practices to protect the Motherboard/System board

Well, first off, I am not sure if this would be the right forum to post this issue, but I think it comes close enough to fall here.

I will begin with a short story:
I have killed 3 computers so far. First was an hard-drive that was failing. After getting a new computer, that new PC would die because of what was suspected to be a power-box issue which seemed to have shocked the monitor and motherboard, if not other things. Most recently, more than a week ago, my laptop succumbed to a similar even it seems as I am brought the news that it's system board/motherboard was "electrically fried" and wont work.

On a thursday night, my laptop just suddenly shut down. Thinking it was just an overheat, i tested it by trying to turn it back on (if it was overheat, it simply start normal and shut down right when the temperature is too high again, which would be rather soon). It resulted in 1 of 4 random screens:
1. black screen with beeps (which told something was wrong with bios based on several opinions)
2. black screen, silent
3. starting screen that usually flashes but it stays there while keys like f2 and f8 does not work
4. a black screen with the top left corner labeling something like "...testing vbios..."

Right now the original plan to replace the board is expensive. The company that it was sent to to try to fix it with the tools they have reported that they could not fix it. It seems to be electrical damage when i asked whether the cause was electricity related or overheating related. Because of such events, I have already forked the cash to buy a new computer (suggested by a very member in this community who answered my question about a 700 range laptop that had the stats I was looking for back a month or two ago), Dell Vostro 1500.

Anyhow, the main thing is this...
what do you think was the cause of such damage?
I had a surge protector and none of the other electronics were damaged when the computer reacted and failed. I was told that surge protectors dont last forever but why my computer was the only thing damaged?
what can I do to minimize the chance that something this bad will happen again to my new computer?
is there any tips on items to purchase or more importantly anything I can do as a practice to help prevent such events from occuring?

Any ideas and suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks for your time.

 

It most likely was just some onboard transistor which blew out. This usually happens if the soldered connection breaks, or a part is defective.
Just take care of you laptop, download i8kfangui, and have the fans always running at full, and you should be fine. A slightly louder laptop is better than not having one at all.
G-Luck

K-TRON

 

You would be surprised at how many people use their laptops in bed lying on top of the covers thus blocking the intakes and exhausts and it dosen't take long for the heat to build up then pop, something goes on the motherboard.

 

lucky for me th only fan on my 1520 is side mounted so head output is no problem for using it on my lap

 

but mine was on a desk, and it was even propped to a higher position using 4 small blocks to raise its high to allow more air under it. It is true I did not keep the fans as clean as I could. I only blue air canisters... I could not open the grate to actually wash the fans or anything. To get a close to "touching" access to the fans, you had to open the entire computer up. Also, I dont think it was overheating. They said the cause was electrical, something like my system board was burned by electricity. I had a surge protector but I guess it didnt work?

Questions that still remain are:

if a on board transistor blew out, that is NOT fixable? cant they just replace the transitor? im being told they cant fix it at all... they have to replace the whole mother board/system board and that is bascially the cost of a new computer since the board is 400 (no longer stocked much on, old laptop here) and the labor is probably up to 2 hours. 500-600 USD to fix.. so i just settled for the Vostro 1500 for 699 USD + tax

should I keep my batteries in the laptop if im using the power plug? would that cause problems? i keep the battery in incase of blackouts.

what would be some tips to "take care" of my laptop? I thought I was pretty caring of it already...
is i8kfangui compatiable with dell vostros????? my old computer had a fan option that set on max but it the fans didnt ALWAYS keep blowing as i wanted.... and no i dont mind noise.. i wear earphones or the volume of the computer should drown fan noise.

 

Liquid damage also comes to mind, never have a drink while on your laptop. Especially sugared drinks, those instantly fry the board if it leaks down the keyboard.

It's also possible that your home may have "Bad" power, and you may need a surge protector to filter out any sudden jolts. Motherboards nor the power bricks have protection against these, normally the bricks die and it's the first line of defense but more severe surges could hit the motherboard causing them to blow somewhere.

 

Liquid damage is not possible in this case. I never spilled any liquids on my computer.
Bad power is a possibility but I did use a surge protector; again, all my other electronics were fine and only the computer was "effected" by whatever may have fried it.

 

Wrong, I have Vostro 1500 which have the same layout and casing just different color, the fan is indeed side mounted, but the air intakes is still underneath the laptop. so, using it on a bed is a big NO NO still.

 

Wow, and to think that in my room the power sockets are not even grounded! there was a power surge once when every electronic thing in my house turned off, but the laptop survived, despite the fact that it didn't have a battery in it! Looks like the power adaptor protected it...

 

A person told me about some device I can buy for around $40 that is like a box that has some battery inside where i can then plug my computer into it. Unlike a surge protector, it does not stop protecting from surges after a few power surges does occur. Does anyone have any idea about what this item is called and is it worth getting one for a laptop? (it would probably be best used for desktop since the battery acts like the battery of a laptop during power outages)

 

It is called an APC, but those are for backup power during power outages and such.
It depends how much power you are drawing but this link will give you a bunch to choose from

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000072&Description=apc&name=UPS

K-TRON

 

This may be a long shot, but I know a lot of surge protectors advertise coverage of losses to the buyer in cases where the product didn't work. You should at least check it out.

 

@K-Tron: well, i know for desktops thats what their for but I am considering getting one to prevent power-surge damage (assuming that is what killed my laptop).. and from what im seeing, the laptop wont drain that much power total.

@saintalfonzo: that is indeed a long shot. I doubt I had such coverage when I baught mine.. afterall, it was not that it didnt work but most likely it wasnt suppose to work forever. I am told that surge protectors only protect from a certain number of surges before they go bad.

I am just trying to figure out why only the computer was damage and how to help prevent such occurances from occuring in the future.. minimizing my next chance of electrical damage and such. Course, that requires a good guess of what went wrong with all the info and guesses provided thus far.