I desoldered the chip using the second method, cleaned up the pads and the laptop is happy to POST without it and does now reboot properly when exiting the BIOS. Reading the IC specs I think this is simply a bus connector for the docking port so I may well be able to get away without a replacement …

Some progress. This bus controller IC gets really really hot - too hot to touch after a few minutes of the motherboard being powered up. Given its proximity to the docking connector that would seem to make sense however I'm not sure if the fact it is getting hot is because it itself is shorted …

No continuity problems. I also removed cpu heatsink and fan and found a couple of extra fuses but these check out ok too. Guess I will try the VCC on the sound chip itself next.

Hi, Yes I have a multi meter so doing some continuity tests shouldn't be a problem. Here are some high res images. 1. Damaged docking connector. You can see where it is bowed and this is where I ran the penknife blade through. https://box.sbbsystems.com/cloud/index.php/s/kK5iJE4S225tF5X/preview 2. …

Hi, I bought a couple of n600c laptops with a view to combining parts and making one that was in good overall condition for retro gaming. Both were fully functional on arrival which I tested by swapping out a hard disk with Win98 SE installed. Then I did a silly thing. The docking station connector …