New Laptop Mobo Or Repair?

billynomates · 22 Aug 2010

I've "inherited" a Gateway laptop. Model No.: MA7 or MODEL:MT6220b.
Its problem is it doesn't charge through the charger socket (that's why I've inherited it), and I must admit it's very loose.
In the UK I'm being quoted anywhere between £50 to £80 to replace the "socket" which, I know only costs about £3.
I'm not arguing with the fact that whoever replaces it deserves to earn a living here.
I'm thinking for £50 to £80 I could replace the Mobo (my soldering is erm,, pretty basic (ugly)!! But I can undo screws and unplug connectors!).

Has anyone done this? Is it a feasible repair? What should I be looking for? Where should I be looking?

B.T.W. The laptop has Vista on at the moment, I intend to put 7 on it so the "System recognising components" won't be an issue. It'll not be the main PC, this one is, just wanted something for when I go walk-about.

TIA

karlsnooks · 22 Aug 2010

Billy,
Go to the Gateway site and see what kind of documentation, advise, faqs you can find regarding these repairs/replacements.

billynomates · 22 Aug 2010

karlsnooks said:

Billy,
Go to the Gateway site and see what kind of documentation, advise, faqs you can find regarding these repairs/replacements.

Now this is an "old" model, gateways site (with a quick glance) reveals nothing. But thanks for the pointer. I'm thinking lappy MoBo's are very model specific, whereas with a desktop virtually anything goes.

Doing a Google of "Gateway MA7 Laptop battery doesn't charge or run through power jack" reveals in 0.5 seconds 327,000 hits. Which surprises me.

When I emailed gateway 3 months ago regarding (this), an inherent fault, they'd never heard of anyone having problems!! One assumes they don't have internet access!!

Mellon Head · 22 Aug 2010

@ Billy,

It might not be that hard to change out that connector. Do you have a friend with better soldering skills than you do? I've changed a few, and it isn't that hard really. The problem is finding a replacement for it. If you get the case open and get a good look at it, have a look at DigiKey.uk (I believe), you might find a replacement there quite cheap. Then it's just a few pints to get a friend to fix it up for you.

AFTER the repair. :)

billynomates · 22 Aug 2010

Mellon Head said:

@ Billy,
The problem is finding a replacement for it. If you get the case open and get a good look at it, have a look at DigiKey.uk (I believe), you might find a replacement there quite cheap. Then it's just a few pints to get a friend to fix it up for you.

think that's the route I'm going to have to go

Mellon Head said:

AFTER the repair. :)

Wise Words Indeed!!

Petey7 · 22 Aug 2010

Hello Billy, many laptop models from many different manufacturers have this problem from time to time. Unless you have experience soldering, and have take laptops apart without incidence before, I wouldn't do it. I have experience with both, but if it had to be done on my computer (assuming I didn't have a ridiculously long warranty, meaning it would be replaced anyways) I would get my brother, who is far more experienced than me, to do it. Others have done it, but unless the Gateway is a machine you mainly plan to experiment with, it might be better to pay for it to be done. The good thing about paying someone else is, if it's done wrong, it is there fault, not yours, so they have to deal with it. It's the skill and lifted responsibility you pay for, more than the part.

Mellon Head · 22 Aug 2010

Petey7 said:

Hello Billy, many laptop models from many different manufacturers have this problem from time to time. Unless you have experience soldering, and have take laptops apart without incidence before, I wouldn't do it. I have experience with both, but if it had to be done on my computer (assuming I didn't have a ridiculously long warranty, meaning it would be replaced anyways) I would get my brother, who is far more experienced than me, to do it. Others have done it, but unless the Gateway is a machine you mainly plan to experiment with, it might be better to pay for it to be done. The good thing about paying someone else is, if it's done wrong, it is there fault, not yours, so they have to deal with it. It's the skill and lifted responsibility you pay for, more than the part.

Those are also wise words, and that was something I forgot to point out. Thanks.

One caveat if you do this Billy. Laptops are tricky to take apart and put back together. Make sure that you do this carefully, and slowly.

As Petey7 said, the best option is to have it done by someone qualified, with experience, and who will warranty their work. If you don't mind experimenting, you and a mate can probably pull this off, but it's probably best to pay the $$ and have it done right.

billynomates · 23 Aug 2010

I did think, for free, (OK I bought the new laptop!!) it was worth a mess about. But if I can get it to work again...

To be honest, I just nabbed it so if nothing else I can fit the HDD in my desktop. Use it for my macrium reflect back-ups

jimbo45 · 24 Aug 2010

Hi there
you can ALWAYS use disks extracted from defective / retired laptops. The HDD is usually VERY EASY to remove and for about 10 GBP you can get an enclosure with a USB connector so you can use the device as an external USB disk.

I think you could even get some SATA converters so you could also install these as INTERNAL HDD's.

I've got around 4 X 250 GB ex laptop disks that I use as external drives.

If you look at the WD Passport type of drives --these are nothing more than 2.5 inch laptop drives monted in sexy looking enclosures which you can get yourself much more cheaply.

Here's one for 7 GBP.

StarTech.com 2.5in Silver USB External Hard Drive Enclosure for SATA HDD Storage enclosure- Serial ATA-300

Cheers
jimbo

billynomates · 24 Aug 2010

jimbo45 said:

Here's one for 7 GBP.

StarTech.com 2.5in Silver USB External Hard Drive Enclosure for SATA HDD Storage enclosure- Serial ATA-300

Cheers
jimbo

That looks a lot sexier than my first intention (wrap it up in old Christmas wrapping paper!).

TBH I haven't looked at it yet. I thought the battery had fully charged but only had 13% power.

SWMBO MUCH later mentioned she knocked the cable when making a coffee about 20 minutes after I got it to start charging.