# Bad Motherboard ?



## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

I know there are a lot of very knowledgeable computer wizards in Outbacker land so hope I describe this well enough to get help.

Laptop just went black on me. Power light stays on. Hooked up to desktop monitor, but nothing on screen. When powering the laptop on, the fan runs for a short time and nothing happens. A local computer shop checked it out for free and said it appeared to be a bad motherboard. They took out the hard drive, put in one of their memory cards and tried to boot from one of their disks, but nothing worked. They tried on battery and AC power. I have disassembled it completely (thank goodness for desktop to find disassembly instructions) and do not see anything that looks out of the ordinary, no dark places on boards, nothing loose, etc.

I can buy a used MB if I knew for sure that is the problem, so 
Q1 is: How can I verify that my problem is indeed the MB and 
Q2 is: is it wise to buy a used MB that may die in the near future also ?

I read where one member used a hard drive enclosure to transfer data files to another computer, then reformatted the hard drive and the laptop booted up. I don't have enough space on the old desktop to do that, but if it's a high probability that it would work, I have been considering buying an external HD to use for backup on both laptop and desktop.

Edit: Laptop is a Toshiba Satellite M35X-S109 and is just over 3 yr old.

Thanks for reading and helping.
Brent


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

Wolfpackers said:


> I read where one member used a hard drive enclosure to transfer data files to another computer


In cases where the laptop (or desktop) will not boot and you need to extract files from a working hard drive, you can buy an adaptor to connect the hard drive via USB to another computer. These adapters are available for the various types of desktop and laptop drives ... IDE, SATA, etc. For examples, go to www.amazon.com and search for "ide to usb" or "sata to usb". Note that these devices connect to a raw hard drive that has been removed from the computer ... there is no enclosure (though most include a power supply); they are ideal for temporary use to extract files from a hard drive.

Ed


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

A new laptop starts at around: $500.









I would buy an enclosure for the old laptop hard drive and use that as an external backup drive (I thinkg newegg.com sells the enclosures).


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

BE CAREFULL. IF a virus caused the crash you doing this may extract the virus to the other computer. do a virus scan on the hard drive first before copying anything or opening anything on another computer. in your case it may be hardware related but i just want to make mention of it.


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## NobleEagle (Jul 8, 2006)

What you describe sounds like a MB problem. I would test the hard drive, as stated earlier, scan it for viruses, and then hang onto it. I would then update the 3 yr old computer and then network the original hard drive to retieve the files. (You can probably install the old hard drive so you can copy the files to a network drive temporarily, then reinstall the original new drive and copy the files back). For the adapers you may want you can also check HERE.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Sayonara said:


> BE CAREFULL. IF a virus caused the crash you doing this may extract the virus to the other computer. do a virus scan on the hard drive first before copying anything or opening anything on another computer. in your case it may be hardware related but i just want to make mention of it.


Good Point!!!


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I think you'll be chasing problems and potentially spending money to fix things that might not be the real problem.

If you can afford to purchase a new laptop, I'd recommend going the route. Things are a LOT cheaper now then when you bought that laptop 3 years ago and are a lot faster.


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## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> I think you'll be chasing problems and potentially spending money to fix things that might not be the real problem.
> 
> If you can afford to purchase a new laptop, I'd recommend going the route. Things are a LOT cheaper now then when you bought that laptop 3 years ago and are a lot faster.


It was only $499 at Best Buy the day after Thanksgiving, so I'll probably have to spend more than that to get a good quality laptop. If I knew it was the MB, I'd invest 50-100 bucks on a used one from Ebay, but don't want to go that route only to find out it really isn't the MB.

Gotta do something before camping season tho.

Thanks for all the advice/replies/assistance.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

is there a warranty? if so, call the manufacturer. my parents had an issue similar to yours with their Dell and Dell sent a repair guy to their home.


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

Wolfpackers said:


> I know there are a lot of very knowledgeable computer wizards in Outbacker land so hope I describe this well enough to get help.
> 
> Laptop just went black on me. Power light stays on. Hooked up to desktop monitor, but nothing on screen. When powering the laptop on, the fan runs for a short time and nothing happens. A local computer shop checked it out for free and said it appeared to be a bad motherboard. They took out the hard drive, put in one of their memory cards and tried to boot from one of their disks, but nothing worked. They tried on battery and AC power. I have disassembled it completely (thank goodness for desktop to find disassembly instructions) and do not see anything that looks out of the ordinary, no dark places on boards, nothing loose, etc.
> 
> ...


The Drive enclosure I bought was from Tiger Direct. Here is one that would work http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=2782. I would say that it was the Mother Board unless your laptop has a seperate graphic board. With the Drive enclosure you can check out the drive to make sure it is working and if you did buy a new Laptop, you would have an extra external drive. If you could get a MB for $50-75, I would try it. On my laptop, it would start up and I could get to setup but it would not get past setup. I don't think that it would work for yours.

As far as a new one, there are some great units out their, but with Window Vista, you need one that has more horsepower than your old one to run the same, so a $500 one may not run as well as your old one running XP.

Good luck. I know how it feels to have a computer die on you.


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## HDOutbackers (Feb 28, 2008)

I fried my motherboard on an 18 month old Toshiba. My biggest problem was it was totally preventable. In using our laptop, we would set it down without shutting it all the way down on a soft surface like the ottoman or couch. The fan on the bottom of the laptop therefore could not get air to cool the unit down. It instead made it hotter and fried the motherboard.

The sypmtoms you discussed were similar. Mine would begin to boot up but shut down completely prior to getting through the whole process. It was over $500 to replace the motherboard. $500 more to repair the damaged to the LCD screen.

I opted to buy a new laptop instead and I always leave it sitting on a hard surface so the fan can work effectively. I also bought a laptop with a fan on the side, not the bottom of the unit.

I hope my sharing that story helps prevent others from frying their own computers.

T


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## Justman (Jul 22, 2006)

I'm with the others... Instead of spending $300+ on a new motherboard, just go out and buy another computer. Laptops are almost throw-away technology, meaning that when they die, it's usually more advisable to buy another one.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Any chance the same laptop is for sale on ebay? Might get a good deal and then you could simply swap the hard-drive and your back in business.


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## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

Sayonara said:


> Any chance the same laptop is for sale on ebay? Might get a good deal and then you could simply swap the hard-drive and your back in business.


There are some of the same model #, but they usually have some type of problem or don't offer a return within 7 days. Some say they don't work and describe exactly what mine did or say that the MB is bad. Even if the MB was good in it, is approx. 3 years the average lifespan and the used one I buy isn't likely to last another year?

Still evaluating the options.

I appreciate the input and responses as always.


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## timber (May 15, 2007)

LarryTheOutback said:


> I read where one member used a hard drive enclosure to transfer data files to another computer


In cases where the laptop (or desktop) will not boot and you need to extract files from a working hard drive, you can buy an adaptor to connect the hard drive via USB to another computer. These adapters are available for the various types of desktop and laptop drives ... IDE, SATA, etc. For examples, go to www.amazon.com and search for "ide to usb" or "sata to usb". Note that these devices connect to a raw hard drive that has been removed from the computer ... there is no enclosure (though most include a power supply); they are ideal for temporary use to extract files from a hard drive.

Ed
[/quote]

If it turns out you need to transfer files via this technology 'DriveWire' made by Apricorn is a solid system and it comes with reliable software. $29 - 30.00.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Funny thing, my Toshiba laptop just died too, though its back up and running now but I don' trust it.

I was able to get all the data off of mine. I purchased a Laptop Hard Drive Adapter from Cables To Go and then used a program that I downloaded/purchased called Restorer2000. Thought I had most everything backed up I felt better getting it all off the drive.

After that I was able to run a scan disk on that drive using the PC and it found and corrected the drive errors, i was able to boot up using it and then reformatted the drive and checked for errors again.


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## biga (Apr 17, 2006)

I've been in IT for a over 14 years. I don't like used motherboards. I have seen some work for years without problems, and I have seen them work for a few weeks and die. You just don't know what you are getting, and you don't get much of a warranty.

Here is how I would troubleshoot: Remove the battery, the hard drive, CD Drive, and any cards from the computer. Connect to AC power, and try to power on. You should get video, and probably a message about no operating system, or insert disk to continue. If you get no video, try connecting to a desktop monitor and booting. If you still have no video, then it is a problem in the laptop. If it will boot, add the HD, CD, cards, and battery back one at a time until it breaks again, or it will start working again with everything.

If the laptop is the problem, I would not try to fix it. It is probably the motherboard, but it could be any one of several electronic components inside the computer. You could spend a lot of money, and still have a broke laptop.

I would replace it one of two ways. You can buy a or a used new laptop and move on, or you can try to find a similar laptop, put your HD in it, and you will probably be able to work without any reinstalling, etc. Usually if you find a laptop that is a simillar, you can switch the hard drives without having to perform major work.


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

timber said:


> If it turns out you need to transfer files via this technology 'DriveWire' made by Apricorn is a solid system and it comes with reliable software. $29 - 30.00.


EZ Gig II (the software that comes with the DriveWire) is designed to "clone" a hard drive. Cloning generally works best when the two drives are identical. If you were replacing a bad hard drive with another than this is the way to go.

In this particular case, however, the laptop appears to be dead. The goal is to extract the users files from the hard drive for installation on another computer. That's why I suggested the USB adapter and others have suggested the enclosure (a USB adapter in a case).

Ed


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## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

biga said:


> Here is how I would troubleshoot: Remove the battery, the hard drive, CD Drive, and any cards from the computer. Connect to AC power, and try to power on. You should get video, and probably a message about no operating system, or insert disk to continue. If you get no video, try connecting to a desktop monitor and booting. If you still have no video, then it is a problem in the laptop.


I did the above and got nothing, so guess it's in the laptop/MB.









I'll watch ebay for a while to see if anything comes up that I'm willing to gamble on if the price is cheap enough. 
Glad my '98 Gateway desktop is still working....even tho it's slow, or I'd be dead in the water.

Thanks biga and all others who responded. As usual, I know I can count on the OB family for any kind of assistance and only hope I've been of help to others.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

tigerdirect has a HP laptop for $450 right now.

HP 15.4" Intel 1.60GHz, 1GB Laptop PC


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

thats interesting. i just noticed the email i got shows it for $449. the link shows it for $499. if your interested let me know and ill send you the reference code for the extra $50 off. Ill be ordering one tomorrow as an extra.


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## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

Update from OP:
I did get an enclosure for the laptop hard drive and now have access to those files. We need a laptop for camping season....for posting purposes of course..







. The desktop is old ('98, but with XP on it now), slow and seems it has to be re-booted several times a day for web browsers to work...DW uses IE and I use Firefox, just says it can't find website (any of 'em)...any ideas what's up with that?

For the new laptop, I'd appreciate feedback on what's best and what's fluff or isn't worth the extra money (like the electric awning







). Minimums I'm considering (and need to know if not enough) are 2GB of memory, 120GB hard drive, 15-17" widescreen.

Don't know the differences in processor technology...what's better...dual core, core 2 duo, core 2 quad or quad core and how do they differ?







I'd prefer whichever one will be problem-free and last the longest.

I would lean towards Dell or Gateway, but may consider another Toshiba. Also lean towards Intel processors, but not celeron as in the Toshiba that died.

Help me out here....need to purchase one in next two weeks before we head out west for a "few" weeks.

Thanks
Brent


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Wolfpackers said:


> I would lean towards Dell or Gateway, but may consider another Toshiba. Also lean towards Intel processors, but not celeron as in the Toshiba that died.


Personally, I'd go this order --> Lenovo Thinkpad (they bought this brand from IBM), then Dell, then HP. I'd stay clear of Gateway. These are my PERSONAL opinions...they do not express the opinions of my employer (yes...I have to say that)


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## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

Thanks Jim, very helpful info. A few more thoughts...

Old laptop drive is only 40GB and will likely be used only to backup files/pics on new laptop hard drive. With this in mind, is 120GB enough for programs/files for the foreseeable future...say 5 years?

Most all laptops I see come with Vista, but don't have 4GB of memory. Some are expandable to 4GB tho. If XP were available, do you recommend it over Vista ?

I'm seeing Quad Core on some desktops, but guess not in laptops yet. Any thoughts on AMD vs. Intel ?

I saw something on Dell's website about EVDO card. Is that something available internal to a laptop vs. going in the PCMCIA slot. Really wish to know more about how EVDO works...or what I have to do/pay to have it work.

I'll probably have to go with whatever I find at local stores...circuit city, best buy or office supply stores due to the timeframe I have to work with before trip out west. Oh well.
Brent


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The Dell 17" Inspiron 1720 has 2 internal hard drive bays so you can really jack the storage up easily. I added a 250 gig hard drive to DW for IPOD stuff and data back up.

For operating system I like some of the features of Vista but it is slow. If you can still get XP pro then get that version.


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

Whatever you order - try to avoid Windows Vista.

My new laptop has Vista - and it crashes and reboots of its own accord with regularity. Every other day I have to wait about 5 minutes for Microsoft to download the latest "patch" to their faulty Operating System (Vista), but the problems still continue.

And Vista is soooo huge - and it runs soooo slow - be sure to get as much RAM memory as your machine can handle. You will need every byte!

I'm thinking Mac next go-round - software be da#$ed!!!

Just my opinion.

Mike


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

Can it be booted from the CD using the original Windows XP disk (I imagine that's what you're running)?

Let me know and I can advise you from there.


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## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

raynardo said:


> Can it be booted from the CD using the original Windows XP disk (I imagine that's what you're running)?
> 
> Let me know and I can advise you from there.


I presume this was directed at me and the "dead" Toshiba. The only disk that came with the laptop is labeled as recovery, but includes all the pre-loaded software. Laptop will not boot from CD. I've removed the HD, memory and tried it with AC power/no battery and nothing. The only thing I haven't done yet is reformatting the HD, which I will do after transferring my data from the Toshiba's HD to the new laptop HD.

Thanks.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Scoutr2 said:


> I'm thinking Mac next go-round - software be da#$ed!!!


Mike, that's exactly what we did....except haven't said that about the system or the software since dumping M/S. I'v got all of the stuff I had before (Office, etc. ) PLUS ....and a system that doesn't seem to know the meaning of 'crash'







And, for $80, then got the HP fixed (sounds like the same issues as Wolfpackers is having) so now, in addition to LapTop #1 and an external backup harddrive, we also have a backup laptop








...but - no "back-up' needed, so Kathy now has her own


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

raynardo said:


> Can it be booted from the CD using the original Windows XP disk (I imagine that's what you're running)?
> 
> Let me know and I can advise you from there.


You seem knowledgeable enough, so I'm presuming you didn't try to boot it without the memory and/or hard drive, because that won't work.

The recovery disk should let you boot into the system.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Wolfpackers said:


> I'll probably have to go with whatever I find at local stores...circuit city, best buy or office supply stores due to the timeframe I have to work with before trip out west. Oh well.


While that is an easy way to buy...it will cost you more and you'll get less. IMHO


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## CTDOutback06 (Apr 16, 2007)

Vicki & Tim said:


> I fried my motherboard on an 18 month old Toshiba. My biggest problem was it was totally preventable. In using our laptop, we would set it down without shutting it all the way down on a soft surface like the ottoman or couch. The fan on the bottom of the laptop therefore could not get air to cool the unit down. It instead made it hotter and fried the motherboard.
> 
> The sypmtoms you discussed were similar. Mine would begin to boot up but shut down completely prior to getting through the whole process. It was over $500 to replace the motherboard. $500 more to repair the damaged to the LCD screen.
> 
> ...


 Underneath our laptop we have a USB cooling fan, it's about 3/4 of an inch thick and not quite as wide as the laptop. The brand name is Targus, it plugs into the USB port and runs off the laptop's power. It has two fans that keep the laptop cool. If we use the laptop when on the couch or chair we always keep it underneath the laptop to prevent such a thing.


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

Befoer anyone tells you "the MB is fried", be sure they are right. Most often, they are not:

Computer Shops Fail Test

Randy


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## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

Looking at pulling the trigger and purchasing this laptop so we'll be able to stay in touch, store digital photos, etc. on our upcoming trip out west. We like the 12 cell high capacity battery for longer life, 3GB RAM (can go to 4GB), 320GB hard drive. It has Vista Home Premium w/ SP1, so hope I like it.

I have Windows Office I can load for Outlook, Word and Excel. Should get me going for a while.

Any thoughts, pro or con ?

Thanks,
Brent

_Edit: can get ext warranty for 3 yr at $300. W/O the accidental handling coverage it is only $200. Really thinking that traveling with it and experience with the original laptop, this may be worthwhile to get one of the two plans. I typically never get extended warranties on anything, but maybe this is the one time to get it. At the least,I can get one battery replacement at the end of 3 yr.

Thoughts on that?_


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

while on the subject of laptops. I have a HP laptop but not impressed with screen resolution and yes it is set at maximum resolution. What should one look for in screen resolution when purchasing laptop? 
It came with Windows Vista and I am still poking my way around learning it.


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