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Help! Connector needed!

post #1 of 4
11/23/07 at 8:03pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I just discovered this site today and so far it has been a godsend!

My Alienware Area 51 laptop died a death about 2 months ago. I managed to diagnose it as a motherboard failure and finally got round to ordering a replacement one a couple of weeks ago. Imagine my joy when Parcelforce delivered it today and I was FINALLY able to start making some progress with the repair.

I have followed the step by step pictures that were on a different thread (and were fantastically helpful), but while stripping the machine two of the electrical connectors broke which managed to send my good humour into a spiral of depression. Both connectors are the same and seemed to just break apart when I touched them (which is odd as all of the other ones managed to survive my abuse). Maybe they were faulty, maybe they were brittle, or maybe I am a clown and crushed them. To cut a long story short I am now trying to find out where to get hold of replacements (or any other potential solution that anyone can think of).

The connector type in question is shown in the picture below (stolen from the aforementioned helpful thread, thanks!). It is the same style as the one sitting on the pad, directly right from the screwdriver, or directly down from the hand depending on how you want to look at it. It has 12 cables running into it, and it then slides onto the opposite side of the connection on the Motherboard.

http://www.notebookforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11934&d=1161177027

I really am pretty desperate to get this fixed and am trying to avoid the hassle of buying a new machine. It's become something of a battle of wills. Any helpful hints or tips anyone can offer would be great.

Thanks



Liam
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post #2 of 4
11/25/07 at 6:17am
I'm not clear on which connectors were snapped off. Can you identify them in the attached photo?



If you're concerned about the two connectors to the lower left of the MAGCOM chip, there is some good news -- those connectors are for your SoundCard and Firewire Ports. Your motherboard will very likely still operate just fine without them connected. If you can live without those functions, you're good to go. (The built-in speakers should continue to run fine)

If you're talking about the 12-pin connector at the top right of the photo, you're in a bit more trouble, as that delivers power to your LCD backlight and the indicator lights on the bottom of your lcd panel. Your motherboard will also operate, but you'd need to hook the machine up to an external monitor to do anything useful.

If you're talking about the LCD data connector itself, you're definitely in trouble, as that connector will be impossible to replace without some expensive soldering equipment -- preferably infrared soldering since there are lots of small components nearby.

Anyway.. to get replacement parts... the quickest option is to scavenge the identical component from your non-working motherboard. Otherwise, you'll be perusing through sites like mouser.com or digikey.com, armed with calipers to match up the measurements and making some darn good guesses. It's not fun, but it can be done.

To give you an idea: I took about 3 evenings going through digikey's site to identify the equivalent power connector used for the Xbox DVDs.. and eventually I used that connector for a DVD burner I modded for my Xbox.

If you're not up to soldering, I'd be willing to replace the broken 12-pin connectors with the ones from your dead motherboard, if I get to keep the dead motherboard. PM me if you'd like to take that route. I generally use infrared soldering equipment for connector repairs like this, since hot air stations and soldering irons tend to either melt the plastic or make the plastic brittle.
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post #3 of 4
11/25/07 at 10:20pm
i'm glad that my pics helped
but i really don't understand which connector you are talking about
can you take the pic & circle it ? that will help alot in identifying the problem & allowing us to provide better advices
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post #4 of 4
11/30/07 at 8:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by omagian View Post
i'm glad that my pics helped
but i really don't understand which connector you are talking about
can you take the pic & circle it ? that will help alot in identifying the problem & allowing us to provide better advices
Hi,

I have survived another week at work on the Emerald Isle and am once again back home to do battle with my exploded laptop!

Thanks for the reply. I've attached a pic showing the connectors in question. I've also realised that my original rambling post was not particularly clear about where the problem lies. The problem is on the cable side of the connector, not the motherboard. The connections are the 12 pin ones that Cosmic Gecko refers to in his reply.





Thanks



Liam
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