Clevo/Sager M57U = JUNK

So, I had a broken hinge on my "custom" Clevo/Sager, and a video cable to the LCD that got pinched as a result, rendering my Black backrounds Blue.

So>>>>>>>>>

Well, now I have even bigger problems.

The hinge was simple, 5 minute fix. The video cable on the other hand required just about complete dissassembly of the case. You have to split the case to be able to get at the plug on one side and pull the wires from the other side.

Finally got that done after removing a million screws and disconnecting a few cables and pins, put the new video cable in, buttoned it all up.

Computer will now not turn on! It gets power to the supply as indicated by the "plug" symbol lighting on the media display, but pressing the power button does nothing.

Took it apart to check all the things I disconnected which were all fine and still nothing.

I am 2 minutes away from trashing this into a million pieces and buying an HP or Dell and never looking at a so called custom again.

This whole thing was a disaster from the get go as it was one of the famous "Flawless" computers.

Now mind you, I am not new to mechanical things, I have built a ton of engines, my house, etc. This should have been a simple thing.

Anyone have any ideas before I take a shotgun to this thing?

Mod edit: See post 24 for how it was fixed.

 

wait i have a bigger shotgun..send it to me and ill take care of it!

 

Why didn't you send it for replacement/repairs instead of trying to save a few dollars and fix it yourself?
How many laptops have you built? An engine or a house are not the same thing.
I am average to good with computers, software repairs, but I am not crazy enough to try to fix a car.

 

did you use a service manual?

 

where do you live, you can get assembly help from a Clevo service center.

 

Used the service manual. Taking it apart and putting it together was very straightforward and only used the diagrams to make sure. I did nothing that would not make it power up. A couple of ribbon cable connectors, the video, LCD, etc. Simple things. The motherboard, nor any hardware was removed at any point. Just split the case to gain access to the LCD plug.

Did not take it to any shop because around here they wanted $200 to change the **** hinge with MY parts. That is a 10 minute job. Forget about the cable, that would have been several hundred more.

This thing has been nothing but issues since day one. I will not spend another dime on it.

 

I can do one better.

I have a Type II Phaser. Just send it my way and trust me, you'll never see it again

On a serious note, someone from this forum might be able to help, in doing the repair I mean if your opposed to sending it to Clevo.

I have had all of my HP's (DV9500 and DV6567) apart several times and only once I was not mindful of the path I routed the Bluetooth wire so when I screwed in one the motherboard screws, I felt some resistance. I stopped in time to not damage the wire and it had no power source at the time but perhaps something like this has happened to you. If so, it would be simple enough to isolate and correct.

My Clevo seems easier to disassemble and reassemble than the HP's.

 

I am on the East coast and they are in CA. Besides, it is fully assemble exactly as it was.

 

there are some Clevo vendors on the East Coast that can look at it for you

 

That's just it, there are NO wires near any screws nor were there any when it was taken apart. Most screws on the laptop are perimiter screws. Like I said, NO hardware was removed, period.

It has the power light showing in the media control. That means to me it should power up.

Besides all of this. The repair was done knowing that my LCD may not be good anyway. I don't know if the Black/Blue issue was from the LCD itself or the cable. The cable was a chance I would take. I am not spending $500 to replace a LCD.

 

Please let me know who.

 

what state are you in?

 

NY (NOT NYC)

Near Poughkeepsie

 

if you look in the Clevo Guide, there are a few Clevo vendors in NY.

- www.PCtorque.com (Manhasset, NY)
- www.rkcomputer.net (Stony Point, NY)
- www.hypersonic-pc.com (Great Neck, NY)

 

Hypersonic has moved to California.

 

Doesn't matter as all 3 are on Long Island. Anywhere from 3-5 hrs away.

 

Perhaps it is powered but the screen doesn't show it.
Have you tried an external LCD/TV if the screen is suspect?
Does the CAPS LOCK or NUM LOCK light come on if you depress either of their keys?

Can you hear the HDD?

 

Does it make any difference if you try running on just the battery? Was the power panel left disconnected by any chance?

 

Apparently not.

 

Ouch

 

either that or static electricity? but i doubt it. I work on tons of electronics without grounding bracelet everyday. Ive never once fried anything. However i know guys who have. The possibility is there....

 

I admire you guys for trying to help him.

 

Crazy suggestion, but play around with the ram. Take out one SODIMM, take out the other, switch them around in their slots.

Then take everything else out; Wifi, BT (if applicable), harddrive, try to power on with as little as possible.

It's possible something is shorting on the chassis somewhere.

 

FIXED

Here is what happened.

Like I said, I didn't take ANYTHING apart that would have caused a no power issue. I took no hardware out at all and only split the case enough to fish the LCD cable from bottom to top. All things went back together as they should and it should have been an easy fix.

HOWEVER, the rocket scientists at Clevo decided to make all the ribbon cable connectors with a small pinch in them to allow for play. Well, all except one, the most important one. Power.

By the power/email/web buttons on the top of the 57 series, there is a ribbon cable bringing power from the M-Board to the buttons. Not only is there no extra pinch in the cable, it is way too short. There is basically no play.

I had disconnected the cable end from the board to gain access and put it back the way it came. Too bad when I lifted the upper case up about 1/2" to snake the LCD wire through, it also pulled the other end out enough to lose contact. The fact that you really can't totally split the case without disconnecting every single wire on this computer obviously is a contributing factor. You have to pull apart a tiny bit, look inside and try to do what you have to.

The fact that the LCD wire runs through the top of the case down into the bottom of the case to connect is just plain old **** poor design. In no way should it be that unaccessable.

So, once again, the whole thing had to come apart, the loose cable redone (another joke of a design on that end), put it back together and finally it powered up with 100% fix.

So it is fixed, but besides all the known issues, ****ty battery life, way too heavy, broken hinges, cables, built in cam that worked for a day, etc., etc., these are great computers.

Lesson learned and never again.

 

I hope you do buy another brand and sell/throw out the current notebook so that I don't have to read this bs again. Good luck.

 

Not to sound rude, but even the best of machines can come with defects or problems. You had a sore experience with a single 570 that had problems that were unique to the one you had. And the fact that if you had sent it in for repairs you would have it fixed for free and had the other parts looked at. To adress the ****Ty batter life, i get almost 4 hours of batter life, its really not that heavy for a high end gaming laptop. If you bought a gaming laptop expecting it to weigh like a 15" mainstream then that was your mistake

 

Nice, glad you got it fixed.

Now ask an admin to Close this thread.

 

That is a bit rancid.

 

Considering his first post, I believe it is very fair.

 

He just sounded frustrated. A perfectly normal reaction given the circumstance. Once he went back to it, the answer became clear.

People visit this forum for answers...

 

That's funny, 'cause the first piece of electronics I tried to do serious work on, I got lazy and ignored the advice about getting an anti-static wristguard, and, lo and behold, I popped something on the motherboard and bricked it.

 

The problem was his fault, he wanted to save a few bucks and because he can build/repair a house he thought it would make him a verified notebook technician. Then he proceeded to start a thread with the title Clevo/Sager M57U = JUNK. And then the rest of the post followed.
Even leaving aside how much wise it was to not call tech support, again and post in a forum, instead of asking/stating his problem he went on like Clevo killed his dog.
Suddently all models are piece of crap etc.
He sounds like someone who is clever so I don't know why he did what he did.

I wonder, will he now keep this JUNK or throw it away?

 

Just thought i would let you guys know, not for any real reason or anything. "I get rid of junk free". Anwyaz thats all :laugh:

 

A lot of babble coming from a guy that has been here for 2 months. How's about doing some research seeing the many problems associated with this series of laptops and then speaking again?

Or maybe it is the 250 posts in 2 months that makes you an expert?

Mind telling me how I would obtain free service repair from Clevo on a computer that is 18 months old either in-house or over the phone? Or maybe I should send it back to the guy that built it at Flawless? Oh, that's right, I can't do that because he is in jail where he should be. But how would you know that being you are brand new?

Why would I take the thing to some service place that has never even heard of Clevo (3 places in my area, none had ever heard of one) to get fixed? Did it need some kind of troubleshooting electronic wizards to remove and replace 2 simple parts? The hinge took 5 minutes, the lcd cable ranks right up there as one of the worst designs I have seen on any electric system, cars included. Why would you run a cable thru 2 separate panels when there is no need to?

The power supply setup is downright assinine.

Like I said, tearing into electric things is simple if you are just replacing and need no trouble shooting. I don't need a shop to charge $300 for a simple fix, nevermind the fact that they couldn't even figure out where to get parts which is why I had to get them myself. And seeing as how I have had this apart 3 times now, I can strip it in about 5 minutes and put it back together with no parts left over. Can you do that to yours?

And BTW, yes, it will be going up for sale. I don't hold onto crap, cars or otherwise.

 

I'm starting to see flames, maybe we should call a 2nd alarm...

... and yes, I've been here only 2 months too.

 

When did I say I am an expert, and an expert at what? I never said that I could fix your notebook, did I?
I didn't know that I have to be here over certain amount of time or post a certain amount of posts per month to make it worthwhile for you or anyone else to read.

I also never said that you would get FREE service repair from anyone. Did I? I am brand new? My gods it's a freaking miracle! I am two months old and I can use a keyboard!!!111111111!!!!!

You wouldn't get the notebook to someone who has never heard of Clevo. I never said that either. Did I?

You consider yourself the expert of repairs/breaking things up or whatever and you failed. How do I know you failed? Because you came in here and posted a thread with the title Clevo/Sager M57U=JUNK and your first post. Blaming the design of the notebook for your ignorance in repairing the notebook is funny at best.

This isn't just an eletric appliance. It's not a gun either nor a competition to see how few minutes it will take you to strip it.
I wouldn't do that to mine because I have some brains left over the years that I am on this planet to not try to "fix" things that I don't know enough about. I also know when I know something and when I think I know. Certainly not blaming someone else for my own faults.

Good luck with the sale.

 

Although I sympathize with your problem, it's not Clevo's fault you bought a product from a bad retailer who is unable to honor their warranty. Why call the product a piece of junk when what you're really angry about is the customer service? Customer support which Clevo and Sager had nothing to do with.

 

Must... Resi... ge..!

CannNN'T ReSiSt UrGe....................!!!!

Thats it, we need a huge 1000 gallon fish tank, full of baby oil so that everyone can cool off! KEKEKEKEK :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=288935

 

jh255... I understand your frustration but you really do have a bad attitude toward all this. The amount of generalizing in your statements and baseless assumptions about an entire company are close-minded, really... if you want help with a problem, respect the people you're asking. In fact, you didn't even ask, you just blasted in with: THIS THING'S JUNK. It's well known that Clevo is not junk and even though your product may have been, assuming the whole brand and company is junk is pointless.

I don't want to sound rude, but honestly if you come into any product with that kind of attitude you're going to think its junk. The only thing about an HP or Dell that will be more comfortable is that it's in your head that it's better or more reliable because it's a known brand, not that it is actually better. Sounds like you just had bad luck, so I hope you have good luck with purchases in the future, but I wouldn't give up on "customs."

P.S. This post should probably be closed by now =)

 

I agree that this should be closed. *reports*

 

Thread Closed.

 

Okay, seems like we are going OT and since the OP problems have been solved, this thread is now closed.