[bjhummer]

I run a repair shop for a major national computer retailer. I can tell you that we NEVER solder unless we are fixing something for the company. If I fix your notebook by soldering the port and it shorts (burning up the adapter, notebook, house, etc.) I do not want to face liability regarding that. Besides that, the time and labor involved in repairing the port may cost more than a simple part swap. When we send broken parts out, sometimes we get the same part back in a repaired state. These are repaired by a company that refurbishes components all the time. They also sell them at the same price as the manufacturer.

I am sure you will run into a lot of no's if you seek help from a large retailer. If you absolutely want to get the part repaired, you will need to find a small unknown shop (mom-and-pop). I would not recommend risking it.

[Alderin]

I own and operate one of those competant local stores, and I know that I am the only technician who is willing (professionally, not hobby) to take on the task of repairing power connectors in laptops for about a 100 mile radius. I typically get it done in less than a week, vice the three to six weeks that it typically takes to send out to and get back from the manufacturer. We charge a flat rate for our labor, and laptop hardware labor is about $100. While not cheap, it is the only alternative to the send-it-out-and-wait option. We also don't do anything destructive to your data.

But, unless you live in southern New Mexico, I don't think I personally can help. I've been soldering and creating my own circuitry for over a decade, trained by experience and a couple electronics courses, and I've repaired everything from laptops, reseated crystals on Apple G3 motherboards, even reconnected the data connector on the bottom of a Palm V. If you are looking for a small local shop that will do the repair for you, dig in and find out just how much experience they have before you commit to having them do it. Here, you could ask for an example of my work, and I could produce it. I have 2-6 laptops a month come in for repairs like this, so I often have one in pieces on the bench. This is the result of local word-of-mouth about the repairs I've done for other people, and a good indicator for you if you find a shop with several laptops in for a similar repair.

Hope this helps.
-Alderin