Six common laptop problems and the cost of solving them

No matter how perfect modern technology is, acquiring it, together with it we acquire potential problems. The whole difference is how quickly we have to deal with them, and this, you must admit, depends on many indirect factors, starting with our attitude to the device and ending with the reliability and authority of the manufacturer’s brand. Smartphones, tablets and laptops have always been and remain in the high-risk group, which, by definition, are often operated in a variety of conditions and in unpredictable situations.

Spilled tea, water or coffee, a cat or a 3-year-old having fun with nothing to do, own carelessness, annoying accident, natural moral and physical wear - this list of risk factors that represent a potential danger to our laptop could be continued. We will focus on the most probable and frequently encountered problems that almost every laptop owner encounters from time to time, try to navigate with their most probable causes, options for elimination and numbers that this pleasure can cost us.

Problem 1. The laptop turns on, while the picture quality on the screen is noticeably reduced - there is a lack of clarity of the contours, red colors and shades prevail


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Possible reasons:
  • burned backlight;
  • problems with the motherboard;
  • failure of the inverter or inverter circuit.

In the first case, the backlight often fails due to problems in the power supply area or natural “wear”. The solution to the problem is to replace the backlight with a new one, which will require disassembling the matrix. The procedure is quite time-consuming and very difficult.
A possible cause of a burnout / failure to start the backlight may be a faulty motherboard that does not transmit a signal to the inverter or a faulty inverter loop.
One of the causes of image problems is the failure of the microcircuit or the inverter transistor leading to the inability to convert the voltage of the backlight. The inverter recovery procedure is complicated by a rather high voltage at its output, reaching 1500 volts, and it is far from always possible. In this case, you have to change the entire set of inverter + connector + piping to a new one.

The average cost of resolving these problems in a service center:
  • replacement of the backlight 3400 ... 3800 r;
  • motherboard repair 2200 ... 3500 r;
  • restoration of the inverter 2400 ... 2600 r;
  • repair of the inverter loop 1000 ... 2500 r;
  • replacement of the inverter 3300 ... 5200 p.

Problem 2. The laptop turns on, but the image flickers, is full of stripes or is distorted


image

Possible reasons:
  • video chip malfunction;
  • malfunction of video memory;
  • malfunction of the matrix, its plume or decoder;
  • motherboard or matrix connector problems.

If the problems with the loop are in most cases resolvable, then the defects in the video memory and the video chip will most often lead to their replacement or a serious enough expensive repair.
Initial testing of the laptop can be done by connecting it to the monitor. If the image defects persist, this will mean that the video system of the laptop under test encountered problems. Fortunately, this development of events is relatively rare. More often the cause of the black screen is problems at the contact point of the video chip with the motherboard, eliminated by soldering the contact.

The average cost of resolving these problems in a service center:
  • matrix repair 3200 ... 5500 r;
  • matrix replacement up to 6500 r;
  • restoration of a loop of a matrix 1200 ... 3300 r;
  • video system recovery up to 8500 p.

Problem 3. The power supply is functioning, the indicators light up, but the screen does not show signs of life


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A fairly common situation, causing the owners of the laptop pronounced nervous reflexes, accompanied by intense word division. It is not worth rushing to conclusions and mentally sending your friend on a well-deserved rest in advance. Carefully inspect the screen from different angles or turn to a bright light source. If the picture is barely visible, but there is then guided by the logic described in Problem 1. If the picture, did so, by definition, there is no, then ...

Possible causes:
  • problems with the matrix, the matrix connector for the cable or cable;
  • problems with the south or north bridge or video chip;
  • RAM problems
  • BIOS chip problems.

At home, in the absence of sufficient experience, ability and a special desire to contact the service center, you can try to conduct an initial diagnosis of the malfunction. For this purpose, again, you will need an external monitor. Connect the laptop to the DVI or VGA monitor ports. If after that a familiar picture is viewed on the monitor screen, then most likely there are problems with the matrix, the matrix connector for the cable, or the cable itself. Another way out of the situation is to replace the RAM line, which can also be the reason. If there is a free slot, try moving the ruler to a free place by shaking it first. It is not strange, but this method often works.



The average cost of resolving these problems in a service center:
  • matrix repair 3200 ... 6000 r;
  • repair of the motherboard 2000 ... 8000 r;
  • restoration of a loop of a matrix 1200 ... 3300 r;
  • BIOS flashing will cost 1200 ... 3600 r;
  • replacement of the RAM line 300 rubles (excluding the cost of RAM).

Problem 4. The laptop turns on, it works fine, but after a certain time it distorts the image (the so-called “artifacts”)


image

It is very likely that this is one of the least painful problems that is associated with overheating of the video chip. The medicine is a complete cleaning of the machine from dust and dirt. If our preliminary assessments of the problem have not paid off, in-depth diagnostics with testing of RAM and video systems will be required. In such cases, the problem can be resolved by replacing the line of RAM.
The average cost of resolving these problems in a service center:

  • matrix repair 3200 ... 5500 r;
  • cleaning the cooling system 1300 ... 1500 r;
  • replacement of video memory 2200 ... 4300 r;
  • video chip replacement up to 8500 r.

Problem 5. The laptop does not pay attention to you and refuses to turn on


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The most likely cause is a power failure, including a failed charger. One of the symptoms of a memory problem is the blinking of an indicator on its case, which indicates a short circuit inside the unit. In this case, one does not have to wait for the inclusion of equipment.

If testing an external memory device has shown its operability, the next likely “weak links" in the power supply circuit may become in the internal power supply. You can not independently identify the cause of the problem - a burned out controller, connector, capacitor of the power supply at home without experience and necessary equipment.

Another cause of the problem in some cases is sticking of the laptop cover.

Possible costs in case of detection of the described problem, including checking the operability of the external and internal power supplies, power connector, buttons on the laptop cover, will cost a total of, on average, from 1300 to 5100 r (depending on the degree of problems detected).

Problem 6. The battery does not charge.


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One of the reasons is a faulty external power supply that does not provide a charge to the battery. There may be problems at the level of the charging circuit on the motherboard.

The likely reason for this situation is improper battery operation, an incorrectly working battery charge controller, lithium batteries themselves, etc. Some measures for reanimating the battery can be tried using a specialized BIOS system program used to calibrate the laptop. The likely outcome is the replacement of substandard batteries.

When the cost of a new battery is, on average, 3,500 r, the costs of “resuscitation measures”, including repair of the charging circuit and repair of an external memory, can range from 3,500 to 5,200 r.

Of course, the list of possible reasons that caused the listed problems of your device is not limited to the listed options. About what to do if the owner of the laptop is overtaken by other common problems with firmware or hardware, we will touch on in our next articles under the heading “911 for laptop”.

Afterword from the iCover company:
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