Salam,

My friend's laptop's power supply got burnt.. :bomb:

This got me wondering.. what could be the reason?! She's doesn't keep the power on for long hours, and whenever not in use, it's switched off..

How much would it cost her to replace the power supply (she's in the UK)? and would the system recover well or would it need to be rebooted?!


Thanks..

what could be the reason?!

Maybe a strong voltage came to it. Or it got heated up and the cooling system wasnt working efficiently.

How much would it cost her to replace the power supply

Depends on the laptop provider. Which brand is it? But usually laptop power supply isnt cheap. Wait a minute! Do you mean the one in the laptop itself or the one that connects the laptop to the power outlet (charger).

would the system recover well or would it need to be rebooted?!

well, normally it should be fine cause this is a hardware replacement. And it should have nothing to do with the way the operating system is working. And if you meant by rebooting -> formatting? then in almost all cases, that is not required at all.

Bimzoori is actually referring to my laptop's burnt power supply :weep:

DD, thanks for your input.

It's a DELL (latitude) laptop, and it's the inner power supply that got burnt for no good reason! What happened was :
I was using the laptop, didn't overuse it that day or anything of that sort.. I heard something suddenly crack, and I saw and smelt smoke from one of the corners, the screen got dimmer (as in it's using the laptop's battery)

I switched it off and then on again after a while, and the external battery charger bulb lights when it's not connected to the computer, but doesn't when I connect it to the computer, so I conculded that it must be the inner power supply that got :bomb:

I'm in the UK at the moment, but will be in Oman shortly. I'd rather take it back home and sort it out there, is it an easy thing to replace the power supply? How much approx. will it cost?

(Thanks in millions Bimzoori for opening this thread for me :50bz: :) )

If you still have the guarantee (depends either a year or two), then take it back to the manufacturer or the shop you bought it from and repair it quicktime or exchange, rather than risking paying a fortune for nothing.

Silent Tunes, I doubt it is your powersupply, as I suppose it might be the "CPU" (processor). You can do as Abs said, to return it to the manufacturer if it is still under warranty.

Plus, I do not believe there are much computer shops which deal with laptops, as they need more professional workers to work on, compared to a desktop, and the laptop parts are not as widely spread and sold as desktops.

When you try to switch on your computer, you said only the batter LED (light thing) gets lit? Does the "POWER ON" or some other fan on the computer works or maybe something else works on your computer?

When you try to switch on your computer, you said only the batter LED (light thing) gets lit? Does the "POWER ON" or some other fan on the computer works or maybe something else works on your computer?

Yes the computer seemed to work abosuletly fine after the :bomb: , I switched it on to save all my important documents on a flash disk. It stayed on and worked perfectly until I received a signal saying that the battery is going flat, I was still busy saving my things and the computer ran out of battery and it switched off (for good?, I really hope not :cry: )

Let me get this straight as I might be missing some point. You said the computer worked perfectly fine after the incidence of the "flames" comming out? But then, it shut down later while you were trying to save some of your files because the battery ran out? So basically, while trying to save, was there any smoke comming out of the laptop? Did the laptop function properly, as in, was it smooth to using the computer or was it freezing every few? If you can give more details then it would be great.

Also, do yourself a favor, plug the laptop to the power supply (wall) as I suppose you have one? Turn the laptop upside down, make sure the computer is turned on, then look for some "FAN". So if it is working. Try to smell that part, see if it is giving smoke or very bad smell.

Thanks Don so much for your help...

So basically, while trying to save, was there any smoke comming out of the laptop? Did the laptop function properly, as in, was it smooth to using the computer or was it freezing every few?

No, the smoke was there for just very few seconds.. and Yes the laptop was functioning abosuletly fine, smooth and wasn't freezing! The fan was also working fine as far as I remember, didn't pay much attention to it at that point i'm afraid!

and do yourself a favor, plug the laptop to the power supply (wall) as I suppose you have one? Turn the laptop upside down, make sure the computer is turned on, then look for some "FAN". So if it is working. Try to smell that part, see if it is giving smoke or very bad smell.

I wish I could do myself any favor to do with my laptop :( , unfortunately no power can be transmitted to the laptop, you can say the charger isn't working, but I assume that won't be the case, bçoz the charger lights when it's connected to the socket, but once it's connected to the computer the light goes out!

I hope I got my message across clearly this time..

I imagine that the electricity flows from the socket (wall) --> battery charger --> laptop power supply ( :bomb: , in my case?) ---> laptop itself to operate normally..

That's why I could use the laptop perfecly when I saved my files using it's battery, but once the battery ran out I couldn't switch on again?! :think: