[GTALUG] laptop repair in GTA/Markham?

[Tim Tisdall]

Sorry for the top post, but on my phone right now...

I bought the torx set and opened it up (thanks for the video which showed
the 2 hidden screws).  I can't see anything out of the ordinary and
everything is dry on the bottom side.  I was hoping to at least get my data
off, but the SSD uses a M.2 interface which requires buying some sort of
adapter.

I'll take it apart some more and see if I find anything...

On Wed, Jan 9, 2019, 12:12 PM Giles Orr via talk <talk at gtalug.org wrote:

> Hi Tim.
>
> On Wed, 9 Jan 2019 at 10:20, Tim Tisdall via talk <talk at gtalug.org> wrote:
>
>> So, my laptop won't turn on today and it's likely due to a coffee spill
>> that happened yesterday.  I suspect a trace on the board may have become
>> corroded.  I took it to the ASUS repair centre on Markham and the absolute
>> minimum cost to repair it would probably be $400 and if I want to keep
>> everything on my SSD I would need to remove it first (but I don't have the
>> necessary torx bits to do that).  I think they only swap parts out and
>> don't attempt to actually repair.
>>
>> Does anyone know of a good and reputable repair place that would be able
>> to fix a corroded trace on the board if that's all it is?  It's an Asus
>> Zenbook UX305C.
>>
>
> I worked for Repair Cafe for a long time (up until mid-2017), doing
> repairs on desktops and laptops.  It was ... educational.  If you know how
> to use the soldering iron you own, you're already just as qualified as most
> of the people who run those small laptop repair shops.  Most of them will
> do what I did at Repair Cafe: watch a YouTube video, take the thing apart,
> look for obvious disconnections, clean things, reassemble it and hope it
> works.  Those that are actually "qualified" to work on specific computers
> (ie. have been trained by the computer manufacturers and deeply understand
> the inner workings of specific parts) are A) rare, and B) so expensive it's
> cheaper to replace your computer rather than repair it.
>
> You'll notice I didn't actually suggest using the soldering iron: that's
> very unlikely to come up.  As others have mentioned,  current circuit
> boards have traces so small they're exceedingly difficult to work with.
> You replace the whole board (or the whole laptop!) by preference.
>
> So get that torx kit (they're cheap, and if you bust a tip you won't mind
> having two sets), take the computer apart, clean it, and reassemble it.
> This is what the repair shop you could afford would do, but you'll do it
> with more care because it's your computer.  If you don't have the time for
> that, then perhaps you have money: pull the hard drive and move the data to
> a new machine.
>
> I'm guessing this isn't what you wanted to hear.  Since it's the approach
> I take, you can probably guess I don't know of any repair shops because I
> don't use them.  I apologize for both these things ... it's the best I've
> got.
>
> I own the exact same laptop and I love it - it's worth investing at least
> some effort in.  Good luck.
>
> --
> Giles
> https://www.gilesorr.com/
> gilesorr at gmail.com
> ---
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>
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