Not booting but how would you handle the situation?

[sorcerer]

A customer brought a laptop in, an Acer Aspire E1-571 running Windows 8 and with an Intel Core i3 2328M CPU, Intel HD Graphics 3000, 4GB RAM and a Seagate Momentus 500GB HDD.

The complaint was that it was running very slowly.

I booted it to get a feel for what I was dealing with and see what programs she had on it etc., etc. I'd already had the conversation with her that if the drive was faulty it would be best to replace it with an SSD and she agreed.

The drive didn't show any SMART errors but response times were very low so I decided to go the SSD route, so I went to buy one and successfully cloned the installation onto it.

I didn't have any other work in so decided to strip it down and check that the airways were clear, that the fan was free-running and to put some new thermal paste on as the last lot had dried and gone crumbly.

I rebuilt it all using the new SSD, pressed the power button and it doesn't boot!

The battery and power LEDs illuminate and the fan spins for a couple of seconds then stops, but absolutely nothing else happens, no BIOS beeps, no noises, nothing on screen at all - not even the screen backlight.

I've stripped it down and rebuilt again, double-checking all connectors and ribbon cables and everything looks to be as it should be, but still the same result.

I don't have access to big and fancy machinery or test gear and I don't work in a shop where I could pull something off the shelf and test by substitution - I'm just a one-man band working part-time out of my little spare bedroom, so I'd appreciate any suggestions for what else I can do to find the fault.

My main worry is that she's going to think that I did something wrong and believe me, if I had, I would own up to it straight away, but I'm certain I didn't, so I'd also be grateful for pointers on handling the customer as this is the very first time this has happened to me.

 

[carmen617]

Did you try putting the old drive back in and seeing if it boots with that?

 

[sorcerer]

Did you try putting the old drive back in and seeing if it boots with that?

Yes I did, but no change, still only the LEDs and the fan working - absolutely no display, beeps or anything else.

Thanks for your reply though.

 

[Mick]

Can you boot it from a Win PE or Linux disk? Starting to sound like hardware...

 

[HCHTech]

Uh oh. As I read your post, I could hear the conclusion coming - I would just cut to the case and start work on refurbing a recent laptop from your cast off pile to replace it. You were the last one to touch it, so in their mind, it's your fault. Best to just bite the bullet and offer a replacement. Explain what happened and they will probably respect you and refer others to you because of your magnanimous gesture.

 

[sorcerer]

Can you boot it from a Win PE or Linux disk? Starting to sound like hardware...

Thanks for your reply Mick. No, it won't boot at all with anything like that.

I tried a Linux Mint Live CD and also a Windows 10 (and Win 7) iso through the USB ports from my Zalman but no joy with anything.

It does sound like motherboard or processor but I don't know how to conclusively test for which one - if any.

But how do you (or perhaps more properly, how should I) deal with the "Well it was working when I dropped it off but now it's completely broken and does nothing at all" scenario?

 

[sorcerer]

Uh oh. As I read your post, I could hear the conclusion coming - I would just cut to the case and start work on refurbing a recent laptop from your cast off pile to replace it. You were the last one to touch it, so in their mind, it's your fault. Best to just bite the bullet and offer a replacement. Explain what happened and they will probably respect you and refer others to you because of your magnanimous gesture.

Trouble is, I don't have a cast-off pile. I've either repaired and returned or they've been about 10 or 12 years old, running XP, and been beyond economic repair so I've already taken them to the recycling centre.

I do hear what you're saying though, looks like I'll have to try to get a replacement from somewhere, so thanks for your input HCH.

To that end, can anyone put a valuation on what this machine would be worth? If I look on eBay for a replacement, how much should I be looking to spend - or how much cash should I offer the customer in case she wants to take the opportunity to upgrade?

 

[Diggs]

About the only two things that act like this are a RAM problem and the motherboard. Pull the RAM stick (if possible) and boot on a single stick (or no sticks) and see what it does.

I'm assuming since you were inside you pulled the CMOS battery and tried to reset?

 

[MichaelBits]

Pull the ram, power it on, and see if you can get a memory error.
Also, you can try.... Pull the BIOS battery and try and reset the BIOS.

Hope you learned your lesson... No good deed goes unpunished.

I didn't have any other work in so decided to strip it down and check that the airways were clear, that the fan was free-running and to put some new thermal paste on as the last lot had dried and gone crumbly.

This goes primarily for older laptops... but I won't take apart an older laptop unless it's needed to replace a part or correct something. Older laptops too often have one thing that's about to go and opening it up is what will send it over.

 

[Mick]

But how do you (or perhaps more properly, how should I) deal with the "Well it was working when I dropped it off but now it's completely broken and does nothing at all" scenario?

I'm afraid I have to agree with @HCHTech on this one. You were the last one to touch it, so it's going to be your fault. Pretty unfair, considering you were only trying to do her a bit of a favour, but that's life. As to the value: An old laptop with Win 8 that won't even boot? Well - just ask yourself; if you were offered that for nothing, would you want it? You could strip it down for parts like the RAM and so on, but that's about all it's worth. If it was in full working order, you could maybe get fifty - sixty quid for it, absolute tops. As I said, harsh.

Edit: On the plus side, at least you've got all her precious files and photos and stuff. Losing those seems to p1ss people off more than losing the actual machine itself.

 

[sorcerer]

@Diggs - Yes, changed CMOS battery and tried booting with all, one at a time, and no RAM, none of which did anything to change the situation. Still not even the screen backlight, no beeps, etc., etc.

@MichaelBits - Same as above

@Mick - Fair enough, cheers mate.

Thanks for your replies folks.

 

[alexsmith2709]

Have you tried without the battery inserted, just off the power adapter? I've done this and kicked a machine back into life before

 

[sorcerer]

Have you tried without the battery inserted, just off the power adapter? I've done this and kicked a machine back into life before

Thanks Alex but yes, I have, and no joy I'm afraid.

 

[alexsmith2709]

I guess the motherboard is borked then. I hate dealing with this type of issue when customers bring it in like this as i cant give a straight answer of what is wrong, let alone in your situation. As you are UK based look at https://www.elf.co.uk for refurb models as a replacement or i did a quick search on ebay and saw some apparently working motherboards. Maybe worth a look and should be cheaper than a new machine and your customer may never know!
Sorry i couldnt help more

 

[backwoodsman]

Reseat the CPU. When you regooped the heatsink, any bit of microscopic dust or corrosion or whatever may have worked its way into one of the contacts enough to mess things up.

 

[sorcerer]

Cheers Alex, and no worries mate. I'm always grateful for any help

 

[sorcerer]

Reseat the CPU. When you regooped the heatsink, any bit of microscopic dust or corrosion or whatever may have worked its way into one of the contacts enough to mess things up.

A good call my friend and I'm grateful to you for it, but already done and no improvement.

 

[JoelM]

I agree with the others. Even though you didn't mean to it is because of something you did. Not even necessarily a mistake on your part just something that happened. Perhaps a trace that was on the edge that cracked.
Check ebay and see what you can get that matches what she had and move on.

 

[Porthos]

This goes primarily for older laptops... but I won't take apart an older laptop unless it's needed to replace a part or correct something. Older laptops too often have one thing that's about to go and opening it up is what will send it over.

This. I will also only take apart only what is needed. I refuse laptops that you have to tear them down to remove the board or processor.

 

[Markverhyden]

No good deed goes unpunished. I only do the work that I feel is necessary, especially on old machines that "run slow". That symptom is not always a indication of a HD problem. Especially on an old retail machine like the one mentioned.

I'd just tell the customer that it died on the operating room table. And figure out how to go from there.