Same failure on multiple laptops

Hello, I thoroughly confused and desperately need some advice. I have multiple laptops, several weeks back I was using a 5 month old laptop that had very little files on it as of yet. I was connected to my cable modem but not currently on the net. I was saving an excel file to a brand new jump drive for the first time and when i removed the drive from the USB port, the power suddenly went out. After trying several things that never got power back i eventually took it in to a local shop for a diagnostic. I was told that the motherboard was fried, and they assumed it was some sort of surge from the USB drive. 2 weeks later, I was on my work laptop, and was downloading pictures from my camera. When i removed the USB cord, the same exact thing happened, and that motherboard was fried. (The jump drive from the first pc was never on my work pc, and in fact the camera was my friends and this was the first time it was connected to any of my pc's) This evening I was using my 3rd and final laptop, and when i went to power it on, it did power up but the screen is completely black. (I am now writing this post on my son's laptop) These 3 machines have not yet had any CDs, DVDs, hardware etc used in/on all machines except the cable company provided router that was provided to me when i moved into this house only 3 weeks before all this started to happen. Other than that there has been nothing used on all 3 (In terms of a potential virus or something) I am completely confused and frankly I have no idea what to do. I cannot afford to even repair the 3 broken machines i now have, and have no knowledge at all in these areas. But having the exact same thing happen within 1.5 months on 2 machines and something slightly different happening on a third, i have never heard of and everyone i have asked also has no idea. Does anyone, more knowledgeable than me have any ideas, or experienced anything like this at all? I have even gone so far as to try and search trouble with the internet provider as that is the ONLY thing that all 3 machines have in common, but have returned nothing. If anyone can make any suggestions i would be very grateful. I don't know what to do. Thank you

Hello,

I thoroughly confused and desperately need some advice. I have multiple laptops, several weeks back I was using a 5 month old laptop that had very little files on it as of yet. I was connected to my cable modem but not currently on the net. I was saving an excel file to a brand new jump drive for the first time and when i removed the drive from the USB port, the power suddenly went out. After trying several things that never got power back i eventually took it in to a local shop for a diagnostic. I was told that the motherboard was fried, and they assumed it was some sort of surge from the USB drive.

2 weeks later, I was on my work laptop, and was downloading pictures from my camera. When i removed the USB cord, the same exact thing happened, and that motherboard was fried. (The jump drive from the first pc was never on my work pc, and in fact the camera was my friends and this was the first time it was connected to any of my pc's)

This evening I was using my 3rd and final laptop, and when i went to power it on, it did power up but the screen is completely black. (I am now writing this post on my son's laptop)

These 3 machines have not yet had any CDs, DVDs, hardware etc used in/on all machines except the cable company provided router that was provided to me when i moved into this house only 3 weeks before all this started to happen. Other than that there has been nothing used on all 3 (In terms of a potential virus or something) I am completely confused and frankly I have no idea what to do. I cannot afford to even repair the 3 broken machines i now have, and have no knowledge at all in these areas. But having the exact same thing happen within 1.5 months on 2 machines and something slightly different happening on a third, i have never heard of and everyone i have asked also has no idea. Does anyone, more knowledgeable than me have any ideas, or experienced anything like this at all?

I have even gone so far as to try and search trouble with the internet provider as that is the ONLY thing that all 3 machines have in common, but have returned nothing. If anyone can make any suggestions i would be very grateful. I don't know what to do.

Thank you

Hi 'szumerspirit',

Very sorry you are having such bad luck with your Laptops.

Welcome to our forum, I am sure someone will come on and help you out who is much more experienced than I am.

In the meantime the few things that come to my mind are:

1) You mentioned you had not long moved into the house. That rings bells to me as perhaps the electrical wiring throughout the home is not up to scratch. Is it an old home in other words?

2) When you remove any hardware from the Laptops or any computer for that matter, do you use the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the Systems tray (near the clock). You should right click on it and follow the prompts.

3) Are the Laptops under warranty by any chance? Please give us more details of the configuration of them so we can assist you more.

4) Also how old is the USB cable you are using? Did you use the same cable each time you had the problem

Please post back and in the meantime others will come on and help with ideas how you can be assisted here.

Kind regards,

Hello Tallin, Thank you very much for replying. To answer your questions, the house i moved into is fairly new (Probably 5-7 yrs old). And the power plugs i have used were not the same, they were located in different rooms. Actually when my work laptop went down, i was in a hotel room on travel, but had used the laptop for the first time in the new house the day before on the internet. I actually had not even been technically browsing the net, but using the connection to VPN into my work server. The circumstances surrounding that is what makes me wonder if its in someway connected to my cable modem or service. As i had not used it for several weeks, and did not use it to visit a common website, it wasn't connected to the same powersource. but suddenly at the moment of removing a USB device the very next morning, the same exact thing happened and it hasn't powered up ever since. As for using the "safely remove hardware" i didn't, but didn't think i needed to as it wasn't really hardware (At least not by my understanding granted is limited). The first PC it was a jump/thump drive directly connected to the USB port. The 2nd PC it was a camera connected thru a cable. This was not my camera or cable so had never before been attached to any of my PCs. The 3rd PC hasn't actually powered down, and had no connection to the removal of a USB device, so i am not sure its the same problem. Its more the coincidence of now having the 3rd PC with a black screen (Even tho its getting power) within 2 weeks of the other PCs going down that concerns me. The configurations are as follows: 1st PC: Alienware Area 51: Instant shutdown upon removal of USB Thumb Drive, tested a fried motherboard. 2nd PC: Dell Latitude D610: Instant shutdown upon removal of USB Camera cable, not tested but assume fried motherboard as circumstances and symptoms exactly the same (Will no longer power up) 3rd PC: Dell Inspiron 9100: Powered down normally, upon attempt to power up approximately 1 hr later, i hear motor and fans running, but get completely black screen. All PCs run Windows XP, the 1st and 3rd had very few files as one was new and the other had recently been "cleaned". No common devices or software have been used or connected to all PCs (Especially first 2), except Cable modem. No common websites were visited between them. Not on a common powersource: 1st and 2nd actually took place in completely different locations although they both occured within 24 hrs of connecting to the same cable modem, using different Ethernet cords. I think thats about all the info i can think of. Thank you again for your reply i greatly appreciate your advice! Jami

Hello again Tallin, I forgot to answer 1 question: Unfortunately the laptops are not under warranty. While the first one was new to me, it was a corporate refurbishment. I am the original owner of the 2nd and 3rd but both are outside of warranty. I think i answered this, but just in case: I don't remember how old the ethernet cords are but all cords used in the laptops were different, but connected to the same cable modem on different ports. thanks again

Hello again Tallin,

I forgot to answer 1 question: Unfortunately the laptops are not under warranty. While the first one was new to me, it was a corporate refurbishment. I am the original owner of the 2nd and 3rd but both are outside of warranty.

I think i answered this, but just in case: I don't remember how old the ethernet cords are but all cords used in the laptops were different, but connected to the same cable modem on different ports.

thanks again

Thank you for getting back and listing all the relevant information for us to attempt to help you.

This problem/s seem to be pointing to your cable modem and ISP service at this stage. How old is the modem?

Regarding you not using the Safely Remove Hardware icon, I use mine everytime I disconnect my digital camera and my backup removable HD on my PC and my Laptop. I am still wondering if that maybe part of your problem.

I do not have the answer for you I am afraid, my best thoughts would guide you to your IT person at your place of work to see if they may help you as I feel this is a hands on situation. I know computer shops are expensive and I understand your situation as you referred to it.

I have asked here at WhatThetech from the more experienced IT persons, but so far have not had a reply for you. Of course these things take time to research and they are all volunteers so please be patient. This is a very busy forum. I am really sorry I cannot help more myself.

kind regards,

About Safely Remove Hardware:

Even though USB devices are Plug & Play—that is, they're ready to go upon being plugged in—you shouldn't just unplug them. A USB port has current running through it, so the power jolt caused by unplugging a "hot" connection can corrupt data on a storage device, camera, or mp3 player.

You can prevent such problems by clicking the "Safely Remove Hardware" button.

As to "frying the motherboard"…… that seems a bit out of the ordinary and less than likely related to detaching a USB device.
Though, I suppose it "could" happen.

Before submitting to the opinion of a single tech shop that told me my motherboard was fried as a result of removing a plug &Play device, I'd definitely have a second evaluation from an independent shop. (without telling them what the first shop said, or even that you've taken it to a previous shop.)
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I would be much more suspect of environmental factors:
Heat
Humidity
Dirt/Dust Bunnies
Physical impact (dropping/banging)

Battery malfunction — physically remove the battery from your laptop and power it up with only the A/C power supply.

Electrical source: Are you connecting through a surge-protector?
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Are you able to boot (startup) the machine(s) into SETUP/BIOS ?
Are you able to boot (startup) the machine(s) into SAFE Mode ?

Do you have the Manufacturer's Recovery System CD's ?
If so, can you boot (startup) into Recovery Console ?
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The common factor of the ethernet connection?
In one situation you report successful use and access of your companies VPN, and the "failure" occurred separate from the modem/router - on the next day, at a hotel.
That doesn't suggest internet connection problem to me.
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Do laptops fail? Sure they do.
Can a nightmare like you describe happen to an individual? of course……… but not likely.
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See if you can answer the above questions, and/or try the above suggestions.
Let us know your progress.

Best Regards