Re: How easy is it to replace a motherboard in a notebook?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I asked them if there was a possibility that there was some problem causing the motherboard to go bad, as I had just had it replaced. They said the most likely scenario was that when I sent it in for warranty service, the motherboard was replaced with a used board that was on its way out.

[/ QUOTE ]

96% chance there's something causing the mobo to die
4% chance that scenario took place

Expensive lesson forthcoming

Re: How easy is it to replace a motherboard in a notebook?
 

[ QUOTE ]
This was an $1800 laptop so $450 is closer to 30%, which is why I would consider it.

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP, fwiw. Seems they are going for $500ish used on ebay. So it might be worth it to take a shot, just make sure you keep track of which microscrews went where.

I most definately wouldn't spend $450 to have it professionaly serviced when you could obtain a fully functional used duplicate for the same price.

Re: How easy is it to replace a motherboard in a notebook?
 

WHOA STOP

replacing a laptop mobo is not easy at all
that stu guy above is either exagerating a genious or extremely lucky

i have built 3 desktop computers from scratch now and i beleive desktops are very easy

my cousin asked if i could build him a laptop, i did a little research adn found only a few laptop kits but not even a place i could buy a vid card...i asked a few people and was quickly told not to try it

if you have never built a computer before i would not recomend trying this

and if you are still going to please note:
you cant just buy any laptop motherboard, your cpu socket type has to match along with the graphics card slot and the ram type....and im guessing there are demensions to make it sit right in the case too....(u probably already knew that and were just going to buy the exact same one you had, if so i appologize)

i would also verify the mobo is the problem before i went through with this(find a friend with a laptop and try their parts)

Re: How easy is it to replace a motherboard in a notebook?
 

Thanks for all the replies- I think I am just going to get a replacement and try to get a little money by selling it as a parts computer.

One of the deciding factors was finding www.zd7000forums.com on which I found out a LOT of people had recurring motherboard failure problems- so it looks like this has a high probability to be a big hole to throw time/money into.

Another question- if I sell this is there any way to reformat the hard drive (when the computer starts up there is no image on the monitor) so no personal info can be taken from it- or should I just remove it?

Re: How easy is it to replace a motherboard in a notebook?
 

I'd just remove and keep it for my personal spare part but if you want to sell it with the HDD use something that writes zeros to the drive multiple times. "Data shred" sounds familiar but I don't remember.