Repair Shop Can't Fix This Asus Laptop - Can I? Extended Cut

[@zipped]

The best part of the video is when I went to your website and read from your last health post that you are “in complete remission”. I cannot feel happier for you. Congratulations!

[@TronicsFixLongs]

Thank you! It's only uphill from here, that's the hope at least.

[@clementmoves9704]

Same! I'm happy for you! God bless!

[@maybelbdidit]

Hi Steve! Glad to see you doing well still with your treatment. With BIOS programming and other stuff, I work for a company that can help with this if you are interested - we work on fixing devices all the time, especially if it needs a BIOS reprogram.

[@kelefgaming2795]

As a ASUS technician, i really don't like these laptops, because of the hinges, when i need to replace the LCD cover and also because of the liquid metal... And also that IS a good contact with the liquid metal, you really don't need much of it.

[@Reikion_]

Hi Is the X13 model any better? Also, I have a question. If I don`t get the PLT_RST# signal after bios reset is it a sign of a dying APU? It appears after a few power cycles(GV301RE)

[@kelefgaming2795]

@@Reikion_ Hi, for me x13 is much better, because it's easier to work on. Unfortunately i can't answer your second question, i'm not an engineer, or something like that, i'm just changing parts. I saw that error once and i changed the motherboard.

[@sidsmusic991]

Yeah I know right.. Pay so much money and this still can't stand still alone without support

[@hjmkhalaf]

Can't you plug external monitor?

[@preytec]

Going crazy thinking that myself

[@kingcobra0128]

That's my thought right away as well

[@lorsheckmolseh3345]

Would have been my first idea, too. Also to remove the battery before the display connector, with 19V on it, directly wired to the Optimus in the CPU. By experience 19V on a data lane kills 100% of laptops.

[@charlesm.1638]

I was thinking the same.

[@parkerazz4385]

Could. But the machine isn't turning on at all. External display would just show "no signal"

[@joecool3990]

Hello, I am a long time viewer and subscriber, as a 40+ years electronics repair guy an IT tech, I specialized in laptop repair, when troubleshooting a laptop that powers on but has no display you always want to first hook up an external monitor to the laptop and see if you get a display that way, if you do then you pretty much know everything on the laptop is working other that the built in display, your problem on this particular laptop was most likely the laptop display panel itself and/or the display panel inverter board.

[@themew2]

Hi Steve! As others have pointed out, when video display issues (screen) are present, always hook up the machine to an external monitor. This will help you determine if it's the laptop screen or something with the GPU/main board. Also at the end when it wouldn't turn on, don't forget to reconnect the power cable when testing a no-power situation.

[@serialboon6083]

I had a black screen with my nitro for like 5 months after having it for a month. They tried saying it would cost me 650 to fix it. I plugged in an external monitor it showed and then after a few updates the black screen stopped. Figured it was a driver compatibility issue between my amd internal display drivers and windows11.

[@joes9954]

Yeah, I’m surprised that wasnt one of the first things to do.

[@TronicsFixLongs]

Yeah, I actually did that at some point but obviously I didn't show it. Unfortunately, it didn't work with an external display.

[@themew2]

@@TronicsFixLongs No worries Steve! Still love your videos. Keep up the good work!

[@LouisCYUL]

@@TronicsFixLongs I had an Alienware x17 that needed its (broken) LCD panel disconnected from the internal eDP to get its UEFI to show anything externally. Even then, it did so only on the USB-C port with an USB-C to DisplayPort cable, the other video outputs still had no signal whatsoever. Could this Asus machine have a similar quirk?

[@di_luka]

You shouldn't take the screen cable out before unplugging the battery and definitely do not check with the multimeter like that on the 19v shorting with the data line will definitely kill the screen and very likely the GPU, thats happening with most of the new laptops, it probably already happened with the previous technician but anyway...

[@fialhojacson]

It takes a ton of effort to even try to fix... congrats on the video. The external monitor is a nice point made above. Without documentation... that s bravery. Thumbs up

[@yellouu_theree]

17:30 that is touchscreen connector . Backlight is generated from 19v on a screen board

[@xmerwyndtheroninrogue1097]

I have had many gaming laptops. I have never seen a laptop that the North and south bridges and VRAM were covered with thermal paste. I have always seen thermal pads. the previous owner may have watched many of the KZbin "experts" modifying the laptop with paste by removing thermal pads. The paste did not look as though it was factory applied. Congrats on your remission.

[@LozzTheDev]

Intersil 9241h is Buck Boost Battery Charger IC....so reflowing or replacing it may fix charging issue as you've done. Did you try disconnecting battery, plug in charger & hook it up to an external display to see if it actually powers on to bios/post screen? If it don't power on, it could be that Winbond bios chip that might need replacing and flashing with correct bios? I would also clean all flux off the board especially around gpu bga chip / southbridge chips etc by flushing with 99.9% ipa and air duster.

[@SidneyCritic]

You try an external monitor to prove the GPU/laptop is working, if it is you shine a light at the screen to see if it's displaying but there is no back-light. If it's no back-light the circuit is at the back of the screen at the bottom.

[@benthebossjackson4388]

Take the actual screen apart steve. Sometimes the cable and connections inside the screen can be stretched, covered in gunk etc. or the wires shorted.. worth a shot. its worth checking at least. yeah pulling the screens out can be a nightmare but what have you got to lose :)

[@GrayReactsYT]

I like these videos regardless of the results, i just enjoy your explanations and in depth to it. You're the only person i watch that does this and you even inspired me to be more hands on with stuff.

[@saint4985]

Steve, one of the ways I check to see if it's a screen issue is to plugin an external monitor then see if the computer boots/displays to it.

[@kevinmagsy0312]

Send it to sorin hes very good in repairing laptop

[@chemscrambler7589]

THAT WAS MY THOUGHT. See what he can do with it. He can tell you if the cpu /apu/gpu is dead.

[@DARKNESS19906]

That man sorin is legend in terms of repairs.. Hi recommend he use theory and explanation for repair... 😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@kevinmagsy0312]

@@DARKNESS19906 he just needed a proper calibrated wire :)

[@OhMG]

would have had picture by now... 😅

[@daffyduk77]

Try Alex at youtube channel North Ridge Fix (all one word, w/o the spaces) in the US. He's a miracle-worker with these

[@colinboneham7387]

Is there an external hdmi port to plug into a tv or monitor, as if it shows up on tv/monitor then you’d know the screen is naff!?

[@afb9999]

Plug an external wired USB keyboard and check if NumLock led works. If it works the CPU and bios are good and the problem is only on the display or display circuit. That's a quick test and very helpful on situations with power on but no display

[@Alexander_Sannikov]

on all dell laptops pressing the power button while holding D on the keyboard enables the LCD test that bypasses bios/GPU and straight up tests the LCD/backlight controllers directly. very useful for cases like this.

[@blandon93]

LCD still needs signals from CPU to turn on. CPU needs signals from I/O and chipset. The board has no short, so only options are bad resistor/transistor somewhere lowering voltage, or I/O chip or BIOS went bad by itself.

[@edwinsas2615]

@9:43 if you look at the top left there is something with a nr 3 on it that doesn't look to be properly on the board. Might have been coming lose when they did the work in the chip

[@tomaszstarling]

A great attempt, when I looked at this board bios chip I got worried too. Great Video

[@roobear78]

That was the electrical version of someone dropping 1000 tiny pins on the ground then trying to find a specific one! The other shop has gotten it,had no clue and just started trying chips and all sorts of stuff and just getting deeper down the rabbit hole! z13 is about 2 grand as well pretty expensive for a shop to be playing around with

[@TheJeracuda]

I like ASUS but they do seem to have a common issue with their charging especially when the plug is in the back it eventually gets to the point where if you move it by the smallest of amounts it will stop charging and you have to mess around to get it to charge again

[@dablakmark8]

plug in an external monitor

[@jtovet]

Was thinking that before you removed the screen and started digging around, why wouldn't you put an external monitor on the computer? I would have started with that... Glad you're health is improving!!!

[@JohnnyDoom]

Getting fussy, "not like you guys are doing anything just sitting there watching." LoL. ❤

[@SilenceWillNotBeTolerated]

You can feel the frustration in his voice

[@lgnfve]

great video. subbed. I am no laptop repair but from watching NorthridgeFix, he would put voltage in to board to find what is burned out with a thermal camera. gonna watch some other of your vids too now. fyi said a little prayer for you when you tried to turn it on at the end. lol.

[@cfq.tufanuf7601]

Steve.... Get yourself a CH341a USB pluggable programmer... dirt cheap! Under 10 buck. Very easy to use! You won't believe how many laptops only require a bios re-flash to work!

[@dexternengomasha7579]

Exactly 💯

[@EliasMahabir]

💯

[@TronicsFixLongs]

Yeah, I need to learn how to do this.

[@pacmanko4]

Yes u are right, i think someone already try it because bios chip have flux around self.. So probably someone take it out and solder it to pcb and connect it to programmer and try reflash the bios and than give it back.

[@DexterBee-zv9io]

And how much is in this broken state ? 600? 800 ? , Dude , respect for all the effort , good for you that you have that rich uncle ...

[@jameysummers1577]

Reflowing chips hardly ever work. If that charging light is coming on, that means it's taking 19-20v and the super I/O controller is getting power. If the power button is working to turn on the laptop then that means that power rails are present. The next thing you have to do is check for shorts on those MOSFETs. If those MOSFETs are providing insufficient power, then that LCD may or may not turn on.

[@GrenPara]

Hey, I am sorry but the screen was likely not dead. A simple issue with the laptop is a settings issue. Could have turned on computer and pressed f2 until it would go into bios. It then would have shown the bios page fine. The issue is normally someone who does not shortcuts. Asus laptop gets a black screen error is to reset the display mode: press the Windows logo key, Ctrl key, Shift key, and B simultaneously. That would reset display and it would have worked. Now it would involve more work to fix what you did to make it not even turn on.

[@Estebancillo44]

Once I broke my Asus Tuf screen and at fist it worked with an external monitor, but like 1 month later it wouldn't turn on no matter what. So I change the screen for an original used one and everything worked again

[@dobbs.]

You are always a Fixer because you try most don't.

[@Swenser]

You needed to poke around more with multimeter and use current meter to see what happens with current on power on. Looks like 19v gets through if its on lcd connector. Mosfets maybe shorted near that charge ic. Check resistances of the coils. And voltages at coils. Doing those things can give more of a clue and kickstart to keep checking. But the random behaviour makes me think the bat charge mosfets are dodgy.

[@zs1dfr]

This evening, I suddenly don't feel so bad, because I'm looking at an ASUS TP300L laptop, which I can't fix either. In my case, it is down to pure ignorance, but if you are not successful with that ROG, I'm not even going to try further 😂 Thank you for the video. I'm very glad to read that you are in remission. Keep up the good health!

[@Mommotexx]

Display could be damaged due to the flex when opening it. Look like there was a lot of flex when you opened, but imagine the other shop opening it. Could have even more flex than that. When it comes to the white blinking light, it should be solid, try plugging in the SSD again, and check again. If it still blinks, there could be some problem with the bios. You can also check if the caps lock has a light or any indicator, if not, plug in external keyboard, and press caps lock. If you don't get any response, the machine did not post.

[@ilikenwf]

Looks like an EC or bios issue. If an external display works, you can use a flashlight on the LCD to see if it's displaying an image but has a dead backlight.

[@GuidedLion]

Hey @troncisfix, love the video, I know you dont fix laptops but ususally when we get laptops like this in my shop, when the pc is not showing anything on the screen, it is usually a gpu issue, or it could be a faulty screen, the best way to test that is to hook up a hdmi from the monitor to the laptop, if it shows up on the monitor, then it is the screen, if there isn't any picture, then it is the gpu, anothing it could be is dead ram as well so it is always good to check that as well, hope this helps with pc repairs going forward, also for screens like this that are hard to find, I recommend try looking on ebay or a place called screen country, just make sure you have the right model number for the screen when you are looking it up.

[@AnonymousRepair]

Asus board don`t have schematics , the boardview should have all the part values, First thing is to see if all the voltage rails are present if so try to get a bios dump or upload your bios dump to badcaps sure someone would clean the dump or build a new bios for you , Just a tip board number help a lot and can point you in the right direction

[@Nomadman4life]

I remember back in the early 2000’s when I was a computer repair tech I would also work on laptops from time to time and those darn ribbon cables were such a pain to reconnect cause my fingers were too big lol . Great video always enjoy.

[@danielhulan3058]

These Rog Flows are nice gaming tablets. Some dont have dedicated gpus though and your forced to buy a $2000 xgmobile egpu with a non standard connector.

[@EliasMahabir]

Had a similar problem it was a corrupt bios or was shutdown while updating bios use a bootable usb with windows os I have had success using this method

[@MarcosCodas]

As a Microsoft Sufrace Laptop (Gen 1) I love seeing such serviceable laptops.

[@Dutch-linux]

you could shine a bright light on to the screen and see if you can see anything on the screen that way ... if you do see something then the backlight is the problem.... at that point you have to get like a aftermarket screen as i do think you wont find that excact screen !!!

[@hammerheadms]

Not that it would effect the monitor, but was that bios chip oriented in the right direction? I couldn't quite tell with all the flux on the board, but it almost looked like the orientation mark on the board was in the opposite corner as what was on the chip.

[@AndyDo]

What's going on with that little component next to the L3 transistor in the upper right of the reflow area you were working on? It looks like it's hanging on for dear life.

[@MasterJediSean]

Have you tried an external monitor? this will help you narrow the issue.

[@rsgxyt]

Hi! I think it would be really helpful for technicians if you'd put the model of the laptop in the description, and maybe some other parts names too, so they would find at least a little more information about it.

[@yellouu_theree]

I would say that you are not approaching this repair logically. You should not play around with intersil chip if you have no display. After a while you checked 19v going to the screen which should have been first thing , if you have that, second thing is inspecting screen board and checking if all necessary voltages and signals are present. In case of backlight lit panel that is bl_enable and bl_pwm signal , if those are present check if backlight is beeing generarated. You could have at least checked with flashlight directly pointed at screen if it is a case of backlight missing. Other thing is you have to disconnect battery first ! After that you can disconnect screen . That 19v is always present at screen connector and it it very close to 0.9 differential pair signals coming from gpu . If those touch gpu is gone for shure in your case there might be mux chip that took a hit. You have a lot of things to try before calling this one unfixable

[@theromeog]

why did that bios chip look like it was on backward? The dot was on the upper left and the mark on the board was lower right for pin 1

[@martinglasgow1219]

Would it have been possible to test the video out with a monitor? that would give an indication if it's the screen or some other area.

[@leofiorentino5778]

Hi steve! Liked your video I just went crazy half the video with you making the repair not removing liquid metal! That got me stressed ahahahah Good luck with the remission and try to clean the lm before making any repair 😅

[@DennisCrouse]

As a guy who runs a couple repair shops: The decision to swap a motherboard for a customer instead of repairing it, is not done because of a lack of knowledge, skill, or willingness to "do the work", it's a matter of economics. At my rate, or that of my employees hourly, together with shop overhead, and the other 30+ machines who need to be worked on, it costs WAY more for us to repair a board. As with this laptop, you probably spent a few hours on it. That's three hours of not completing other repairs. Three hours of your wage. Three hours of overhead. And in the end, a non-working laptop. If it were a customer's, you'd now have to quote for a replacement part anyways. I'm making the financial decision to skip those middle steps, unless the repair is obvious and easy.

[@criostasis]

Had the 12900HS / 3050ti model. Theyre well known for GPU issues. Fortunately i got mine repaired and they replaced the motherboard with a new revision that fixed the gpu problem. Just sold it last friday. Was great after it got repaired.

[@phil2756]

The flashing light mightve been some error code maybe even the bios since they messed with it

[@SistemasEmprendedores]

man, you look great, awesome, looking at you better make my day.

[@KurzadGaming]

I would of injected some power to test the screen fuse which are really common for blowing

[@paulm7631]

Most likely a bad GPU/MB - you could try a USB-C to HDMI and connect it to an external monitor to see if you get video. That will tell you if it's a screen issue or not.

[@satcomhdtv]

you better get one of those initialization USB testers designed by eastern europeans in order to see if the mother board get initialized first. Then from there start taking your way step by step narrowing the fault location circle.

[@omniex5233]

It’s a bios issue your not getting a post the blinking lights are errors when you power on has to do with bios reflow the chip or order a bios chip and install it

[@aelaan12]

Did you check the backlight fuse?

[@bobn8865]

I don't think he did. He didn't even open up the screen display and check the board.

[@zjones303]

13:43 I feel attacked LOL

[@williamvaughn2938]

Lmfao😅

[@williamvaughn2938]

Lmfao😅

[@Cyba_IT]

That's a pretty cool laptop. Just wondering how much you'd sell it for if you got it working.

[@brucepreston3927]

The previous tech probably shorted the GPU or corrupted the bios chip somehow...That really sucks

[@familhagaudir8561]

I have terrible experience with ASUS electronics. Faulty tablet cable, faulty laptop with crashes, sound card problems, coil whine so bad I got up and night to unplug it because it whined even with the lid closed if fully charged. Their hand-held gaming console ( ROG Ally? ) also had several defective parts and they kept trying to scam costumers during warranty repairs.

[@valentinmazar531]

Most common mistake, unpluging screen while battery is attached

[@terryperalta5777]

Luv the part where you say “ you’re just sitting down watching the video “ hahahaha keep up the good work

[@internetlivestream1]

What about using an external display? to see if it's screen for sure

[@Locationary]

Why didn't you replace the ribbon? I had the exact same issue with my laptop and replacing the ribbon fixed it.

[@lastoeck]

Was there a pattern to the white light going on and off? It may have been Morse code.

[@elitecass1453]

Can i ask since im not sure what happens when you plug hdmi would the external screen not work as well?

[@johnt.848]

Is the liquid metal from the factory or did the previous owner put that on the CPU?

[@nathanware1820]

Hey I'm very busy over here watching and judging work I've never done myself...... lol

[@MD-sc1jk]

This first thing I would have done before taking it apart, was to connect the tablet to a external display. to see if the video chip was working

[@BazerrkInsaneAsylum]

this is the MOST stressful repair I have seen done. those laptops are very expensive. I was cringing the whole time!

[@johnt.848]

It was pointless replacing the Intersil chip as that is for the charging side which functioned correctly.

[@Tigrha]

that issue kind of reminds me my lenovo laptop and my "issue" after thermal paste application.. too low pressure after putting back the cooler / heatpipe and laptop will heat up fast little too much pressure and laptot won´t boot up with similar white blinking led ...

[@richardroderick1923]

Did you put the memory card back in?

[@Starwatcher2222]

I wouldve tried to hook it to an external video output to see if it was putting any signal out.

[@jurajadam5682]

Hi Steve, as I already wrote the same thing once I will try the second time. Try to change it through the usb c which is covered with the small rubber. I had this Laptop/Tablet so I know 😉

[@electric-toadstool]

Just being curious but do you ever tell these item sellers of your KZbin channel?

[@rezadentevil100]

Why didn u test it with another LCD panel ?

[@FiXiT5313]

I certainly would test for fuse on the screen board

[@alastorclark3492]

13:30 We are auditing your work 😈

[@AzuaraRuiz-ot3tt]

y por supuesto lo reprobaremos (Steve no pasará al siguiente grado, se quedará en el jardín de infantes)

[@NANO-SERWIS.MAREK-DASZKE]

Witaj Nie masz doświadczenia w naprawach laptopów chyba. Ale fakt dzisiejsze laptopy to tragedia. Pozdrawiam

[@yellouu_theree]

Pay attention to blinking it might be error code 15:42

[@kwil77]

you didn't check the voltage on the other end of the ribbin cables.

[@swaggindragon370]

You got your hair back 😃😃

[@Denise_in_progress]

Always remove battery first before you unplug the screen cable or you end up with a dead chipset

[@Land-of-reason]

You should clear the flux off by using isopropyl alcohol and a tooth brush.

[@Mitchel-Gaming]

You can reflash the bios chip with a programmer.

[@apopeidumitru4758]

Usualy when i have a Broken screen, to test it i just connect a hdmi cable from the laptop to a tv or a SVGA cable and i press the keys on the keyboard that select between video modes PC/TV/Double screen. You are awsome. It is so nice to see you back like in the old days. Be strong and we all love you. You are the best.

[@eseodigie9022]

Most times a good way to troubleshoot the screen is to plug in an external monitor

[@DavidHolden15911855]

Being an electronics Technician, it bugs me a lot seeing so much dirty flux left after the repair shop did their repair - there is no reason for this

[@Eric_G65]

Send it to Alex and Northridge. He fixes these every day.

[@youssefhany6555]

4:10 you disconnected the display while the battery was still connected ... RIP PCH 💀

[@ml9659]

I used to work on laptops for friends until i broke 2 in a row n decide to never open a laptop again. Now if mine goes wrong i just buy a new one. New Laptops are suck a pain to work on.

[@MikeGervasi]

BadAss Steve coulda fixed it. I know this is an older video but perhaps Phil could do something on it?

[@handyman683]

Good attempt