Dead Gateway MT6840 Laptop

[ddiaz_mhs]

Well, first off it's nearly 2 years old. About 2 months ago the laptop would not charge but I could wiggle the cord to make it charge, soon I'd have to get it into tilted positions or I'd have to hold it in. Seeing it now I'm sure it was a loose solder pin. But just recently it stopped charging--completely, aside from that, if I do connect it with the charger it emits the odor of sulfur. Anyway I can fix this? Too late to fix the loose solder pins? :[

[sparkax]

Does the odor come from the charger or the laptop?
If it comes from the charger then you should replace the charger and hopefully all will be well.
However,if it comes from the laptop-then the damage may be irreparable.

.

[Suspishio]

... and in any case, a smell of anything is a pre-warning of fire risk. So please stop using the laptop and I think you'll find it's coming from the laptop and it's likely to be power ducting wires behind the power in socket.

[ddiaz_mhs]

Well yeah, it is coming from the laptop (seems to be coming from the area the charger is connected to) and I unplugged the charger as soon as I noticed it. If it is truly irreparable then that sucks, Bestbuy warranty only covered one year..

[mssilver94MT694]

Two questions -- This box charges randomly. No sulfur or other smell. No cause that I can duplicate with no charging result. If the machine is left off for 3-4 days it seems to come back to life eventually -- if the new plug adapter is twisted and maneuvered the "right way."

If this is a socket connection problem involving the motherboard, I'd like to solder it to repair it -- Any experience doing this? Is it worth the time -- how long? Equipment costs - anti-fry wrist strap, solder and soldering iron? Anything else needed for this job?

Oh, yes: How do people who work on laptops keep up with the various screws and make sure each one is returned to its original location?

If that does not repair the problem, what form factor motherboard will fit in this box and work with the existing hardware using Vista Home Premium 32-bit OS 1GB Ram? Times are tough and there's no $ in the budget to replace this box.

I have a feeling I'm caught in the middle -- not being able to afford to replace it and the costs of fixing it will come close to but not exceed the replacement. I hope that's not the case.

Any suggestions would be appreciated for this struggling student.

Thanks for your help.

[0100101]

Many of you have Gateway MA3 / MA7 (MX6xxxx / MT6xxx) notebooks that don't power on at all. Some of you have replaced your jacks, only to find out that the problem remained.
This problem is due to a short in between the layers on your board - but a skilled technician can still repair it. Precision Division in Clearwater FL repairs this problem in the Gateway MA3 / MA7 notebooks for around a hundred.