Broken power socket on laptop

epano · 13th August 2008, 9:50 AM

Hey guys on Friday I was given a LG LM50. It has a broken power socket, probably from falling (an evident crack near the side). I would like to repair this.

What are my options/best options?

Open the laptop up, buy a socket and solder it on? How risky is this?
Take it to a professional to get it fixed. Is it worth it?
Salvage parts and sell them or sell the laptop as it is.

I also don't have the charger but I could always pick one up from eBay.

Here are some photos of the problem

Damaged power socket

Exterior damage

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

-=Alfonzo=- · 13th August 2008, 10:13 AM

There's a fair amount of casing that's no longer there too... you may find that even if you fix the DC jack on the mainboard, the screen hinge may continue to split the remaining casing around that area - they're surprisingly stiff little hinges, and near impossible to bend by hand unless you have some sort of leverage (holding with pliers, for example).

If it were me, given the age of the machine I'd cut my losses, salvage parts, and sell what's left as spares on eBay.

epano · 13th August 2008, 5:47 PM

Is there any way I could take the parts and perhaps buy some new parts to make a laptop.

IE: A new motherboard (sockets on that right?) and a case or not worth it again?

-=Alfonzo=- · 14th August 2008, 11:50 AM

Mainboards are usually custom shaped to fit inside the casing for that particular notebook. And depending on the design, various parts of the computer may actually screw on to the casing, rather than the mainboard (for example, the CPU fan, and little add ons like bluetooth adapters and wireless antennas.) Unless you can find casing for that exact model as well, I'm not liking your chances.

On the other hand, depending on the size and weight you could remove everything and mod it into a nifty little digital picture frame?

t00ch · 14th August 2008, 10:15 PM

Ring LG for a price on the lower casing, you may get a pleasant surprise, not sure on LG's prices specifically but for other notebooks that I've purchased casing parts for they havent been that expensive. As for the DC jack, look on ebay, there are sellers that specifically sell laptop DC jacks, save you replacing the mainboard (which would definitely not be worthwhile/economical). Soldering it on is very easy as long as you aren't totally retarded with a soldering iron

13th August 2008, 10:13 AM	#2
-=Alfonzo=- Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Redland Bay, BrisVegas Posts: 7,191	There's a fair amount of casing that's no longer there too... you may find that even if you fix the DC jack on the mainboard, the screen hinge may continue to split the remaining casing around that area - they're surprisingly stiff little hinges, and near impossible to bend by hand unless you have some sort of leverage (holding with pliers, for example). If it were me, given the age of the machine I'd cut my losses, salvage parts, and sell what's left as spares on eBay. __________________ successful trades \| car

14th August 2008, 11:50 AM	#4
-=Alfonzo=- Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Redland Bay, BrisVegas Posts: 7,191	Mainboards are usually custom shaped to fit inside the casing for that particular notebook. And depending on the design, various parts of the computer may actually screw on to the casing, rather than the mainboard (for example, the CPU fan, and little add ons like bluetooth adapters and wireless antennas.) Unless you can find casing for that exact model as well, I'm not liking your chances. On the other hand, depending on the size and weight you could remove everything and mod it into a nifty little digital picture frame? __________________ successful trades \| car

14th August 2008, 10:15 PM	#5
t00ch Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Bulleen, Melbourne Posts: 1,509	Ring LG for a price on the lower casing, you may get a pleasant surprise, not sure on LG's prices specifically but for other notebooks that I've purchased casing parts for they havent been that expensive. As for the DC jack, look on ebay, there are sellers that specifically sell laptop DC jacks, save you replacing the mainboard (which would definitely not be worthwhile/economical). Soldering it on is very easy as long as you aren't totally retarded with a soldering iron