Hardware Guy

Is it hot to the touch or running normal temps? Have you pulled the battery and tried just AC? You are right about Sonys being pain in rear to take apart. I would try checking voltage from your AC adapter, if you have a multimeter. Is the power port(DC jack) …

I'm not going to say that I dislike apples. All I can say is that I would be out of a job if it werent for all the PC problems out there!

I have seen several laptop models fail/restart/shutdown when the motherboard is flexed. Natural heat buildup will occur seconds after starting a computer. This heat causes expansion of chips/components. I have had systems stay running with small amounts of pressure in different areas of the motherboard. I have seen systems restart …

Never assume that it could be one component or another. It could be anything. If it was mine I would strip the unit down to the essentials and work up. Pull everything out that isnt needed for the system to start. If it still doesn't give video, well, my gut …

Do you get external video with the unit? Hook it up to a desktop monitor and switch video modes. If you dont get any video there. I would reseat memory and CPU. Still nothing, then I would suspect mobo.

[quote=J_Search;174164]gottular, I'm guessing this is your display adapter: S3 Savage/IX M7 Graphics Controller with 8MB SDRAM, but rather than play a guessing game, you should find out for sure. Follow this link, and instructions: [URL]http://www.s3graphics.com/en/resources/drivers/index.jsp[/URL]. Download the WinS3ID.EXE utility to determine your exact adapter. If you can't find it, please …

List of possible issues: CPU is not seated properly CPU/motherboard are not compatible(front side bus on board needs to match CPU) RAM is not compatible(example - board calls for DDR2 533 only) RAM is not seated properly Not enough wattage to power unit Video card is unseated Is there any …

[quote=Real-tiner]If it's a fluorescent backlight, the lamp is nearing the end of its life. You see it more if the screen is moving relative to your eyes.[/quote] I agree. I've seen issues like this before with flickering. It will eventually get worse and worse to the point that it will …

Next step would be to start with the hardware. Pulling memory/switching memory slots/changing memory(if you had some compatible memory available). Reseating the CPU can sometimes help these issues. Pulling optical drive/floppy drive/modem/wireless. Only use AC power, keep the battery pulled. Keep in mind the only things you need for a …

I just got done removing the DC jack on a M520 Gateway laptop today. I do these kind of repairs frequently. Unfortunatly there is no gaurantee that damage has not been caused to the motherboard when we get these in. The majority of them are repaired with a replacement DC …