On Mon, 10 Sep 2007, DJA wrote:
Richard Reynolds wrote:
It appears this laptop's USB jacks don't output power sometimes.
OK
They weren't making the light on my optical mouse turn on.
It appears to work *sometimes*.
However that can be a power issue or a data issue.... I donno do you have
one of those geeky fans or lights or messagers or ..... something that
doesnt use data just power? how about a voltage meter that you can play
with???
Anyway to fix or replace USB jacks easily on a IBM Thinkpad laptop?
If its truely a power issue its a quick fix something that can be done in
well under an hour. even if the connector needs replacing it shouldnt take
more.
How do you figure?
I figured this first by limiting it to the problem stated "delivering power" and
not another problem, a usb mouse needs more than just power to turn on the
light, dont beleve me try it! you can use any 5v supply. If its a data problem
also then IF its only the connector its a quick fix, if its not good luck, or
get a cardbus to usb adapter.... so hopefully a reply will come saying something
like "the usb fan is not working when the usb mouse stops"
It's a laptop, not a desktop. Not exactly a
Get-out-the-screwdriver-and-replace-a-card type of repair. Once one gets the
thing apart enough to get to the suspect connector (if that's really what's
wrong), de-soldering the bad part and replacing it with a new one (you _do_
have a spare lying around that just happens to fix that brand, model, and
vintage laptop, don't you?), you've already spent the better part of several
hours - given you've done it before. On this specific brand, model, and
vintage laptop.
Laptops are not as special or complicated as many people are afraid...
once you have pulled apart a few hundred laptops you will start to get the
impression that they are not doing anything exactly new between the
manufacturers and in each new model. It wont take anyone who can work a screw
driver 20 minutes to get to the main board on a laptop, as long as you dont
force anything and keep track of where each screw came from or at least what
type of screw came from where, there are not that many unique screws in laptops
either. then you get to the connector itself quickly. then if its intermitantly
loosing power as stated with "It appears to work *sometimes*." its going to be
one of several things mostly likely the connector, but it could be the wire
to ground. IF its the ground wire its very easy and works very well to just
bypass it with a new skinny wire. if not replace the connector and there just
are not that many different types of USB connectors, sure it might be upside
down or white instead of black or .... but it will work, need it replaced frys
and willies(i think thats the name 16th and D in chula vista???) electronics
stock several to choose from. the main power circuitry to supply a usb port just
doesnt fail intermitantly its going to always not work or quikly power down
every time just after pluging in whatever you pluged in. the remaining cool
things usb does require the data connection.
And I didn't even count time spent in diagnosis.
neither did I really as I just figured the time to fix a power issue... narrow
that down first and then I should have said an hour from then. who knows how
much time has already been spent cursing at a mouse that stops working...
Or maybe I'm completely misunderstanding the problem.
If its power then you probibly just made it more complicated than it is, if its
not .... neither of us knows yet
Richard Reynolds
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