Can my laptop be repaired or I just throw it in the bin

[arnprasad]

Hi all,

Not sure if I have asked this earlier..I have a Dell laptop from USA bought in 2018..It was high end at that time..1650 graphics..16GB ram..etc.

It was working well when my kids damaged its screen somehow. Of course they never accepted their role. This damage..guessing it was dropped on the floor..not only screwed the display...but its hinges also got damaged...Think wifi cable got cut...several bruises. So we just plugged the laptop to a monitor and it was working very well..no issues whatsoever..for Wifi issue..we just plugged a lan cable and used it more like a desktop.

given its hinges had broken..sometimes we did shift it from one room to another for whatever reason. So I reasoned that why dont I take it to a repair guy and have him remove the screen completely so that the bottom part becomes like a desktop and also hinges wont be an issue due to lack of screen.

So I took it to a known person who is an IT engineer and has been helping me with hardware for the past ten years. So there is this cable that runs from the bottom part of laptop to the screen, giving it data to display. Since we were trying to get rid of the screen...he removed that cable and removed the screen completely.

So we were left with the bottom part...which is what we wanted..however it would not turn on when connected to external display. He kept it for few days and said it cannot be repaired.

So I took to an authorized Dell laptop repair center and he too kept it for a month or two and said that there are certain Dell laptop models...when you remove that cable that connects the bottom portion to the display internally and turn it on..it shorts the mother board. Frankly didnt make sense to me...but I am no expert..so I asked him whether I have to throw it in the bin and he said yes...except I guess I can remove RAM Or storage ..one of those two.

Please let me know if this logic of dell authorised repair guy that removing that display cable screwed my laptop is true.

Also is it not possible to buy another motherboard? I mean if I am willing to spend say another 10K to replace motherboard...wouldnt I have a decent desktop to work with? Seems the 1650 graphics card is also soldered to the MOBO and hence not retrievable.

please let me know if anything can be done with my laptop.

As always many thanks in advance for all your help!!

Hopefully this gets answered here itself..is there a famous global computer related forum..like AVSForum for HTs?

 

[bornfi]

Does laptop switch on? Can you hear fan? Can you get display cable attached? What’s the exact model number?

 

[hifimaddy]

Hi all,

Not sure if I have asked this earlier..I have a Dell laptop from USA bought in 2018..It was high end at that time..1650 graphics..16GB ram..etc.

It was working well when my kids damaged its screen somehow. Of course they never accepted their role. This damage..guessing it was dropped on the floor..not only screwed the display...but its hinges also got damaged...Think wifi cable got cut...several bruises. So we just plugged the laptop to a monitor and it was working very well..no issues whatsoever..for Wifi issue..we just plugged a lan cable and used it more like a desktop.

given its hinges had broken..sometimes we did shift it from one room to another for whatever reason. So I reasoned that why dont I take it to a repair guy and have him remove the screen completely so that the bottom part becomes like a desktop and also hinges wont be an issue due to lack of screen.

So I took it to a known person who is an IT engineer and has been helping me with hardware for the past ten years. So there is this cable that runs from the bottom part of laptop to the screen, giving it data to display. Since we were trying to get rid of the screen...he removed that cable and removed the screen completely.

So we were left with the bottom part...which is what we wanted..however it would not turn on when connected to external display. He kept it for few days and said it cannot be repaired.

So I took to an authorized Dell laptop repair center and he too kept it for a month or two and said that there are certain Dell laptop models...when you remove that cable that connects the bottom portion to the display internally and turn it on..it shorts the mother board. Frankly didnt make sense to me...but I am no expert..so I asked him whether I have to throw it in the bin and he said yes...except I guess I can remove RAM Or storage ..one of those two.

Please let me know if this logic of dell authorised repair guy that removing that display cable screwed my laptop is true.

Also is it not possible to buy another motherboard? I mean if I am willing to spend say another 10K to replace motherboard...wouldnt I have a decent desktop to work with? Seems the 1650 graphics card is also soldered to the MOBO and hence not retrievable.

please let me know if anything can be done with my laptop.

As always many thanks in advance for all your help!!

Hopefully this gets answered here itself..is there a famous global computer related forum..like AVSForum for HTs?

The problem I am thinking is that when you removed the screen laptop, it detected no screen on the BIOS. I think you have to go to the bios and fix the screen option to an external monitor (for that we need to see the screen). Before you removed the screen, the laptop took your external monitor as a second screen or split screen options.

Your wifi card is damaged inside the laptop. You can buy a wifi card and plug it in. It's very easy. There are 2 small cables attached to the wifi card, if one is for wifi and the other for bluetooth. You can find the cable also online.

If you plan to throw away the laptop, then remove the hard drive; you can use it like an external drive. The fittings for that you can get it online or from the PC shops.

I am not an IT expert, but what I suggested is from my preview experiences.

 

[arnprasad]

Does laptop switch on? Can you hear fan? Can you get display cable attached? What’s the exact model number?

Yes, The Laptop Switches On. The Fan Can Be Heard. The Model No Is Inspiron 15

 

[arnprasad]

The problem I am thinking is that when you removed the screen laptop, it detected no screen on the BIOS. I think you have to go to the bios and fix the screen option to an external monitor (for that we need to see the screen). Before you removed the screen, the laptop took your external monitor as a second screen or split screen options.

Your wifi card is damaged inside the laptop. You can buy a wifi card and plug it in. It's very easy. There are 2 small cables attached to the wifi card, if one is for wifi and the other for bluetooth. You can find the cable also online.

If you plan to throw away the laptop, then remove the hard drive; you can use it like an external drive. The fittings for that you can get it online or from the PC shops.

I am not an IT expert, but what I suggested is from my preview experiences.

Its A Bit Too Technical For Me. I Plan To Take It To SP Road In Banglore Which Is The Equivalent Of Nehru Place In Delhi

 

[bornfi]

Yes, The Laptop Switches On. The Fan Can Be Heard. The Model No Is Inspiron 15

My suggestion would be get https://www.ebay.com/itm/1250612284...szrX0eGV96oAZ5dnYuRQmgAZLQ==|tkp:BFBMtrWA9s5k from US, if possible.

 

[sandeepmohan]

I don't think its worth sourcing a motherboard for a 6 year old laptop. You'll source the motherboard easily but you won't get a warranty for that so the reliability of that new mobo will be another question mark.

Yes it is true that the gpu is soldered onto the motherboard. Thats how it is for all laptops.
As for the wifi module, thats usually a case of the unit slipping out of the m2 socket. Remove and reseat and try. Should fix the issue.

To be honest, you'd be better off replacing the entire laptop. What you get to buy today will be faster and more efficient than any laptop from 2018. Don't bother with fancy integrated gpu's if its just regular compute use.

 

[arnprasad]

I don't think its worth sourcing a motherboard for a 6 year old laptop. You'll source the motherboard easily but you won't get a warranty for that so the reliability of that new mobo will be another question mark.

Yes it is true that the gpu is soldered onto the motherboard. Thats how it is for all laptops.
As for the wifi module, thats usually a case of the unit slipping out of the m2 socket. Remove and reseat and try. Should fix the issue.

To be honest, you'd be better off replacing the entire laptop. What you get to buy today will be faster and more efficient than any laptop from 2018. Don't bother with fancy integrated gpu's if its just regular compute use.

Thanks. I already have a two year old Acer laptop and looking at someone getting me a Lenovo laptop with 4070 for 850 USD deal at microcenter.

My point was more on whether I can get this repaired for 10K and if it lasts for another 3-4 years for basic tasks like browsing or MS office or playing multimedia...good enough. If I somehow manage to get a motherboard..is it possible to unsolder the GPU and solder it to the new one?

 

[keith_correa]

Doesn't the keyboard have a hotkey to enable/disable the external monitor? Tried that?

 

[Kannan]

I dont think your motherboard is kaput if it powers on with the fan blowing, means your CPU is functioning well. Why not first try and check if a replacement display works with it, will be cheaper than a new MB aswell. If that works, then you should have both internal and external displays working.

 

[arnprasad]

Let the folks at SP Road try all that you guys have mentioned. I am not that smart enough. At least your comments give me some hope

 

[sandeepmohan]

If I somehow manage to get a motherboard..is it possible to unsolder the GPU and solder it to the new one?

No.
The new motherboard will come with the gpu