Question about laptops

[WuGgaRoO]

Hey, my laptop has this huge problem, its not the battery, nor the cord... so im guessing its the powersupply...when i try to put it on it doesnt hold, and you see the LED lights go on...and then they shut off..this is a secondary POS lappy anyways so its no big deal...but i wanna know what i should do with it
its a gateway, about 2 years old...can i buy psu's on newegg? and is it easy to move **** around in a laptop or is it damn near impossible?
if it is, anyone know where i can go with this bad boy... oh aand i can't go to gateway...its past the warrenty and i don't care its tech support.
thanks for the help!

[RWB]

I think you're pretty much toast :(

[Leonardo]

Give eBay a shot.

[WuGgaRoO]

oh man... power supplies are external aren't they... that's that big chunk hanging out...damnit...well any other idea...it could be the mobo right?
it doesn't seem like RAM could be the probllem cuz it would boot up...i guess it could also the the CPU overheating since it happened whilst i was folding on it nonstop...this is why i loathe laptops... well it seems like i gotta do the old switcheraroo... dang my overgrown thermalright HS, if i didn't have that then it would be a simple switch

[Esso]

What happends if the external power converter (which transforms 110-230 AC voltage to 10-30 DC Voltage) is not connected to the computer, while testing it.

Only perfrom this test for a short while because the tranformer does not like to be without load for more then 20-60 seconds.

If it works then the internal power supply unit must have failed.

You can also try without the battery connected, just in case.

[edcentric]

The power supply shouldn't care if it is loaded or not. You should be able to leave it pluged in forever without the computer connected.

Wugg, you might take it apart, clean it, and look at the power connector on the computer. It might be a weak solder joint or such.

[jradmin]

Technically, its actually not good to leave power on a non loaded transformer for large amounts of time. Its kind of like putting bullets in a magazine and leaving them for years. Sooner or later the spring starts to lose its springyness. Leaving a charged transformer causes the wire shielding (which is anything from a waxy insulation to paper with one side of electrolytic) to fatigue over time and you'll get current jumping across the windings, causing surges and failure.

Were talking about a large amount of time in this respect though.

[Sledgehammer70]

I think your pretty much done! with this one. PSU issues in Laptops are the biggest pain ever...

[profdlp]

...It might be a weak solder joint or such.
Good reply - I've seen this happen a lot. It could be that the connector itself has cracked, I've seen that a lot, too. The good news is that if that's it, it's often fairly easy (and inexpensive) to fix.

[WuGgaRoO]

ok guys..i found out that the problem with the lappy has to be with the motherboard...two people assessed it...who are "professionals" at any rate...where would i buy a laptop which will work for my gateway 400sd4?

*EDIT*
i found some on ebay, but i never worked on a lappy before..Do i have to solder anything or is it more or less like a mini desktop

[Leonardo]

If it's a direct replacement (same) motherboard as yours, it's a drop-in part. No soldering, just screws and maybe plastic retaining slots in the laptop casing. Make sure and find a service manual. Laptops can be a little tricky until you've worked on them a few times. While you have the machine disassembled, you might as well service the CPU heatsink with quality thermal paste.

Have a pen and piece of paper handy in case there are any small wires that whose connected positions might not be easy to remember. But then, the manual should take care of that.

[WuGgaRoO]

sounds awesome, thanks

[Leonardo]

Please do yourself a big favor and find the service manual for your laptop before you begin. It is much easier to break laptop parts than desktop parts, because of all the tight fighting plastic parts.

[WuGgaRoO]

how would i get the service manual for it?

[Leonardo]

Internet search.