My oldest son needed to use my laptop for homework. No big deal. He and his brother have used it many times. Suddenly, he called to me that the computer turned off and won't turn on.
I asked him what happened and he said that he tried to plug it in, wasn't looking, and jammed the power cord in the wrong slot.
I tried removing and reseating the battery, holding down the power button, and plugging it in. Nothing. No sign of life whatsoever.
Is my computer completely fried? Or is there some hope of bringing it back to life?
That looks like a fried motherboard to me.You could try straightening out those pins in the wrong socket just to make sure it's just not a short stopping it from powering on but a long shot.
I tried pulling down those pins, but nothing happened. It's looking like a fried motherboard. Now, while I look at new laptops, my main question is: Is the hard drive salvageable?
#3. "RE: I think my laptop is fried!" In response to jasonlevine (Reply # 2) Thu Mar-02-17 03:42 PM by GreyFalcon
It doesn't look encouraging Jason. The power plug looks like it has been pushed into the computer, it looks off center (possibly camera angle?), and what is that a USB port with a broken plastic piece leaving the contacts exposed where he stuck the power plug? It may be that the battery is totally flat because the power receptacle is damaged. I have seen many mangled USB ports that shorted out but never fried a motherboard. It might be worth a look if the brick is still working properly. The hard drive is probably fine.
I've learned the hard way about how little it takes to fry a laptop motherboard but between my blunder and a few others I was always able to pull info off the hard drive.So if you have a dock or other enclosure there's a good chance you can do that.
#4. "RE: I think my laptop is fried!" In response to jbmcmillan (Reply # 1) Thu Mar-02-17 04:47 PM by Shelly
it seems like just yesterday I remembert you telling us of him being born! Now he is old enough to blow up your laptop. If it can be resurected depends if whatever blew went fast enough tto spare the otherfollowing ciercuits.
Growing up is learning from mistakes. It's the way of the world.
Yup. He's 13 now and is almost at tall as I am. He loves technology/science/math, has a real talent for it, and has already said that he wants to be an engineer.
After I got over the initial anger about him frying my laptop, I told him that it's a mistake and everyone makes them. I've certainly made more than my fair share of mistakes during my life. The important thing isn't whether you make mistakes or not, but whether you learn from them.
Murphy's 1st law of Mechanics: If it doesn't fit, force it... If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.
We've all heard the expression about a "Square peg in a round hole". Apparently it's equally true for a round peg in a square (or in this case rectangular) hole.
Probably not a law, but maybe a good idea anyway: Unplug the AC adaptor from the wall outlet when it's not being used and then plug it back in only when it's properly connected to the laptop.
I'd certainly try what G.F. suggested in reply #3 above. I, too, doubt that the drive is damaged. Try a different outlet, and a different adaptor. Or, try what jb suggested in #5.
Hindsight is 20-20
I certainly wouldn't be as patient in the same situation as you were. I don't know if your son gets an allowance, but if he doesn't, perhaps you should consider giving him one, just so you can take the money back to pay for his "mistake".
#11. "RE: I think my laptop is fried!" In response to KJT (Reply # 10)
I certainly yelled at him when he first blew my computer. After awhile, though, I forced myself to calm down so I could act like a parent instead of an enraged computer owner. The former was more important than the latter. He doesn't get an allowance and won't be paying for a new computer, but he's certainly on notice that he needs to shape up and pay attention to what he's doing.