Laptop repair book/site/class?

[randypj]

I'd like to give it a go. I've done quite a bit of searching and have found nothing. Kinda hard to believe they wouldn't have at least some basic book out there.
--Randy

 

[Gunbuster]

It's plug and chug baby

My mini class:

1. Have a big work area
2. when you take it apart remember where stuff came from, make a picture/notes if need be
3. work slow
4. dont force anything
5. dont loose screws, nothing says a noob repaired your lappy like missing screws

 

[HappyFace]

"Sir, your system boots perfectly fine - but I seem to have misplaced the LCD screen. Sorry for any inconvenience!"

 

[jschuk]

You probably have not found a basic book/site/class because there is no basic laptop. All laptops are proprietary to some point. Sure modern ones use standard HDD's, CD-Rom's, memory (sometimes), CPU's, and LCD's (sorta standard). Everything else is unique. That is why I have taken several exams and read lots of material for EACH manufacturer's laptop that I work on. Yes, the information is provided by the manufacturer, and yes, once you start working on quite a few laptops working on new ones is easily figured out. Half of my knowledge has come from experience (if not a little more).

 

[randypj]

Hmmm....now that's not what I wanted to hear guys. But, I am prepared to give up my Winbook, and possibly a part out Winbook for experimentation for my Dad and myself. Dad, being a mechanical and petroleum engineer, and pilot is very......um.....shall I say precise rather than anal?

Yep.....Dad'll take pictures, etc. I remember when he repaired the automatic tranny on my brother's '64 Chevy, he had parts all over his workshed floor. Nicely placed. When he put it back together, nothing was left, and it worked. LOL....he bout had a panic attack when I told him in '98 that we were gonna both build our pc's from scratch. He's probably built a couple dozen since.

Gunbuster--Hehehe.....sometimes I'm more of a "if it don't fit, get a bigger hammer" type. My Dad is a "tight's tight, and too tight's broke" and "measure twice, cut once" kinda guy.

jschuk--My company is looking at outsourcing us. So.....I may wanna get in a different field. I like troubleshooting pc's and software installs, and have always thought laptop repair would be interesting. I'm assuming it can be lucrative profession. Any suggestions on how to start in the field? I live in Dallas/Ft. Worth area, so I would think the repair market would be there.
--Randy

 

[jschuk]

I don't know your background, but for hardware troubleshooting, an A+ certification is going to help you get your foot in the door. Richard's Computers is an authorized service center for Toshiba, and one of the best in the nation for Toshiba (along with my shop of course, but I admit Richards is probably better on average). You can check major laptop manufacturer's websites to see who their authorized repair centers are. I would suggest sticking with authorized centers, you will get better training.

 

[randypj]

jschuk--Thanks much for the suggestions. I've been A+ for a few years, MCSE....yada.....

I'll take your suggestion and give it a try. I work a compressed work week, so I could possibly still get some OTJ training before we're outsourced.
--Randy

 

[jamarno]

The electronics Repair FAQ and sci.electronics.repair have information about notebook repair and how to open cases. Don't buy a Sams or Tab book about the topic unless you can check it first because quality varies greatly, from real repairs down to nothing.

 

[abey77]

there's a posting about Netlux somewhere on the 1 or 2 page of this forum. This guy (and myself) are wondering about the offer from Netlux. I've had my desktop PC with my AMD Athlon chip working pretty well now but I've heard that PC chips are all problems in laps.

what's the difference between lap and pc chips? Is Netlux a good deal?

I found them through pricewatch.com

 

[Jeff7]

Yes, all are different. A compaq I took apart had a special connector inside for the modem module. My Dell has a more standard PCMCIA modem.

 

[hans007]

you learn by figuring it out yourself. its the same way with programming (At least it has been for me). i took apart my HP laptop and upgraded the CPU, took apart my toshiba and upgraded the hard drive etc. just make sure you dont break any little plastic parts. then my dad came home with 100 laptops and told me to fix them (for a large chunk of the profits) and well that has taught me a lot more.