So, I think I've recovered sufficiently in order to post this story of lappy DEATH.
I come back from lunch on Friday (I guess that's where my problem started... shouldn't have come back!!!), to find a student laptop awaiting my attention. It had a fake AV on it, and I needed to clean it. Fine. Simple.
I get working on it, and GEEZE!!! HOT!! Even the keys were getting warm.
So, I get the fake AV off the system. After moving it to a file rack to keep it cool enough to run. It had shut off on me twice.
I talk to the student, who gives me permission to take the back panel off and see what was up. I could hear the fan running, but I was hoping it was just a little dust build up I could take care of.
Now, yes, I know. Cracking the case is BAD MOJO. It's against our policy, and well, common sense. But dang it, I wanted to know why it was over heating, and the headache I had was preventing me from thinking clearly. Plus, if it was as simple as replacing the fan, I could do it as a side job, and make some money.
Well, of course, it was NOT as simple as taking the back cover off. Yes, I know, I should have stopped there. But, I just needed to remove another screw... and another.... and another....
There was a cable, later found out that it was the mic cable. I looked at it, though, hu. I should probably disconnect that from the mobo. Promptly forgot about it, and moved on.
Until it broke. Yes, broke.
Two parts of the cable went into the port that connected to the mobo. One just came out of the port, and the other snapped. THANKFULLY, our network admin could soder, and sodered everything back together, good as new. Lesson learned, I started putting the thing back together, vowing never to touch another laptop again.
THAT'S when I noticed the cable that connects the power button and the wifi button to mobo was looking... frayed.
I carefully put everything back together, and hit the power button. And hit it again, and again. I carefully took the keyboard cover assembly apart, and took it to the network admin. Apparently, no way to fix it. I started to shake.
I started researching the price of a replacement part. $60. I could handle that. So when my manager got back into the building, I filled her in on the new development, (she was there earlier for the first part), and showed her the broken part, and what Steven had said. I then showed her the website I found and offered to pay for the replacement part.
She TRIED to calm me down, and assured me that I wouldn't need to pay for the replacement, and that since it was the first and LAST time this would happen, that I wouldn't get in trouble. Well, didn't really help.
I had a miserable weekend. Started hydroplaning on the highway, and almost hit a car. Got another lecture from my mom about the depression, and generally worried all weekend about Monday.
Sunday night, barely slept. I would start thinking about it, what I did, what I should have done, what the big boss was going to say.
First thing Monday morning, I started calling parts stores to make sure that the part I was looking at had the attached cable to plug into the mobo. My stress level started to rise with each phone call as each of them said that it didn't.
Finally, I went to Ebay, and found what I needed.
Manager called down Big Boss for THE TALK. And, oddly enough, I didn't get into trouble. I didn't even get so much as a talking to.
Big boss laid down the rule that we aren't to crack cases for ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. Which I was cool with.
In the end, Big Boss and manager decided that, due to the liability reasons I ignored in the first place, that we would send the laptop off to HP to get both the keyboard plate assembly and the overheating issue fixed. That way, we were not the ones that fixed it, and couldn't be blamed in the future for it not working.
As it stands right now, the box arrived to send it to HP. It's packaged up and waiting for me to take it to our post office to get sent out tomorrow. Then, in 7-9 business days, the student will have a fully functional and cool laptop.
The end.
I come back from lunch on Friday (I guess that's where my problem started... shouldn't have come back!!!), to find a student laptop awaiting my attention. It had a fake AV on it, and I needed to clean it. Fine. Simple.
I get working on it, and GEEZE!!! HOT!! Even the keys were getting warm.
So, I get the fake AV off the system. After moving it to a file rack to keep it cool enough to run. It had shut off on me twice.
I talk to the student, who gives me permission to take the back panel off and see what was up. I could hear the fan running, but I was hoping it was just a little dust build up I could take care of.
Now, yes, I know. Cracking the case is BAD MOJO. It's against our policy, and well, common sense. But dang it, I wanted to know why it was over heating, and the headache I had was preventing me from thinking clearly. Plus, if it was as simple as replacing the fan, I could do it as a side job, and make some money.
Well, of course, it was NOT as simple as taking the back cover off. Yes, I know, I should have stopped there. But, I just needed to remove another screw... and another.... and another....
There was a cable, later found out that it was the mic cable. I looked at it, though, hu. I should probably disconnect that from the mobo. Promptly forgot about it, and moved on.
Until it broke. Yes, broke.
Two parts of the cable went into the port that connected to the mobo. One just came out of the port, and the other snapped. THANKFULLY, our network admin could soder, and sodered everything back together, good as new. Lesson learned, I started putting the thing back together, vowing never to touch another laptop again.
THAT'S when I noticed the cable that connects the power button and the wifi button to mobo was looking... frayed.
I carefully put everything back together, and hit the power button. And hit it again, and again. I carefully took the keyboard cover assembly apart, and took it to the network admin. Apparently, no way to fix it. I started to shake.
I started researching the price of a replacement part. $60. I could handle that. So when my manager got back into the building, I filled her in on the new development, (she was there earlier for the first part), and showed her the broken part, and what Steven had said. I then showed her the website I found and offered to pay for the replacement part.
She TRIED to calm me down, and assured me that I wouldn't need to pay for the replacement, and that since it was the first and LAST time this would happen, that I wouldn't get in trouble. Well, didn't really help.
I had a miserable weekend. Started hydroplaning on the highway, and almost hit a car. Got another lecture from my mom about the depression, and generally worried all weekend about Monday.
Sunday night, barely slept. I would start thinking about it, what I did, what I should have done, what the big boss was going to say.
First thing Monday morning, I started calling parts stores to make sure that the part I was looking at had the attached cable to plug into the mobo. My stress level started to rise with each phone call as each of them said that it didn't.
Finally, I went to Ebay, and found what I needed.
Manager called down Big Boss for THE TALK. And, oddly enough, I didn't get into trouble. I didn't even get so much as a talking to.
Big boss laid down the rule that we aren't to crack cases for ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. Which I was cool with.
In the end, Big Boss and manager decided that, due to the liability reasons I ignored in the first place, that we would send the laptop off to HP to get both the keyboard plate assembly and the overheating issue fixed. That way, we were not the ones that fixed it, and couldn't be blamed in the future for it not working.
As it stands right now, the box arrived to send it to HP. It's packaged up and waiting for me to take it to our post office to get sent out tomorrow. Then, in 7-9 business days, the student will have a fully functional and cool laptop.
The end.
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