Laptop progress update
Feb. 26th, 2010 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stephbgThe first rule of Fight Club tech support: remember to ask "Is it plugged in?"
Took the laptop and new screen in to work today and managed without shame to get a coworker to do the replacement, for I am flaring, twitching, and had an impressive hand tremor this morning. Did a passable job of making it a training experience for all concerned.
Discovery #1: The screen I bought on eBay is technically compatible with my laptop, but is far from plug&pray insofar as anything inside a laptop is ever P&P. A bit like an early Linux install: possible, but not for the impatient or faint hearted.
Discovery #2: The screen I bought didn't come with a backlight inverter. This was disappointing*. All along the inverter has been the suspect part, but apparently impossible to buy separately. So, advice from multiple (and subsequently very surprised) sources was that it would be "easier" to buy a whole new screen which would include a new inverter. The new screen didn't come with a new inverter.
Discovery #3: The problem is almost certainly the inverter. There was a slim chance it might have been the backlight itself, but that is currently unproven because the new screen didn't work with the old inverter.
Discovery #4: The old inverter plug went in more firmly than it came out, giving us hope that the problem was a loose connection rather than a failed part. I had completely forgotten to consider the possibility of loose connections, but then no-one else suggested it either. Aforementioned connection was hidden under multiple seals and screws and still needed pliers to come out, so it was hardly a visible fault.
It's still mildly embarrassing because checking all the internal connections is one of the first things I wrote in a PC-like troubleshooting manual once. Fortunately for my sanity I don't expect myself to remember everything I've ever researched and written**, so the embarrassment was only mild. No one else mentioned it either (too obvious? too obscure?). This is how billion-dollar projects fail. It's almost funny.
Discovery #5: The person/shop who sold the screen is not to blame: with knowledge and hindsight it's possible to see from the photographs on eBay that the inverter is not part of the assembly. In my correspondence with the seller I was concerned only with compatibility, so there's no grounds for return. Unfortunately he doesn't have an inverter in stock. So, at this point I'm down $165 and back to square one. I'm not too concerned about the cash: it was an amount I was willing to gamble in this particular case as an alternative to getting a whole new laptop. Gamble lost: c'est la vie.
So, my last ditch attempt is to try to find a human at Dell who is prepared to talk to me about selling a replacement part for an out-of-stock out-of-warranty machine that is not covered by a current support agreement *hollow laughter*. I am close to defeat: this laptop will become at best a storage device, although we may be able to get it set up as a desktop somewhere with a decent external monitor. In the meantime I don't quite need to rush out and buy a new machine just yet, as Dad has a spare third-hand laptop that can hopefully do what I need it to do. But then I'll have to pull my finger out and get the network set up properly...
Is outsourcing such a difficult concept for the universe? On Tuesday a Nice Man is coming to clean our gutters; it would be nice if the concept was extendable.
On the bright side, it's been a learning experience *slightly less hollow laughter*, so much so that I'm thinking of claiming some professional development points. And I'm far from being a wibbly mess, so yay for returned coping skills. I'm having my six-month followup brain MRI on Tuesday, so I know absolutely I'm in a significantly better place than I was back then. I'm still sick, but far less broken.
(*)Fu#@ Fu#@ Fu#@ Fu#@ Fu#@ity Fu#@
(**) Though if I did I'd be *awesome*.
Took the laptop and new screen in to work today and managed without shame to get a coworker to do the replacement, for I am flaring, twitching, and had an impressive hand tremor this morning. Did a passable job of making it a training experience for all concerned.
Discovery #1: The screen I bought on eBay is technically compatible with my laptop, but is far from plug&pray insofar as anything inside a laptop is ever P&P. A bit like an early Linux install: possible, but not for the impatient or faint hearted.
Discovery #2: The screen I bought didn't come with a backlight inverter. This was disappointing*. All along the inverter has been the suspect part, but apparently impossible to buy separately. So, advice from multiple (and subsequently very surprised) sources was that it would be "easier" to buy a whole new screen which would include a new inverter. The new screen didn't come with a new inverter.
Discovery #3: The problem is almost certainly the inverter. There was a slim chance it might have been the backlight itself, but that is currently unproven because the new screen didn't work with the old inverter.
Discovery #4: The old inverter plug went in more firmly than it came out, giving us hope that the problem was a loose connection rather than a failed part. I had completely forgotten to consider the possibility of loose connections, but then no-one else suggested it either. Aforementioned connection was hidden under multiple seals and screws and still needed pliers to come out, so it was hardly a visible fault.
It's still mildly embarrassing because checking all the internal connections is one of the first things I wrote in a PC-like troubleshooting manual once. Fortunately for my sanity I don't expect myself to remember everything I've ever researched and written**, so the embarrassment was only mild. No one else mentioned it either (too obvious? too obscure?). This is how billion-dollar projects fail. It's almost funny.
Discovery #5: The person/shop who sold the screen is not to blame: with knowledge and hindsight it's possible to see from the photographs on eBay that the inverter is not part of the assembly. In my correspondence with the seller I was concerned only with compatibility, so there's no grounds for return. Unfortunately he doesn't have an inverter in stock. So, at this point I'm down $165 and back to square one. I'm not too concerned about the cash: it was an amount I was willing to gamble in this particular case as an alternative to getting a whole new laptop. Gamble lost: c'est la vie.
So, my last ditch attempt is to try to find a human at Dell who is prepared to talk to me about selling a replacement part for an out-of-stock out-of-warranty machine that is not covered by a current support agreement *hollow laughter*. I am close to defeat: this laptop will become at best a storage device, although we may be able to get it set up as a desktop somewhere with a decent external monitor. In the meantime I don't quite need to rush out and buy a new machine just yet, as Dad has a spare third-hand laptop that can hopefully do what I need it to do. But then I'll have to pull my finger out and get the network set up properly...
Is outsourcing such a difficult concept for the universe? On Tuesday a Nice Man is coming to clean our gutters; it would be nice if the concept was extendable.
On the bright side, it's been a learning experience *slightly less hollow laughter*, so much so that I'm thinking of claiming some professional development points. And I'm far from being a wibbly mess, so yay for returned coping skills. I'm having my six-month followup brain MRI on Tuesday, so I know absolutely I'm in a significantly better place than I was back then. I'm still sick, but far less broken.
(*)Fu#@ Fu#@ Fu#@ Fu#@ Fu#@ity Fu#@
(**) Though if I did I'd be *awesome*.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-02-26 03:13 pm (UTC)Fight Clubtech support: remember to ask "Is it plugged in?"Noooooo, nononononono!
The *first* rule of tech support is to remember to ask "Have you turned it off and back on again?" (which conveniently takes care of the "is it plugged in? Is it *really* plugged in? In the **correct** place?" parts, as well.) ^_^