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Finally fixed a stubborn laptop that had me stumped for two days

I had this gaming laptop on the bench, a real headache. It would power on for a second, fans would spin, then nothing. I spent hours checking the usual suspects, the power rails and the main board. I even ordered a replacement charging port for about $25, thinking that was it. After it arrived and I swapped it, same exact problem. I felt so dumb for wasting the time and money. I finally took a step back and, on a hunch, checked the tiny little power button board. Sure enough, a tiny bit of corrosion from a spilled drink was causing a short. A quick clean with some alcohol and it fired right up. I should have started with the simple, cheap part first. Anyone else ever get tunnel vision on a repair and miss the obvious fix?

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3 Comments

jakemason7mo ago

Man, that exact thing happened with my old truck. I was convinced the fuel pump was shot, spent a whole weekend dropping the tank. Put the new one in, still wouldn't start. My buddy came over, jiggled the battery terminal that looked fine, and it cranked right over. I felt like a total genius after all that work. Why do our brains always skip the free fixes first?

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norag386mo ago

Ever read about the psychology of sunk cost?

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river_rivera457mo ago

Happens all the time. You get so deep into the complex stuff you forget to check if the thing is even plugged in.

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