(partially) fried laptop

[Jephph]

Hey guys. So, a client says she was on her laptop (Asus M50V) and she smelled burning plastic, then she noticed a small flame in the back of the laptop. The flame was put out. She was able to run the computer again, but it would only run on the battery. It will not boot up when plugged in. I want to take it apart to see if there is something that can be replaced.

Do you think it would be worth taking apart, and do you know if the part that could be damaged would be replaceable? I'm guessing there was a power surge, because there was a storm that night, and she was not on a surge protector. It looks like the laptop is still functional, it just won't boot from power anymore. Any thoughts?

Thank you!

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Does the power adapter charge the battery?

 

[Jephph]

That's a negative ghostrider.

 

[Matt1970]

That's gonna be the AC jack and it needs to be taken apart. Typically the jack makes a connection to both sides of the board, one side is for charging and one runs the laptop. Clean all the burnt area as the residue it leaves behind after a small fire can conduct conduct current and short it out. A new jack is almost always recommended as they are dirt cheap. When you go to resolder it, make sure both sides have connection. I typically solder a small wire to connect both sides.