Broken Laptop - where to repair?

[SodiumSulfate]

Hey All,

I tried to search this, but nothing tangeble came up. My wife's laptop won't charge. I think the charging pin/module is broken or fried on the motherboard. Is there anyplace that I can take it to to have them fix it?

Thanks.

[akito925]

most repair shops have to replace the entire motherboard, so costing around 200-400 depending on make, model, brand, call computer manufacture whree it is made eg dell, ibm, compaq, hp, acer, asus etc.

[radeonboy]

How old is the laptop and how fast?

If its like 400 dollars to repair, I would just get a used lappy. 400 dollars can get you like a Dell 850MHz P3 laptop.

[SodiumSulfate]

It's a Dell Inspiron 5150 (P4 3Mhz(HT) with a 15 UXGA screen). I'd like to fix it as it was expensive enough to begin with and has a great screen and processor.

[Paolo]

its like a $2 part to repair, but most repair service centres have to charge $60-80 so they can stay in business.

[Codegen]

At a place that repairs laptops.

[SodiumSulfate]

its like a $2 part to repair, but most repair service centres have to charge $60-80 so they can stay in business.

That's fine I don't mind paying for their services. Where can I find a repair centre?

[LeeBear]

The Dell 5150 is known to have problems with the DC power jack. It's a design flaw that dell won't acknowledge. I had someone bring in a Del 5150 with the same problem you described, the DC power jack had burnt out, along with a bunch of capacitors and resistors on the motherboard near the jack. It'll require a new motherboard which unfortunately will cost alot from Dell. Even on ebay motherboards for the 5150 will set you back $300. If your motherboard isn't damaged yet and it's just the power jack I suggest you find a place that will fix and modify the jack so the problem doesn't come back.

-LeeBear

[Rehan]

It's already out of warranty? Did you happen to purchase it with a credit card that automatically adds another year of warranty?

[JustMike]

its like a $2 part to repair, but most repair service centres have to charge $60-80 so they can stay in business.

Are you unfamiliar with the concept of paid labour? Repair centres that sell and install parts for free typically don't last too long.

[SodiumSulfate]

Sadly, it is out of warranty both from Dell and the added term by the CC company.

I was hoping to just have it sit at home while being plugged into AC, and just use it as a regular desktop PC and get my wife a new replacement.

I contacted Dell to see how much it would cost to have them repair it, but no ones gotten back to me.

It's been a solid performer and the screen is great. It'd be a shame to trash it