Advice sought for HP Pavilion laptop repair?

[Haggar]

Hello everyone.

Please forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong forum. If so, I would appreciate it if a mod could move the topic to it's correct forum.

I have an HP Pavilion ZX 5000 laptop that I was getting a "media test failure, check cable" error (computer does not boot). I thought it was the hard drive, so I installed a new one and that didn't fix it.

So I Googled the error message and apparently it's the cable that connects the hard drive to the motherboard and has "popped" off of the motherboard. Apparently there is a new cable that is a little thicker and sits in the computer better with less chance to come loose. I called HP but they were out of the cable. It's part number 350778-001 and apparently is about $100 if they had it.

I'm pretty good with computers (10 years experience in software) but I am not comfortable with hardware. I took the computer apart but I couldn't gain access to the mother board to inspect the cable, so I closed it back up because I was already out of my "comfort zone" and didn't want to mess it up worse.

I've taken it to a couple repair shops, but they want $100-$200 just to open it, and say they might not be able to fix it.

If the problem is the cable, it sounds like a very easy fix. I don't mind paying for service I cannot do myself, but I don't think $200-$300 to plug a cable back in (or replace cable) is something I can afford right now.

I guess I am just looking for advice on well known repair centers, such as the Geek Squad (Best Buy), Comp USA or Circuit City (if they repair computers).

I ask about Geek Squad because I noticed on the website they say they charge a flat rate.

I'd appreciate any help or suggestions. Thanks.

[auralia]

I had a mother board go on my toshiba lap top a while back but it was still under warrenty, none the less i did call around to repair shops to decide where to get it fixed (toshiba payed for it, but i could still pick the place so long as they were authorized).

Anyway, I did call around and the absolute base price i found at brick and mortar repair places was 100$ to open it up/diagnose it (the 100$ covered opening and up to one hour of trying to see what was wrong then so much per hour after that i believe in the range of 30-60) then on top of the hourly rate the cost of parts (generally slightly inflated if you get them from the repair shop directly). Unless you go with a guy working out of his house i believe it will be tough to find anything under 100 bucks to start looking at. My info comes when I lived in Maryland the place i actually got the work done at was in Annapolis, total cost if I would have had to pay the bill would have been
899$ for going in, figuring out what was wrong, and replacing the motherboard. Please mind they had to replace the motherboard twice because the first one they put in was defective (direct from toshiba it was busted) so I believe they charged toshiba for the time to remove and reinstall the second one as well. The lap top itself only cost me 750$ ish i believe so the repair was more expensive than the total cost of the laptop.

If you have had it for less than a year it shoudl still be under manufactures warrenty, but because you opened it up yourself that would void that warrenty if they can tell that you opened it up, if it's not under warranty and it really is going to cost you 250-300 to fix it and if it's not a great laptop you might want to consider just buying a new one if you pay attention you can get the lower end ones for 450 or less sometimes.... just a thought... also the place I brought my laptop guaranteed their work for a year, that could be a factor in deciding who you go to if any. I personally havn't had any problems w/ mine since the repair over a year ago.

[Haggar]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, the laptop is out of warranty. It's about 2-3 years old and the warranty was only a year.

I guess $200-$250 would be acceptable to me if it got fixed. I just don't want to pay $200 for them to tell me they can't fix it, or that it's going to cost $800 more to fix.

Maybe I'm being unrealistic. I'm just fishing for opinions because I don't have expirence with this.

Thanks again.

[auralia]

when my motherboard went i didn't get anything, no warrning message, no error, one day i was working on my computer and it died outrt I believe i had the most expensive repair possible pretty much excluding screen replacement.

[Richlough]

What is the exact model ? I have a zv5240us .

[Haggar]

What is the exact model ? I have a zv5240us .

I guess I'm not sure. I'm not the original owner, so I don't have the box or manuals. I just thought the model number was the Pavilion ZX5000. I'm looking at the BIOS screen right now and it just says "Notebook Model: Pavilion zx5000 (DS474U#ABA)"

If that's not it, if you could tell me where to look for the exact model number, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

[m6oo]

using the DS474U model number you provided and HP's support site, it looks like you have a model zx5078cl laptop. Go here:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?lc=en&cc=us&lang=en&y=9&x=6&product=389767&dlc=en&#

Does that look like your laptop???

From that page you can go to "manuals" and then get to the "Maintenance and Service Guide" here...

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00212209.pdf

This manual tells you how to strip the laptop down to it's screws. I had a quick look at the manual and couldn't see a diagram of how the HD cable attaches to the motherboard. Without having the laptop to look at, it's hard for me to tell what the situation is just from the manual. From the outside, it looks like a funny arrangement with some kind of 90degree adapter that attaches to the drive pins. If you can get that back cover off, I would think that it would become obvious what connector to reseat.

Anyway, if it is just a loose connector, it would be a shame to have to pay somebody a bunch of money just to open it up and reseat it.

Hope this info is helpful and good luck.

[Haggar]

Does that look like your laptop???

Anyway, if it is just a loose connector, it would be a shame to have to pay somebody a bunch of money just to open it up and reseat it.

Hope this info is helpful and good luck.

Yes, that's what the laptop looks like exactly. Thanks for your help, I'm about to view the links now.

I appreciate all the help and suggestions from everyone. Thanks again.

[m6oo]

Yes, that's what the laptop looks like exactly. Thanks for your help, I'm about to view the links now.

I appreciate all the help and suggestions from everyone. Thanks again.


Good, I was also going to say, that once you reseat the plug, you might be able to stick a piece of non-conductive foam or felt on the connector so that when you put the laptop back together, it puts some pressure on the connector to keep in in.