I recently changed the thermal paste on my laptop but accidentally damaged part of the second screw on the heatsink while tightening it with pliers. After replacing all screws, I noticed an electric sound when I put my ear close. I removed the heatsink and temporarily secured it with electrical tape, making sure the battery wasn't connected. When testing it with just the charger plugged in (and no battery), I spotted sparks coming from a specific area as the laptop booted up, accompanied by loud popping noises. I heard a total of three sparks before unplugging it. My laptop is a Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3, and I'm really worried. Can anyone help?
2 Answers
If you saw sparks, that’s usually a bad sign. It might indicate damage to the motherboard, which could mean you’ll need to replace it entirely.
I wouldn't panic just yet. It’s doable to fix electronics unless the damage is really severe or specific components are fried.
First thing you want to do is unplug it. If you can, safely remove the drive, RAM, and maybe the battery—keep it in a safe place outside until you can get it repaired or disposed of properly.
That sounds a bit extreme. Even if sparks happened, it might just be a blown capacitor or another small issue. If that's the case, some parts can definitely be replaced!