Isaac

I was hoping someone might help me find a troubleshooting breadcrumb to follow. I don’t want to have to take it entirely...

It sounds like part of the drive has failed. Either the bearings in the motor, the heads crashed, or such. (1) Does the weird noise sound like one or a combination of these?: (2) Grinding (3) Chirping (4) Rattling (5) Screeching (6) Loud vibration If so, it’s probably failed. If the data is worth sending the drive for recovery, do take note that the more you attempt to use it the less likely anyone can recover the data.

There is a simple metal contact switch in the back. See this video for the specific location. https://youtu.be/fNaNM4_fKTo?t=71 See if it is dirty, corroded, or just plain bent. You might need to rig something up to replace it if something is seriously wrong with it.

The microphone itself should have a pair of wires running inside the armature and into the main body of the headphones. Because you are noticing the issue change states as you mechanically manipulate them, I would guess a loose wire or solder point that is pulling into contact when the arm is up, and loses contact when the arm is down.

@ttttubby Looks like this was answered here: Can I fix the Headphone 3.5mm that only works in Certain positions

When switching service, was the wireless router replaced? What is the model of the wireless router? When you go to reboot the wireless router, does it seem quite warm to the touch? Some of the cheap-o units provided by ISP's have issues with overheating. Another thing that could be causing this is if you have neighbors nearby competing for wireless channels. If there are a lot of other devices talking on the same frequency, it makes it very hard to establish a connection. Particularly if the device attempting to connect has a low-power wireless adapter in it, it might not be able effectively communicate. Its like trying to hear someone whisper in a packed cafeteria. You see them there, but you have no idea what they are saying. When rebooting the router, it will choose the least-crowded channel available (unless you specify the channel manually). Also remember that the channel selections over-lap each other. So if you are on channel 3, then other routers on channels 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 can cause you some...

The glass is fused using the same adhesive that is used for cellphone display glass. You can pick it off, slowly and carefully, using a heat gun/hair dryer, patience, and extreme TLC. This process risks both scratching the LCD surface and utterly breaking it due to the flexing force of the glass you are attempting to pick/peel off. Once completed, you would need to find a supplier of the glass, alone. You can use UV glass adhesive to bond a new glass to it, but you would need some sort of vacuum chamber system to remove all of the air bubbles. It might be more worthwhile to buy a new assembly and sell your damaged one as parts. There are groups that buy them so they can refurbish and resell them.

Found a guide here. Although this is for a DVD player, the concept is the same: Laser Lens Cleaning

The original panel is out of manufacture, so you might need to find a broken unit for parts if you cannot source a compatible screen. The most important aspects are the physical dimensions, resolution, and connector types when looking for an alternative display to install. I did find one listing on eBay for this laptop series, but make sure this panel has the same size, resolution, and connector type as yours before ordering anything. When i was browsing the discontinued listings, I saw there were a few variants of the panel used and they are mutually exclusive. https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-DISPLAY-FOR-ACER-ASPIRE-8930G-LAPTOP-LCD-SCREEN-18-4-WXGA/312290299933

They appear to be capacitors. I am trying to locate a schematic to get the ratings, but @oldturkey03 is really good at identifying these so he might beat me to it ;)

The sad face was added to the windows BSOD in Windows 8 and above. If you don't even see the POST screen (or HP Logo) when you turn it on, then something is wrong with the hardware. The hardware fault might have caused an error when booting the time you saw the BSOD screen, so the details of that error could help you narrow it down. To start with, try removing the battery and leaving the system unplugged for about 5 minutes. Then, see if it will attempt to boot after that and be ready with your camera to take a picture of what that sad, blue screen says.

Note: The Brown/Black pair highlighted in the picture is for the AC connector. For the MagSafe power, you want to disconnect the double-black wire connection. Another way to distinguish if colors differ is that the MagSafe connection has a much larger connector on it.