Advance Computer Corp (Computer Palace) laptop service center has been serving Santa Monica, Los Angeles and vicinity area businesses and residents for more than 18 years.  We specialize in repair and service of all PC and MAC laptops including Dell Inspiron, Dell Latitude, Sony VAIO, MAC Apple Powerbook/Ibook, Lenovo(IBM) Thinkpad, Hewlett Packard, HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario & Evo, Toshiba Satellite & Tecra, Fujitsu Lifebook, Gateway notebooks and many more.

We repair/fix broken or loose laptop DC power jacks on all notebooks.

Symptoms of a laptop with broken (loose) AC/DC jack (power jack) connection port:
-You have to hold the AC Adapter cord at a certain angle and apply the proper internal 
  pressure to establish a connection.
-The laptop’s power plug/AC adapter port feels loose.
-The laptop’s power indicator lights turn on and off intermittently.
-The unit suddenly turns off by itself.
-Even with a new AC Adapter, the system still does not turn on.
-The laptop battery does not get charged properly.
-The laptop only runs on battery.
-Spark comes out of the back of the laptop. 

 What the laptop manufacturer can do for you?
Unfortunately on more than 95% of laptops, the power jack connector on the notebook’s motherboard is not a separate part that can be purchased or replaced by the laptop manufacturer.  Once the laptop’s internal power jack is broken or becomes loose, the laptop manufacturer will tell you that your only option is to replace the whole motherboard. Of course in most cases that is so expensive that you are better off buying a whole new laptop. Not to mention the hassle of transferring the data from the old laptop and spending hours setting up your new laptop.

 What we can do for you:
However this is when Advance Computer Corp comes to your
rescue. We open up the laptop completely until we have full
access to the notebook motherboard from top & bottom. Our
experienced technicians will meticulously and with precision,
solder & glue the laptop’s broken DC jack back on the motherboard.
After the laptop is completely put back together again, your
laptop is fully tested, guaranteed and ready for pick up. This is
a very difficult and painstaking job that usually takes about
4 to 6 hours. Even though we normally charge $60.00 per hour,
for these jobs we usually charge a discounted price of about
$200.00. Once our technician looks at the condition of the
broken DC jack connector, we will give you a more exact quote.

Sometimes these jobs can become more difficult if the interior
male electrode (the metal tongue that sticks up from the middle
of the laptop's female socket) is broken or is kind of wobbly or
if the DC jack is badly shattered and we need to completely
replace it with a new one.  But no fear. We have access to a
variety of DC jack replacement parts and will fix anything that
is fixable!

 How to check for this problem?
-One good way to check your laptop for this problem is to remove the battery, connect your laptop’s external AC adapter (power supply) to the wall power and your laptop, turn on the unit and gently wiggle the laptop’s AC Adapter cable at the exact point of contact with the laptop. If the laptop power lights turn on and off as you move around the AC adapter tip, then most probably your laptop’s internal power connector on the motherboard has become loose and is disconnecting.

 When to fix it?
-Once your laptop experiences such a problem, you need to fix it right away before it gets any worse. The longer you try to make it work by moving around and wiggling the AC adapter connector the more chances of the laptop’s DC jack breaking off completely from the motherboard. In some of those cases, fixing the laptop becomes an almost impossible task and you might as well think of buying a whole new laptop. 

How jacks break:
- Some power jacks fail under normal operation of your computer. After a year or two of usage, parts just 'come loose' on certain models.
- Sometimes the laptop gets dropped and the cord yanks the jack loose.
- People, pets and vacuum cleaners all trip over laptop power cords on a daily basis.
- The laptop is moved around a lot. After the jack is moved back and forth enough times, it comes loose.