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Iarfhlaith Kelly - Code agus Craic

How to Repair a HP nx7300 Laptop
Aug 23, 2008 | Filed Under: Gadgets and Gizmos

Niels Bohr once famously said that an expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. Baring this in mind, its fair to say that in the last week Ive become an expert in HP laptop repairs. Heres what happened: Monday morning, back from holidays. Within five minutes of turning my laptop on for the first time in two weeks, it suddenly shut down. There was no life out of it whatsoever. No lights, no noise, no laptop. Panic hadnt yet set in but it was on its way. After about 10 minutes of frantically hitting the on button the internal fan kicked in and a couple of LCD lights started to flash. I thought I was getting somewhere. I figured maybe it was just a temporary problem that had managed to fix itself somehow. I couldnt have been more wrong. Thirty seconds after the fan kicked in, a puff of black smoke came out the side air vent followed by the dreaded smell of burning silicon. It was toast. My treasured laptop had become nothing more then an expensive paper weight in the space of about 15 seconds. At this point, panic had properly set in and I was seriously worried.

Out of Warranty
The first thing I thought of doing was ringing HP. Ive used their support in the past and theyve been really helpful. But after a quick check, they told me my laptop was out of warranty (only just) and that it would cost 90 to assess the laptop so they could give me a quote for the repair. I didnt need to spend 90 to know that my motherboard was toast, the smell was all over the office. So I had a decision to make. Would I fork out the money and let HP fix it for me or would I try doing it myself, save some money and learn something new in the process? For me, thats a no brainer. I would try it myself.
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Dismantling the Laptop

Before ordering a new motherboard, I wanted to take apart the laptop to make sure thats what the problem was. Have you ever taken apart a laptop? Its not as easy as you might think. At first I tried it without a guide. I managed to take out over 20 screws but I still couldnt open it up. I decided I needed some help, so after a little Googling I discovered that all HP laptops have their own service manual which explains step by step how to replace any component, and the order in which they need to be replaced. Heres the document I used as a guide: HP nx7300 Service Document (PDF - 4.2Mb). Without this I had no chance. Turns out that before the motherboard can be removed, you also have to remove: Hard Drive Optical Drive Bluetooth Module Keyboard Thermal Plate Fan Heat Sink RTC Battery Switch Cover Display Assembly Top Cover Over the next two hours I slowly worked my way through the guide, dismantling the laptop piece by piece. There were over 70 screws (15 different types) and 25 components that needed to be removed before I could get the motherboard out. It was painstakingly slow. Heres a quick photo of what it looked like fully dismantled:

Finding the Damaged Chip

Once the motherboard had been removed it was pretty easy to see what had happened. One of the microchips on the board had been completely destroyed. I could even see where the flame had scorched the casing on the pc card slot. Have a quick look at this image to see what happened:

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At first, I considered trying to replace just the chip rather then the entire motherboard. I mean, it seemed a shame to have to replace the entire board when only a tiny portion of it was damaged. But after some more thought I decided it would probably be best the replace the whole thing. I didnt know what else had been damaged and my skills with a soldering iron are clunky at best.

The Replacement Motherboard

I used the HP parts website to price a new board which cost 266 plus VAT and included all taxes and delivery charges. They had the board in stock and said delivery would take 3-4 days. So, 3-4 days later I received a shiny new motherboard in the post, ready to replace the damaged one. Heres a couple of shots taken while I unboxed it:

Fitting the New Board

To fit the new motherboard, I just reversed the steps taken to dismantle the laptop. Each part went in, one after the other. It was a little harder putting it all back together because I had to make sure I was using the right screws each time (there were more then 15 different types), and that I left nothing out. Having to fit it all together is pretty tricky, but by following the service guide I managed to get it all back in without too many issues. During the reassembly, I had a second laptop (same model) which I used to read through the different steps and make sure I got it all right. Heres a few shots of the reassembly. If you look closely you should be able to see the corresponding manual page on the screen at the right side of each photo.

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The Components Explained

While working on something like this, you really get an appreciation for just how well designed these things are. Everything has been thought of. All the components fit perfectly together. Its like a jigsaw, only much more elegant. Heres a quick top down view of the different components in the laptop:

The Final Test

After the last screw was tightened and the last component was clicked in, I finally had the laptop back in one piece. All I needed to do now, was turn it on.

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So, I held my breath and clicked the on button. The fan kicked in, the screen flashed on, and I could hear the wonderful sound of a hard disk being accessed. It had worked. My laptop was whirring quietly away as if nothing had ever happened. I was thrilled. My gamble had paid off, and Id learned a lot along the way.

The Benefit of Hindsight

I think the cause of the problem was dust and overheating. Not surprisingly, the damaged chip was located very close to the main processor, which generates a huge amount of heat. It was also very close to the fan and heat sink, where dust can build up. I have a habit of using my laptop in bed, and surrounding the laptops air vents in a duvet. This, I now know, leads to overheating and ultimately, component damage. To extend the life of my laptop and the new motherboard Im going to do two things: 1. Clean it regularly using compressed air (this stuff is awesome and you can get in Maplins). 2. Stop using it in bed. I think these two small changes should keep my laptop in good shape for a good few years to come. Posted by Iarfhlaith | Link | Share

Comments
7 Comments added. Add comment?
1. James Beck says: Thanks for the post. It gave me the info that I needed to repair my own. Jan 15, 2009 2. Iarfhlaith says: No problem James,

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Im glad it came in handy for you. Thanks for the comment! Jan 15, 2009 3. picafra says: I have a laptop nx7300, my problem is hd every time show NO SYTEM DISK OR DISK ERROR other time is function fine. I have also changed lHD but problem persist. Thanks for advance. May 5, 2009 4. Igor says: to picafra: Did the laptop previously work? If yes, I dont know what the problem could be. If its the first time youre installing an OS, try turning off an option called something like harddisk special mode in the BIOS. Good luck! May 8, 2009 5. Saurabh Sen says: It is always a good idea to replace the whole board in case of a burnt part problem. The best place to look for the parts/board/ribbon wires etc is ebay. There are some good sellers from US/HongKong who ship internationally at a very competitive rate. Look at the seller rating and try your best offer to get the best price. I have purchased many parts/accessories/motherboard/ribbon cables etc for my HP/Compaq laptops and saved on many $$$. Thanks to all. Oct 9, 2009 6. Gabriele Poole says: Thanks this is great info. Problem with repairing notebooks though is the cost of parts. You spent 300 euros for the mb. I paid 450 for my new Nx7300 two years ago. So I imagine I could use the 300 to purchase a used one without having to work four hours repairing it and risk not having a functional computer at the end. Or add 150 and buy a newer better model with 2 year warranty. If we had a common part standard as for desktops like Intel tried to implement (dont know what happened to it) it would be different. Then of course if youre one of those weirdos who actually have FUN repairing it (like you and me) then its another piece of cake. I work in bed with the notebook on a breakfast tray. Keeps the vents free and my.. ehm lower body cool. Nov 25, 2009 7. Vasil says: Hi, i have allready supased your level of skills in the area, but still i dont know enough to repair bios damage, or things like that My problem is that the laptop i have starts when i push the power button, but the lcd doesnt blink or light up, and the hard drive stays offline. I have a osciloscope (old russian) and with it i saw that all the voltages- 1.8, 3.3, 5, 12, 20(?!!?) are ok and stable. There is a working clock signal at the quarz resonatour, and there is no visual damage on the motherboard. Any ideas, besides replacing the whole motherboard? I am not shure if the processor or the RAM memory work, so what is the laptops reaction if they dont? Mar 8, 2010

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