Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi all
I have an inspiron 1150(about a year old/not under warranty) that will
momentarilly wink off if moved suddenly or tapped. The power light will
blink off and come back on leaving me with a no longer booted computer.
I took it apart and all the wire's and the motherboard look fine.I put
it back together and the symptom remains though less frequent.It cuts
off sometimes from a cold start so I don't think it's heat related. If
anyone has resolved a simliar problem your response would be
appreciated.
Thank You
Joe

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<phoephus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1124033806.816225.236690@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Hi all
> I have an inspiron 1150(about a year old/not under warranty) that will
> momentarilly wink off if moved suddenly or tapped. The power light will
> blink off and come back on leaving me with a no longer booted computer.
> I took it apart and all the wire's and the motherboard look fine.I put
> it back together and the symptom remains though less frequent.It cuts
> off sometimes from a cold start so I don't think it's heat related. If
> anyone has resolved a simliar problem your response would be
> appreciated.
> Thank You
> Joe
>


Since nothing's loose, I wonder if there's a damaged wire in the PS harness
somewhere, perhaps even shorting/ground out. ?

Stew

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Both the a/c adapter and battery plug directly into the motherboard.

Joe

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<phoephus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1124108605.655693.81490@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Both the a/c adapter and battery plug directly into the motherboard.
>
> Joe
>


Since it does it with on battery or a/c, I'd inspect *all* pins, cables, and
hardware from the a/c connector on back all the way in.

Something's either loose or shorting metal on metal.

Go into BIOS and idle and see if it still dumps when tapped/moved (out of
curiousity) with any/all drives removed and PCMCIA or min-pci cards removed.


Stew

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

>Since it does it with on battery or a/c, I'd inspect *all* pins, cables, and
>hardware from the a/c connector on back all the way in.

The pins all look solid. It's a multilayer board and impossible to
figure out what goes where without a circuit diagram.

>Something's either loose or shorting metal on metal.

I checked all the metal shielding for scoring/scratching. And the
insulating sheets for holes.

>Go into BIOS and idle and see if it still dumps when tapped/moved (out of
>curiousity) with any/all drives removed and PCMCIA or min-pci cards >removed.

I don't understand what going into BIOS and idle is. How do I do this?
Thank you for your replies Stew.

Joe

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<phoephus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1124124221.845915.126170@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> >Since it does it with on battery or a/c, I'd inspect *all* pins, cables,
> >and
>>hardware from the a/c connector on back all the way in.
>
> The pins all look solid. It's a multilayer board and impossible to
> figure out what goes where without a circuit diagram.
>
>>Something's either loose or shorting metal on metal.
>
> I checked all the metal shielding for scoring/scratching. And the
> insulating sheets for holes.
>
>>Go into BIOS and idle and see if it still dumps when tapped/moved (out of
>>curiousity) with any/all drives removed and PCMCIA or min-pci cards
>> >removed.
>
> I don't understand what going into BIOS and idle is. How do I do this?
> Thank you for your replies Stew.
>
> Joe
>


Boot the machine and F2 into "system setup" (also known as BIOS).

It may be for nothing, but when you're doing this very little hardware in
the machine is actually initialized (drives, card bus, etc.). I'm just
curious if a drive or card or some other component is causing this.

If it dumps while in BIOS, it may or may not be indicative of a very low
level hardware problem.

Intermittent problems like these can be extremely difficult to chase
down....

Stew

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

>Boot the machine and F2 into "system setup" (also known as BIOS).

I tried this test as per your suggestion and it cut out when I tapped
on it
..

>Intermittent problems like these can be extremely difficult to chase
>down....

I'm thinking that since this computer has never had any trauma, maybe
it is a defect in the computer that others have experienced and
possibly resolved.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

Joe

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

>Boot the machine and F2 into "system setup" (also known as BIOS).

I tried this test as per your suggestion and still and it cut out when
I tapped on it

..

>Intermittent problems like these can be extremely difficult to chase
>down....

I'm thinking that since this computer has never had any trauma, maybe
it is a defect in the computer that others have experienced and
possibly resolved.

Thanks again for your suggestions.
Joe

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<phoephus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1124147671.892011.297840@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> >Boot the machine and F2 into "system setup" (also known as BIOS).
>
> I tried this test as per your suggestion and still and it cut out when
> I tapped on it
>
> .
>
>>Intermittent problems like these can be extremely difficult to chase
>>down....
>
> I'm thinking that since this computer has never had any trauma, maybe
> it is a defect in the computer that others have experienced and
> possibly resolved.
>
> Thanks again for your suggestions.
> Joe
>


Joe -

If it were mine....I'd be concerned.

Since you can't really "strip" the hardware down beyond the CPU, RAM,
keyboard and LCD (you could remove all the drives), that leaves any one of
those components potentially as a cause.

Hell, it could be the keyboard, the power switch itself, or most anything -

Someone needs to break it down on a bench who can thoroughly test each
component, and who has ready replacement parts.

Google search:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en [...] gle+Search

I'd also try posting over on the Dell website / Inspiron / General Hardware
group in hopes that someone has seen something similar:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportf [...] d=inspiron


Post back if you find a solution. Good luck....


Stew

You

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

FIXED!!!

I googled "dell defect 1150" and about the 4th or 5th link down was
this:
http://hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/43678/
I performed the repair myself (since it's no longer under warranty I
figured "what the Dell" )
I used:
http://support.dell.com/support/ed [...] /index.htm as
a guide.

I'm happy again, but I think that since this is a design flaw, Dell
should be doing this repair for free, warranty or no. They should at
the very least be informing people that they should be shaving off
their "c" cover tabs. I smell a class action suit.

I'm going to reprint the text on the above link below just in case it
is no longer valid by the time someone else with the same problem finds
my post. The author is referring to a 5150 but this applies to the 1100
and 1150 as well.

Joe


Copied text:
In short, there is a design flaw between the motherboard and case. The
mini pci cover underneath (below DVD/CD drive) and labelled 'C' has
plastic tags in the centre and any pressure applied to the underside of
the case - for example when picking up the laptop by the front left
corner - causes this cover tab to press on a motherboard IC (chip) and
eventually fracture the solder connections or maybe damage the chip
itself.

See this site for the hundreds of people with the same problem. Much of
my info came from here.

http://delltalk.us.dell.com/suppor [...] ng&page=42

IF YOU HAVE A 5150 - FOLLOW THESE GUIDLINES

Within Warranty Period

1. Remove the cover labelled 'C' and using a sharp Knife, remove the
centre plastic tabs flush to cover. This will stop them pressing onto
the motherboard chips and damaging your MB!!

2. If it's too late and you have the power cutout problem already then
send it back under warranty, get your MB replaced and cut off the cover
C tabs to prevent it happening again


Outside warranty period

- you probably have a useless lump of 5150 plastic that wont start or
when it does the slightest knock or pressure to the front left side of
case causes it to crash and screen go blank.

1. If your 5150 is working OK then just remove the tabs on cover C as
above - presto, you should not get the problem.

2. If you already have the power cut problem when you move it, or it
has got worse and now wont start, see below - YOU CAN PROBABLY REPAIR
YOURSELF AND DO NOT NEED A NEW £400 MOTHERBOARD


FIXING THE PROBLEM - you have nothing to loose if it's not working and
outside warranty

a) Remove power and battery, harddisk and DVD drive, mem chips etc.,
make sure you are well earthed to prevent static.
b) Remove all screws from the base and remove screen - start by
unclipping blue power button strip with screen flat open and removing
keyboard, unplug screen cable, take off screen, etc etc. You will need
to undo the nuts on the vga port as well as all visible screws, plus 1
screw under keyboard.
c) when case open, remove all the components and metal bits, graphics
card etc. Just keep pots for all the screws so you know where they go
back. - It really is not as daunting as it all sounds, you just need a
clear table and a bit of care with the parts.

d) now, you have full access to the motherboad. Under the mini pci bus
connector, which is positioned under the case cover labelled 'C' there
is a plack plasic sheet stuck to the motherboard to insulate. Peel this
back to reveal the components. See the photo (thread sheet 42) on the
link above which shows this clearly.

e) the IC (chip) which will have been dislodged by the pressure is an
LVC14A with 14 pins, surface mount. It has really small pins and you
prob wont see any damage (but you might see the marks on the black
plastic sheet where the cover was pressing on it. - see the photo in
link above.

f) With a very fine electronic soldering iron (with a pin point tip)
touch each of the IC legs for 1 second to remelt the connections that
have likely fractured by the pressure. It is not that difficult - just
needs a very steady hand. do not add any solder, you may burn the board
or join two pins together - they are v. fine !!!

g) Put it back together - AND IT WILL BE FIXED

h) ENJOY YOU NEW LAPTOP and the fact you just saved £400 - Remember to
remove the C cover tabs to stop it happening again.


hope this helps someone like it helped me - cheers to NILLION on the
thread above as his picture proved the clincher for me finding my
problem and subsequently fixing it.

Good luck

PS - this was written on my 5150 and it didnt crash once - even though
I am leaning on it whilst typing !!