NEED HELP BADLY and fast

[jinjin12]

my dell xps 1330 just shutdown on boot up for no reason. it does not even make it to the boot screen! i have no idea why. sometimes it would work but most of the time it does not.

here's a video showing the problem, please help!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEW8EhRpHkU&feature=youtu.be

 

[CocoHacker]

In my experience, its the fault of certain integrated components on your motherboard. This could be an IC or a capacitor which is malfunctioning which needs to replaced. Though this is easier said than done.

If you can get it looked up by a third party repair service, they ll pinpoint the problem.

Even if its repairable, don't spend too much on it, because the laptop is already 3-4 years old.

(I had seen a Dell Inspiron 1525 with similar issues, at times it works but mostly it doesn't work. Repairing it would have cost around $60. But I advised against it considering the laptop was only $630 when initially bought, plus it was 4 years old and $200 was spent in those 4 years for repairs!!!)

 

[jinjin12]

In my experience, its the fault of certain integrated components on your motherboard. This could be an IC or a capacitor which is malfunctioning which needs to replaced. Though this is easier said than done.

If you can get it looked up by a third party repair service, they ll pinpoint the problem.

Even if its repairable, don't spend too much on it, because the laptop is already 3-4 years old.

(I had seen a Dell Inspiron 1525 with similar issues, at times it works but mostly it doesn't work. Repairing it would have cost around $60. But I advised against it considering the laptop was only $630 when initially bought, plus it was 4 years old and $200 was spent in those 4 years for repairs!!!)

thanks i'll look into it myself. but honestly, there are not alot of competent repair service around my place. they charge a high fee for no reason. it's like $30 for them to look at it, regardless if they are able to fix it or not. i think i can do a better job than them.

yea i kind of figure it was the motherboard too, even though i was hoping it was not. the mobo is still expensive even today and the laptop is only 120$ on ebay. so if it's really the mobo, i might as well just get a new laptop instead of wasting money on a part that might not work. i'm going to try to test the ram again and see how that works.

btw is there any for me to really test if it's the mobo or not?

 

[CocoHacker]

Hmm, Id try testing the other parts on another laptop just to be sure. Not sure of a more direct approach to test the mobo. Its the mobo, else you would get at least the dell logo (POST screen), all the time.

 

[jinjin12]

Hmm, Id try testing the other parts on another laptop just to be sure. Not sure of a more direct approach to test the mobo. Its the mobo, else you would get at least the dell logo (POST screen), all the time.

so if it's the cpu, then i should still get post screen right? since all that info is stored on mobo? also how would i get testing other parts on another laptop? i mean the hard rive and ram i can but the mobo i can't.

 

[Saga Lout]

Have you tried it on mains electric power but with the battery out? Some batteries can be so dead that power cannot get through them. Yours is failing so quickly, it has to be a possibility.

 

[CocoHacker]

Anyhow mobo isn't possible, you can only check the ram and hdd (which would hence isolate the problem to the mobo/cpu. If it is a faulty cpu, it ll be an expensive affair. (Not to mention removing the CPU means removing the cooling assembly, which would require you to reapply thermal pad(s).)

There was another case with my friends laptop(dell inspiron 1520) which had a faulty charging component, though he knew a friend who is good with repairs and stuff and got it fixed. Cost him $5-10 or so.

 

[jinjin12]

Have you tried it on mains electric power but with the battery out? Some batteries can be so dead that power cannot get through them. Yours is failing so quickly, it has to be a possibility.

my battery has been long ago so i didn't use it anyway. i've tried a electrical surge and that doesn't work. after some research, the problem is either the power chip capacitor or maybe more than one component on the motherboard, that would also explain why my cd drive was not working for a long time.

i'm going to try to take it all apart but god damn the head on the screws are messed up and it's really hard to take off.

 

[CocoHacker]

The power chip capacitor is inexpensive, and that is the component my friend got repaired/replaced for the dell 1520 I mentioned above. His laptop is still fully functional after the repair (8 months or so now).

Hope you get it fixed jinjin12.

 

[jinjin12]

The power chip capacitor is inexpensive, and that is the component my friend got repaired/replaced for the dell 1520 I mentioned above. His laptop is still fully functional after the repair (8 months or so now).

Hope you get it fixed jinjin12.

i'm a noob, so can you tell me where the chip capacitor is? also, i've went on ebay and amazon but i'm not sure which capacitor i need to buy. btw if i take it out and replace it, is there soldering involved?

 

[Saga Lout]

It's worse than just soldering - it's de-soldering the old one off first. CocoHacker's friend is certainly braver than I am. I suggest you start by downloading the service manual from Dell's website and study just what you have to remove before you have access to the motherboard. If that doesn't put you off, you then have to find the capacitor - it will be slightly swollen I expect - detach it by melting the old solder (and not the closely neighbouring parts) before finding the right replacement.

I fix PCs for a living but I'm always very wary of what I have to de-solder inside a laptop.

Sorry to sound so discouraging but in reality, there's a lot that can go wrong.

 

[jinjin12]

It's worse than just soldering - it's de-soldering the old one off first. CocoHacker's friend is certainly braver than I am. I suggest you start by downloading the service manual from Dell's website and study just what you have to remove before you have access to the motherboard. If that doesn't put you off, you then have to find the capacitor - it will be slightly swollen I expect - detach it by melting the old solder (and not the closely neighbouring parts) before finding the right replacement.

I fix PCs for a living but I'm always very wary of what I have to de-solder inside a laptop.

Sorry to sound so discouraging but in reality, there's a lot that can go wrong.

I have a soldering iron and solder but i don't have a solder sucker. Is a solder necessary to desolder?
Btw i know how to get to the motherboard, however some of the screws have messed up head and i cant take them out. Since you fix computers, what do you do to remove screws with messed up heads?

Also someone suggested that i take out the cmos battery and i was going to but i noticed that it was glued. I didnt want to take out the cmos battery since i dont know if i have the glue. Do they use thermal paste for that?

 

[CocoHacker]

Its my friend's friend who did the repair (who does it for a living), i ll have to ask the specifics (i don't know how its done), my experience ends with diagnosing a problem. Soldering etc. are not my cup of tea.
It seems Saga Lout could help you.

I don't think this is due to a dead CMOS battery.
PS: I don't think they use thermal paste for the battery.

 

[Saga Lout]

It is good practice to take out the CMOS battery and,of course, the main battery. The sticky red cap over the battery will go back on afterwards and you may as well replace the 2032 battery while you're at it. I deliberately spelt out the hard parts of this job because things can go wrong.

Maybe it's just my nearly 66 year old eyesight and slightly unsteady hand but holding the iron over the bit of solder that has to be melted before the sucker can come in to use seems always a much longer time than it really is.

If you're down to motherboard level, you may as well give it a shot. Don't buy a cheap sucker - my first two were useless. My main concern is still how you identify the right replacement but the manual might set you right on that.

 

[jinjin12]

Its my friend's friend who did the repair (who does it for a living), i ll have to ask the specifics (i don't know how its done), my experience ends with diagnosing a problem. Soldering etc. are not my cup of tea.
It seems Saga Lout could help you.

I don't think this is due to a dead CMOS battery.
PS: I don't think they use thermal paste for the battery.

what do they use then to glue the cmos? you think if i use super glue it would mess up the cmos? lol.

man i can't seem to take out this screw since the head is so busted, i tried making an indentation for my flathead drivers but that failed. i'm going to put superglue on the tip of my screwdriver and let it stick to the screw then try to spin it out. i'll tell you how that goes.

btw i really appreciate all the replies and help. tom's hardware is a really good site filled with helpful and knowledgeable people. i'm glad i signed up.

 

[CocoHacker]

Not sure how thermally stable super glue is.

Use a slightly more thicker slotted head to unscrew the busted screw. Use the palm of your left hand to keep the screw driver always in perpendicular position (Apply a little pressure). Turn the screwdriver with the right hand. Good Luck!