Ughhh! Worst treatment of a $2,500 laptop I've ever seen

Larry Sabo

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The pictures speak for themselves. It's an ASUS RoG G550J. Both hinges are torn from the top cover, the video cable "sparkles" when you move it, the antenna cable is sheared, and the keyboard is coated with unknown gunk. It took me half an hour of hot air, Goo-Gone and elbow grease to remove the packing tape from the bottom cover (which looks the same as the top cover picture) before I could open it up to remove the battery before it goes up in flames. Finding parts is nearly impossible.

Customer would like it fixed; said she paid $2,500 for it and is willing to spend up to $500 to fix it. <sigh>

I love a challenge!

1. ASUS RoG G550J - Screen Back Cover.jpg2. ASUS RoG G550J - Keyboard.jpg3. ASUS RoG G550J - LCD Connection.jpg4. ASUS RoG G550J - Antenna Connection.jpg
 
Does it even work? A "sparkling" lcd cable sounds like a "shorting" lcd cable to me and a shorting lcd cable often means a burned up lcd connector and blown components on the motherboard.
 
@Krynn72, she said it did work until the sparkling started. I half expected a fuse on the MB wold blow to prevent that but I recently had another laptop that blew the video cable connector traces when the video cable shorted to hinge/rails, so apparently no MB fuse. (A new cable fixed it.) I can get a new video cable from Hong Kong but top covers are very hard to find. I'm going to see if I can repair the hinge mounts in the top cover. The bottom cover and palm rest cleaned up nicely with Goo-Gone; I'll clean up the screen cover/bezel and see what we can do.

@Pixelated Tech, I expect to charge her the full $500 if I get it fixed. She says she needs it for work (hard to believe!) so I'll transfer her data to a loaner while I wait on parts.

@Computer Bloke, it looks like it could be dried milk or ice cream! As I said, I love a challenge. :)
 
Holy crap. I recently worked on an ROG model with a failing fan that ASUS wanted $900 to fix. I found the fan for $35 in the UK and the total cost was around $140 to the customer. It was hard to find the part though. However after seeing those pictures I would have politely declined that job.
 
Yuck. I was going to ask you if she dropped it off a building and set it on fire before asking you to fix it.

Anyway, it no doubt needs a new display cable, display bezel, hinges, and antennas/antenna cables whatever is in there.

I would just unplug the display cable and connect an external monitor to see if it displays anything. If not, she probably needs a motherboard as well. Personally, I have never heard of a motherboard fuse. With that gunk on the keyboard, I would just replace the keyboard for the $30 or so it costs; since, I would be in there anyway.

Several Chassis parts are going to need to be replaced as well most likely. I hate to say it, but this thing could cost more than $500 to fix especially IF you need a motherboard, too. By the time you add the other parts and your labor, I am not certain it is worth it.


I did some research and you can buy a refurbished model for $775. Even then, I honestly think she might be better off just dumping around $800 into a new laptop and walking. I would certainly NOT recommend buying a $2500 laptop when she could buy a good, new laptop every other year for six years for that same money!
 
I'm sure it has a lot to do with the way my parents brought me up, but man
alive I wouldn't treat a $300 laptop like that let alone a $2500 one. I just can't
imagine spending that kind of money on something and not taking care of it.

When I bought my first car, a 99 monte carlo with over 100k miles on it... I treated
that thing like it was a Rolls Royce fresh off the lot! Fresh wax job every month, two
bucket wash every weekend, vacumm every weekend, bought a $20 pair of clean
shoes to wear while driving it.... I mean I know many folks who own practically brand
new vehicles that don't do a 1/3 of that stuff!

Back to the laptops though, it's just crazy. I've had some come in that look like they
were used for a boomerang or a hammer or both. How and or why do you do that
to a system?

I agree with Netwizz, this woman would be far better off with a $500 or $600 laptop.
In a year or two when it comes back to you in several zip lock bags, she can just buy
another and not worry about it.
 
I just tried it with the external HDMI port and a 90W universal adapter (she didn't drop off the original) and it doesn't power up at all. The power button is back-lit but the fans show no effort to spin and the video output is zero. The bottom cover was not attached at the time I tested but I can't imaging a power interlock on that. Other than the screen and antenna cables being disconnected, it's as delivered (minus the keyboard gunk, piles of packing tape and original AC adapter). Unless a light bulb goes on soon, I think it's a write-off.

She said she used it right up to the sparking at the video cable. She propped up the screen and used it like that. Even said if I can't repair the hinges, she could still live with it if she could do that again after I replace the video cable. :eek:
 
Will it fire up if you completely disconnect (remove the short) the display cable? and show on an external monitor?
 
I'm with @NETWizz and suggest a replacement. If she is determined to get this one fixed, I'd quote the price for the used/refurb (http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-15-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-VERSION/dp/B00KOUILK2) with a little markup, move the drive/data over and tell her that you have to replace pretty much everything. In fact, it seems reasonable to expect that the hard drive is likely not very healthy either...so, be prepared for that too.
 
@NETWizz: I had disconnected the local video cable and wireless antennae when I tried the HDMI output. Other than the missing original power adapter, it's as she used it prior to the sparking. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a car so it means another bus trip to deliver the original AC adapter.

@Luke: Thanks, but that laptop is currently unavailable; I found one on Kijiji for $1,100 cash. I'll remove the hard drive to see if her data is okay but I don't think she cares. When I offered to transfer the data to a loaner while we wait for a video cable, she was, meh, don't really need it. Skype was more important to her for some reason.

BTW, she assures me the gunk on the keyboard was nothing but food. I can't imagine the condition of her fridge or house.
 
I have a client with that same laptop but in pristine condition, now I know why. Those pictures of the keyboard almost made me gag. :eek:
 
Have you tried seeing if Asus can send you parts directly? For a computer like that they may offer better support than the ones sold in Walmart that we usually see.
 
@NETWizz:
@Luke: Thanks, but that laptop is currently unavailable; I found one on Kijiji for $1,100 cash. I'll remove the hard drive to see if her data is okay but I don't think she cares. When I offered to transfer the data to a loaner while we wait for a video cable, she was, meh, don't really need it. Skype was more important to her for some reason.

Wow... you offered her a loaner for real?
 
Have you tried seeing if Asus can send you parts directly? For a computer like that they may offer better support than the ones sold in Walmart that we usually see.
I did not have that luck with the gaming machine I replaced the fan on. The only option was to send it in for repair at the price of $900. I found the fan elsewhere as seen in my post above.
 
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