look at it, get a price on the work before hand, ie the open up and inspection, might cost £30..

then when they have it apart and they find what is wrong with it, ask them to take a picture for you, and get a price to have it fixed.

the choice is to rebuild it, or take it away in a safe condition, ie screws in a bag etc.

post the picture up here, and then maybe we can source the replacement part at cost, or source an alternative.

i notice you have not said what brand of laptop or model of laptop it is.


regards,

alias

PS - Does your house have accidental insurance, what if your son made a mistake and it was dropped, causing the rattle, would he hide this from you, would he be covered..?