Laptop repair

whiterob81

Hi,

I'm living in the Dublin 15 area and looking to get my laptop repaired. It's a 7 year old Packard Bell and it stopped working last night, won't turn on. Anyways, can anyone recommend somewhere in the Dublin 15 area to get it repaired where I won't get ripped off? I've heard some people on here mention ongar computers (but they seem to be gone now) and www.repairmypc.ie

robbie000

Hi,

Depending on whats wrong with the laptop it more than likely wont be worth repairing it unfortunately if its 7 years old, you would be better off buying one in the sales for 300-400 then taking the hard drive out of the old computer should only be held in by a couple of screws and connecting it to the new laptop.
You can buy a cable in the likes of maplins or online that will allow you to connect the old hard drive and you will then still have access to the files that were on this.

whiterob81

robbie000 wrote: »

Hi,

Depending on whats wrong with the laptop it more than likely wont be worth repairing it unfortunately if its 7 years old, you would be better off buying one in the sales for 300-400 then taking the hard drive out of the old computer should only be held in by a couple of screws and connecting it to the new laptop.
You can buy a cable in the likes of maplins or online that will allow you to connect the old hard drive and you will then still have access to the files that were on this.

You might be right, the screen was flickering for a good while before it stopped working and the battery's been gone for a while. I was figuring if I could get it up and running again for about €100 I'd be happy. It was working fine (bar the flickering screen and battery!) on Monday night but last night it just wouldn't turn on.

rolion

It could be as simple as a charger for e25.

As is 7 years old,i will be more worried about the data on that drive.
Ongar Computers are still open,operating under a diferent name HERE

whiterob81

rolion wrote: »

It could be as simple as a charger for e25.

As is 7 years old,i will be more worried about the data on that drive.
Ongar Computers are still open,operating under a diferent name HERE

The charger seems to be working, indicator light's on on the laptop and the charger itself. It just that when I hit the button to start it up, bear with me I'm going to get horrendously untechnical here, it makes the noise that it normally makes when it's about to start up but then nothing happens after that. It's like there's something disconnected inside, it's not booting up.

robbie000

If the screen and battery are gone aswell at 7 years old you would be better off buying a new one. if its only used for surfing the net, pics, documents etc no gaming you could pick one up on sale for maybe around 300-350 new.
Then a cable to connect your old hard drive to the new pc wouldn't be expensive to just copy over your old data from the other hard drive.

At 7 years old its not worth repairing a new battery and screen would cost over €100 for parts before labour. Then you still have the old laptop, so the advice would be a new laptop and to copy the data over onto it from the old hard drive.

The hard drive in the old laptop can be removed normally by removing one or two screws and then just slides out. then you just need a cable to connect it to the new laptop and then you can get all your data back off it.

example of some of the deals for a good home use laptop below
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5499317/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7C19780850%7CLaptops+and+netbooks%7C14419039/c_3/4%7Ccat_14419039%7CLaptops%7C14419040.htm

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/6185668/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7C19780850%7CLaptops+and+netbooks%7C14419039/c_3/4%7Ccat_14419039%7CLaptops%7C14419040.htm

me_irl

whiterob81 wrote: »

The charger seems to be working, indicator light's on on the laptop and the charger itself. It just that when I hit the button to start it up, bear with me I'm going to get horrendously untechnical here, it makes the noise that it normally makes when it's about to start up but then nothing happens after that. It's like there's something disconnected inside, it's not booting up.

Sounds like a hardware fault all right. Quite a tricky one to troubleshoot too... Well, not "tricky" just time consuming.

The whirring is probably the fan or hard drive spinning and then shutting down.

When was the last time it had a clean? You can google a teardown of the device on how to open it up yourself.

I'd advise to check other hardware, like the RAM. When opening the bottom (there should be a few quite small screws holding the bottom cover), you can remove / move one or both (I'm assuming there are two sticks of RAM in it).

Then in each configuration try to power it up. For example if the RAM is in a particular slot, move it and then try to power it up. Then repeat.

It looks like this...(well not exactly, but very similar)



As a previous poster mentioned you can still take out the Hard Drive and hook it up as you would an external USB via something that looks like this...



There are two ports on a hard drive, one for data and the other for power (that's why there are two usb's on it. One for each).

whiterob81

me_irl wrote: »

Sounds like a hardware fault all right. Quite a tricky one to troubleshoot too... Well, not "tricky" just time consuming.

The whirring is probably the fan or hard drive spinning and then shutting down.

When was the last time it had a clean? You can google a teardown of the device on how to open it up yourself.

I'd advise to check other hardware, like the RAM. When opening the bottom (there should be a few quite small screws holding the bottom cover), you can remove / move one or both (I'm assuming there are two sticks of RAM in it).

Then in each configuration try to power it up. For example if the RAM is in a particular slot, move it and then try to power it up. Then repeat.

It looks like this...(well not exactly, but very similar)



As a previous poster mentioned you can still take out the Hard Drive and hook it up as you would an external USB via something that looks like this...



There are two ports on a hard drive, one for data and the other for power (that's why there are two usb's on it. One for each).

Sound, thanks a million for this. I'll be honest it's never had a clean. Possibly the best thing to do would be to detach the hard drive and hook it up to a new laptop. There's a lot of stuff that I want to keep off it. I'd been doing semi regular back ups so I'm not too bad but I have stuff like music recording software and the like that I want to be able to access.

Also, thanks for the pictures. Very helpful.

me_irl

whiterob81 wrote: »

Sound, thanks a million for this. I'll be honest it's never had a clean. Possibly the best thing to do would be to detach the hard drive and hook it up to a new laptop. There's a lot of stuff that I want to keep off it. I'd been doing semi regular back ups so I'm not too bad but I have stuff like music recording software and the like that I want to be able to access.

Also, thanks for the pictures. Very helpful.

Should have mentioned that the external adapter will only work as a usb device. So any programs will be inaccessible, only files / folders.

What make / model is it (could be on a sticker on the bottom). May have the license key of Windows there too! Handy if you need to re-install / upgrade.

whiterob81

me_irl wrote: »

Should have mentioned that the external adapter will only work as a usb device. So any programs will be inaccessible, only files / folders.

What make / model is it (could be on a sticker on the bottom). May have the license key of Windows there too! Handy if you need to re-install / upgrade.

It's an packard bell easynote (can't remember the serial number). I installed windows 10 on it last year so not sure I'll be able to do a reinstall.

me_irl

whiterob81 wrote: »

It's an packard bell easynote (can't remember the serial number). I installed windows 10 on it last year so not sure I'll be able to do a reinstall.

Do you have the model no.? Might start with a T or TS followed by numbers.

You can always install the original operating system (legally) by downloading / burning the iso, then upgrading again. But only if it comes to that!

http://www.howtogeek.com/186775/how-to-download-windows-7-8-and-8.1-installation-media-legally/

whiterob81

me_irl wrote: »

Do you have the model no.? Might start with a T or TS followed by numbers.

You can always install the original operating system (legally) by downloading / burning the iso, then upgrading again. But only if it comes to that!

http://www.howtogeek.com/186775/how-to-download-windows-7-8-and-8.1-installation-media-legally/

I can't remember the model number off the top of my head but I can check when I get home later. I still have the manual at home.

beauf

whiterob81 wrote: »

The charger seems to be working, indicator light's on on the laptop and the charger itself. It just that when I hit the button to start it up, bear with me I'm going to get horrendously untechnical here, it makes the noise that it normally makes when it's about to start up but then nothing happens after that. It's like there's something disconnected inside, it's not booting up.

Try plugging a monitor into it.

Pat Dunne

I can highly recommend Celtic Repairs in Coolmine Ind Est http://www.celticrepairs.ie/#

Was in a similar situation recently and they were very professional and up front to deal with.

Gavin "shels"

Pat Dunne wrote: »

I can highly recommend Celtic Repairs in Coolmine Ind Est http://www.celticrepairs.ie/#

Was in a similar situation recently and they were very professional and up front to deal with.

My girlfriends family have used them for a broken console and iPad screen, seem like an excellent crowd.

whiterob81

beauf wrote: »

Try plugging a monitor into it.

I tried connecting it up to my tv using a hdmi cable but still no response so I'd say it's something else.

beauf

It may not automatically switch to the TV or external output.

LoonyLovegood

I'll third Celtic Repairs. They've fixed my brother's laptop and playstation, my sister's iPhone and my Macbook. (We're not bad with electronics, I swear!).

whiterob81

LoonyLovegood wrote: »

I'll third Celtic Repairs. They've fixed my brother's laptop and playstation, my sister's iPhone and my Macbook. (We're not bad with electronics, I swear!).

Sure, ye're not! :P:D