[njlock]

Dell Inspiron 6400/E1505 laptop dead won't start, with or without battery, I tried power supply from another dell, no help. when I press on button, the left light? lights up for 3 seconds, then shuts off no sounds of any kind, nothing on the screen. about 3 months out of warrenty. this happened all of a sudden with no symptoms beforehand.
Thanks

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Try unplugging the battery and AC adapter, then press and hold the power button to drain out all the extra power.

Then, plug just the AC adapter in and turn the computer on while holding down the <Fn> key. Watch the lock lights (num lock, caps lock, scroll lock) and see what they do.

[The Admiral]

Try unplugging the battery and AC adapter, then press and hold the power button to drain out all the extra power.

Then, plug just the AC adapter in and turn the computer on while holding down the <Fn> key. Watch the lock lights (num lock, caps lock, scroll lock) and see what they do.

[njlock]

Nada, I think the main board is shot, new $400?? I'm seeing refurbished on ebay for <$200?? Anyone know where I can get a step by step guide for changing the mainboard?

[The Admiral]

Last thing I want you to try: on the side of your computer, hold the WiFi catcher switch in the momentary position for about 15 seconds. If the light next to it doesn't turn on, you definitely have a dead motherboard.

Mobo replacement procedures can be found in your Service Manual located on support.dell.com. The specific instructions are located here. It's messy....

[njlock]

where/what is the "WiFi catcher switch"??

Thanks

[The Admiral]

Sorry about that, it looks like your model does not have a WiFi catcher switch.

[njlock]

I don't see paying $400 for a new mainboard, when I'm seeing used e1505's in the $400-$600 range. I'm considering getting a refurbished mainboard from ebay for the $150 range. But I don't know whether its a good idea to try it myself or not?? Are these rebuilt mainboards reliable, i.e. if I do get it to work, can I expect a decent/average life expectancy? What would I pay to have a techie do it for me? Should I even be wasting my time with this train of thought?

My other option was to look for an inexpensive model with low ram and a small hard drive and swap mine into it (2g & 120G hd)

I'm not sure which processor I have (PRC,MEROM,T7200,2.0,4MB,DC,B2)?

Would I be able to swap the memory(2x's,DIMM,1GB,533,128X64,8K,200) & hard drive (HD,120G,SATA,9.5,5.4,W080) into any current dell laptop? And just run it like my old system was set up? (vista home?)

I guess if I did swap out the hard drive and memory to another laptop, the monitor and dvd drive, etc would have some value for resale on ebay?

Thanks for your response!!

Edited by njlock, 28 July 2008 - 08:19 AM.

[The Admiral]

Refurb is always a personal choice. I'm sure you can find arguments both ways: while they are operable, they usually have a shorter life span because they have been previously used. A newborn and a 60-year-old are both alive, but one is going to last longer. Local technicians' prices vary, you could find a tech for as cheap as you are willing to pay: college students will do anything for even a pizza.

You have a Core 2 Duo T7200 processor. Your RAM and HDD are pretty standard, you should be able to swap into any of our newer models (your hard drive is a SATA interface, which is now standard). The way your OS communicates with your hardware is driver based. Because the hardware is different between different laptop models, you would need to get the appropriate drivers.

Laptops for parts usually have a low resale value - I rarely see any sell for more than $100.

[njlock]

Thanks for all your imput!
I guess next time I'll pay for an extended warrenty!
Hate to see this laptop just sit and rot, maybe I'll try it myself as a project? lol!!

[shard92]

if you are running xp or vista it's very probable you would need to do a repair install so have your disks around unless you put the drive in an almost exact duplicate..... ie it's more than just a driver issue..... poor microsoft doesn't want you to cheat them out of the license for a new os when you upgrade...

[cromartie taro]

I have a similar problem, but my lights come on when I turn on my computer. i also have a e1505.
however, the system does not POST. i tried the whole discharging power thing and then held down the fn key. the lock keys stayed on except the number lock which flashed. the only other light is the power light that is on. i pressed the power button twice and it booted into a diagnostic which everything was passed. started into windows and began copying some files over joyously when the computer froze. i turned it off and tried again, but to no avail. can't get back in even with the above method.
any tips?

[The Admiral]

Hi Cromartie Taro, welcome to Geeks to Go!

I would advise you to start a new topic - it's hard for us to keep everything straight, and starting a new topic will allow our helpers to focus on your problem.

[Tedmouse]

well after 2 months talking to 15 companys and dell noone could tell me the main reason why 6400 e1505's died and only turned on for 3 seconds
i figured out what caused it
well let me take a step back before tell ing what part it is
2 months before i figured it out i had to repair a hp screen it TURNED on for 3 sec's then DIED BINGO
you see the soldering was not makeing connection to coils AHHA

then after that my board died TO due to ati x1400 FOUND OUT THERE ARE BAD atix1400 cards out there and mine was one of them after geting dells bios upgrade the card fried because its componets were bad ACK
SO i snifed the burn smell and found the chip BLOWN AHAH the main power chip at last
dell refused to tell me what chip it was i really wanted to know so i found out the bad way moral of that is becarefull for what you wish for
anyhow i got the chip repaired for $50 instead of a high priced board
the chip is right below the cmos battery/aka the round battery on board/ it is the black chip with 2 legs on one side 1 on the other 3 legs in all LOOK for scorch MARKS

plus i got tired of dieing batterys so i opened one up and resoldered all ends and blamo it worked again

NEED TO CONTACT ME ON THIS FOR PICTURES EMAIL ME/

[Liffeyman]

Guys,

Just had the same problem with my laptop but i had opened it up to clear out the dust from the fan. anyway when i was putting it back together i first didn't see that there was a lock screw on the CPU mount for the CPU chip. When removing and refitting the CPU you need to unlock the CPU mount or when refitting the chip it wont connect right.

Im guessing even if you haven't refitting the CPU chip it might be a good idea just to reseat the CPU anyway.

Paul

[batteriesinc]

i don't know how to help you.i have a problem like you with my Dell Inspiron 6400 battery. but it won't slove even now.

Edited by batteriesinc, 06 July 2010 - 09:36 PM.