Laptop Repair

[DrJ]

I've run across an odd issue with a laptop I've been trying to fix. It is an HP zv5000, an older but OK unit that is now my granddaughter's. She totally destroyed the DC power jack, which is a weak spot of this (and many other) laptops.

So I replaced that part with a new one just fine, and it now charges the battery or runs without the battery pack if I want.

Unfortunately, the touch pad has gotten extremely flakey. The cursor jumps around, and the side scroll region works intermittently. The ZIF connector from the touchpad to the MB itself is fine -- I checked the continuity between the various conductors. The equivalent of the left and right mouse buttons work fine. Also, I did not remove the touchpad at all. And the repair was on the opposite side of the MB, and there really aren't a lot of other traces around to fry.

A mouse can always be used, but a laptop should have a working touchpad. Besides, there is pride involved! It worked before, d*mn it!

Any suggestions on what I might consider to fix this? Any laptop-oriented DYI fix-it sites that anyone can recommend?

[jb_daefo]

what OS is that? if it has an xorg.conf you can
probably change the mouse type in that to
fix it

[DrJ]

Sorry -- it is XP.

[robbak]

So, it stopped working when you did the power socket repair? Did you have to disconnect the touch pad to access the power socket? From most notebooks I have seen, you have to totally disassemble them before you get to the stage where you could put a soldering iron to anything.

A broken trace in the flexible strip connecting the touchpad to the motherboard is the most likely cause. Some people have reported successful repairs of them with windscreen-demister repair paint. (conductive paint used to repair rear window demisters). If you can find the break, you can get a little bottle of demister repair compound at an auto supplies store.

[DrJ]

Originally Posted by robbak

Did you have to disconnect the touch pad to access the power socket?

Yes, you have to disassemble the entire thing to get at the power jack.

A broken trace in the flexible strip connecting the touchpad to the motherboard is the most likely cause.

That's what I figure too, but I did check the continuity of all the traces and they were OK. Still, the differing results I get when I reseat the FFC leads me to believe that this is it. It pretty much has to be.

If you can find the break, you can get a little bottle of demister repair compound at an auto supplies store.

I have all sorts of things that I can use for this, but it would be better simply to replace it. Any ideas for vendors? It seems these are not often available to consumers, though I could probably get an engineering sample from one of the vendors.