Toshiba Lap top - 4 years old - needs new motherboard - where in Khon Kaen but not Toshiba Center ?

[Speedo1968]

My Toshiba needs a new motherboard, only 4 years old, my daughters machine still going strong after 12 years.

Toshiba Center in KK can only give me a ridiculous price and tell me "It's how things are today, they / our machines are not made to last !"

It was a perfect machine for me ........

Can any one tell me where, other than a Toshiba Center and Komtar, can I try to get a new motherboard fitted ???

Thanks !

[colinneil]

Stand in the road with the Kosa hotel on your left, look down the street first shop on the right hand side is a computer shop.

I have used them now for 6 years, good service and not expensive.

[manfredtillmann]

throw it in the rubbish and get a new one. any money spent on 'repairs' to a 4 year old piece of computer hardware is like feeding pearls to pigs.

[Peterw42]

I would seek a second opinion. thats standard response, expensive repair want you to buy another one. 

Hard drives break, Ramm breaks, screens break, the motherboard would be the least likely component to just "fail"

 

What are the symptoms ?

[BudRight]

Yes, how do you know it's the motherboard? 

[Henryford]

Not worth getting an old laptop repaired. I just bought a new i5, 1 tb hard disk, 8gb RAM for 15,000.  A laptop's life is only about 4-5 years.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

6 hours ago, manfredtillmann said:

throw it in the rubbish and get a new one. any money spent on 'repairs' to a 4 year old piece of computer hardware is like feeding pearls to pigs.

 

Is this the standard of advice that you can offer?

I spent 2000 baht to replace a power management chip in my laptop, three or four years ago. Laptop is coming up to it's eight year.  So over seven years I've spent 2000 baht on repairs, 1500 on a new SSD and 1000 baht on 4GB of RAM.

Of course the manufacturer/distributor would choose to replace the whole motherboard, rather than to mess around replacing a power management chip., which is why the OP is seeking a competent independent to do the job at a reasonable price.

[bendejo]

OP, I'd say you're doing well, as my laptops usually last about three years.  My last was a Toshiba with an i3 and an AMD graphics chip: the AMD chip went south last April.  Before that was a HP/CPQ, something with way the MB connects with the screen went bad (looked it up and it turned out to be popularly known).  Before that was a Fujitsu where the MB just fried itself.

 

The various connectors inside the laptop are extremely delicate, and even an experienced repair person can make a small but vital boo-boo.  This may be your chance to treat yourself to a new i7.

 

 

[KittenKong]

Replacing the entire motherboard with a new one will be expensive as only the manufacturer will be able to provide them and there will be a big mark-up regardless of who fits it.

 

Fitting a used motherboard might be an option, but it could be tricky finding one and even then you have no real guarantee that it will last.

 

Repairing a motherboard is usually not viable in the West due to high labour and processing costs, but here it would be possible. There are shops that have the device needed to repair micro circuitry properly. One place in Tukcom in Pattaya had one, but I think they have gone now.

 

But it all depends on what the actual fault is with the motherboard. It could be something very simple that anyone with a soldering iron could fix or something hideously complex that isn't worth even thinking about. So what is the fault?

[Speedo1968]

20 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I would seek a second opinion. thats standard response, expensive repair want you to buy another one. 

Hard drives break, Ramm breaks, screens break, the motherboard would be the least likely component to just "fail"

 

What are the symptoms ?

 

Hello Peter42

Thanks, yes I did get a number of places to look at it closely, including Toshiba Center, all said the same thing - the motherboard.

Symptoms various to start with, sound, picture, overheating, then dead.

Yes checked sound card, fan, virus etc etc - full diagnostics check at two places - unfortunately same answer.

It was a nice machine - will look again, perhaps even in Bangkok next time I am there.

 

I had a Packard Bell in 1996's, expensive and rather heavy,   I was flying many many times a year ( up to 50 flights ) everywhere between UK and NZ.   Hot and extreme cold climates, low and high humidity, laptop with me / in my suitcase.    I worked as a freelance consultant in farming, not selling stuff but hands on, so conditions were often very dusty / dirty.    Not one problem.    Only reason I gave it up was because memory became insufficient.   

 

I bought the Toshiba in 2011.      I had to replace it in 2015, but not with a Toshiba.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Speedo1968
Wrong dates

[Speedo1968]

20 hours ago, colinneil said:

Stand in the road with the Kosa hotel on your left, look down the street first shop on the right hand side is a computer shop.

I have used them now for 6 years, good service and not expensive.

 

Thanks colinnell

Will look next time I am in KK.

[Speedo1968]

19 hours ago, BudRight said:

Yes, how do you know it's the motherboard? 

 

Thanks, yes I did get a number of places to look at it closely, including Toshiba Center, all said the same thing - the motherboard.

Symptoms various to start with, sound, picture, overheating, then dead.

Yes checked sound card, fan, virus etc etc - full diagnostics check at two places - unfortunately same answer.

It was a nice machine - will look again, perhaps even in Bangkok next time I am there.

[Speedo1968]

8 hours ago, bendejo said:

OP, I'd say you're doing well, as my laptops usually last about three years.  My last was a Toshiba with an i3 and an AMD graphics chip: the AMD chip went south last April.  Before that was a HP/CPQ, something with way the MB connects with the screen went bad (looked it up and it turned out to be popularly known).  Before that was a Fujitsu where the MB just fried itself.

 

The various connectors inside the laptop are extremely delicate, and even an experienced repair person can make a small but vital boo-boo.  This may be your chance to treat yourself to a new i7.

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, Speedo1968 said:

I had a Packard Bell in 1996's, expensive and rather heavy,   I was flying many many times a year ( up to 50 flights ) everywhere between UK and NZ.   Hot and extreme cold climates, low and high humidity, laptop with me / in my suitcase.    I worked as a freelance consultant in farming, not selling stuff but hands on, so conditions were often very dusty / dirty.    Not one problem.    Only reason I gave it up was because memory became insufficient.   

 

I bought the Toshiba in 2011.      I had to replace it in 2015, but not with a Toshiba.

 

[Speedo1968]

1 hour ago, KittenKong said:

Replacing the entire motherboard with a new one will be expensive as only the manufacturer will be able to provide them and there will be a big mark-up regardless of who fits it.

 

Fitting a used motherboard might be an option, but it could be tricky finding one and even then you have no real guarantee that it will last.

 

Repairing a motherboard is usually not viable in the West due to high labour and processing costs, but here it would be possible. There are shops that have the device needed to repair micro circuitry properly. One place in Tukcom in Pattaya had one, but I think they have gone now.

 

But it all depends on what the actual fault is with the motherboard. It could be something very simple that anyone with a soldering iron could fix or something hideously complex that isn't worth even thinking about. So what is the fault?

 

Hello KittenKong

Thanks, yes I did get a number of places to look at it closely, including Toshiba Center, all said the same thing - the motherboard.

Symptoms various to start with, sound, picture, overheating, then dead.

Yes checked sound card, fan, virus etc etc - full diagnostics check at two places - unfortunately same answer.

I did get a couple of places in Tukom in Khon Kaen to open up and check - neither of them could find a fault with the circuitry nor were they able to obtain a new board.

Those places that offered a new board i.e. Toshiba started at 12K which a week later went to 27K.   It had to come from China and they would not even send a single board, they had to wait - so they said - for a full box order ( 3 months at least )    It is one reason I didn't buy a Toshiba again so they lost my business anyway.

 

It was a nice machine - will look again, perhaps even in Bangkok next time I am there, to see if I can get a replacement board.

[Peterw42]

1 hour ago, Speedo1968 said:

 

Hello Peter42

Thanks, yes I did get a number of places to look at it closely, including Toshiba Center, all said the same thing - the motherboard.

Symptoms various to start with, sound, picture, overheating, then dead.

Yes checked sound card, fan, virus etc etc - full diagnostics check at two places - unfortunately same answer.

It was a nice machine - will look again, perhaps even in Bangkok next time I am there.

 

I had a Packard Bell in 1996's, expensive and rather heavy,   I was flying many many times a year ( up to 50 flights ) everywhere between UK and NZ.   Hot and extreme cold climates, low and high humidity, laptop with me / in my suitcase.    I worked as a freelance consultant in farming, not selling stuff but hands on, so conditions were often very dusty / dirty.    Not one problem.    Only reason I gave it up was because memory became insufficient.   

 

I bought the Toshiba in 2011.      I had to replace it in 2015, but not with a Toshiba.

 

Ok, if a couple of computer shops say the same thing. Has it had a good clean out, dust etc. compressed air blow out all the fans heatsink etc. Also, has anyone checked fans are still running ? Laptops run hot and it doesnt take much to start overheating and thermal cutout. 

[Peterw42]

If you know model number etc, motherboards can be sourced and are not expensive.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Toshiba-Computer-Motherboards/1244/bn_643208/i.html

 

Most of the repair cost is labor, and thats cheap here.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Peterw42

[MJKT2014]

22 hours ago, colinneil said:

Stand in the road with the Kosa hotel on your left, look down the street first shop on the right hand side is a computer shop.

I have used them now for 6 years, good service and not expensive.

 

6 years and you haven't got run over yet?

Edited August 25, 2016 by MJKT2014

[colinneil]

40 minutes ago, MJKT2014 said:

 

6 years and you haven't got run over yet?

 

Due to me being paraplegic (due to being run over )

I find your comment disgusting.

[Speedo1968]

2 hours ago, MJKT2014 said:

 

6 years and you haven't got run over yet?

 

That's because I live on the outskirts of Banphai, only the buffaloes threaten to run you over here,

and that's only when you get too close to "their" wallow.

[Speedo1968]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

 

Ok, if a couple of computer shops say the same thing. Has it had a good clean out, dust etc. compressed air blow out all the fans heatsink etc. Also, has anyone checked fans are still running ? Laptops run hot and it doesnt take much to start overheating and thermal cutout. 

 

Thanks for ideas.

Yes to all, even replaced a possible dodgy fan.    Was done whilst I sat in the shop.

Tested with a program for temp increases etc, when it was still alive.

 

Thanks also for the web address, will put the model number in and see what it comes up with.

I expect the shops that "offered" a repair IF they could have got a motherboard would have looked around.   They did not sell new or secondhand machines - repairs only !

[MadMuhummad]

21 hours ago, colinneil said:

Due to me being paraplegic (due to being run over )

I find your comment disgusting.

 

Says the guy that cuts down other members or poor bastards that fall foul in an instant in other posts.

[MadMuhummad]

21 hours ago, colinneil said:

Due to me being paraplegic (due to being run over )

I find your comment disgusting.

 

Says the guy that cuts down other members or poor bastards that fall foul in an instant in other posts.

[Gary A]

I replaced the main board on a high end laptop. Never again. The new main board lasted about a year.

[Speedo1968]

On 8/25/2016 at 11:43 AM, Peterw42 said:

If you know model number etc, motherboards can be sourced and are not expensive.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Toshiba-Computer-Motherboards/1244/bn_643208/i.html

 

Most of the repair cost is labor, and thats cheap here.

 

Thanks Peter42 for the web address.

Tried it out and found motherboards and main boards for  my Toshiba, depending on which is required prices range from 55 to 188 dollars, imported from China ( same as Toshiba Service Center would do ), 2 - 4 weeks delivery.    Now I need to find someone who can repair my machine and order the correct board.   NB I am an oldie computer user for more than 20 years but, not that well up on machine faults.

[Speedo1968]

On 8/25/2016 at 10:16 AM, Speedo1968 said:

 

Thanks colinnell

Will look next time I am in KK.

 

To "colinnell"

 

Have tried finding this repair shop.

Can't find it anywhere, where ever on my left is the Kosa hotel.   

Checked all sides of Tucom and further down but no joy.

If you read this, would you happen to have a phone number or a shop name etc ?

Thanks

Speedo1968

[JaiMaai]

I'm not certain this is the shop he was referring to but if you look for the two level car park for the Kosa then walk down that street away from Tukcom, there is a computer shop on the right.

 

(I have NO personal knowledge of how good or bad it is)

[ignis]

On 8/24/2016 at 4:16 PM, Henryford said:

Not worth getting an old laptop repaired. I just bought a new i5, 1 tb hard disk, 8gb RAM for 15,000.  A laptop's life is only about 4-5 years.

Why is a laptops life only 4-5 years ?

I know nothing about the inside of a laptop  [my PC update myself every 2-3 years] 

 

out of interest my AMD Sony laptop bought August 2000, never been repaired or broken down, screen went hazy about 5 years ago, since then used only as a TV  box for Kodi.....   The other laptop Acer also AMD bought in 2006, again never gone wrong or needed to be looked at.. OK is very slow still running XP compared to my AMD FX 8370 PC, running W10 ,  but was waiting for the new AMD Ryzen CPU laptops...

 

Never had 'Intel' in all the years [30+] I have had a PC..  so is the life of a Intel PC/Laptop only 4-5 years ?

Edited April 4, 2017 by ignis

[KMartinHandyman]

There's a reason why manufacturers discontinue extended warranties on laptops after only 3 years or so.