Charger Emergency! :(

[Suicune]

Ok so here's the deal: Last Saturday I was typing on my laptop while lying in bed. The laptop accidentally slipped off my knees and fell onto it's side on the floor. And When I took the charger out to see if any damage has been done, yes there was some. The "Head" I guess you could call it of the charger was stuck inside the little thing you plug it into. We got that out with no problem.

My mom then bought a charger off the internet because the other one we thought was broken because the computer didn't charge. Up until Thursday my mom received the package at work and I was excited to get it soon. When I plugged it in...No charge. I thought we were scammed or something. And tonight we went to Best Buy and bought a Universal Charger...no charge...and about 20 minutes ago I looked at the actual "Plug into thing" and saw that the back of it was broken into the computer itself. So no matter what charger you get, no charge. We spent about $150 dollars on 2 chargers. (One was $40 and the other was $105)

Now, my mom thinks we should go to the Geek Squad and get it fixed...but I've heard that the Geek Squad knows nothing about computers or repairs..I suggested we call the actual company. (Acer) And see if they offer repairs..I didn't really see anything of help. However my mom's co-worker's husband is like the computer guy for her work. But I'm not sure if he can fix something that's broken. (He did clean my computer of some serious adware and malware though.) I just don't know what to do...buying a new one is out of the question for a while...And I heard that Firedog was better than GS but Circut City is gone...PLEASE HELP! :(

[IowaBoy]

what model of laptop do you have?

[Suicune]

what model of laptop do you have?

I Have an Acer Aspire 4720Z I beleive.

[IowaBoy]

alright, acer does offer repair. if you have the warrenty that is even better and it will make for a quicker fix.

[Suicune]

I think I have warranty still left..Thanks I'll check on it soon!

[Buddy]

Now, my mom thinks we should go to the Geek Squad and get it fixed...but I've heard that the Geek Squad knows nothing about computers or repairs..(

actually the geeksquad where i live is excellent they replaced my harddrive with a nicer bigger one and installed a better version of vista for free and i havent had ANY problems since they fixed it

[Suicune]

actually the geeksquad where i live is excellent they replaced my harddrive with a nicer bigger one and installed a better version of vista for free and i havent had ANY problems since they fixed it

Yeah except I have a laptop with a broken piece which is like 4 - 6 mm in diameter.

[Commander Thor]

Don't use Geek Squad. They, meaning Geek Squad themselves, won't fix it. They'll send it off to (Guess where...), the Acer repair center, only charge you five fold for using their service.

Just send it off to Acer yourself. I don't know what your warrenty covers, but see if it covers 'Accidental damage', if so, the repair should be no charge. If it doesn't cover AD, then it shouldn't be any more than ~$75-100 to fix it, including shipping.

[Suicune]

Don't use Geek Squad. They, meaning Geek Squad themselves, won't fix it. They'll send it off to (Guess where...), the Acer repair center, only charge you five fold for using their service.

Just send it off to Acer yourself. I don't know what your warrenty covers, but see if it covers 'Accidental damage', if so, the repair should be no charge. If it doesn't cover AD, then it shouldn't be any more than ~$75-100 to fix it, including shipping.

Yeah, I know Geek Squad is bad....but my mom won't listen to me and is sure that they will fix it...God she can be so ignorant.

[Quick_Sylver]

No offense intended but Acer= Scam
My dad had his laptop (the same model as you have) on the couch and it started to slip, so he stuck his foot up to stop it,and cracked the screen. It had viruses on it and he was, as per usual when he's home, drunk. My mom called the help center and they said buy a new one they can't help without it costing almost $300. My mom took it to Laptop Depot (that's what we have up here) and it cost $20 bucks for them to get rid of the viruses, heck even they said ANOTHER Acer?, My dad bought a monitor for his laptop, and he uses it to watch movies in his truck. Morale of the story? Don't trust acer imo...Take the laptop in to be inspected, they usually will do that for free, and see what they say.

[Suicune]

Well Tootsiepop, I don't like Acer, at all. I got mine as a Christmas present. I honestly wanted an HP or Toshiba.

But I don't need to get it inspected, I've found the problem. I just need help on how to get it fixed.

[Commander Thor]

No offense intended but Acer= Scam
My dad had his laptop (the same model as you have) on the couch and it started to slip, so he stuck his foot up to stop it,and cracked the screen. It had viruses on it and he was, as per usual when he's home, drunk. My mom called the help center and they said buy a new one they can't help without it costing almost $300. My mom took it to Laptop Depot (that's what we have up here) and it cost $20 bucks for them to get rid of the viruses, heck even they said ANOTHER Acer?, My dad bought a monitor for his laptop, and he uses it to watch movies in his truck. Morale of the story? Don't trust acer imo...Take the laptop in to be inspected, they usually will do that for free, and see what they say.

Acer is correct about it costing nearly $300 to remove the viruses & fix the screen. The screen will cost around $120-170, depending on the finish, the size, and the resolution. And labor will cost another $100 to do it correctly (Replacing a laptop screen usually is an hour long deal). So no, Acer isn't a scam, they just told you like it is.


And mford, you have few options:
Take it to Geek Squad and let them handle it.
Send it to Acer yourself.
Or, find someone who is comfortable soldering, buy a new plug, and solder a new on onto the power board.