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    P6860FX burn out... literally!

    Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by quickington, Jan 17, 2011.

  1. quickington

    quickington Newbie

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    Hi,

    My Gateway P6860FX wasn't turning on, so I tried an alternate power cord. Turns out that was a bad idea, and a bit of smoke came out of the speaker vents. Any idea if this means the whole computer is fried or just the motherboard? If it is just the MB, is it fixable or do I need to buy a whole new MB?

    Cheers
     
    quickington, Jan 17, 2011
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  2. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Probably just the motherboard.

    There is a chance that you could get it fixed at a repair shop.

    Not sure how much a new motherboard would cost for one of these.
     
    moral hazard, Jan 17, 2011
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  3. TANWare

    TANWare Just This Side of Senile, I think. Super Moderator

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    You would ahve to pull it apart to look for the burnt item, it could also or only be the power board too....................
     
    TANWare, Jan 17, 2011
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  4. quickington

    quickington Newbie

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    I also sent this question out to a few repair shops, including some that specialize in motherboard repair. Here is a typical response...

    "A rough estimate of worst case scenario for a fried motherboard would be around $250-400 for replacement board and installation. Laptop being so cheap and readily available nowadays, I would recommend getting a new one instead of repairing it. The first thing I would try to check is to see if the manufacture warranty can still cover the repair. Some manufacture might offer a replacement board at a substantial discount if you will trade with them the defective one."

    So it seems I'll just have to suck it up and buy a new laptop, which is fine as I got a really good deal on the P6860FX and it lasted a few years.

    Thanks for the responses!
     
    quickington, Jan 19, 2011
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  5. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You could probably get something for the dead notebook on ebay.
     
    moral hazard, Jan 19, 2011
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