laptop power

[TheChairmanH2K]

hey peeps

i hope this is in the right section.

so it appears the port where the power cord plugs into my laptop has died.  much like the old genesis video cords i was able to wiggle it around to get it to work for a few months but its finally bought the farm.  my questions is this:  can i solder the power cord directly to the motherboard to have constant power? 

im planning to use this laptop in a cab so im not worried about the solder detaching or being messed with. 

thanks in advance for any help

[knave]

I'll take a stab at this...I've seen several laptops do this. Usually its because the power supply breaks loose from its mainboard. If your soldering skills and laptop disassembly skills are up to it is totally possible to open it up and fix it. You don't have to wire in the power cord just re-flow the solder on the connector.  Now the bad news...its not always just the connection...sometimes its parts that have burnt out. in that case the mainboard is replaced.

Hope that helps.

[TheChairmanH2K]

@knave
it actually turned out to be the power cord that was bad but i now have a brand new power cord and power jack attached to the motherboard. 

however that leads me to my newest power problem   with the new power jack in hand and installed, getting everything back together wasnt happening.  the cord on the new power jack was super long and did not fit in the form factor any longer.  so being the enterprising young man i decided to decase the laptop and put it in my world of warcraft/fighter cab. 

the power jack gets power (lights on) and i press the power button aaaand nada.  after fiddling with it for a bit i got the power to turn on, the fan started up then it shuts off.  the power button does not get it to go on everytime but everytime it does it shuts off within five seconds.  im attaching pics of the areas im talking about so hopefully those more knowledgable in laptops and electronics in general can help me. 

the first is the power button board


the second is the port the power ribbon cable plugs into


the third is the ribbon cable in the port on the motherboard

[ark_ader]

Grounding fuse or deadman switch.  Did you de-case the laptop or left it in plastics?  I tend to de-case the laptop which is removing the keyboard, screen hingles and leaving it in plastics before sticking it in a sub mini cab.  If you removed the bottom plastics you might have created additional problems for yourself.

What is the laptop model number and make please? 

[TheChairmanH2K]

took it out of the plastic case, removing keyboard, screen, everything.  not at home but it was a HP pavilion, bought it in 08.

[ark_ader]

I'm not sure of the model, but it sounds like the one I have in storage.  A celeron 1.2 ghz with 1gb max ram.

I found the tech manual and if you look on page 85 I think it shows how it all fits together.

Hope it helps.

http://www.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02842252.pdf

[TheChairmanH2K]

while i appreciate the link to that manual its not, i didnt think it was, the laptop that i have.  the specs for the one i have are on this page http://www.cnet.com/laptops/hp-pavilion-dv5-1235dx/4507-3121_7-33496195.html

and the specs arent really relevant to my question anyway.  i need to know what, if anything, i can do to correct the power on then immediately power off problem my laptop is having.  i dont know if its a short or if its just a totally lost cause.

[ark_ader]

while i appreciate the link to that manual its not, i didnt think it was, the laptop that i have.  the specs for the one i have are on this page http://www.cnet.com/laptops/hp-pavilion-dv5-1235dx/4507-3121_7-33496195.html

and the specs arent really relevant to my question anyway.  i need to know what, if anything, i can do to correct the power on then immediately power off problem my laptop is having.  i dont know if its a short or if its just a totally lost cause.

Well it was a shot in the dark.   

[DaOld Man]

You could have fried something when you replaced the jack. (too hot or solder bridged connections).
You could have knocked the heat sink loose on the CPU.
Remove heat sink, clean off the old grease (use a q tip and alcohol to clean), put new heat sink compound back on (don't use the cheap stuff.) Make sure heat sink is properly attached.
Other than that, I don't know right off hand. I guess double check all your ribbon cable connections.

[TheChairmanH2K]

well i miraculously got the laptop running the other day.  it ran for about 5 hours before i shut it off and went to bed.  since it was the cord that went bad the first time im assuming it could go bad again.  so my question now is how to deal with it the next time.  is it possible to somehow splice a regular desktop pc power supply to the business end of the laptop power cord?  i dont know anything about voltages or switching ac to dc (no pun intended ) so please pardon my ignorance and thanks for your help in advance.