Mainstream and budget consumer laptops often utilize chassis made primarily of plastics or lightweight composites. Frequent handling, carrying the laptop by a single corner, or minor drops can cause the motherboard to slightly flex.
- The Failure: The physical stress can loosen the connection of the M.2 slot or break the delicate solder joints securing the storage drive interface. In some budget Chromebooks utilizing eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard) storage, the storage chip is soldered directly to the motherboard; board flex can crack these microscopic solder points permanently.
- Symptoms: Intermittent boot failures, random freezing when moving or adjusting the screen angle, or the laptop booting directly into the BIOS or ChromeOS recovery screen.
