Laptop MB grounding out?

[Brandon]

Well to make a long story short...

my laptop got tossed by an "angry person", a she devil...


It will power on, everything works! But... When it's moved, bam no video and or BSOD. (certain things seem to "break" every time it's moved.) I figured something was loose etc.. Opened it up reseated everything, checked for cracks on the board, etc.. Everything looked fine, but I'm still having the same problem...

Turns on, everything checks out in windows hardware manager, move it and bam BSOD. As I said something else seems to break / work when rebooted / moved.

error code 1:

Driver_IRQL_not_less_or_equal

stop: 0x000000D1 (0x01AD5FA4, 0x00000002, 0x000000000, 0XF981C967)

error code 2:

FTDISK.SYS - Address F981C967 BASE AT F981C000

Any ideas on what this problem might be? I think it's possible the board could be grounding out somehow how can I test this? I mean; it works fine not being moved, so I don't think an old phone book will do. Please ideas, suggestions.

Thanks,
Brandon.

[Rainbow]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

There might be a cracked joint under some of the BGA chips. But first check soldering on the SODIMM slots.

[pentium]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

How fast do you have to move the laptop to trigger this?

[Brandon]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

How fast do you have to move the laptop to trigger this?

Light speed. :P

The laptop is an toshiba satellite A15-S129 a rather large laptop.
When It's moved the case "moves/bends" etc. Always has but didn't have this problem before pissy missy had a bitch fit...


@Rainbow Thanks, I'm going to take another look.

Nothing easy? Time machine?


Also, sometimes when it powers on I get a PWR LED, but nothing else works! CD-ROM, HD, fan, NOTHING!

Is there any material I can pick up to slap inside the laptop case so it doesn't "ground out"? (while being fire safe)

Thanks again,
Brandon

[gonzo0815]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

may be your hdd or the hdd case / conector is your problem.

[Rainbow]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

Toshibas are known to have bad solder joints - everywhere, including SODIMM slots.

[Brandon]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

Well I have searched all over the board I see nothing wrong. But then again I don't have "trained eyes". The damn thing seems to work sometimes others notta... now you have to turn it on then off (via power switch) then it works... Other times just no power to anything... What does a bad soder joint look like, and how can I repair it? The components on this main board are VERY SMALL!

Thanks.

[Brandon]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

may be your hdd or the hdd case / conector is your problem.

Very Possible I have the board open with just the bottom part of the case holding it. I hooked up the memory, cpu(and fan), monitor, and hard drive. I've been touching the boad very softly in certain places. When I touch right above where the HD connects it goes out (dead). BUT! It now shows an IDE error... It never showed this message before in the "boot screen". I'm going to hook up the keyboard load the os, and try to reproduce this error code 1 and or 2 as in the first post.


I will let you guys know hoe it goes...

[starfury1]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

well again not the expert

Throwing a HDD while in motion...not a good idea
I would change that regardless for testing.....

Get you self a good Loupe if you haven't got one and carefully look at all solder joints
around HDD IDE area, since it was thrown you maybe lucky enough to to spot a fractured joint.

The FTDISK.sys from what I find does point to disk problem...you the say above about IDE...probing very gently and it dies....

By the sounds of it, you don't have the equipment or skill for reworking the PCB, which maybe needed
(esp if its something as Rainbow has said, a solder ball under a chip)

BTW I'am not knocking about skills mate just that this "possible" type of fault will require a skilled person to fix.

I hope for your sake it its just a screwed hard disk...or an easy to find and fix bad solder joint or connector issue.

but from what Rainbow has said about this brand of laptop......you could be in for quite a nightmare.

I dont know how the psu is fitted in these things but they do tend to have heavier type components, so id have a look there too.

How badly bent was it? any out of wack posts or guides

look also at anything thats bulky and that could move, sounds like it went through a few G's

Try the hard disk.... look as best you can but If you have never soldered before Brandon, Id leave this one to the experts


I hate intermittent faults...just when you think its safe the little buggers come back and bite you.

I am thinking its around your IDE controller from what you say

good luck mate

[arneson]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

You have done the right thing to pinpoint the suspected area.
If you take that tecnique a little further you can get closer to the bad joint or connection, with luck and a gentle touch.
I would be looking very closely at that IDE to board connector, just becuase I've had two of the cd connections break loose.

[gonzo0815]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

If you have it, you can try ice spray. Due to the thermal shrinking / expanding, mechanicall intermitant errors can located by spraying a small area untill the failure is occuring. But usually, after that kind of mechanicall force, you should see it with a magnifying glass.
If it`s an solderjoint, it is not that hard, resoldering is quite easy. If a PCB trace is harmed, i would certainly stay away from soldering. Some high grade conductive paint or glue is probably the only fast and easy fix for that.

[Brandon]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

Anyone here own a shop in ohio? Topcat? I want this thing fixed, and I grow very impatient. :/

[kc8adu]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

where in ohio are you?

[Brandon]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

where in ohio are you?

Akron/Cuyahoga Falls, Area.
approx 3 hours from Dayton.


For some reason I got Topcat mixed up with you, sorry.

Thanks,
Brandon

[arneson]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

There are at least 6 on Ebay listed.
Just thought I'd mention it if you hadn't checked.

[WNG]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

Brandon, post what you end up finding to be the cause.
Strangely, my Thinkpad T40 is doing the very same symptoms.
:-\

When I flex the area where the HDD is located, the laptop freezes.
Probably not related, but one never knows.

[Brandon]

Re: Laptop MB grounding out?

-E-Bay isn't an option for me.

--WNG I really don't know what to tell you. It could be a bad joint, HDD etc...
I'm having the same problems, and cannot fix it...


UPDATE:

The CD-ROM connector also seems to be out of wack...

I do not have the "trained eye" to fix these problems or the skill... But with some guidance I might be able to do something. (I hope) Sad thing is everything works, but when moved etc notta, really sucks. One thing thats really messing with me; I think it would be an easy fix, I just can't do it...

I really would like to get this thing fixed, but I don't have the money to have one of the shops around here check it out... I'm concerned it will cost more to fix then what it's worth... 75$ estimate??? wow...


I have a couple questions.

1.why does the thing not power on at times? could/would a loose hd/ cd-rom cause this??

2.Why would the keyboard go dead when moved? (boot screen / bios, OS)

Any more suggestions would be helpful, I've looked over the board and see nothing. I also believe the reson the HD "dies, when probing" is because i had it part way out of case, so it leaned and disconnected somewhat...

Sorry to keep posting about this thing but I really want to troubleshoot/fix it more, and hell if anything just get more information.

Thanks,
Brandon.

EDIT: also if anyone knows where I can get cheap laps let me know (no e-bay please)