Author Topic: Just another day at the office...  (Read 16320 times)

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Offline BranDonk Kong

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Just another day at the office...
« on: August 07, 2011, 10:21:43 AM »
...I really do fix game consoles (and cell phones) for a living, and luckily Microsoft and Sony did a bad enough job designing their hardware to afford me this job.

Here's a PS3 that came into our shop for the Yellow Light of Death (already disassembled, cleaned, and on the BGA rework station)...


...and here is that same console about 25 minutes later


These are some of the consoles I fixed this week - all being YLOD PS3s or RROD 360s


First time I opened a Verizon iPhone 4 (though I've probably does at least 20 of the AT&T variety - I'd say we get at least 5 iPhone 3G/3GS repairs a day), forgot to take pictures when I was done


And here is a picture I took a couple weeks ago, had to do some catch up when I came back home from Pittsburgh


When you count all of the Wiis, 360s, PS3s, DSes, PSPs, etc, and the various issues, I've probably fixed around 500 consoles for people locally, but there's still no shortage of repairs needing done. There are over 500,000 people in our county, so that's barely scratching the surface really. If you need any work done, hit me up with a PM or mention it in this thread (or not)...
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Offline Morari

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2011, 11:44:21 AM »
Looks like a nice setup. Do you do this privately, or is that wall at an establishment?

I need to take apart and tinker with two of my Dreamcasts. The one is not outputting any audio/video, and the other has loose controller ports that cut in and out. :(
« Last Edit: August 07, 2011, 06:37:36 PM by Morari »
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Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2011, 03:10:40 PM »
I used to to it from home, but this is an actual establishment. We just moved our shop two doors over from the original location, so it's kind of messy and I didn't take shots of my whole area, but I will soon.
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Offline ShyGuy

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2011, 04:06:33 PM »
We probably had this discussion before, but how much to fix my Wii's disc drive?

Offline Stogi

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2011, 04:34:23 PM »
Yo I need a cheap PS3 that will strictly be used for online gaming. I don't need controllers or cables or even a large HDD.
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Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #5 on: August 07, 2011, 09:31:25 PM »
I can probably get you said PS3, we have two (fat, not BC) consoles that just need laser replacements and then we plan on selling them.

We charge $75 for Wii disc drive replacement - it's typically the best way to go (other than just doing the laser or motor, since they both tend to fail, and the gears wear down, sensor goes bad - lots of plastic in there) - that would include return shipping if you are interested.
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Offline Morari

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2011, 11:22:03 PM »
We charge $75 for Wii disc drive replacement - it's typically the best way to go (other than just doing the laser or motor, since they both tend to fail, and the gears wear down, sensor goes bad - lots of plastic in there) - that would include return shipping if you are interested.

That's not bad considering the prices I've seen for just the hardware. I've had to replace the drives on three different consoles, one of which had been replaced under warranty prior to failing again. It is my opinion that the Wii has one of the worse disc drives I've ever seen, whether it's the actual laser or the stupid self-loading mechanism is beyond me.
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Offline BlackNMild2k1

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2011, 11:34:03 PM »
Probably a major determining factor into why the WiiU doesn't support GC disc.
That drive has been a bit of trouble for Nintendo in the durability and expense columns.

Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #8 on: August 08, 2011, 10:00:25 AM »
We used to do Wii laser/motor replacements as well, but quite often you'd replace the motor only to find out the laser was dying too, and replacing the motor is about the most frustrating thing you can ever do because of the precision involved in getting the three mounting screws in exactly the right position so it doesn't grind and squeal. The Xbox 360 typically has the best optical drive, but there are so many different models that physically replacing the entire drive (when necessary) can be a hassle as well. Luckily there are only two different laser models in the old style systems (Hitachi and Samsung are the same, BenQ and LiteOn are the same).

Let me give this one piece of advice for anyone with a PS3 that either has a disc stuck inside, or has the YLOD and it will not eject - DO NOT open the console to take the disc out, the drives in those things are completely retarded, and will not readjust themselves if they end up in a different position due to disassembly. It can be a huge pain in the ass to get the drive properly working again if you do this. The Wii and 360 - not a problem.

We really don't get too many Wiis in (maybe two or three a month), but it's always for the disc drive, and typically because someone shoved something in there that shouldn't have been (when it's not the drive failing itself), but sadly I think a large part of this is because so many people buy (bought) a Wii with Wii Sports and basically never use the drive beyond the initial loading for that game.
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Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #9 on: August 13, 2011, 09:40:13 PM »
If anyone has any interest I'll add regular updates to this thread...if not...I'll let it die. We get some interesting stuff sometimes - incredibly filthy consoles (cockroaches, spiders, etc), porno DVDs stuck in the PS3 disc tray, Wii consoles with checkers, toy CDs, etc stuck in the tray...and a lot of iPhones.
I think it says on the box, 'No Hispanics' " - Jeff Green of EA

Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #10 on: August 28, 2011, 01:06:38 AM »
Well screw it, I feel like updating anyway. I've taken a bunch of pictures recently of some other phones and consoles, so I figured I'd share my experiences. Let's begin...

This is a fourth generation iPod Touch that a sweet little girl had dropped and cracked the screen. I felt bad when we had to take her money (she had been saving her allowance), but she was happy to do so and seemed very appreciative and showed a sense of responsibility.


If you have one of these and broke the screen, then asked why it costs so much to get the screen replaced, this is why...


Just like the iPhone 4 (and almost any new Samsung phone, at least the good ones), the LCD and the digitizer are inseparable. The LCD actually has a layer of glass on it which is epoxied onto the touch screen, making it 100% impossible to just replace the glass, because you will completely destroy the LCD if you try to remove it, so you have to replace both at the same time. It makes repairs more expensive, but also easier, and there is no risk of getting debris between the glass and LCD like what happens to almost any iPhone 3G or 3GS that you see. I forgot to upload a picture of the end result...but you've probably seen an iPod before.

This is a Samsung Transform, it's a touchscreen Android phone for Sprint. The person who brought it in only had a barely noticeable hairline crack directly across the screen, but they're company reimbursed them so they got it fixed. I will say this - Samsung absolutely makes the best LCDs and digitizers (besides phones that use Gorilla Glass, like the Droid X) of any of the manufacturers. Rarely do we ever get a Samsung phone where the glass is actually shattered, and the LCDs always have a very nice texture to them that you don't find with anyone else.


Slide phones are typically a pain in the ass because of the amount of screws, but Samsung phones are always nice to work on, and most of the time the digitizer has the adhesive preinstalled so it's as simple as removing a plastic sheet and placing it back in the housing (though I always heat the adhesive for a much stronger bond).


No before picture to compare it with, but just imagine the same screen with an almost completely unnoticeable crack in it.


This is a Dell Streak (5" T-Mobile variety, though I believe it's actually a world phone). This guy's kid was playing with it and was pushing on the screen too hard, cracking the LCD underneath (digitizer was completely intact still...Gorilla Glass).


This is the only other picture I took, so it's kind of lame to even put it here, but this thing is absolutely massive so I figured I'd share it. The touch screen and LCD are also inseparable on this device, but the parts are actually pretty cheap (probably because they just discontinued it).


Ever seen on of these before? Me neither.


It was brought in because it would no longer sync to any controllers. The problem? The small bluetooth adapter had died, it can be seen here removed and placed on the right-front side of the console.


And here it is with a nice shiny replacement installed, five minutes later it was syncing up like a champ!


I don't even remember if this was the same Wii or one that was brought it for disc drive related problems (I fixed three Wiis in all that day), but anyway, here's what it looks like if you take off the outer casing (and metal IR shield).


This is the inside of the bottom half of a DS Lite. The A button was stuck down so I replaced the pad underneath it. Easy money, maybe a 10 minute job at the most. I went ahead and cleaned the crap out of it while I had it open as well.


Random Xbox 360 motherboard on the heater getting ready for a reflow...


Here's a nice one - not even two weeks after buying it, this guy's daughter smasher the screen on her HTC EVO 3D.


It's actually incredibly simple to repair just about anything (besides the charge port, the charge port is ridiculous on just about anything that's not an iPhone) on this phone. Total repair time was probably about 20 minutes, only because this was the first one that we had ever taken in. Regular EVO 4Gs take about 10 minutes, maybe less.


Here's a nice after shot - 100% OEM parts (which we use on everything we repair unless you can't find the parts anymore). I'm not at all impressed by the 3D aspect of this phone, but Sense 3.0 is awesome.


This guy's dog or cat chewed up his Kinect's power/USB cable. After poking around a bit I realized that the end of the cable went into a non-standard socket. The original plan was to chop of the crappy part and solder it directly to the board, but because of the socket that wasn't possible. We just did a standard cut, splice (with solder) and electric tape job. Not too proud of it, but it looked good, was soldered well, and it worked.


This is a Droid Incredible, the kid smashed his touch screen, obviously.


It is very similar to the EVO 4G underneath the back, and is very simple to do repairs on - the only problem (just like with the EVO 4G) is that the edge of the LCD has a layer of adhesive that connects to the digitizer, so you have to heat the phone up (very hot) and very carefully remove the glass (or the LCD) without damaging the LCD. It's very easy to go too fast and tear the front right off.


I didn't take any after shots (kid was waiting), but here's what the inside looks like...


This is how I kept busy yesterday (and today)


But I also took the time to repair this bad boy for water damage - the Samsung Galaxy S 2 (Korean version)


Here's what the inside looks like...


This is after removing and completely cleaning the motherboard - the phone works perfectly other than one huge issue - the power button doesn't work. I was really hoping to power it up because this thing is an absolute beast. it's kind of funny how the US versions of the phone almost don't resemble the original at all.


Here's a picture I took to send to my friend letting him know he didn't have E74 anymore. I always test my Xbox 360 (heat related) repairs this way - just apply thermal past and rest two (Falcon) CPU heat sinks on top of the CPU and GPU - if the console boots then you know it doesn't have any cold solder joints, because you aren't applying any pressure.


And I just took this picture today when I was replacing the screen of an AT&T iPhone 4 to show that we use actual Apple parts, unlike some of our local competitors who will actually admit that they use cheap third party products with dim LCDs.


I don't expect everyone to chime in on everything, but it took me 40 minutes to make this post (with uploading to imageshack), so even a "hey, that's neat" would be appreciated (or even a "hey, **** you").
I think it says on the box, 'No Hispanics' " - Jeff Green of EA

Offline KnowsNothing

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #11 on: August 28, 2011, 01:31:09 AM »
This is beyond neat, thanks a lot for sharing!
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Offline Oblivion

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #12 on: August 28, 2011, 01:32:07 AM »
Wow, this is pretty damn cool. If I hadn't boughten a new Wii six months ago, I would've sent my old one to you to fix the Wii disc drive.


Do you fix DSi's?

Offline UncleBob

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #13 on: August 28, 2011, 08:34:52 AM »
Wow, this is pretty damn cool. If I hadn't boughten a new Wii six months ago, I would've sent my old one to you to fix the Wii disc drive.


Do you fix DSi's?

You could send him your old one and have two Wiis.
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Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #14 on: August 28, 2011, 09:14:33 AM »
Thanks, and yes I do fix DSi's. Anything stuck buttons to cracked screens, to replacing the digitizer to replacing the cartridge slot, and pretty much everything in between (cameras, microphone, SD slot, etc).

Also I would be happy to repair your Wii, or if you still have it and want to get rid of it we do buy broken consoles from time to time, depending on what's wrong with them.
« Last Edit: August 28, 2011, 09:19:11 AM by Brandogg »
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Offline Oblivion

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #15 on: August 28, 2011, 11:54:47 AM »
So you could replace the L + R buttons? One of them is stuck. I mean, it works half the time but I'd still like it fixed. It's a launch day DSi so it's not under warranty.

And for how much do you buy consoles? And would you need all cables and wiimote+nunchuck, etc.?

The only thing wrong with it is it can't read discs. It seems like it doesn't spin when you put in a disc. It had just happened one day when I was playinging Brawl.

Offline TJ Spyke

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #16 on: August 28, 2011, 12:14:39 PM »
Holy hell, did that guy's daughter use a hammer on his HTC Evo 3D?
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Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #17 on: August 28, 2011, 12:44:38 PM »
I think she just dropped the EVO 3D but they already had so many insurance claims with Sprint that they got dropped. My daughter's DSi has the same problem, it's actually quite common. The only real remedy is to replace the back bottom housing and the shoulder buttons, but we can do it. You may want to check with Nintendo first to see how much they would charge, it might be pretty cheap. I'm sure we could take the console as is w/o any accessories, or if you want to sell it as a unit that can be arranged as well. If you have an asking price send me a PM and I'll talk to the boss.
I think it says on the box, 'No Hispanics' " - Jeff Green of EA

Offline ShyGuy

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #18 on: August 28, 2011, 02:05:36 PM »
We use those blue plastic prying picks at the shop sometimes. They seem to be dull after one or two uses.

Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #19 on: August 28, 2011, 02:27:52 PM »
Yeah I hate them but we have like 500 of them. I'm more of a fan of razor blades for prying, and the guitar pick style pry tools.
I think it says on the box, 'No Hispanics' " - Jeff Green of EA

Offline Caliban

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #20 on: August 28, 2011, 10:38:29 PM »
Some day I will send my broken 360 Elite, and PS3 80GB to Brandogg. Someday.

Offline Ceric

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #21 on: August 31, 2011, 04:44:48 PM »
How hard is it to replace the touch aspect of a DS Phat?  Mines perfectly fine but the Touch portion had given the ghost when the Professor Layton came out which is why I got a DSLite.  I like to get it back to working order since its an original revision just to have.
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Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #22 on: September 01, 2011, 08:22:40 AM »
It's not very hard at all. The digitizers just cost a few bucks, and they lay right on top of the bottom LCD. The most frustrating part about reassembly is putting the shoulder buttons and microphone wire back in, everything else is a piece of cake. You'll need a small Philips screwdriver and a triwing screwdriver. The only "hidden" screws are under the two small rubber pads to the left and right of the DS cardtridge slot.
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Offline BlackNMild2k1

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #23 on: September 02, 2011, 08:16:55 PM »
B-Dogg

Need some laptop repair help.
Extension connector for laptop monitor finally showed up and I connected it. Turned laptop on and there was no video. Turned laptop off, adjusted the extension on one side and turned it back on. still no pic. did same thing again on the other side.

Turned it back on and red line, smoke. Extension cable fried.


I hooked the monitor up directly to the cable connector and now the color is all screwed up.
Just for comparison, I hooked up the old broken monitor (I haven't had a power connector until today BTW) and the color was all messed up on that one too for the small portion of the screen that showed anything.
Is the monitor fucked or the laptop*?



p.s. I bought the laptop screen on ebay. they also sent the extension connector a week or 2 afterwards. I did not test the monitor to see if it worked at first since the connector was on the wrong side. I was gonna attempt to exchange it, but they simply said they would send the extension instead. I received the extension yesterday and installed it 20 minutes ago and now you are all caught up.

p.p.s. I connected the laptop to the TV and it works fine. video is perfect.
So it must just be the monitor and/or connecting cables right?




*should the ebay seller be liable for faulty parts frying my laptop?
« Last Edit: September 02, 2011, 09:51:20 PM by BlackNMild2k1 »

Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: Just another day at the office...
« Reply #24 on: September 02, 2011, 10:04:07 PM »
I don't know for certain that it was their parts - there's a pretty decent chance you had said cable plugged in backwards (just basing this upon trying to visualize what this cable would look like). You may have blown the power inverter for your LCD (I hope that's the extent of it), which is simple to to replace it you can do the screen. There's also a decent chance that your replacement LCD is just fine too. You can at least contact them, eBay, and I assume PayPal to try to figure something out. I'll look at your laptop model in the other thread and see if I can figure anything out. Worst case scenario you end up buying a new motherboard, which is quite a pin in the ass to install, but if you have a free day and can manage your screws, isn't the most difficult thing either. It would probably be expensive, I imagine around $150-200 (that's without looking at any prices), maybe less since you already have the CPU (assuming it's removable).

Edit - actually I imagine the cable you bought is something like this which I guess would be impossible to plug in the wrong way. It's hard to say that it was the cable, but it is possible that it was the LCD itself. It's also possible that there was something getting shorted out in the process. Any way you can take some pics around the connector on the laptop's motherboard, the LCD, and maybe the cable itself?
« Last Edit: September 02, 2011, 10:11:07 PM by Brandogg »
I think it says on the box, 'No Hispanics' " - Jeff Green of EA