i-Buddie 4 Desknote Review

[fatice]

Hi Everybody!

I have a Desknote A928 and yesterday, the bottom pin from the power input came off as I yanked the AC adaptor plug from my desknote! (based on my viewing of the previous messages in this thread...this is a common problem!)

I just called the place where I bought my desknote (in Markham, Ontario) and they said that I would have to ship it to ECS myself, and that it would cost over $500 CDN, since I would need a new motherboard. I find this rediculous, since I think I could simply solder the pin back into the desknote.

Has anyone tried the following? :
1.) buy some solder PASTE (as opposed to buying actual solder that's wrapped around in a coil)
2.) apply solder paste to the end of the pin (i.e. the end which you want to insert the pin back into the desknote)
3.) get some tweezers and yank the pin back into the desknote as far as it can go.
4.) plug in the power cord into the desknote. (the heat as soon as you turn on the desknote should melt the solder and make the pin stay in tact.)

Has anyone tried this approach before? I haven't, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I have worked with solder paste in the past, and I prefer that over using actual solder. I think this approach is better (i.e. penetrating the pin into the desknote, as opposed to having to opening the desknote). The only concern that I have is that as soon as I remove the AC adapter out in the future, the pin will come out with it because solder paste isn't as strong. Therefore, I will never remove the AC adapter in the future. Anyone think my method will work?

For now, I have a temporary solution to the "pin being removed" problem. If you notice the pin, there is an elevated groove in the on the pin. The groove is not exactly in the center, making one end longer than the other. What I did was reversed the pin direction and I forcefully pushed the longer side of the pin into the desknote. (i.e. the nice and smooth part of the pin is inserted into the desknote, while the shorter part of the pin that has the solder residue is exposed so that the ac adapter can connect to it...[[this is exactly the opposite of how my desknote came when i initially bought it.]) This method works! However, I'm scared about what I just did. Could my desknote somehow blow up because of this (or do other damage?) I'm afraid that my AC adapter will melt the solder residue and cause and short circuit, and blow up my desknote.

Thanks, please help!
Alex

Alex

I have the exact problem as you. I have to replace the PIN with a cooper screw and soilder it back. Also, I have to put a PCB plate at the back of the pin so that it will not swallowed by the desknote.

What I can say is: Desknote is great if it works. But when it has problem, it is pain in the @ss.

fatice

 

[mennie]

hi!

i bought a new AC cable after the old one melted.
i tried to connect it to my battery to charge it, but it indicator light is blinking green/red.
how can i fix my battery?
how can i save my new cable from become melted again?

Thanks,

 

[fatice]

hi!

i bought a new AC cable after the old one melted.
i tried to connect it to my battery to charge it, but it indicator light is blinking green/red.
how can i fix my battery?
how can i save my new cable from become melted again?

Thanks,

I am not sure about the battery blinking part. You can check on the cable connection:
Normal desknote power connector has 3 PIN, top two PINs are ground and the bottom PIN is Positive. However, for the battery cable, the top left PIN and the bottom PIN is postive (connected together) and the top right PIN is ground on the battery side, it will revert to normal on the desknote input plug.

To prevent the cable from melting
1. You have to unplug the cable everytime you finish using it.
2. When you unplug the cable, use straight forces, not shaking the plug up and down/left and right to losen it.
3. Try to stack up the desknote so that the hot air from the fan will not blow directly to the power plug.

That is my expersience so far, hope that helps
faitce

 

[Techy]

This is probably the longest thread i've ever read!

certainly won't be purchasing a desknote, these aren't the first complaints i've heard about ECS either.

if i was in your positions i would be contacting the manufacturer, especially if the notebook if giving electric shocks as this maybe a dangerous design fault, for those of you who have bravely gone into the unknown and taken a peak inside, the manufacturer unfortunatley won't touch you.

with the amount of people that have had this problem, they would need to take notice of this.

Good luck

James

 

[fatice]

This is probably the longest thread i've ever read!

certainly won't be purchasing a desknote, these aren't the first complaints i've heard about ECS either.

if i was in your positions i would be contacting the manufacturer, especially if the notebook if giving electric shocks as this maybe a dangerous design fault, for those of you who have bravely gone into the unknown and taken a peak inside, the manufacturer unfortunatley won't touch you.

with the amount of people that have had this problem, they would need to take notice of this.

Good luck

James

The system is "well designed" in such a way that the desknote only fails after warrantee period. It poor part is just the power connector. They should have used a more robus one since the normal notebook connector is not designed to take up the high power consumption.

fatice

 

[dper]

We have soldered the wire from the power supply directly to the external battery pack when the connector there melted. Now, a transistor in the Power Adapter has gone bad. Before it went, we noticed some instability with the power connector in the A929 computer...just a slight bump on the cord and the computer looses power.

I'm considering powering this thing with an 18V cordless drill battery. I could take the guts out of a battery charger and use it for connecting the battery to the computer. I'd solder a suitably substantial 3-pin connector pigtail to the computer and plug that into the lead from the modified charger base. I'd use another unmodified charger to recharged batteries. Those things are JUST chargers though. I don't have a clue if they can be rigged for use as a power adapter.
I also thought of making my own battery supply. You can buy 9500mAh D-cells on ebay. I'm not sure how to come up with an adapter/charger for that either. You have to be able to charge 15 or 16 of them in one hour. (longer duration trickle charges aren't good for Nimh batteries)
I figure that once you take the battery out of the computer, size and weight no longer matter. You should be able to keep it in a (large) laptop case on the floor. (I don't know why they only supply the a929 batteries with that short little cable that forces you to put the battery on your desk.)

 

[mace]

Hello to All

My Desknote melted my adaptor I bought a new adaptor but it won't fit because of where the old adaptor melted I would like to make a new connector but I'm having trouble finding a female end to go over the plugs without being spatially constrained. Anybody else looking at getting a new solution so we don't have to put the plug and adaptor directing together. I contacted ECS support but I think they won't be of much help would like to know what the size of the plug is and go from there so if you know please post it. If I can develop a solution I will be sure and let everyone know where to get the parts etc. Please Help !!!

 

[rothrock]

Has anyone had any trouble with their audio on the 928? Mine just quit working all of a sudden. Running windows xp, no drivers change or anything.. It's been broken for a couple months. I tried taking it apart to take a look, but gave up on it. If I look under the device manager, then "System Devices", then "System Speaker" it says "No drivers are installed for this device.".......should it say that??

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

BTW, i've experienced the melting of the ac adapter plug as well. It only took me about 4 months to get the problem fixed! Thanks ECS! HA!

 

[JusBitnezz]

Hey Frognipples,

It has been three hold days that I have been trying to remove my old motheboard from it's case. I have removed all ( AND I DO MEAN ALL) visible screws as possible. I am able to pull it apart just a bit, but it seems as if it is connected in the center somehow. I was just wondering did you ever get it apart, and if so please can you please help me out with this situation.

Thanks in advance,

JusBitnezz

 

[theowl007]

Hi,

My a928 desknote was dropped with my headphones connected. The headphone plug now wobbles in the audio jack. I still had audio but it would come and go. Now, I don't have any audio whatsoever.

Any suggestions?

I can not get the desknote opened. How to do this, i've noticed several of you have been able to do so. I've unscrewed the bottom screws, but I can't pry it apart. Anyone know how to open the notebook to take a look at the audio jack?

Thanks.

(e-mail address removed)

 

[matthorne]

Hello all, my ground prong has fallen out once allready. Luckily under warrenty cost me $50 in shipping though. This is a reccuring problem. Anybody here a lawyer that wants to write a letter of somesort to ECS to try and get a refund of some sort or a replacement laptop that has had the issue resolved.
Thanks
Matt Horne
(e-mail address removed)

 

[ibadalikhan]

Yes, it happened to me too!

My prong came out with the power supply and I was wondering if anybody used the suggestion mentioned earlier for reversing the prong and re-inserting it? That is what I am currently using because I am out of warranty and can't afford to pay 300-400 for new M/B and shipping/labour etc...
The computer works fine, but I don't want to use this method if it is dangerous or can damage the laptop.
As for the lawyer part, if one of you know one in the US, you should definitely file a lawsuit on behalf of all i-buddie owners since this is obviously a design flaw. They should pay for it, not us customers.

 

[matthorne]

To all I am going to compile a list of those who have had this failure. So If I could get everybody to email me a brief description of your problem with your name, adress, Serial #, and date purchased, maybe we can proceed with this.

 

[matthorne]

(e-mail address removed)

 

[katkanuck]

Hello:

Garbage I tell ya, put it out on trash day. I've owned a A928 ECS iBuddie 4 since November 2002 and I've spent more money on fixing it then I've actually used it. I've gone through 3 AC Adapters ... 3 battery plugs that have all melted...and still the piece o' crap, heats up, burns/melts anything that touches it. My system overheats within 1 minute of it being turned on and you can smell the rubber melting after 60 seconds (I kid you not!!!)

There is ABSOLUTELY no SUPPORT from a dealer (who shouldn't be responsible for this as it is a FLAW with these units) and don't count on writing in for Technical support at (e-mail address removed) as this is the standard reply you will get on any issue.

Dear Valued ECS customer,

Please contact your vendor for servicing since the adapter melting could be a heat related issue; some of the components on the power cord supply circuitry might have been damaged. Since you have emailed ECSUSA Technical Support Department, we are here to help you with any technical problem. We do not provide repair services, sales, warranty and RMA (Returned Merchandise Authorization).

It is your responsibility to contact your vendor if you are looking for repair or RMA.

Otherwise, for DeskNote and Notebook products on repair services, sales, warranty, RMA and replacement part, please visit http://www.desknote.net/eSale/serviceCenter.cfm,

http://www.desknote.net/eSale/ or email to (e-mail address removed).

I figure if I bought a brand new car from Ford let's say, and they KNEW of a problem in the making of the car, they at least have the dignity to write to their customers, tell them of the problem, and get them to call in for (recall for this or that) information and how to go about getting the problem solved correctly (EVEN AFTER WARRANTY IS UP) so why shouldn't computer Manufacturers be held to the same rules. ECS is not listening to the people who bought their systems, so I guess they like website forums that trash their products.

I will NEVER, let me repeat that, NEVER recommend any ECS product to anyone! PERIOD! They are garbage! ECS support by phone, by e-mail, by letter...falls on deaf ears! Why bother.


Recommended
No

Amount Paid ($): 2175.00 CDN
Operating System: Windows (Pirated so Microsoft tells me)
Processor: P4
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20

 

[mennie]

hi people!
i was here a month and a half ago..
i told you i bought a new cable, but the day i worried from, came...
the new cable starts to melt too! and it gets harder and harder to plug and unplug it to the computer. it happend this week, after here in israel we had a very hot and dry weather for 3 days.
from then i'm working with it only near fan (directed to the end of the cable) or near air conditioner...
this is funny but it's very sad...
and this is not all, i can see that the plastic around the Ground Pin is starting to separate... i worry that very soon, when i'll pull the cable, the pin will get down, and i don't have any place to fix it here...
maybe i'll need to fix it by my self, but i think it still will melt the cables.

the computer is still working, the next time i'm going to work with it, i'll copy all the important data on it... (websites i did, and still working on, some programs i wrote, and some important documents... - a fully backup)

what are you suggesting me to do?
do i need to think on a new notebook computer? this i'll be the best, but i don't have exactly the money for it... no one wants to buy a computer in this state from me... (the battery is not working from the last time the cable melted and it was connected to it)

 

[tcbbsb]

To All A 928 Victims:
The first thing I did when I received my repaired Desknote from ECS was to purchase a laptop cooler (Antec—Aluminum Base with two cooling fans..$35.00)
The new AC Adapter has a built in cooling fan though I doubt that has anything to do with the heat generated at the business end of the power cord.
With the laptop cooler the A928 runs very cool…The female end is only slightly warm to the touch and there is no rubber burning odor at all—my wife keeps the unit running all day (either on Standby or full power) with no problems at all.
No matter what kind of workaround or jury rigging you have attempted I strongly recommend a secondary cooling system.
One important note: I have NEVER removed the plug from the computer since it was repaired….To do that is just asking for trouble.
I would gladly support any effort to litigate against ESC
Cheers

Ted

 

[mennie]

Thanks Ted for the information...
since the begining of the week, i'm working with a *real* fan directed into the end of the power cable...
how is your Antec cooling is connected to the laptop? is it comfortable?
what is the size of it?
is it like the one in this link? if so, what is the weight of it? (i'm traveling a lot with the laptop in a briefcase...)
another problem for me with what you Ted, told us to do, that i must unplug the cable connector unless it will be folded in the bad... what can i do about it?

the only thing i can think of is, to buy a new one (from a good company - can you recommend?), and the A928 one give to my sister after i'll buy a new cable, and the fan you mentioned, and she'll use it at home, without moving it from place to place...
another problem is that the plastic around the lower peg is starting to separate.. (you can see it on the attachment) what can i do about that?
i guess you will tell me not to unplug the cable any more...

 

[tcbbsb]

Mennie
Here (http://www.cluboverclocker.com/reviews/cooling_devices/antec_nc/) is the cooler
It connects to USB and has a piggyback so you don’t lose any USB ports.
Runs fairly quiet and is thin enough and light enough to fit into a laptop carrying case, though ours stays put.(I just opened your link and see you are looking at same unit)
So far it works as advertised.
As for the connector, I would wait until the 928 is “Cold” and then if absolutely necessary unplug it.
As I’ve mentioned before, besides the insanity of the power adapter design flaws, this is a rather hefty machine IMO.
Let us know how you make out with cooler
Cheers
t

 

[davinator]

Hello, I had the same problem with my desknote, the pin melted and I replaced with a manually made and longer pin, it never melted since. The serial number is:250Q252000163
But there are some more problems: USB 2.0 doesn't run with WinXP SP1 with latest drivers installed from ecs.com.tw site, only in USB 1.1 mode, because I am always warned when I plug my USB 2.0 flashdrive
Also, the major problem is that Hyperthreading doesn't work in WinXP, I have flashed my Bios with latest version, enabled it in Bios, reinstalled Windows and I still don't have 2 processors listed in System properties and Task Manager, so it doesn't work. The processor is P3.06GHz, FSB533 with Hyperthreading support.
Best regards and I hope they will solve at least part of the problems,
David Luca