My Experience with Laptop Failures
I have owned a number of laptop computers over the last few years. Our first, a Compaq Presario, broke down after a few months of use. Compaq was great to work with, as they not only replaced the computer, but upgraded its features to compensate me for my trouble. When it broke again, Compaq was not so nice to work with as their policies had changed. It took two trips to the service center before they got it right. It has worked fine for the last few years, despite the fact that this particular model has a reputation for overheating and poor ventilation.
Laptop number two is a Sony Vaio. It worked fine, expect for a virus which caused all sorts of problems, and had to be wiped clean and reformatted to factory settings. Once that problem was fixed it continued to work for a year. Now the Vaio is now just an expensive paper weight, as it will not power up.
These problems led me to research why laptops fail so often.
The obvious problem with the Vaio was the DC input jack. It was clearly missing a part. I ordered a new one and installed it this weekend. It was not hard to remove the back of the computer, unplug the old one and insert the new one in.No luck. Computer is still dead.
Motherboard Failure
I suspect the motherboard, due to our experience with the Compaq. These fail at a high rate, many times due to user error. The Vaios first power adapter died, so I bought a universal power adapter to replace it until the new one arrived. I had no idea that these can deliver excessive power when they fail. In fact, this very adapter started to overheat and melt at the DC input on the Compaq. Imagine my daughter’s surprise when smoke started to come up from her computer. I would not recommend these at all.Replacements should be readily available on Amazon, or any computer parts store.
DC Jack Failure
Since our DC jack broke, it was no surprise to learn that these fail or break often. According to computer experts, this is almost always 100% user-caused.It is easily broken when the computer is moved while plugged in, or dropped.These jacks are delicate and can short out, break off (as ours clearly did), or break the solder connection to the motherboard.
Power Supply Failure
The original power supply for the Vaio quit working, so it was replaced with a new Sony power supply. The green light does come on when it is plugged in, but that is not always a sign that power is getting to your computer. Use a voltmeter to test to see if power is coming out, or take it to a repair shop to have them test it out. This was my first thought on this whole no-power issue. Unfortunately for me, my power supply works fine.Hard Disk
Hard disk failures are the most common computer hardware problems. Laptop hard disks fail more often than desktop hard drives. Think about how often we move our laptop computers around. Knock it around a bit and your hard drive will respond with a resounding NO.Case in point – a coworker had an external hard drive fall one foot onto the floor at work.That drive was damaged beyond repair. In fact, dropping a laptop can cause damage to your hard drive, but also to most of the other critical parts of the laptop.
LCD Failure and Damage
The Vaio has a new LCD display, due to the original screen shattering when it was accidently dropped. This is a very common repair, and is usually due to user error. A laptop should be set to sleep mode or turned off when not in use as LCD screen apparently do not last forever. Lowering the brightness setting also extends the life of the screen.The repair to the Vaio cost me about $80. Luckily, I installed it myself without any complications.
CPU Fan Failure and Overheating
CPU fans can fail, as laptops generate lots of heat. The Compaq we use runs extremely hot and needs a cooling fan to keep it from overheating and burning the user.When I removed the back of the Vaio this weekend, I cleaned out a large amount of lint from the fan. It does make me wonder if excessive heat caused a motherboard failure. My desktop computer also has this problem, so I clean this with a can of compressed air about four times a year.
The one culprit I suspect in both laptops issues are excessive heat. Laptops run HOT, and with all that delicate electronics stuffed into a small space, it is very likely that heat causes many problems. To avoid future overheating issues, I use a USB-driven cooling device that sits under the laptop and runs a fan to help cool it down. This also keeps my lap from absorbing this heat!
Keyboard Damage
Damage to keyboards make up a large number of failures. When a drink is spilled on your laptop, it may not survive.I can live with a missing key but a wet and sticky keyboard does not bode well for its future.
Viruses
Viruses have also caused problems on our laptops, despite having AVG and McAfee. These are an easier fix, as you can reformat your hard drive and start over. We use multiple external backup drives to save all of our data. I have managed to fix the problems viruses have caused, both by having a restore point set.
My Vaio is probably not worth repairing at this point, but I do plan on getting it looked at to confirm this. Other than new RAM, these lower end laptops are not worth repairing.
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