BIG eBay score, fixable?

[RWDPLZ]

I've been putting together an IBM Thinkpad A31 from parts I bought off eBay. One of the parts I bought was a used working battery, which came with the Thinkpad attached, which was advertised as having a bad motherboard since the power plug had been pushed in. I didn't know which A31 model it was until it arrived here today, for a whole $59 shipped.

Turns out it's an A31p, 2653-R8U which is only missing the wireless and bluetooth options. So of course I'd like to repair it. The damage isn't as bad as the seller implied: The stem part that sticks out of the middle of the power plug socket was pushed back in, and sitting next to the processor fan. I wish I had a camera, but it's one rectangular contact on the circuit board.

I think if I tried to solder it back in the solder would set before I could get it back into position? Is there any kind of conducting paste or slow setting rosin-core solder I can use to get this back in?

[RWDPLZ]

First update: I took the computer apart completely, took out the motherboard, and resoldered the tab in place, and reinforced the missing plastic with JB weld.

Finally reassembled, I turn it on, and can faintly see the IBM logo. Looks like the backlight is out? I hooked it up to an external monitor, and now I can see everything perfectly. It can go into bios no problem, and gets to the point of 'no operating system found' (which is what the other now working one did before I installed Windows).

So do I have a bad LCD, inverter, or backlight?

After reading the archives, I think the problem is the backlight, especially since there was no red tint, which seemed to be inverter (which may be the problem on my original 2562-M6U). I found the backlight replacement guide in the archives:

http://sourcepower.co.nz/A31/A31Backlig ... ement.html

I ordered a new 2.0mm x 305mm tube, now we play the waiting game.

[dsigma6]

Good find! Are you comfortable doing the backlight surgery? Be careful!

[RWDPLZ]

Yeah it doesn't look too bad. I figure $15 for a backlight is better than $100+ for a new screen, and if I screw it up I was already out a screen to begin with. I've done a lot of automotive electrical work, mostly car stereos, and replacing just about every electrical component in my Pontiac Fiero. I've gotten pretty good at taking apart A31's now