Holy Smokes! - electrical problem?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

chumdawg wrote:
> I have a Compaq Presario laptop, a few years old. I started having
> trouble a while back with the power adapter. It seemed that there
> may have been a short in it somewhere, as I had to kinda twist it a
> bit right at the end where it plugs into the laptop in order to make
> it work.
>
> That worked for a while, until one day I was using the laptop and
> started to smell smoke! Sure enough, there were little wisps of
> smoke coming from the vents right by the power supply.
>
> Since then I just the laptop sit (replaced with a desktop). But the
> other day I figured I would give it another try. I plugged in the
> adapter, and the green light lit up like normal. The laptop would
> not boot, however. I clicked the power button and got nothing. And
> sure enough, after about ten seconds I started to smell that stench.
>
> Questions: A) Any idea what happened? And B) Is this fixable, or is
> the thing shot?
>
> Thanks very much in advance for any insight you can offer.

A. The smoke is installed at the factory. A short circuit can release
smoke.

B. Reinstallation of smoke requires professional repair.

Seriously, you'll have to diagnose the short circuit. It is likely the
power supply circuitry is burned/main fuse has opened, and that usually
is a mainboard replacement unless this has a separate power module that
can be replaced.

Q