I think the motherboard is dead

[skotl]

Laptops are no different at all to desktops.

except, as you say, for example, the PSU which is not an easily swappable module, and that they run on an internal battery.

Or, to put it another way, they ARE different.

No different to a desktop with a 12V input supply on the motherboard (yes, those exist). The battery is relatively immaterial. If you cannot handle a laptop, you don't know enough about desktops, either.

There's no need to be rude, Monkeh. Laptops, as you know, are more complex to diagnose than desktops, primarily because so few of the parts are user-replaceable, plus they tend to be less generic / more proprietary, so people will not tend to have swappable alternative components readily to hand.

Back to the original problem, the OP said that she had bought a replacement motherboard that would include the CPU. Now you have her replacing the CPU and buying heatsink compound... why? If you believe that there is a fault on the replacement motherboard then she should return that for a refund / replacement.

Back to the point re the power supply - if the motherboard has already been replaced then the PSU is a reasonable next step for investigation.

JohnD, is the psu not attached to the motherboard? Is there any way of testing that?

It is built in on a laptop.

No it's not. The PSU is the separate "brick" that feeds the laptop. PSUs can and do fail and it's a reasonable component to investigate.

 

[Monkeh]

Back to the original problem, the OP said that she had bought a replacement motherboard that would include the CPU. Now you have her replacing the CPU and buying heatsink compound... why? If you believe that there is a fault on the replacement motherboard then she should return that for a refund / replacement.

I am working under the assumption that the replacement board is functional and something else is the problem. A CPU would not have been included, they are socketed. For the sake of picking up a couple quid of parts to find out, you save dealing with returns of potentially perfectly good hardware, with associated restocking feeds and postage fees which will exceed the cost of the parts required to rule the CPU out.

Back to the point re the power supply - if the motherboard has already been replaced then the PSU is a reasonable next step for investigation.

JohnD, is the psu not attached to the motherboard? Is there any way of testing that?

It is built in on a laptop.

No it's not. The PSU is the separate "brick" that feeds the laptop. PSUs can and do fail and it's a reasonable component to investigate.

No, that is the charger. The PSU, as far as I'm concerned, is the section of the motherboard dedicated to converting that supply and the battery supply to the voltages required by the system, as well as charging the battery.

I will ask again, in case it got missed: Does the battery appear to charge?

 

[skotl]

I thought we had asked whether the battery had been removed?

The external power supply is, as you know, both a charger and a primary power supply. If the battery is not present then the external PSU will power the laptop. Therefore it is an external power supply.

I doubt that the replacement motherboard came sans CPU but you've not asked that question, either. If the replacement motherboard (which appears to be less than a week old, in terms of the O.P.'s purchase history) included a CPU would you still be recommending that the O.P. replace that CPU at her own cost?

 

[Monkeh]

The external power supply is, as you know, both a charger and a primary power supply. If the battery is not present then the external PSU will power the laptop. Therefore it is an external power supply.

I'm not going to argue this with you. The main PSU is on the motherboard.

I doubt that the replacement motherboard came sans CPU but you've not asked that question, either.

How many replacement motherboards have you bought? Because I've bought rather a few, they don't come with CPUs.

If the replacement motherboard (which appears to be less than a week old, in terms of the O.P.'s purchase history) included a CPU would you still be recommending that the O.P. replace that CPU at her own cost?

.. well, no, but I have no reason to think it came with a CPU.

 

[JohnD]

I'm not going to argue this with you.

He is, you know.

 

[Alison556]

The motherboard didn't come with a CPU.

The battery is fairly new and was charging fine. It's neither working with or without the battery.

 

[Monkeh]

The motherboard didn't come with a CPU.

I bet it didn't come with RAM, a wireless card, screws, and the rest of the laptop, either..

The battery is fairly new and was charging fine. It's neither working with or without the battery. :/

Does the charging light come on as expected with the charger connected?

If yes, ignore the small children harping on about the charger.

 

[Alison556]

The charging light is only coming on for a couple of seconds - same as the power light but I've tried two different chargers - and it's the same with both and I tried the charger from that laptop in my own and it worked for mine.

 

[Monkeh]

The charging light is only coming on for a couple of seconds - same as the power light but I've tried two different chargers - and it's the same with both and I tried the charger from that laptop in my own and it worked for mine.

I'm not familiar with the laptop, that could easily just mean it's fully charged. If the charger will power your laptop without the battery fitted, it's fine.

 

[doitall]

Maybe worth posting this, who knows it may help.

http://www.solano.edu/technology/data/D630/trouble.htm

 

[Alison556]

Quick question - it's a thermal pad over the GPU - should I replace that too?

 

[Monkeh]

Quick question - it's a thermal pad over the GPU - should I replace that too?

If paste can't make contact, you should use a pad.

If a pad is already on the heatsink, well.. I wouldn't reuse one.

 

[Alison556]

Thank you. I'll replace that too. Is there any particular make that's best or is a thermal pad a thermal pad?

 

[Monkeh]

Thank you. I'll replace that too. Is there any particular make that's best or is a thermal pad a thermal pad?

Pads all pretty much suck equally.

See if you can get adequate contact with paste first.

If you've got the replacement CPU already you can give it a brief powerup with the old pad to see if there's life or not, but I wouldn't run it for long.

 

[Alison556]

I've not got it yet. Our postie is a bit hit or miss and it was raining today so not likely to see him on a wet day!!

It was paste over the CPU but pads over the GPU - my own is the same.