DIY laptop controller repair

An ordinary laptop power supply is a very compact and rather powerful switching power supply.

In the event of a malfunction, many simply throw it away, and buy a universal power supply unit for laptops for replacement, the cost of which starts from 1000 rubles. But in most cases, you can fix such a block with your own hands.

It's about repairing a power supply from an ASUS laptop. It is also an AC / DC power adapter. Model ADP-90CD... Output voltage 19V, maximum load current 4.74A.

The power supply itself was working, which was clear from the presence of a green LED indication. The voltage at the output plug corresponded to that indicated on the label - 19V.

There was no break in the connecting wires or breakage of the plug. But when the power supply was connected to the laptop, the battery did not start charging, and the green indicator on its case went out and glowed at half the original brightness.

It was also heard that the unit beeps. It became clear that the switching power supply was trying to start, but for some reason, either an overload or short-circuit protection was triggered.

A few words about how you can open the case of such a power supply. It is no secret that it is made sealed, and the design itself does not imply disassembly. For this we need several tools.

We take a manual jigsaw or a canvas from it. It is better to take the canvas on metal with a fine tooth. The power supply itself is best clamped in a vice. If they are not there, then you can contrive and do without them.

Next, with a manual jigsaw, we cut into the depth of the body by 2-3 mm. in the middle of the body along the connecting seam. The cut must be done carefully. Overdoing it can damage the circuit board or electronics.

Then we take a flat screwdriver with a wide edge, insert it into the cut and unclip the halves of the case. There is no need to rush. When separating the halves of the case, a characteristic click should occur.

After the case of the power supply is opened, we remove the plastic dust with a brush or a brush, we take out the electronic filling.

To inspect the elements on the printed circuit board, you will need to remove the aluminum radiator bar. In my case, the bar was attached to other parts of the radiator with latches, and was also glued to the transformer with some kind of silicone sealant. I managed to separate the bar from the transformer with a sharp blade of a pocket knife.

The photo shows the electronic filling of our block.

The fault itself did not take long to look for. Even before opening the case, I was doing test turns. After a couple of connections to the 220V network, something crackled inside the block and the green indicator indicating work was completely extinguished.

When inspecting the case, a liquid electrolyte was found, which leaked into the gap between the network connector and the elements of the case. It became clear that the power supply unit ceased to function normally due to the fact that the electrolytic capacitor 120 uF * 420V “slammed” due to exceeding the operating voltage in the 220V power grid. Quite an ordinary and widespread malfunction.

When the capacitor was dismantled, its outer shell crumbled. Apparently it lost its properties due to prolonged heating.

The safety valve at the top of the housing is "swollen" - this is a sure sign of a defective condenser.

Here's another example with a faulty capacitor. This is a different laptop power adapter. Pay attention to the protective notch on the top of the condenser housing. It broke open from the pressure of the boiling electrolyte.

In most cases, bringing the PSU back to life is pretty easy. First you need to replace the main culprit of the breakdown.

At that time, I had two suitable capacitors at hand. I decided not to install a SAMWHA 82 uF * 450V capacitor, although it was ideally sized.

The fact is that its maximum operating temperature is +85 0 C. It is indicated on its body. And if you consider that the power supply case is compact and not ventilated, then the temperature inside it can be very high.

Long-term heating is very bad for the reliability of electrolytic capacitors. Therefore, I installed a Jamicon capacitor with a capacity of 68 μF * 450V, which is designed for operating temperatures up to 105 0 С.

It is worth considering that the capacity of the native capacitor is 120 uF, and the operating voltage is 420V. But I had to put in a capacitor with a smaller capacity.

In the process of repairing laptop power supplies, I encountered the fact that it is very difficult to find a replacement for the capacitor. And the point is not at all in the capacity or operating voltage, but in its dimensions.

Finding a suitable capacitor that would fit into a cramped case proved to be a daunting task. Therefore, it was decided to install a product of suitable size, albeit a smaller capacity. The main thing is that the capacitor itself is new, of high quality and with an operating voltage of at least 420

450V. As it turned out, even with such capacitors, the power supplies work properly.

When sealing a new electrolytic capacitor, you must strictly observe the polarity connect the pins! Typically, the PCB has a “+" or "–“. In addition, a minus can be marked with a black bold line or a mark in the form of a spot.

On the negative side of the capacitor case, there is a mark in the form of a strip with a minus sign “–“.

When turning on for the first time after repair, keep a distance from the power supply, because if the polarity of the connection is reversed, the capacitor will "pop" again. This can cause the electrolyte to get into the eyes. This is extremely dangerous! Wear protective goggles if possible.

And now I’ll tell you about the "rake" that it is better not to step on.

Before you change anything, you need to thoroughly clean the board and circuit elements from liquid electrolyte. This is not a pleasant occupation.

The fact is that when an electrolytic capacitor slams, the electrolyte inside it breaks out under great pressure in the form of splashes and steam. It, in turn, instantly condenses on the nearby parts, as well as on the elements of the aluminum radiator.

Since the installation of the elements is very tight, and the case itself is small, the electrolyte gets into the most inaccessible places.

Of course, you can cheat and not clean out all the electrolyte, but this is fraught with problems. The trick is that the electrolyte conducts electric current well. I was convinced of this from my own experience. And although I cleaned the power supply very carefully, I did not begin to solder the choke and clean the surface under it, I hurried.

As a result, after the power supply was assembled and connected to the mains, it worked properly. But after a minute or two, something crackled inside the case, and the power indicator went out.

After opening it, it turned out that the remaining electrolyte under the throttle closed the circuit. The fuse has blown because of this. T3.15A 250V on the input circuit 220V. In addition, in the place of the short circuit, everything was covered with soot, and the wire of the choke burned out, which connected its screen and the common wire on the printed circuit board.

The same choke. The burned-out wire was restored.

Soot from a short on the printed circuit board just below the choke.

As you can see, it jumped out decently.

The first time I replaced the fuse with a new one from a similar power supply. But when it burned down a second time, I decided to restore it. This is what the fuse on the board looks like.

And this is what he has inside.It can be easily disassembled, you just need to squeeze the latches at the bottom of the case and remove the cover.

To restore it, you need to remove the remnants of the burnt wire and the remnants of the insulating tube. Take a thin wire and solder it in place of your own. Then assemble the fuse.

Someone will say that this is a "bug". But I disagree. In the event of a short circuit, the thinnest wire in the circuit burns out. Sometimes even the copper tracks on the PCB will burn out. So in which case our self-made fuse will do its job. Of course, you can also do with a thin wire jumper by soldering it to the contact dimes on the board.

In some cases, in order to clean out all the electrolyte, it may be necessary to dismantle the cooling radiators, and with them active elements such as MOSFETs and dual diodes.

As you can see, liquid electrolyte can also remain under coil products, such as chokes. Even if it dries out, in the future, due to it, corrosion of the leads may begin. An illustrative example is in front of you. Due to electrolyte residues, one of the capacitor leads in the input filter completely corroded and fell off. This is one of the power adapters from the laptop that I have been repaired.

Let's go back to our power supply. After cleaning it from electrolyte residues and replacing the capacitor, it is necessary to check it without connecting it to a laptop. Measure the output voltage at the output plug. If everything is in order, then we assemble the power adapter.

I must say that this is a very time-consuming business. First.

The PSU cooling heatsink consists of multiple aluminum fins. Between themselves, they are fastened with latches, and are also glued with something resembling a silicone sealant. It can be removed with a pocket knife.

The upper radiator cover is fastened to the main part with latches.

The bottom plate of the heatsink is fixed to the PCB by soldering, usually in one or two places. A plastic insulating plate is placed between it and the PCB.

A few words about how to fasten the two halves of the body, which at the very beginning we sawed with a jigsaw.

In the simplest case, you can simply assemble the power supply and wrap the halves of the case with electrical tape. But this is not the best option.

I used hot melt glue to glue the two plastic halves together. Since I don't have a thermal gun, I cut off pieces of hot melt glue from the tube with a knife and put them in the grooves. After that, I took a hot air soldering station, set about 200 degrees

250 0 C. Then he heated pieces of hot melt glue with a hair dryer until they melted. I removed the excess glue with a toothpick and once again blew it with a hairdryer on the soldering station.

It is advisable not to overheat the plastic and generally avoid excessive heating of foreign parts. For me, for example, the plastic of the case began to brighten with strong heating.

Despite this, it turned out very soundly.

Now I will say a few words about other malfunctions.

In addition to such simple breakdowns as a slammed capacitor or an open in the connecting wires, there are also such as an open circuit in the choke output in the line filter circuit. Here is a photo.

It would seem that the matter is trifling, I rewound the coil and sealed it in place. But it takes a lot of time to find such a malfunction. It is not possible to detect it immediately.

Surely you have already noticed that large-sized elements, like the same electrolytic capacitor, filter chokes and some other parts, are smeared with something like a white sealant. It would seem, why is it needed? And now it is clear that with its help large parts are fixed, which can fall off from shaking and vibrations, like this very choke, which is shown in the photo.

By the way, initially it was not securely fixed. Chatted - chatted, and fell off, taking the life of another power supply from the laptop.

I suspect that thousands of compact and rather powerful power supplies are sent to the landfill from such banal breakdowns!

For a radio amateur, such a pulsed power supply with an output voltage of 19 - 20 volts and a load current of 3-4 amperes is just a godsend! Not only is it very compact, but also quite powerful. Typically, the wattage of power adapters is 40

Unfortunately, in case of more serious malfunctions, such as failure of electronic components on a printed circuit board, repair is complicated by the fact that it is rather difficult to find a replacement for the same PWM controller microcircuit.

It is not even possible to find a datasheet for a specific microcircuit. Among other things, the repair is complicated by the abundance of SMD components, the marking of which is either difficult to read or it is impossible to purchase a replacement element.

It is worth noting that the overwhelming majority of laptop power adapters are made of very high quality. This can be seen at least by the presence of winding parts and chokes that are installed in the network filter circuit. It suppresses electromagnetic interference. In some low-quality power supplies from stationary PCs, such elements may be absent altogether.

You can fix most common laptop problems yourself. A collection of articles-guides on electronics repair will help to eliminate various breakdowns and solve a number of problems without contacting a service center.

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Any technique tends to become outdated and break down. And the more complex it is, the more often it will demand attention to itself. Unfortunately, laptops are no exception ...

• clogging of the cooling system with household waste and (as a result) overheating of the processor;
• mechanical damage to the motherboards and LCD matrices of the monitor as a result of drops or sudden changes in voltage in the network (if the laptop is used as a stationary working PC powered from an outlet);
• chafing or burnout of loops of the keyboard, touchpad and monitor;
• the ingress of liquids into the laptop (as a result of a short circuit, anything can burn out);
• failure of any components (hard drive, RAM, WiFi module, etc.).

As you can see, there can be quite a few reasons for repair. In addition, the need to open the laptop may also be caused by the desire to make a planned upgrade with the addition of, for example, a new RAM strip or a more powerful processor.

To disassemble a laptop at home, we need at least two screwdrivers: a small Phillips screwdriver for unscrewing the screws securing the case and parts, and a thin flat one for neatly opening the case.

Step 1. It is worth starting disassembling any laptop by disconnecting it from the network, turning it over and disconnecting the battery. So, firstly, we will completely de-energize the device (accordingly, we will avoid a short circuit), and secondly, we will open access to the case locks (in some models, a pair of case screws may be hidden under the battery). To remove the battery, you usually need to simultaneously pull the floating clips in different directions and pull the battery towards you.

Step 2. Next, we carefully study the location of the screws that hold the case and keyboard. Usually the latter are marked with the inscription "kbd" and there are from three to seven of them.The rest of the screws (which are not marked in any way) will be body screws and they will need to be unscrewed in order to disassemble the laptop.

At this stage, the main thing is to remember which screw and where it was, since they come in different lengths and with different thread runs! For this, a special plastic sorter with several compartments would be ideal. However, the cogs can be easily arranged in groups and on an ordinary white sheet of A4 paper. The main thing is that you remember where each of them comes from!

Step 3. When everything is unscrewed, we take a flat screwdriver with a thin sting in our hands and find a place where you can insert it into the gap between the bottom and top covers of the laptop case. We do this carefully so as not to gouge the plastic. When the place is found, push the screwdriver slightly up and down alternately to create a lever. As a rule, after pressing in the right direction, the plastic clips inside are released and the case will begin to open.

In the same way, we go through the entire perimeter of the case with a screwdriver. As a result, we should get a neatly removed undamaged bottom cover and access to the motherboard and laptop parts.

In order not to damage the cover, you need to remember one single rule: "DO NOT USE HIGH FORCE when pushing the screwdriver."

Step 4. After removing all large parts, carefully inspect the motherboard and unscrew the screws that remained unscrewed. At the same time, you do not need to unscrew the screws of the heatsink that cools the processor (unless you are going to change it or lubricate it with new thermal paste).

Step 5. When everything is unscrewed, the last step remains - disconnect the loops.

In our experimental netbook, after unscrewing all the screws that held the motherboard, the only "fasteners" were the cables:

• monitor cable;
• sound loop;
• touchpad loop;
• keyboard loop.

The easiest way is to turn off the audio and video loops. They are simply pulled out of the socket with a flat screwdriver (pulling by the wires is undesirable). Gently pry on alternately on both sides and slowly pull it out.

The situation with the touchpad loop is a little more complicated. It is pressed by a plug that needs to be pulled out. However, this plug has two small tendrils on the sides that hold it in position. So as not to break these antennae, first slightly drown them, and only then pull them out.

The last step is to disable the keyboard. In principle, this can be done without disassembling the entire laptop. It is enough just to unscrew the screws marked "kbd" and the keyboard can already be pulled out. First, you need to pry it off with a thin screwdriver from above. Then, when the top edge is free, slightly pull the keyboard upward until the bottom edge pops out of the tabs. Now, everything is held only by the cable, which must be disconnected from the motherboard:

The fastening of the keyboard cable may be different on different laptops. These can be plugs (as described in the case of the touchpad), pressure plates or simple plugs. In order to properly disconnect and not break, always use a search query such as "how to remove the keyboard on a laptop (your model)".

In the case of the Samsung N145 netbook, we are dealing with a tricky clamping mechanism that is very similar to a regular plug. To open this mechanism, you just need to pull it up, after which the cable will be released and we can pull it out.

When the cover is safely removed, you can take a closer look at the internal structure of the laptop:

Inside, the following components will definitely be present:

• motherboard to which all parts are attached;
• hard drive (usually 2.5-inch SATA or SSD);
• one or several strips of RAM (in modern systems, most often DDR3 of a reduced form factor);
• a processor with (most often) an air cooling system under a copper radiator;
• speakers.

Optionally may also be present:

• video card (usually in laptops of middle and higher price categories);
• WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and / or infrared module for wireless connection of peripherals and devices;
• various expansion cards, such as card readers, additional USB 3.0 or FireWire ports, etc.

Already at this stage of disassembly, we have access to almost all components that can be replaced, so we can no longer disassemble. Just change the part that requires it and you can collect everything as it was.

Before disassembling the laptop completely, please note that in some models, special revision holes may be provided on the back of the case to access components such as RAM, hard drive, expansion ports, etc. These openings are usually covered with a small cover that attaches to the case with just one screw and allows easy access to the part without having to open the entire case.

The memory card itself can be held in laptops either using a special clamping bar (which needs to be pushed aside), or (as in our case) due to two clamping metal plates on the sides. The latter are rigidly fixed, but can slightly bend away from the memory bar. Accordingly, to release it, you must simultaneously squeeze out both pressure plates. The board is inserted back with light pressure until the latches click.

The BIOS battery can be of interest if you begin to notice that your laptop does not start up the first time or even stops loading beyond the startup black screen. In this case, it may well be that the problem is in a dead battery that needs to be replaced.

Alas, replacing the BIOS battery in a laptop is much more troublesome than in a regular PC, since it is not connected directly to a special socket, but through an adapter. The easiest, but also the most expensive way is to buy a similar fully assembled battery with an adapter and an adhesive part to fix it on the motherboard. But there is also a more budgetary solution.

If there is no ready-made battery or it is indecently expensive, you can make it yourself. To do this, remove the old one and free it from the black insulation to gain access to the wiring. Next, take a new battery of the same type and attach the removed wiring to it (red is usually a plus, and black is a minus).

To keep the wires and to insulate the battery itself, it is best to place the resulting structure in a heat-shrink tube of a suitable diameter. So we get an almost perfect adhesion of contacts without soldering and an appearance, almost like in the original. It is easiest to glue the resulting structure to its rightful place on thin double-sided tape.

We take a close look at our motherboard for the screws that still hold it in place. Two of them are found on the hard drive brackets. We unscrew them and carefully take out the hard drive itself:

In laptops, hard drives are usually attached to the motherboard using a special "basket", which is fixed to the case with four screws, and connected to the motherboard using a special ribbon cable. To, for example, replace the hard drive with a new one (more productive or capacious), you just need to disconnect (again carefully) the cable plug from the old one, after which, when the old hard drive is already in our hands, remove it from the "basket" and replace on new.

Another screw that might prevent the motherboard from being removed can be located on the WiFi wireless module. Even if the retaining screw is not there, then this module will still have to be disconnected, since two wires go from it to the antenna, which is located in the display case.

When assembling, we repeat all our actions in reverse order.This is where the photos that you took during disassembly (if you took them) and correctly sorted screws can come in handy. When you put on the case cover, do not rush to immediately screw it on. Tighten only the screws holding the keyboard and try to start the laptop.

If the operating system boots, then try turning on the regular Notepad and test the keyboard's operation by typing all the letters on it one by one. And only if everything works as it should, you can turn off the laptop and tighten the rest of the screws. Congratulations on your successful build!

As you can see, everyone can disassemble, replace the part and reassemble their laptop!
If you work carefully and thoughtfully, then everything will work out for you!

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So the fermentation ended ... the mash turned into a wash. Now it is necessary to distill the mash and separate the alcohol from other substances.

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When building any circuits (transmitter, receiver, metal detector, etc.) for radio amateurs, it is necessary to make a coil. In foreign circuits, wire sizes (and not only wires, but also pipes, rods, etc.) are often found in obscure units in SWG, AWG, BWG, In.

To convert readings to more familiar millimeters for us, you can use the tables below:

A failed laptop does not always need to be taken to a workshop. Some minor faults can be repaired by yourself, and the professionals will advise what you should pay attention to.

Laptops are increasingly outperforming conventional PCs. They are so popular due to the fact that the whole computer with all the peripherals and the battery is housed in a compact case. However, the laptop's high degree of integration makes it more prone to crashes and makes repairs difficult.

The situation is aggravated by the trend of creating thinner and lighter laptops: instead of standard elements, special or soldered to the motherboard components are used, the screws loved by repairmen are replaced with glue, and the lightest design is rarely durable. That is why many laptop owners do not dare to repair their devices on their own. Considering the significant costs and significant repair time performed by the manufacturer's service department, you will often think about purchasing a new device.

In this case, many faults can be eliminated independently or contact one of the many workshops that can be found in any city via the Internet. If a workshop has few negative reviews, it might be worth checking out its website. If the conditions suit you, then it makes sense to call the foreman or come to the office yourself: it is easier to explain the essence of the malfunction in personal communication, when you have the opportunity to see the interlocutor.

The loyalty of the workshop to the customer is evidenced by free diagnostics or provision of preliminary cost estimates. If the workshop takes payment for them, then it, at least, should be taken into account in the subsequent calculation of repair work. We visited the Zeklink workshop in Munich, looked at the work of professionals and now reveal the best tips for home repairs.

Typical faults, diagnostic methods and chances of repair are listed in the table above.If, for example, your device does not work at all - there is no image, the cooler does not make noise, and the LEDs do not light up, the reason may be a faulty power button or problems with the power supply system (battery / connector). Whether the problem can be solved at home or whether you have to carry the laptop to the workshop depends on the cause of the problem.

The tasks facing the workshop are very diverse, from refurbishing a five-year-old retailer-branded laptop that a user has customized and still wants to use, to a near-new MacBook Pro that has been treated to a latte. and which the owner needs in the shortest possible time.

The manufacturer's service department is often slow to act, and the warranty may not work. “The most common failures are hard drives, displays and hinges,” says Padrek McGrath, owner of the Zeklink workshop. Nevertheless, some people come to the workshops, for example, because of a faulty battery, which is very easy to replace yourself.

Finding the right service workshop

The advantage of a workshop located in your area is that you get an immediate picture of it, and the technician can directly inspect the device in a personal conversation and determine the malfunction. In addition, you do not have to pay for shipping and the repair time is reduced.

If the conditions are attractive, the consultation was carried out at the right level and there are few negative reviews on the Internet (treat them with caution, such reviews can be left by competitors), then why not place an order. If your hard drive contains sensitive or important data, talk with a workshop technician whether you should back up yourself or remove and save the drive if the problem is not with the drive.

Michael Tucempski, Chief Technology Officer at Zeklink, explains that there is a huge difference between the propensity of laptops to malfunction and their repairability: “Business devices such as Lenovo ThinkPad, Dell Latitude and HP EliteBook, as well as Apple MacBook Pro released before 2015 years, are durable, maintainable and have established channels for the supply of spare parts. "

On the other hand, there are problems with a whole series of devices: for example, the Asus UX31, which has excellent performance, is very thin and prone to various malfunctions. Also, Lenovo laptops with new flat connectors (as opposed to standard round connectors) and Samsung X900, which often fail display hinges, often come to workshops.

Any laptop that ends up in Zeklink is logged with a precise description of the problem. Let's consider a typical problem of a four-year-old laptop: the cooler is constantly working, but the system "slows down" and hangs and reboots when performing resource-intensive tasks. It is likely that the cooler is clogged. Cleaning it is similar to a cardiac surgery, as it requires completely disassembling and reassembling the internal mechanisms.

When a computer lands on the desk of Chief Technical Officer Michael Tucempski, he starts in much the same way as a layman. However, he has fifteen years of rich experience behind him and thousands of refurbished laptops. In addition, he has a large arsenal of tools and measuring devices on his "workbench". The workplace is the first thing to pay attention to when carrying out repairs at home: the surface must be free of dust (no cloth tablecloths) and well lit.

It is recommended that you touch the radiator, window handles or similar objects several times before and during repairs to avoid damaging the electronics from static electricity.Along with the appropriate set of tools (Phillips screwdrivers of various sizes, guitar pick or flat plastic spatula), a small amount of thermal paste is also required.

Determining the method and sequence of dismantling, a professional relies on his own experience, which you, as an amateur, do not have. Therefore, before starting the repair, it is necessary to collect as much information as possible. There are video tutorials available on YouTube for repairing a wide variety of laptop types, which can be found for model name and disassembly. If there are no instructions, approach the repair with special care: to dismantle the case, remove the bottom cover and the battery, remove all visible screws that hold them in place.

Locate the screws under the rubber pads (eg support feet). Padrek McGrath recommends that you remove all parts together with the screws that secure them, and place them on the work surface separately from each other, as well as record the removal sequence.

Michael Tucempski is forced to correct again and again such amateurish mistakes as a result of an unsuccessful attempt to open the device, such as deformed screws: even if the screwdriver is only slightly larger than the slot, it easily twists and destroys the screw head.

In such a case, the professional tries several methods in sequence: a special tool for unscrewing the screws, soldering the second head, and finally drilling out the screw. Since the screws in laptops are tiny, this is just a piece of jewelry. To prevent this from happening, Tuchempsky advises: use a suitable screwdriver and never a screwdriver. Also, do not press hard: rotation requires a gentle dose of force.

Often, along with the screws, the housing elements are additionally held by latches. An experienced specialist will quickly figure out which of them he should squeeze out first, and what kind of effort they can withstand without collapsing, while the amateur is left to act very slowly and carefully. It often requires inserting, for example, a credit card between the latches that have already been squeezed out in order to prevent them from snapping into place during further dismantling of the case.

Damage caused by liquids leaves traces of corrosion that can be removed by workshop technicians in some cases (depending on material)

Depending on the laptop model, you need to remove either the bottom or the keyboard together with the surrounding panel. When removing the keyboard, there is the following danger: after unscrewing the screws and unscrewing the latches fixed with the screws, some customers of the Zeklink workshop remove the keyboard too quickly and damage the ribbon connecting it to the motherboard.

So, after the keyboard fasteners are released, it must be carefully lifted, then the position of the cable is determined and properly removed from the connector. It has either a latch that must be pushed upward from the cable, or a connector along the cable. In this case, remove the ribbon cable from the socket using flat tweezers. Similar actions should be performed with respect to the touchpad cable.

In order to gain access to a clogged fan, it must be removed from the motherboard. In some laptops, it is located on the inaccessible side of the motherboard, as a result of which it must first be removed. After that, the heatsink can be easily (and carefully!) Unscrewed and removed from the CPU and GPU. To remove old thermal paste, the professional also turns to the usual home remedies: cotton pads, moistened with pure alcohol, if necessary. If the heatsink is really dirty, you can see a fringe of dust that lays between the fan and the cooling fins.

In most cases, they can be accessed by opening the heatsink housing. It is good if the case is connected with screws; it is bad if rivets or glue are used: in this case, you will have to make a little effort to remove it for subsequent cleaning of the dust "plug" with tweezers and blowing the plate using a can of compressed air or a hand-held vacuum cleaner. Then the fan housing must be glued back, depending on the material, using instant or two-component glue.

Anyone who was able to overcome all the steps described will easily cope with the assembly. In this case, one part is again attached to the other in the reverse order.
After each step, non-professionals must make sure that there are no screws or loose ends of the cables, otherwise they will face unpleasant surprises after the repair is completed. When installing the heatsink, apply a small amount of thermal paste to the CPU and GPU (if necessary). It will be evenly distributed when pressed during installation.

Cleaning a clogged fan is indeed important and costly, but it is not the only problem. The most common "real" defects in the practice of the Zeklink workshop include malfunctions of hard drives - from a few bad sectors to complete unusability as a result of the so-called "head crash". Michael Tucempski primarily captures an image from a still working hard drive. This practice before doing any home repair work is also a good idea; it is implemented using a program to create an image.

For standard devices and business notebooks, replacing the hard drive is a breeze, as in most cases the storage medium is located under a removable cover. But in ultra- and chromebooks with a specially fitted SSD-drive or a soldered eMMC-drive, you need to install either an original spare part from the manufacturer, or even replace the entire motherboard.

Repairing mechanical damage is a difficult task. Most often, professionals are faced with broken displays or broken display hinges. Defective panels can be replaced with replacement parts that professional repairmen purchase from eBay, other online retailers, or directly from Chinese manufacturers. The biggest challenge, however, is finding a panel that is exactly the right fit for a given model.

In general, the work carried out on the laptop display is rather difficult, since many elements are located in the extremely small space of the thin cover - for example, fasteners, cables, backlighting elements and wireless transmitters. First of all, if the display is located behind a glass plate, dust should not get between them, as otherwise it will cause damage in the future. If this breaks the flat display cable to the motherboard, in most cases no help is possible as it is extremely rare to find a replacement cable.

Bottom line: Working with the display is best done in a workshop. The same goes for a common and misdiagnosed problem: faulty display hinges. The hinges are made of metal and will not break, however they often break from the soft plastic base plate to which they are attached with multiple screws. The specialists of the Zeklink workshop re-glue the screw threads to the plastic using a high-strength two-component adhesive, then install the hinge and, after tightening the screws, fix them with glue.

After each repair, Michael Tucempski turns on the computer and checks all the hardware. If, for example, the sound / headphones, USB ports, or hardware buttons are not working, they are probably not properly connected. It happened in a workshop or at home - it doesn't matter, everything should start over.For this, there is one last piece of advice from a professional: if you can't get ahead in your work, you need to postpone it and continue the next day with a fresh mind.

PHOTO: Juliane Weber / CHIP Studios; CHIP (2); Juliane Weber / CHIP Studios (2); Zeklink