A college student living in Brookline MA had trouble getting his Acer laptop to turn on. He initially thought that the problem was the power adaptor, which had spent three years bumping around the bottom of his backpack, and had probably suffered some damage. He purchased a new one, plugged it in, and after the computer failed to turn on he realized it was not the power adaptor as he had thought. He spoke to one of our technicians about a DC jack laptop repair service in Boston, and we arranged to pick up the laptop that same day.

A laptop is powered by AC and DC power. AC means alternating current, and DC means direct current. A laptop’s power cord carries high voltage alternating current electricity from an outlet into the AC adaptor. AC power cannot directly power a laptop, so the AC adaptor converts the electricity into low voltage DC power that is carried to the end of the cord and into the DC port on the side of the laptop.

When a laptop has trouble turning on or charging, it can generally mean a broken AC adaptor, or a broken jack within the DC port. In the student’s case, he determined that it was not the AC adaptor. One of our technicians double-checked his finding by testing his AC adaptor for charge. The AC adaptor had a charge, so the cause was the DC port. A broken DC port may require a technician to re-solder the device or replace a part. The technician attempted re-soldering the DC port, and that did the trick as far as getting current to the motherboard. However, our technicians noticed that the jack was still very loose when plugged into the power cord, which told him that he needed to replace the DC jack component on the motherboard. We returned the student’s laptop to him the next day.

There are dozens of websites on the Internet that offer to fix DC port problems on laptops. The sites often require the customer to pack his laptop in a bubbly envelope and mail it across the country. Factoring in the time it takes to mail the computer, fix the computer, and mail it back, this process can take as long as three weeks. Three weeks without a laptop is a huge inconvenience for a student, professional, or even for someone who occasionally uses their laptop to keep in touch with friends and family. As one can imagine, mailing a heavy laptop can be pretty pricey. And it can be incredibly nerve-racking to trust several mail carriers as well as an unfamiliar company. A+ Mobile PC Doctors is a fully insured computer repair company serving the Boston area and all of New England, as well as several other states across the US. We provide on-site computer repair and will even arrange to pick up your laptop or computer for in-shop repair. Call us at 1-866-417-3945 to speak with a technician. A DC port failure is a common problem, and we aim to promptly fix the problem and return your laptop as soon as possible.