Dead 8890

Well, it finally happened. My 3 year old 8890 died on me. It happened when I tried to plug the AC adapter into the 8890 after going on a trip. I turned it on, and it started to boot, when suddenly I heard a crackle and smelled smoke (the fried electronics kind). The laptop turned itself off right after booting into windows. The lights went out, and she is no more.

I've contacted Sager support, and they think the motherboard will have to be replaced, costing $400-$500 + labor + shipping. I'm not all that thrilled with that idea. No one wants to dump that kind of cash into a 3 year old computer. So my options are few. After a bit of research online, I found that the DC Power Jack (where you plug in the AC adaptor) commonly shorts out, and there are places that claim to be able to fix them. But of course, shipping the laptop and finding out that wasn't the problem would end up costing me even more money.

So, I'm not sure what to do. Anyone here recommend a good online repair center for laptops or have any other suggestions? I live around Salt Lake City. Anyone know of a local place?? I don't really want to pay to have the entire motherboard replaced if a simple part can be soldered on. I'm worried that if I send it to Sager that they'll simply not take the time to diagnose the problem properly and tell me I need a new motherboard (which will probably fix the problem, but for more $$ than necessary). . .

No, I was at home. And, now I'm fairly certain that it is just the DC Power Jack. I was able to wiggle the connection where the power comes into the computer and get the power light to come on. While holding the cable (tilting it up slightly) I was able to boot into Windows, but the power was flickering on and off (I could tell because the screen would dim, then brighten, then dim, etc.). The computer ended up shutting down because it said battery power was low (my battery hasn't held a charge for a while). But, I'm given hope by the fact that I could still boot the computer. I tried leaving the computer to see if the battery would charge up and I might be able to back up some data, but now even wiggling won't get the power flowing.

So, there's a company in California called Laptop Rescuer Co. I talked to them, and they do DC power jack repairs. They estimated it would cost $100-$150 to repair. Has anyone ever used these guys? They said they do Sager warranty repairs as well, so they have experience with Sager.

Well, they diagnosed my problem. They say I have a bad voltage regulator. It's going to cost $275 total to replace it. I'll admit that it's more than I want to spend, but still better than replacing the motherboard I suppose. They warranty the service for 90 days. I guess that's as good as I can ask for. I get the laptop back in about a week. I hope it works!!

Anyone ever had to replace a voltage regulator? Am I getting a fair price?

Yes!!

Well, I got my laptop back from Laptop Rescuer on the 19th, and all seems to be well. Not a bad turnaround time, either. I did have to pay for shipping both ways, but that wasn't unexpected. They charged me $275 in addition to the shipping ($18). But, they replaced my voltage regulator, and now my laptop is back to normal. They even cleaned my screen! I recommend them to anyone who has a major meltdown on a Sager out of warranty. These guys say they actually get contracted to repair Sagers for APS (the guys PCTorque used to use for warranties, I believe), so they definitely know their stuff. Probably saved me $300-$400 at least! I'm a happy camper.