My brother called me over the weekend to tell me his laptop was fried. He couldn't figured out the problem (he's pretty tech savvy), so he took it in to a shop. They told him the motherboard was fried. My brother said he had been dusting the laptop with his duster, so it's possible the static did something to it.

Have you guys ever heard of this? He's debating now whether he wants to replace the motherboard or just get a new computer. How much do you think a laptop motherboard would cost? I think he's got a Pentium 3 or so...can't remember.

Dlandmom wrote:
Have you guys ever heard of this?Yup. Static electricity is a deadly enemy of computer components. That is why you're supposed to ground yourself before (and some say while) working on a computer. Since many dusters specifically use static electricity to get the dust to cling, they are to be avoided around electronics. The good dusters will even warn you not to use them in that manner.

If he's suspicious that this shop is just trying to get more money from him then he should take it to another shop to get a second opinion. It's possible something was damaged with the static, but it might not have been the entire motherboard. (If you need to dust a laptop keyboard use a can of compressed air made for dusting electronics, not a duster.)

I once thought I fried a laptop with static when I accidental touched an exposed port and felt a shock. After that the laptop was dead. I sent it in for repair and it was easily fixed by replacing just a fuse.

But then again, they probably are a good shop and checked all the fuses and replaceable components and that their diagnostic is right, which is possible. Static can do dangerous things to electronics. Even if you don't feel the static discharge.

With the cost of the motherboard and labor to install, it might just be better to get a new computer. You say a Pentium 3, but how old is the computer? He'd probably get a better deal overall by just upgrading.

You guys are both right. The first thing I said when he told me what happened was "what were you thinking dusting around your computer!" (Bill, love those compressed air cans...I actually used them to clean my entire office, not just my keyboard!) Anyhow, he's waiting to hear back from the shop how much the motherboard will be...they had told him around $200-300, but they were going to check and see what they had.

SM, my brother said something about thinking he/it was grounded, but apparently not!

One interesting thing my brother told me is that he could hear the fan running, but the screen was blank and nothing was happening when he used the keyboard. (Okay, interesting to me...it probably doesn't mean anything.)

Personally, I'd just spend the money and get everything new.

As an aside, in my last job, I would promise my clients the world, and then go back to my tech guys so they could figure out how to deliver it!

At the current prices for laptops, it would be eaiser to just buy something from Dell or Gateway than to send it it, pay exorbant fees, and hope for the best. And it's not easy to replace a laptop motherboard by yourself. Where was he dusting it?

Originally posted by DisneyFan25863
At the current prices for laptops, it would be eaiser to just buy something from Dell or Gateway than to send it it, pay exorbant fees, and hope for the best. And it's not easy to replace a laptop motherboard by yourself. Where was he dusting it?

Personally, I'm a huge Dell fan, but I've never been able to convince my brother of that (he was a computer science minor, so he loves to tinker with stuff...I think his current laptop was built for him).

No clue where he was dusting it.