USB Flakey CF-72

Hey, one of the USB ports is flakey, it works all the time, but sometimes i have to wiggle the cable a little to get it to re-connect.

i have scary images of it being soldered to my motherboard and about to die for good never to be replaced. please tell me it isn't so! is there a way to replace it. could it just be dirty? it looks ok...

thanks for any help...

ed

ps how do you search this forum???

 

Welcome to the forum! The search function is located on the bar running across the middle of your screen... Though you may get better results using Google and following any links you see coming to this website.

As for the USB... I suppose it could be dirty but it sounds like it is either a little worn or a solder joint coming loose. You may need to replace it by desoldering and soldering in a new one. if you have even modest soldering skills you can probably do it.

Good luck and post back if you find out what it is...

 

Thanks for the greeting and advice.

Is it hard to get into the place where I need to solder the USB port (if that's the problem)? When I replaced my HD, I followed through the Panasonic service manual for quite a while until I realized, duh, the thing ejects right out.

So, I'm armed with my inexperience and a complicated service manual... any help would be greatly appreciated!

Ed

 

I've never worked on the 72 personally so I can't tell you about the ease or complication of working on it. If you are a handy person and have done things like this before then I would imagine it would be a tedious but doable fix. If you have never done anything like this and are new to soldering... I wouldn't attempt it. I have replaced numerous A/C and USB jacks.... It can take 30 minutes or it can take 3 hours... It all depends on how it is built and how much info you have before you start. (Instructions or service manual)

So... It's up to you...

 

Search should be available in a dropdown next to Forum Tools, but it has been missing for a few (hours)(days)(weeks)(months).

Drop back to Google and look for results with the forum.notebook.review domain.

Good luck with the USB - it sounds like a solder connection going bad. If the cf-72 has more than one USB, it would be easier to get a small hub rather than trying to fix it I think. Assuming it is USB2.0. If it is USB1.1, and you have PCMCIA/Cardbus, get a USB2.0 and/or firewire card to upgrade.

I think the toughbook.wikispaces site has some good cf-72 info as well.