Old laptop

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- Little Monster
  
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posted
20 years ago

Mon, Jul 28, 2003 5:27 PM

I have an ancient Escom KT50-MNB-I (Paradigma) laptop, which did have a knackered power-supply module, which I fixed, so now it has power, however I get no life apart from the fan running and the battery charging. The cpu (mobile 486) is fine, so I am wondering, what is frugged? And how can I tell? Memory too ancient to test in another machine, graphics card likewise, no bios beep, but that could be due to faulty memory, mobo integrity unknown. Power and reset buttons cause very slight shift in mobo voltages pretty much everywhere. Unfortunately I don't have a manual to tell me what is ....normal.

It seems a shame to junk it cos it's a funky little machine, when it could be something simple like a discrete component causing the fault. Suggestions, anyone?

Monster

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posted
20 years ago

Wed, Jul 30, 2003 6:27 PM

Funny, it was some surface mount ones that failed in the power converter - no idea what type they were, they had gone s/c. I replaced them with some "reclaimed" small standard radial electrolytics, extended the wires so they could hang off the board! I will investigate what is on the mobo. Thanks!

Monster

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posted
20 years ago

Tue, Aug 5, 2003 8:06 AM

You're welcome :)

BTW, I'd replace them with the exact type for best reliability, as they use SMD to reduce lead length (and help EMI). What you have done is OK for test purposes though.

Not trying to nitpick, but using reclaimed 'lytics without first testing on an ESR and/or capacitor meter is a bad idea. You may find they fail in a short time.

Also, you need to replace every electrolytic capacitor on all of the boards . If you miss one, it may not shown immediately but the machine may breakdown in a few weeks or months. Use antistatic precautions!

The problem I describe is endemic on camcorders over a certain age, these are particularly evil things to service due to the sheer number of capacitors and their tendency to leak (!).