Where to start if you decide to repair laptops? Equipment and skills – briefly about the most important
I keep writing
about laptop repair
. Now I try to share useful information for beginners. I thought I could tell you about my start in laptop repair. In this article I will tell you what equipment you may need in the first stages and what to pay attention to later.
Where did I start
I’ll start telling you from the moment when I started repairing laptops myself. My situation is a little strange, because initially I started restoring iPhones purchased abroad. I bought them on eBay in the UK (there was a seller who sold phones for parts, and most of the lots were iCloud free).
I bought a phone on occasion, but it turned out to have a software error. Then I bought a second one, which already had a broken screen. Even later, a device arrived that did not turn on. So I started watching videos on YouTube, understanding diagrams and boardviews, and repairing equipment.
From that moment on I was “carried away”. I probably repaired about a hundred phones and then moved on to laptops. It turned out to be a little easier with them. But what I read and looked at about phones was very useful in terms of laptops.
I started with a children's microscope like the one shown in the picture, the cheapest soldering iron and a few tweezers. I bought the cheapest one because I wasn’t confident in my abilities. I didn’t want to spend money again – it seemed that it could go to waste if the repairs didn’t go well.
Overall it was ok to start with. I was engaged in the simplest operations, learned and retrained. In addition, I received a lot of information regarding SMD components, modern boards and other things.
In general, I advise the same to other novice masters. If you are not confident in your abilities and don’t want to spend a lot of money, then an ordinary soldering iron with an inexpensive microscope will be enough at first. Of course, you could buy a better microscope. When I started, even simple ones were expensive. However, now the situation has changed.
And now you can work with this. I was able to fix several phones (a couple were probably “fixed” by accident). I already have some confidence in my abilities.
What then
Once you understand that you can at least do something and, most importantly, you like it, you can move on to the next stage. Namely, buy a little more tools, plus purchase a more advanced microscope.
In addition, I recommend:
• buy a more advanced soldering iron;
• buy a simple soldering gun (with Chinese parrots instead of temperature);
• buy additional tweezers, from large to small;
• buy several types of flux and understand their features;
• buy different types of solder and understand its features;
• buy a laboratory power supply. Maybe not very expensive;
• purchase a braid to remove excess solder from boards and components.
I also want to emphasize the importance of studying the characteristics of the flux – now this is far from rosin. There are fluxes that are ideal for desoldering large components, and there are those that are designed for soldering parts. There is also a whole range of fluxes for working with processors and video cards, where the absence of bubbles during heating and smokelessness are important. There are many nuances, but also a lot of information. Believe me, you will be surprised to learn some things.
At about this stage, you should already know (if we talk about laptops) what the input keys are responsible for, what are the symptoms of typical malfunctions, be able to change mosfets and not very complex microcircuits like controllers.
Here's a new twist!
Yes, here you should already know and be able to do a little more than at the previous stage. Those. cope with most not the most complex “iron” breakdowns. The new stage involves improving your own skills, for which it is worth purchasing better equipment:
• good soldering gun;
• several soldering irons for large and small jobs: for micro-soldering, it is advisable to purchase a micro-soldering iron with replaceable hot tips;
• good power supply with different modes, memory, etc.;
• programmer for BIOS chips.
Of course, each repairman's personal journey may differ from mine. But again, I am stating my own experience. In my case, soldering in projects developed more or less harmoniously.
My skills in soldering and replacing PWM controllers, etc. have improved. But the main thing is that I began to pay attention not only to hardware problems, but also to problems with the BIOS and the board’s microcontroller.
First, I figured out the BIOS flash drive: how to solder it, reflash it, where to get the firmware, etc.
I also learned a lot about microcontrollers and learned how to desolder them, and most importantly, solder them. No damage, overheating, etc. But at this stage I still didn’t know how to flash it. Instead, I ordered already flashed chips on eBay.
Final stage
At the last stage, I know how to change and flash microcontrollers, processor and video card. I know many typical problems, I solve complex breakdowns with board burnout, etc.
Equipment
• Special soldering station for desoldering and sealing processors and video chips. Not the most expensive IR6500.
• Programmer for BIOS flash drive.
• Programmer for multicontroller (copy of Vertyanov’s programmer).
• Programmer for laptop batteries.
• Thermal camera (included in a Chinese phone).
• Inexpensive oscilloscope model, which is enough for my tasks.
• Four soldering irons for different occasions, many replaceable tips.
• Microscope (good electronic, with a focal length of up to a meter).
• A mountain of tweezers, knives, tips for working with sealed processors, eliminating glue for chips, etc.
• Good laboratory power supply and soldering iron.
Please note that I am not a professional. I sincerely envy those who have special education in this area. But what I know allows me to solve probably 80% of breakdowns. The remaining 10% are things I don’t want to tackle because of time or money costs (I repair for myself, not to order), the rest is something I don’t know and don’t understand yet. This is, of course, a rough estimate.
There are still many things that need to be mastered, especially the nuances of circuit design, chip characteristics, etc. The further into the forest, the more information there is. Unfortunately, I’m running out of time, so I’m studying all this now in fragments. I also want more expensive professional equipment, especially for changing processors and graphics chips. But for me the game is not worth the candle, since I do not repair dozens of pieces of equipment a day.
It would be interesting to know what equipment you use for what purposes. And see photos of your workspaces if you are a service technician or doing home repairs.
