gavinb97•3d agoProlific Poster

Had a client's laptop shut down every time I tilted it a certain way

I was at my bench in the shop, trying to figure out why this Dell Latitude would just die. The owner said it would cut off if he picked it up. I had it open, running a stress test, and when I went to check the fan, I tilted the case forward. It instantly powered off. I thought it was a loose battery at first, but after checking that, I noticed a tiny, almost invisible crack in the motherboard right near the power jack. The board was flexing just enough when tilted to break contact. I told the client a full board swap was the only real fix, which he went for. It was one of those things you only find by accident. Has anyone else had a weird physical flex issue like that kill a machine?

3 comments

3 Comments

leodavis3d ago

That kind of hairline crack is a total nightmare. Seen it a few times on older machines where the plastic chassis gets brittle and stops supporting the board properly. You can sometimes get it to boot with pressure in just the right spot, but it's never a real fix. Honestly, those random physical failures are the worst puzzles to solve because the symptom seems totally random until you stumble on the exact wrong movement.

jake9863d ago

Ever try to map the crack to find the exact trace?

amy9743d ago

Yeah, the "exact wrong movement" thing is like when you find the one weird angle that makes a door stop squeaking.