Can I Fix This $900 Laptop? - Extended Version

The cable is called FFC, Flat flex cable. You can buy them by number of cores and width of the core. Also there are two different types, contacts on one side or contacts on opposite sides. There are very cheap so just buy different ones if you are not sure about the size.

I bought my first Ifixit repair kit after watching a ton of your videos, so far I have taken apart 3 laptops, replaced the thermal paste in all three and cleaned up some liquid damage from one and got it working like brand new. I also did a deep clean of my day 1 ps4 which was surprisingly not as dusty as I thought it was going to be after seeing some of the ones that you've cleaned and then I broke the disc drive but I managed to get it working again. You've been a huge inspiration and I can't wait to take apart more things in the future and keep the e-waste to a minimum.

it is a widely used practice for repairing this type of cable, and it often works well. theoretically, if you try to cut the part damaged by the glue, and gently scrape away the plastic to expose the tracks you should be able to have a working cable obviously the fewer cuts the better for the part damaged by the screw, it would be enough to try to solder some thin cables to act as a bridge over those tracks

Superglue is a nightmare, try SG debonder failing that I've read acetone helps remove it but not sure if it would have melted the connector, and brave of you to try and melt off the connector with a soldering iron! if you google FFC or FPC 40-Pin 0.5MM Pitch Ribbon Flat you should find places that sell new flexes- ebay, Amazon, Farnell, etc ;-) Most laptop's will power on without the battery connected and just connecting power to DC in, if you just want to test the keyboard ;-) Reflow pads with leaded solder, wick after to remove unleaded solder from pads and reflow with leaded solder and more flux. Also I noticed that you may not be using enough flux (was iron at right temp too?) when you were soldering the connector on as you were getting alot of persistent bridges.

This was a good one I'm glad you guys posted the extended cut

I always keep a bottle of "debonder" within easy reach on my workbench. Debonder can quickly "de-bond" parts that have been superglued ... including fingers ... You might have had better luck using debonder on that super glue. Either way, it's an important piece of kit to keep on your workbench any time you work with super glue.

Great show Sir. I do hope that you come thru your illness and live long to prosper. I've enjoyed many many of your shows and learned a lot. THANK YOU!

Great video, as always. Prayers continue for your health issues

Oh yes the extended versions are fire! I learn so much more

Nice job on the fixes Keep up the good work.

Steve, I commented on the original video and the short regarding this laptop. I have this cable spare. Please reply if you want it, I will ship it to you. CJNS E308724 AWM 20789.

You amaze me. You’re probably the only person who can fix the unfixable.

I have saved flex ribbon cables.just trim 5 mm off the end with scissors. It works You might expose more conductors if you rub off the top layer of plastic with a fibreglass pen

Glad to see the long video variant of the channel is gaining traction

Heeellll yeah! another tronics fix vid.

I'm pretty sure you've figured it out already, but FFC can be ordered from a bunch of places. I think I last ordered some from Farnell. The things to consider when selecting is of course the length, the number of wires (cores) and most importantly the pitch. Chances are yours is 0.5mm (other common ones are 0.3 and 1mm) You don't really care about the width really. Ah, and also check whether the contacts are same-side or opposites.

Hey man I normally never post comments but I’m praying for a full recovery you got this and it’s amazing you are posting with everything going on keep up the good work sending lots of love your way you got this and we all will always support and care for you ❤❤❤ ps I’ve been watching ever since the gameboy fixes dude you are crushing it keep up the good work !

grt vid ste , i see that you hum while working , i do it also , its a good habit since i can not whistle

I use BSI Debonder to un-cure CA glue, its amazing stuff. Since cured CA glue is basically plastic, it will also soften plastics, so be careful. It can be done without much harm to the plastics around it though.

Back in the early 2000's I was part of a joint Intel/lenovo whitebox laptop program where you would pay a small fee for a training course, build a laptop in their "verified by Intel" program and take the laptop with you. it was really a great deal so I did it whenever the opportunity arose. I recall they stressed that warped LCD frames and bezels were virtually always the fault of the user for opening the screen from the corner instead of the middle and they made a specific point of telling us to train our customers to ALWAYS lift from the centre of the screen and not at the corner as there was only so much frame stiffness they could build into it. I've always followed that advice and I have never once had one of my laptops have a warped or bent LCD or lid. As far as the superglue goes I would advise keeping a small bottle of cyanoacrylate DeBonder on hand. I used to have this stuff when I built RC airplanes and it comes in hugely helpful anytime you have to deal with someone else using superglue where they shouldn't