Need laptop repair

I have a Dell laptop/notebook, well past its warranty date, and it needs
some repair. The problems are varied (failed bootups, video snafus,
etc.), so I'd need someone who can pretty much give the thing a serious
once-or-twice-over.

I live in Philadelphia. Can someone recommend a trustworthy repair
service in this area?

Hi!

I have a Dell laptop/notebook, well past its warranty date, and it needs
some repair. The problems are varied (failed bootups, video snafus,
etc.), so I'd need someone who can pretty much give the thing a serious
once-or-twice-over.

I live in Philadelphia. Can someone recommend a trustworthy repair
service in this area?

Have you given any thought to doing the work yourself? Parts can be had from
eBay, other computers with different problems and sometimes even directly
from Dell at prices that aren't too bad. Dell also makes the service manuals
for a great many of their laptops available for anyone to see online.

I don't think you'd find that paying someone to repair a system that is old
enough to be out of warranty and with that many problems will be cost
effective. By the time you get done, you may well have spent enough to buy a
new laptop, or at least a better one. If you have or can get some decent
small hand tools, you will have just about everything you need to get
started. Plus, your time is free and I guarantee you will learn something
from the process--even if it is only what not to do next time!

William

what model dell are you having problems with. some are notorious for
demonstrating the problems that you describe simply because the memory
modules become misaligned... if you simply remove and replace them you may
solve your problems. if you visit support.dell.com you can find full
documentation for your model and in the service manual you will find clear
instructions on how to remove/install the memory.

"Brian Siano" wrote in message
...
I have a Dell laptop/notebook, well past its warranty date, and it needs
some repair. The problems are varied (failed bootups, video snafus, etc.),
so I'd need someone who can pretty much give the thing a serious
once-or-twice-over.

I live in Philadelphia. Can someone recommend a trustworthy repair service
in this area?

On Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:56:29 -0400, "Christopher Muto"
wrote:

what model dell are you having problems with. some are notorious for
demonstrating the problems that you describe simply because the memory
modules become misaligned... if you simply remove and replace them you may
solve your problems. if you visit support.dell.com you can find full
documentation for your model and in the service manual you will find clear
instructions on how to remove/install the memory.


Chris, good advice. It's ashame some people don't realize that not
all repairs are that difficult. I've seen the "geek squad" (or
whatever they call it) on my street about 4 times in the last month or
so and I didn't have the heart to tell my neighbors (actually for a
couple of reasons) I could've probably helped them and saved them
money to boot.

William R. Walsh wrote:

Have you given any thought to doing the work yourself? Parts can be had from
eBay, other computers with different problems and sometimes even directly
from Dell at prices that aren't too bad. Dell also makes the service manuals
for a great many of their laptops available for anyone to see online.

I don't think you'd find that paying someone to repair a system that is old
enough to be out of warranty and with that many problems will be cost
effective. By the time you get done, you may well have spent enough to buy a
new laptop, or at least a better one. If you have or can get some decent
small hand tools, you will have just about everything you need to get
started. Plus, your time is free and I guarantee you will learn something
from the process--even if it is only what not to do next time!

You're probably right. I'm reasonably sure that my problems are
hardware-based, and maybe I can fix it myself. I'll work up a more
detailed list of problems and ask advice here later.

(FYI: the system doesn't recognize the internal wireless, the video
shows weird jittery patterns, and sometimes the system doesn't succeed
in booting. For a time, the USB ports were inactive and the "Add
Hardware" option wouldn't work, but a Windows re-install fixed that.)

Christopher Muto wrote:
what model dell are you having problems with. some are notorious for
demonstrating the problems that you describe simply because the memory
modules become misaligned... if you simply remove and replace them you may
solve your problems. if you visit support.dell.com you can find full
documentation for your model and in the service manual you will find clear
instructions on how to remove/install the memory.

Inspiron 600m. I'm downloading the manuals right now.

On Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:24:46 -0400, Brian Siano
wrote:

Christopher Muto wrote:
what model dell are you having problems with. some are notorious for
demonstrating the problems that you describe simply because the memory
modules become misaligned... if you simply remove and replace them you may
solve your problems. if you visit support.dell.com you can find full
documentation for your model and in the service manual you will find clear
instructions on how to remove/install the memory.

Inspiron 600m. I'm downloading the manuals right now.


My daughter now has the 600m and I like that laptop a lot even tho I
use now a E1405. The laptop is outside the house right now so I have
to rely on my memory but if I can help, I'll try. Nice laptop even
if it's old by today's standards (so am I).

the inspiron 600m is known for developing a problem with the ac power
connector on the motherboard. if you have a dead battery and use your
laptop with ac power only then slightly jiggling the power cord can result
in the system losing power and instantly shutting down (or not being able to
turn on until you jiggle the cable). a new motherboard is expensive, but
there are some people on ebay (not an endorsement of them) that will
replace/resolder the power connector on the motherboard for seemingly
reasonable price. you can remove your computer's hard disk before sending
your machine off to any repair people. you could even remove the battery,
optical drive, and system memory. play with the power cord at the
conenction at the back of the machine and see if this is the problem... then
consider the cost of repair vs purchasing new.
search ebay for "dell dc power repair" for some vendors and use your
judgement if they are a good option for you. dell does not do board level
repair but will sell you a complete motherboard for a few hundred and
installation for about a hundred more...

"Brian Siano" wrote in message
...
Christopher Muto wrote:
what model dell are you having problems with. some are notorious for
demonstrating the problems that you describe simply because the memory
modules become misaligned... if you simply remove and replace them you
may solve your problems. if you visit support.dell.com you can find full
documentation for your model and in the service manual you will find
clear instructions on how to remove/install the memory.

Inspiron 600m. I'm downloading the manuals right now.

'ac' should read 'dc'
you use an ac power adapter (brick) to convert power from the ac mains (wall
outlet) to a dc connector that fits into the laptop... i suspect your
problem is that the dc power connector on your motherboard has become loose.

"Christopher Muto" wrote in message
m...
the inspiron 600m is known for developing a problem with the ac power
connector on the motherboard. if you have a dead battery and use your
laptop with ac power only then slightly jiggling the power cord can result
in the system losing power and instantly shutting down (or not being able
to turn on until you jiggle the cable). a new motherboard is expensive,
but there are some people on ebay (not an endorsement of them) that will
replace/resolder the power connector on the motherboard for seemingly
reasonable price. you can remove your computer's hard disk before sending
your machine off to any repair people. you could even remove the battery,
optical drive, and system memory. play with the power cord at the
conenction at the back of the machine and see if this is the problem...
then consider the cost of repair vs purchasing new.
search ebay for "dell dc power repair" for some vendors and use your
judgement if they are a good option for you. dell does not do board level
repair but will sell you a complete motherboard for a few hundred and
installation for about a hundred more...

"Brian Siano" wrote in message
...
Christopher Muto wrote:
what model dell are you having problems with. some are notorious for
demonstrating the problems that you describe simply because the memory
modules become misaligned... if you simply remove and replace them you
may solve your problems. if you visit support.dell.com you can find
full documentation for your model and in the service manual you will
find clear instructions on how to remove/install the memory.

Inspiron 600m. I'm downloading the manuals right now.

On Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:48:59 -0400, "Christopher Muto"
wrote:

the inspiron 600m is known for developing a problem with the ac power
connector on the motherboard. if you have a dead battery and use your
laptop with ac power only then slightly jiggling the power cord can result
in the system losing power and instantly shutting down (or not being able to
turn on until you jiggle the cable). a new motherboard is expensive, but
there are some people on ebay (not an endorsement of them) that will
replace/resolder the power connector on the motherboard for seemingly
reasonable price. you can remove your computer's hard disk before sending
your machine off to any repair people. you could even remove the battery,
optical drive, and system memory. play with the power cord at the
conenction at the back of the machine and see if this is the problem... then
consider the cost of repair vs purchasing new.
search ebay for "dell dc power repair" for some vendors and use your
judgement if they are a good option for you. dell does not do board level
repair but will sell you a complete motherboard for a few hundred and
installation for about a hundred more...


Odd, tho it doesn't prove anything, our 600m never had any problem
except the plastic around the hinges started to crack but it still
works fine, just not a pretty as when it was new. But I'm not here
to argue about the other 600m's. Maybe I was just lucky g ???