07-28-2021, 10:57 AM
A computer repair shop tells me my PBP's mainboard needs replacing. Since they cost $99 + P&P on the official store, and they're currently out of stock anyway, I'm planning to get a new machine instead.
The problem I brought the machine in with was that, after a minute or so of a whining/buzzing noise one evening, all inputs - keyboard, mouse and USB - stopped working simultaneously. The machine could power on and off, and load the login screen, but I couldn't interact with it.
On opening it up, the repair guy spotted an area of discolouration, possibly some melted plastic, and a blob of solder on a chip, which he interpreted as signs of a component having blown. I'd been charging the machine from a power supply rated with three ratings, of which one was correct (5v, 3a) and the other two were not; and he guessed that the machine had sometimes been switching to off-spec ratings, as its power usage went up and down, and that over time this had caused damage and eventually failure somewhere in the motherboard.
If the guess is right, then I guess this is a caution not to use power supplies with multiple ratings.
The problem I brought the machine in with was that, after a minute or so of a whining/buzzing noise one evening, all inputs - keyboard, mouse and USB - stopped working simultaneously. The machine could power on and off, and load the login screen, but I couldn't interact with it.
On opening it up, the repair guy spotted an area of discolouration, possibly some melted plastic, and a blob of solder on a chip, which he interpreted as signs of a component having blown. I'd been charging the machine from a power supply rated with three ratings, of which one was correct (5v, 3a) and the other two were not; and he guessed that the machine had sometimes been switching to off-spec ratings, as its power usage went up and down, and that over time this had caused damage and eventually failure somewhere in the motherboard.
If the guess is right, then I guess this is a caution not to use power supplies with multiple ratings.
