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Rant: I spent $80 on a 'universal' laptop charger that fried a client's motherboard
A client brought in a Dell laptop with a dead power jack, and I needed a quick test charger to confirm the motherboard was okay. I grabbed this 'universal' kit from a local electronics shop, the kind with a bunch of different tips. It said it auto-adjusted voltage, so I plugged it in. There was a pop, a small puff of smoke, and the laptop was totally dead. The 'smart' circuitry in the charger failed and sent the wrong voltage straight into the board. I had to eat the cost of a replacement motherboard for the client, which was over $300, plus my time. I learned the hard way that those cheap universal chargers are a huge gamble. Has anyone found a reliable brand for these, or do you just keep a bin of known-good OEM chargers around for testing?
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henry_martinez1mo ago
Man, that is the absolute worst feeling. I mean, you think you're being smart with a quick test and then it just nukes the whole machine. I've had a similar scare with one of those kits, heard that little click and my heart just dropped. It's crazy they can sell those as "universal" when they're basically a lottery with the board's life. I don't trust them at all anymore, it's just not worth the risk.
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the_patricia1mo ago
Ever just go straight to the manufacturer's support page for the exact part number? That's the only thing that saved me after a bad scare, they had the right file. Those universal ones are a total gamble.
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phoenix291mo ago
Wait, it actually made a click sound?
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