Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

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DeltaV
Posts: 2245
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:05 am

Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by DeltaV »

No, it's not what you think.

My 7 year old notebook suddenly froze upon power-up, totally black screen (verified with flashlight reflection substituted for backlight), no Power-On Self-Test (POST) or boot, minor noises indicating CD/DVD access attempt, fan running, but nothing further, no BIOS error beeps or visuals.

Searched web, found a variety of suggestions involving misc. key/button combinations and hold-down times at power-up/down (could still shut down). Removed peripherals one by one. Nothing worked.

Tried one final suggestion as a last resort, before going out to buy a new computer. Disassembled it down to the motherboard, removed RAM, HD, CPU and heat pipe/fins/fan, covered the more easily meltable connectors and the CPU socket with conforming aluminum foil tape, set it on a flat, nonflammable surface and "painted" the unmasked areas with a heat gun set to Max. Did not see any solder melt, but didn't want to anyway, because that probably would have dropped the SMT components on the bottom side. Waited for it to cool somewhat, flipped over and repeated.

Let it cool, peeled off the foil, reassembled with only 3 or 4 non-critical parts broken off and fired that sucker up.

It wrangled the bits you are now reading. If it dies again I'll give it a firing squad, after removing the HD of course.

ladajo
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Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:18 pm
Location: North East Coast

Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by ladajo »

I did this a couple of times to resurrect the kids original PS3. Works for a while, then heat death fail again. The issue with the older PS3s was the CPU and GPU mounts would stress fracture the surface mount connections due to heat cycles.
The last time it went down, a couple of years back, I have not done it again. Maybe one of these days. At least get it running so they can pull all the saved stuff from the HDD, and then upload it to the replacement PS3 I ended up buying (which does not support the old PS2 games, unlike the original one). Meh.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

krenshala
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Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:20 pm
Location: Austin, TX, NorAm, Sol III

Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by krenshala »

Thermal cycling is a pain in the ass for troubleshooting computers. I've worked on a couple where it would run fine for up to 8 hours, but then fail, and won't work again until its had at least 4 hours off.

As for troubleshooting, when it comes to a notebook computer one of the best troubleshooting steps when its not powering up or booting correctly is to start by removing everything easily removed (drives, wifi cards that aren't integrated, memory, etc). Without the RAM it should give a beep code for "I can't find the RAM!". If it doesn't, its MB/CPU and probably easier to just replace it (assuming its not under warranty). If that works, power down, add one component and start up again. Eventually it will either be all back together or you'll find the part that is causing the problem. This process only runs into problems in two circumstances -- its not a hardware problem, or there is more than one hardware problem at the same time. Having known good parts or same model computer you can test with helps tremendously.

JoeP
Posts: 523
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:10 am

Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by JoeP »

Nice job. Hopefully it will last. I have a friend that fixed many systems doing exactly as you did. One time back in the 1990s I had a Commodore Amiga that would occasionally crash after it got hot. Turns out one of the proprietary chips (Fat Agnus?) just needed to be re-socketed because the heat gun trick didn't work. It was just subtly loose in there. Removing it and firmly pressing it back in did it. But it took me a long time to figure that out. Wish I still had that old machine.

I dislike working on notebooks and laptops since it is so much more difficult to tear them down and put them back together as compared to desktops, but it seems those are the only computers I have to fix nowadays. Fixing systems isn't my real job...just sort of a hobby and as favors to family and friends. Mobos in the notebooks are usually OEM sourced. Used to be a PITA to get replacements. But now EBay is pretty useful to get all kinds of replacements for popular models.

Recently I replaced a couple of screens on smartphones. That was even worse. Screws the size of 1/2 a grain of rice. Ribbon cables that probably would rip as easily as Scotch tape.

Diogenes
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Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:33 pm

Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by Diogenes »

‘What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.’
— Lord Melbourne —

jnaujok
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2009 6:19 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by jnaujok »

I have an HP 2015dn laser printer for which this is the well-known standard fix for problems. Apparently HP used very cheap (read lots of impurities) solder to mount the components on the printer's motherboard, so they are prone to bi-metal oxidation and cracking. So, the solution is to throw the motherboard in the oven for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. I've had to do it twice now over 5 years, and both times it has completely cured the problems with the printer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPDSNqFGGmI

DeltaV
Posts: 2245
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:05 am

Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by DeltaV »

Sounds like a good idea, but I would only do that now with an externally vented "shop" (non-food) oven. Back when I had the time and money for my electronics hobby, I used to salvage lots of good parts from circuit boards using a torch, but without forced ventilation. I stupidly breathed a lot of very nasty fumes.

Diogenes
Posts: 6967
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:33 pm

Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by Diogenes »

DeltaV wrote:Sounds like a good idea, but I would only do that now with an externally vented "shop" (non-food) oven. Back when I had the time and money for my electronics hobby, I used to salvage lots of good parts from circuit boards using a torch, but without forced ventilation. I stupidly breathed a lot of very nasty fumes.


Oddly enough you don't come across as one of the crazy ones. :)
‘What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.’
— Lord Melbourne —

DeltaV
Posts: 2245
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:05 am

Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by DeltaV »

I didn't say I intentionally breathed burning circuit board fumes... I was just oblivious to the danger, mesmerized by the easy pickin's of top-notch TTL and CMOS DIPs (some of them were even Mil-Spec ceramic packages).

kunkmiester
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Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by kunkmiester »

You talk to a doctor about it? A lot of that stuff is chronic, and there's stuff to be done now that will make it easier to deal with down the road.
Evil is evil, no matter how small

DeltaV
Posts: 2245
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:05 am

Re: Hot lead fixed my computer. Fixed it real good.

Post by DeltaV »

Talking to doctors has become very expensive since Obamacare ended my job and the associated health insurance. But the good part about that is, I have not been funding, via taxes, his insane agenda. For decades I've been minimizing my dependence on the Medical-Industrial Complex via diet and nutritional supplements, which are still legal, for now. So far so good. Knock on carbon fiber. PS - the emergency trauma care is still stellar, despite the cost. It is in chronic/elective care where the system fails, with no one blameable, due to dissolution of responsibility.

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