I recently tried to clean and reapply thermal paste to my MSI Thin 15 laptop, and I suspect I burned the PU26 chip on the motherboard. Some cables were loose, and I noticed a quick spark along with a burnt smell. There's even a yellowish tint near the PU26 pin. Now, my laptop won't turn on at all. I have some knowledge of electronics, but I feel like I really messed up this time. I'm looking for some reassurance or potential solutions—any advice would be greatly appreciated!
5 Answers
From what you're describing, it sounds like the PU26 chip is related to your power supply. If it blew, it could prevent power from reaching the rest of the board. My advice? Don't turn it on again, and get a repair quote. If you're brave, and good at soldering, you could try replacing the component yourself—it might just be a cheap fix!
The spark, smell, and discoloration usually indicate a blown power component, but don’t lose hope! It might not mean a total motherboard death. Bring it to a reliable service center and avoid powering it on again, as that could cause more damage.
Your best bet might be to disconnect the battery and AC adapter right away. Then, hold down the power button for about 30 seconds. After that, try booting just from AC power without the battery. Keeping my fingers crossed that it just entered protection mode! If nothing works and you can replace the chip, go for it—but be prepared that it might need more than that or even a whole new motherboard.
First things first, you might want to use a digital multimeter to check if you pick up any readings from the chip. If you're not sure how to do that, it might be best to take it to a repair shop for a professional look.
Do you have a picture of the damage? It would help to assess how bad it is if we can see how much of the chip is affected.
I do have a picture! You can see the PU26 has that yellowish tint around it. [Link to image](https://preview.redd.it/30rpw3demzqg1.jpeg?width=2296&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e38b125923e8c98379b5fd133dcaf81c2811821)
That's a great point! Just make sure not to connect anything back until it's definitely safe. You probably should have done this before working on it!