I fixed a macbook with a hair-dryer

[laingsoft]

My mother's macbook air died, because of the cost of repair, she opted to buy a new 13" model instead of the old 11" one she had before.
She was going to throw this one in the garbage(seriously) so I was like "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Anyway, the screen was glitching out, then would eventually just stop displaying an image. This is what would happen after:

I didn't want to open up the laptop, but I knew that the GPU would be close to this spot, so I hopelessly started up my hair-dryer and started getting it hot.

I got it hot to the point when I couldn't hold it any more, then I set it down and let it cool.

I booted it up, not thinking that it would work.
But low and IGNORE:

I've run some stress tests, I've been playing CSS for a while, and I have been using it for the past 2 days, and I have not had a single graphical glitch.

So, What could I have done? I doubt that it would be hot enough to actually reball the BGA, I mostly tried this out of desperation, and while I was waiting for my Torx-4 to come in the mail.
Anyone with any knowledge of Air's know what happened? Was it a fluke?

(I have no idea why that picture turned orange.)

 

[Mako321]

Just werks.

 

[grossaffe]

I've twice stuck my laptop's motherboard in the oven to reflow the solder on the GPU.

 

[laingsoft]

But a Hair-dryer shouldn't give off enough heat to melt solder, right?

 

[Zero]

It really shouldn't afaik. That's why you usually need a heat gun.

I'm not really sure how this worked, but I guess you got really lucky.

 

[bic]

It didn't get hot enough to reflow solder completely, but maybe enough to expand something just enough to make contact.

You might want to reflow it with a real heat gun once your tools come in the mail.

She was going to throw this one in the garbage(seriously)

[insert joke about the Apple fanatic mindset here]

(I have no idea why that picture turned orange.)

Blame the automatic white balance on your camera picking out the relatively blue LCD backlight.

 

[laingsoft]

So, I talked her through what happened before the screen started glitching up. Apparently, she had set in on a wet table.

Keep in mind though, the screen was glitching up DAYS after she did this. Although, I could see some water getting stuck between the balls on the BGA, shorting it out or something.

Anyway, It's been 3 days, no problems so far.

 

[ttsgeb]

This thread is responsible for the laptop currently in my oven.

It smells like cookies.

 

[Zero]

Just don't leave it in there too long.

 

[superben51]

Or try to eat it

 

[bic]

This thread is responsible for the laptop currently in my oven.

It smells like cookies.

Is it computing pie charts?

 

[laingsoft]

Is it computing pie charts?

A HUE HUE HUE HEU

 

[ttsgeb]

Yeah... So... It's still not working. Oh well.

 

[bic]

Try reflowing the motherboard with a heat gun. (CPU and GPU, especially.) I bought a Wagner for $25 at Lowes, and it gets hot enough to melt solder. It's great for parts salvage, but I haven't tried it on anything I care about yet. (If you don't find it with the power tools, check the paint department near the sprayers.) There's a cheaper one at Harbor Freight, but I'm wary of buying a 1200 watt handheld heating element from them.

 

[grossaffe]

Yeah... So... It's still not working. Oh well.

did you follow any specific procedure?

 

[ttsgeb]

Take everything off of the motherboard that I *reasonably* can

Bake at 385 for 10 minutesor until golden brown.

 

[grossaffe]

Take everything off of the motherboard that I *reasonably* can

Bake at 385 for 10 minutesor until golden brown.

Did you use spacers of some sort so the mobo isn't placed directly on the rack or cookie sheet?

 

[ttsgeb]

I put it on a silicone cake pan on top of a cookie sheet.

I'd try again, but I already put all the stuff back together and don't feel like messing with it anytime soon.

If all else fails, I can sell the screen for like $65...

 

[Zero]

There are people that make a good amount of money doing this to broken 360s/PS3s and reselling them. That is, if you can live with the fact they'll probably break down again some months or years down the line.