Sizzling Performance
Us TechNudgers are always big fans of getting the most performance out of the products that they buy. By the title of this article, you're probably thinking I'm going to be talking about overclocking my Athlon X2 5200+, or the latest quad core from Intel that I already have my eye on.
Unfortunately, this time I'm talking about cooking notebook parts. About two weeks ago, I noticed that my Averatec 3250HX had a burnt smell to it. It brought back fond memories of slot car racing tracks that would smell burnt when they were powered up. This scent of "burnt de electronica" is never a good thing when a notebook is involved.
This week, I again noticed the odor. The other new symptom is that the power input does not provide a steady stream of current into the notebook, and it keeps going onto battery power while plugged in. When I touched the corner where the wire enters the notebook, I got a blister from the heat. It certainly didn't run this hot when I first got it. When I went to remove the power cable, the plastic had started to melt, and it was just about fused onto the post. Ahhh, nothing quite like the smell of cooked plastic!
After powering down, I looked online for a potential answer. At first I was thinking that with notebooks so cheap these days, even for five Franklins I can find something acceptable. However, I also realized that my current Averatec is not even two and a half years old, and still fairly respectable (and doesn't have Vista!). One of the nice "features" of owning an Averatec is that there is a great online community that love to tinker with these laptops. I noticed a sticky on the 3200 series forum entitled: Loose Power Connector - Power Problems - Hot Power Connector - Battery Won't Charge. Sounds like it hit the nail on the head!
In this thread that goes on for no less than 25 pages, they talk about how the power connector was soldered wrong, and lots of folks have issues related to the power supply. Some have resoldered it themselves, and some have gotten the company to do this for the cost of shipping. As my soldering experience is limited to junior high school, I'd rather let the pros do it. So far I've emailed them, and I've received a response that I need to call them and speak to a tech. While it is out of warranty, clearly it is defective by design, and they should have recalled it to prevent an injury.
I'll keep y'all posted as this progresses. Hopefully this will work out in my favor. If not, Celeron M here we come as if I'm buying a new notebook every other year, it becomes (yet another, gosh!) disposable item.
--Jonas
Unfortunately, this time I'm talking about cooking notebook parts. About two weeks ago, I noticed that my Averatec 3250HX had a burnt smell to it. It brought back fond memories of slot car racing tracks that would smell burnt when they were powered up. This scent of "burnt de electronica" is never a good thing when a notebook is involved.
This week, I again noticed the odor. The other new symptom is that the power input does not provide a steady stream of current into the notebook, and it keeps going onto battery power while plugged in. When I touched the corner where the wire enters the notebook, I got a blister from the heat. It certainly didn't run this hot when I first got it. When I went to remove the power cable, the plastic had started to melt, and it was just about fused onto the post. Ahhh, nothing quite like the smell of cooked plastic!After powering down, I looked online for a potential answer. At first I was thinking that with notebooks so cheap these days, even for five Franklins I can find something acceptable. However, I also realized that my current Averatec is not even two and a half years old, and still fairly respectable (and doesn't have Vista!). One of the nice "features" of owning an Averatec is that there is a great online community that love to tinker with these laptops. I noticed a sticky on the 3200 series forum entitled: Loose Power Connector - Power Problems - Hot Power Connector - Battery Won't Charge. Sounds like it hit the nail on the head!
In this thread that goes on for no less than 25 pages, they talk about how the power connector was soldered wrong, and lots of folks have issues related to the power supply. Some have resoldered it themselves, and some have gotten the company to do this for the cost of shipping. As my soldering experience is limited to junior high school, I'd rather let the pros do it. So far I've emailed them, and I've received a response that I need to call them and speak to a tech. While it is out of warranty, clearly it is defective by design, and they should have recalled it to prevent an injury.
I'll keep y'all posted as this progresses. Hopefully this will work out in my favor. If not, Celeron M here we come as if I'm buying a new notebook every other year, it becomes (yet another, gosh!) disposable item.
--Jonas
posted by digitaldoc at 8:59 PM
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