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ikenfixit

www.ikenfixit.com is our web address and all of the other info is there as well. Glad if we can help out.

MEvsHP · Guest

New Dells have a connector that is fixed to the chassis as well as the
motherboard. Thats how they come. If you go to a third party repair you
VOID YOUR WARRANTY. My advice is that you utilize the warranty and
treat it nicely because its free, and if something else goes wrong, you
can still use your warranty.

Ben Myers · Guest

IBM Thinkpads
Dell Latitudes

The Latitude is the Dell model intended for business users and is better made
than the consumer-grade Inspiron... Ben Myers

On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 04:27:46 +0000, waterfriendsfour@aol-dot-com.no-spam.invalid
(waterfriendsfour) wrote:

Daniel Ganek · Guest

MEvsHP wrote:

Dewaine Chan · Guest

In the State of NC, we have what is called Lemon Law. If you bought a
product that have the same defect under the warranty period, you could
ask for a replacement. I don't know if that is the case in your State.
If I were you, I'll make sure It WON'T FAIL when the warranty is about to
expire or thereafter (You know what I mean, wink!! Heh heh).

I agree with Ben. Dell Latitude and the IBM T Series are professional
grade Laptops. Dell Inspirions and IBM R Series (Basically the Entry
level laptops from anyone are pretty much meant to be disposable).

I charged $90 in town to replace bad Power Connectors on laptops. I fix
laptops for people as well as Computer Stores in the area.

Dewaine

waterfriendsfour wrote:

BillW50 · Guest

"Dewaine Chan" <"dchanNOSPAM"@NOSPAM PLZZZnc.rr.com> wrote in message news:VcSbe.90787$JL2.3321849@twister.southeast.rr.com...
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 20:01:57 GMT

In the State of NC, we have what is called Lemon Law. If you bought a
product that have the same defect under the warranty period, you could
ask for a replacement. I don't know if that is the case in your State.
If I were you, I'll make sure It WON'T FAIL when the warranty is about to
expire or thereafter (You know what I mean, wink!! Heh heh).

I agree with Ben. Dell Latitude and the IBM T Series are professional
grade Laptops. Dell Inspirions and IBM R Series (Basically the Entry
level laptops from anyone are pretty much meant to be disposable).

I charged $90 in town to replace bad Power Connectors on laptops. I fix
laptops for people as well as Computer Stores in the area.

Dewaine

waterfriendsfour wrote:

blueye1 · Member Joined: 28 Apr 2005 Posts: 1

Ok people..I may have an answer!. I had the same problem and I think I have fixed it. My Compaq 3000 had the same problem. The connection to the barrel of the power plug is a flimsy material that bends and soon does not make significant contact with the barrel or not at all. I used a compression coil spring to make more posative contact. It must fit VERY closely over the barrel but slide and have very light pressure..like a ball point pen spring. Cut off the spring so you just have a few coils left. Close the cut end so it will contact the barrel. Clean off the flat end of the spring with a file...it may be coated to prevent rust...also the cut end that will contact the barrel on the inside. Push the spring onto the barrel with the cut end that fits tight on the barrel so it will be farthest from the computer when the barrel is plugged in. The flat end of the spring should now make a better connection and the power curcuit should be what it needs to be. The spring should remain on the barrel plug if you made it tight enough at the cut end.VERY IMPORTANT: My computer uses the barrel end as the ground and the flimsy part of the computer connection that is fastened to the case is the ground connection. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK...I just fixed mine and it immediately started charging the battery...I thought the battery was bad. It also is showing it is on 'plug in power' and it would not do that before..it just charged the battery at a very slow rate because of the poor connection...in fact I would have to turn it off because the computer used power faster than the adaptor could charge the battery.

Matt · Guest

ikenfixit wrote:

kenseehart · Member Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 1

I have started a wiki for people with broken power jacks (and related power/charging issues) on their HP laptops.

There are links to other discussions on this issue, and even some talk about a possible class action suit!

http://www.seehart.com/MyHPPavilionHasABrokenJack

- Ken

atkulp · Contributor Joined: 18 May 2005 Posts: 5 Location: Iowa

I had a Pavilion XT118 a year ago. I bought it refurb (just under $1000) and within three months the power supply died. I bought a new power supply, only to have the power connector stop accepting power within another month. I called HP and to my surprise and relief it was still under warranty and they fixed it. Phew.

Then, last November or so I ended up upgrading to a Pavilion zd7188cl (another refurb) for about $1200. This was a great deal on a wide-screen, desktop-class notebook (3.2GHz, HT, 80GB HD, etc.). To my shock and horror the power supply went on the fritz three months later. I got a new power supply and all was fine. For a month. Then the power light on the notebook would sometimes blink off. I bought a multimeter and tested that the supply is fine. If I jiggled the power connector slightly it would come on again. Within a week it simply stopped working altogether. Even though the laptop was put into hibernate the last time I used it (and should have been at about 80% power), the next time I tried it to recover some documents, it was completely dead. I called HP like the last time. Somehow it wasn't under warranty. They want $600 to replace the mainboard. "No, it's not a common problem" they assure me. So I Google it and come across you. I could just scream. I haven't pursued it again at this point (still in denial, actually).

The laptop generally sits on a desk surface with little movement. No rough treatment, very gentle on the power connection. I had planned on writing a letter to a higher-up VP and bringing it to their attention, and possibly try to get something on Slashdot or The Register. I'm very upset about it and am assuming that any tech on the phone will follow the stated rules and won't give in. This needs to be addressed.

I would be interested in a group effort. Not sure that class action has much chance (how to get enough names?), but somehow I want justice. In the meantime I struggle with the issue of paying for authorized service or just getting it fixed somewhere. It seems that if I get it fixed somewhere else I can't complain to HP anymore as they would just say it's no longer their concern. AARRGGHH!!

Dewaine Chan · Guest

Have a detail log of the calls & Email correspondents to HP Tech Supports.
Have the repair shop gives you full description of the problem and repair
on the bill. Keep all of the above and if you do ended up filing a claim
against HP, you have the documents to back it up. Having a picture to
back it up is always nice.

Dewaine

atkulp wrote:

atkulp · Contributor Joined: 18 May 2005 Posts: 5 Location: Iowa

Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to do that.

atkulp · Contributor Joined: 18 May 2005 Posts: 5 Location: Iowa

evamen · Member Joined: 26 May 2005 Posts: 1

I had the power jack replaced by OK Computer Services in Boston based on a recommendation in this forum. The plug is now secure but the computer doesn't turn on. They said that the capacitor is shorted and that this can happen after wiggling the plug too many times (wires can get crossed-they said). They offered to find a dead board, swipe the capacitor and solder it onto my laptop. ($295 for any motherboard-related work.)

I highly suspect that they installed the adapter backwards and therefore shorted the board. I'm hoping someone can confirm my suspicions so that I can address this with the store.

Thank you!