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Question

Blue Screen and Audio Issues

Dec 10, 2019 9:15AM PST

Hello!
Out of nowhere, my laptop started breaking, showing the blue screen with diferente errors (in the same day it showed a driver power state failure and a vídeo dxgkrnl fatal error). As of yesterday, I have no sound. I haven't installed anything and have no idea what's causing all these errors, as I haven't had any troubles with the laptop in a while (when it was under warranty, I had some heating issues which were resolved and it was more than a year ago).
Any ideas? Is it too expensive to fix?

Thank you!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Depends on you (mostly.)
Dec 10, 2019 10:40AM PST

Sometimes this is a corrupted OS or other issue. We usually start with a Web Speccy report here and see if there's something there. If not a Factory Reset is tried to see if that clears it up. Along the way the cost is all about you and your backups of what you can't lose. The machine is already unreliable and that overheating could have corrupted the OS so a factory reset looks in the future steps.

Let's start with that Web Speccy Report. Here's how to share that report:
https://www.piriform.com/docs/speccy/using-speccy/publishing-a-speccy-profile-to-the-web

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Laptop is dead
Dec 16, 2019 8:19AM PST

So, I just went to turn on my laptop and i think it's dead. The battery light is on (it's connected to the charger) and the power light is inconsistent (it turns on and off). Any suggestions for good and cheap desktop? Confused

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Did you re-set the laptop ?
Dec 16, 2019 8:50AM PST

Unplug everything , take the battery out , hold down the power button for 30 seconds , install the battery and restart ?

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It doesn't work
Dec 21, 2019 8:47AM PST

I've done that, except taking the battery out as it is 'built-in' and I can't access it without opening the laptop… I've pressed the power button and both the 'on' light and the battery light turn on for just a few seconds before going off.

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More info
Dec 21, 2019 8:56AM PST

I thought I could turn it on and try resetting it to factory settings, but I couldnt even turn the laptop on. I had forced it to shut down by pressing the power button because it froze and i couldn't do anything. I turned it off and the next day it would turn on.

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Answer
I see the good advice about battery out and reset
Dec 16, 2019 11:30AM PST

But I don't have much to work with as to what this laptop is so I can't supply possibly same or better machine ideas.

Let's give this old laptop a last look with you supplied it's year, make and model.

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More info
Dec 21, 2019 8:49AM PST

It's a 2017 Asus Vivobook Max, a541U series.

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Answer
I think I found that laptop for 180USD.
Dec 21, 2019 9:14AM PST
Refurb for 180.

The battery removal is not trivial so let's not do that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x56SO1sJJn4 for those that need to know.

Since you can't perform a boot to where you can factory reset you are left with getting on another PC to make Windows 10 USB Install media then performing a clean install and hope the hardware is OK. Drivers will be from the maker. Creation of the media, installing Windows and drivers has been discussed thousands of times on the web and YouTubes so I leave you with my advice.

Advice: If this was mine I'd clean install Windows to see if the machine is OK. If I can't install W10 the machine is in need of repair but since the repair counter cost is 150USD here (no parts!) and a refurb can be had for 180 this unit should never be taken to the shop.
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700 euros
Dec 21, 2019 12:34PM PST

The thing is, I can't turn it on. It is completely dead and I have no idea why. It started with the blue screen, then the audio was gone and now the laptop doesn't even turn on. I haven't even used it much lately as I have a surface that I use just for uni stuff and haven't had time to use the Asus, that's what's confusing to me... everything was ok with the laptop, and then, out of nowhere it started having issues ??‍♀️ Where I'm from, I paid 700 euros for the laptop, it was one of the better ones from the shop at around the 500 - 1000 euros mark. I don't know what laptops cost in the us, so maybe it's not the same?

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This is why
Dec 21, 2019 1:12PM PST

I supplied a link to the refurb at the shop here. Also why here we would not take it in for repair since the minimum charge (150) is too close to what I can replace it for.

As to the confusion, many things work one day then stop working. That's how a lot of gear, cars and more are. To find out what failed, if you are not a tech or car repair person costs so much that you always weigh the costs and decide what to do next.

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If I were going to
Dec 21, 2019 4:06PM PST

spend $180 anyway , I would go ahead and disassemble it because actually it looks pretty simple . While in there I would do some upgrades like This .
I have always liked to play though....

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Heard back from the shop
Mar 26, 2020 4:05PM PDT

So, after all these months, I finnally "know" what appened. I was told there was some liquid traces inside the laptop, although, as far as I can recall, I never spilled anything on top of it. They said it made a short circuit and it fried. They substituted the part and ran the stress test. On the third attempt, the computer presented the same issue - the blue screen. They inspected everything again and told me the motherboard had oxidated. Does this make any sense? They told me there's no solution for the computer and as they also sell second hand laptops, they had one I might be interested in. I'm starting to thing I'm being decieved, as I haven't spilled anyting onto the laptop. In fact, I had been barely using it as I have a small surface one for uni. Could any of you tell me if any of this makes sense? Thank you!

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Yes.
Mar 26, 2020 4:37PM PDT

I see the link above has expired. Here's that model for 160.49 USD.
https://www.ebay.com/i/352925524036

This model is too cheap to consider any repair counter. Here the repair counter visit starts at 150USD and goes up.

As to the spill or such, given the age anything is possible. You may not have had 100% control over it at times so all bets are off. It really doesn't matter anyway. The machine is old enough to start having issues.

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..
Mar 26, 2020 4:54PM PDT

It's two and a half years old. I wouldn't consider that old. And even if, at some point, I have indeed spilled something (I'm pretty positive I haven't), why would it short circuit now?

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Because it did.
Mar 26, 2020 5:39PM PDT

I don't know how much you know of reliability studies but if you take a lot (say 10,000) of units then you will have some fail now till the end in a classic bathtub curve (most things.)

We already know the battery is some 300 cycle unit and the machine is one that looks built for cost so it's a discount item without a lot of thought or care about reaching 5 or more years of lifespan. If they did then they would coat the boards to protect again spills and corrosion but at the price point? No.

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I get it
Mar 26, 2020 6:09PM PDT

Thanks for your input. I completely agree with what you're saying, but the irrational part of me is just pissed of that I wasted €700 on it, for it too break in less than three years. Like that say, "they don't build them like they used to". My father still has a desktop that he bought over 10 years ago, I guess now, that's pretty much impossible. So, if you were on my shoes, would you accept the second hand laptop they proposed to me, or would you rather buy something new?

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Here that laptop didn't go for much.
Mar 26, 2020 6:25PM PDT
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VivoBook-Processor-Graphics-Bluetooth/dp/B074T8F5D9 looks like 389USD so that's your bargain (cheap) unit there. I don't want to write more.

My brother and I do the IT for his office and all the laptops on the desks are refurbs or second hand. We get them for a song and may swap out HDD for SSD to get them up to speed and that's a cheap investment. Our best steal were HP Probooks with an i3 4th gen, 320GB HDD, 4GB RAM and a new battery (not installed) for 128 USD. Those are working years later. I can't guess why offices pay for new laptops. Gamers? Yes. Offices? No.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RF1XD36/ was the #2 best seller on Amazon here. Only 330 USD. Nice unit, but 10 years? I don't expect that long.
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Thanks
Mar 26, 2020 6:30PM PDT
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That's a nicer unit.
Mar 26, 2020 7:10PM PDT

I can't find that one in US or Canada. So I can't compare.

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It is
Mar 27, 2020 7:07AM PDT

I live in Europe, so I don't know if it's sold anywhere else. It was a good laptop, fast, ran well and could play some decente games in it without any problems. It just pain me if I have to give €700 again after less than three years.

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Question
Apr 3, 2020 10:13AM PDT

I'm sorry, I have just one more question. I just picked my laptop back from the shop. Considering all the facts of what was wrong with the computer, is it normal that they opened the screen? I noticed the screws aren't the same, as they were black and not silver and the screen. I'm starting to think there's something I'm not being told and as such I will get a second opinion. I would just like to know if it's normal to open up the screen when none of the issues were there. Sorry again to bother you.

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Could be a good sign they tried everything.
Apr 3, 2020 11:23AM PDT

Since the screen has components that can cause many issues the fact they looked there is a good sign they did all they could to save or repair this laptop.

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.
Apr 3, 2020 11:26AM PDT

Thank you!

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Spell check
Mar 26, 2020 4:07PM PDT

Finally*
Oxidized*