How to identify failing hard drives, swollen lithium batteries, overheating CPUs, and motherboard power rail issues.
Laptops give warning signs before a major failure. Catching them early can save your data and a lot of money. Here are the four most common signs we see at our Plantation store.
A noisy or constantly running fan usually means the thermal paste has dried out or the heatsink is clogged with dust. Left alone, this leads to thermal throttling and, eventually, CPU damage. A thermal service — paste reapplication and internal cleaning — is inexpensive and extends the life of the machine.
A swollen battery is a safety emergency. If your trackpad is lifting, the case is bulging, or the laptop wobbles on a flat surface, stop using it and bring it in. Swollen lithium cells can vent or ignite.
Frequent crashes, kernel panics, or a drive that runs very slowly point to a failing SSD or hard drive. We can clone the drive to a new SSD before it fails completely, preserving your data.
Random power-offs or a laptop that won't charge often indicate a motherboard power-rail issue. These require board-level diagnostics and, sometimes, microsoldering — well within our scope.
