Currently I have the need for a new, well replacement laptop. I discovered that being able to follow instructions on YouTube is no substitute for experience. I had an Asus T100TA tablet and attachable keyboard that I had not used for a month or two. (For some inexplicable reason I have been using my smartphone and Kindle Fire in place of the 10" screen, whether to watch video, email or surf the net). There is a tendency for the Asus to go into a near permanent state of standby if not used for a lengthy period. The battery convinces itself that it is charged or is charging but the computer will not boot.
YouTube, that glorious source of knowledge seems able to furnish video on nearly anything you care to ask it. I found several videos explaining how draining the battery would enable the device to boot once more. I watched video from multiple people to make sure I learnt the steps and that they were the same. Videos watched, I went about removing the back cover, the one behind the screen. All went well, I slid a slim object between screen and cover and it began to separate.
Once inside I realised what looked easy on screen was not so easy in real life. No reference was made to using a chip puller and the internal plug for the batteries looked more soldered on than plugged in. What happened next was my fault entirely. I thought I could
- a) prise the chip up with something sufficiently thin
- b) removing the case would likely only damage the case in a worse case scenario.
- a) the chip block that contains the bare cable split
- b) on putting the case back while I thought about what I had done, I found that there was a big crescent crack and some smaller related ones on one side of the screen.
I started writing this blog post one lunchtime a few days ago, since then my anticipation has taken quite a bash.
I was picturing my new (to me) laptop being dropped off at a location where a UPS van simply sat awaiting my shipment, or at the very least the van would pop by at the end of the day. [ Had that happened it would have been proof that the world revolves around me, not that I need proof, it's just something I know. ] Of course this wasn't the case and my package remained at the UPS Access point for 23 hours 45 minutes until the van did come by. ( If I was going to miss the previous day's pickup it would have to be by as little as 15 minutes!) I could accept that the pickup had been missed and it would not have annoyed me half as much if it wasn't for the UPS app misleading me. For the whole of Thursday the app said that my laptop was In Transit, when it was actually sitting at the Access Point. I had contemplated hovering late at work in case the laptop arrived late at the Argos store nearest to my workplace, I thought it would be the quickest location for me to get it from. At the last minute I saw the UPS info had changed to say it had only just picked up the laptop.
Well, only another day for delivery isn't too bad I thought, then I saw that UPS had updated their site. Delivery was anticipated to occur next week, not Friday but next Tuesday (Monday is a Bank Holiday not a working day in the UK). From next day delivery to six days, the laptop sitting in Bodmin according to the screen, really did tweak my patience. A weekend when I could explore things on a new computer to a workday with only the evenings. This is definitely a first world problem, but it is my problem and so is a focus for me.
I settled in to seethe the rest of the day about the delays and rain curses on UPS when my phone bleeps. I had forgotten something in my rush to be annoyed, a day is a long time in politics, an hour is an aeon in the internet age. Within hours my phone bleeps, "your package is available for collection at Argos", talk about pouring cold water on my anger. I went from grump to great! in an instant. When I could take a break in work I popped across to Argos to pickup my laptop. How the universe revolves. While waiting to collect my package I spied a charity box of secondhand paperbacks, not only that but some excellent nearly new Science Fiction books. The books were all ones I haven't got by Ursula Le Guin and Philip K Dick. The bounce in my step on the way back to work might have fooled an observer into thinking that I was experiencing a gravitational anomaly.
I type the rest of this post on my new (to me) laptop and it is a joy to use. Here's hoping I might be able to get more written, more often.
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2 comments:
As you know, I had a similar repair disaster a few weeks ago. What kind of manufacturer solders a CMOS battery in place, such that any fiddling will break the connections to the motherboard???
Glad you're now successfully re-equipped. I'm still awaiting a repair bod to turn up with a soldering iron!
Thank's for noticing my post Al. Yes, it does seem odd, especially in my case where there is no mention of the chip being so firmly attached on my Asus tablet. As well as my being up and running, Cathy is also sorted now thanks so we can return the loan device.
The tablet was a nice idea but I seem to be taking to this ultrabook much better when it comes to facilitating writing. I can't wait to show you the keyboard, it's such a pleasure to write on.
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