Fix-it 2: Laptop power connector

A good friend recently asked me to take a look at his laptop – it seemed that it would intermittently charge. Having had a look at the power connected it was revealed that the wires were a little frayed (and had been previously patched up) so I assumed this was the main problem. After replacing the connector with a brand new one, the same behaviour manifested itself – wiggling the connector in certain positions would allow the laptop to charge – and others would result in nothing. Time to open up the laptop – a job not for the faint hearted as getting to the power connector basically means removing everything (including the keyboard, screen and heaps of screws). Having got to the power socket on the motherboard it was clear that it needed replacing – cracked in several places (see pic) and intermittently making and breaking the power connection as the plug was wiggled. A new connector and some fancy soldering resulted in a most satisfactory fix.