dell 600m laptop

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format it.
Problem is it won't boot up. On the device status lights, the 2nd
from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the laptop
seems to want to boot up. The manual says this light "turns on when
the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming a bad drive????
Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive and see if I can
just swap out a spare laptop drive with the existing one. If not,
wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with this one?

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:59:31 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format it.
Problem is it won't boot up. On the device status lights, the 2nd
from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the laptop
seems to want to boot up. The manual says this light "turns on when
the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming a bad drive????
Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive and see if I can
just swap out a spare laptop drive with the existing one. If not,
wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with this one?


Never mind.... I think maybe the battery was too weak. I had it on
electric for about 15 to 30 minutes and now it's booting up to the xp
welcome screen. I like it when it fixes itself grin.

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:03:18 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:59:31 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format it.
Problem is it won't boot up. On the device status lights, the 2nd
from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the laptop
seems to want to boot up. The manual says this light "turns on when
the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming a bad drive????
Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive and see if I can
just swap out a spare laptop drive with the existing one. If not,
wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with this one?


Never mind.... I think maybe the battery was too weak. I had it on
electric for about 15 to 30 minutes and now it's booting up to the xp
welcome screen. I like it when it fixes itself grin.


Well crap, it got stuck in the welcome screen since I forgot my
password and so I tried to reboot and now it's doing the same thing as
before. I had it plugged in too all the while. Now I just thought
about the CMOS battery. Could it be so weak that it's causing this
failure to boot? I don't think this laptop has been used or plugged
in for a couple of years.

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:18:54 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:03:18 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:59:31 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format it.
Problem is it won't boot up. On the device status lights, the 2nd
from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the laptop
seems to want to boot up. The manual says this light "turns on when
the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming a bad drive????
Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive and see if I can
just swap out a spare laptop drive with the existing one. If not,
wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with this one?


Never mind.... I think maybe the battery was too weak. I had it on
electric for about 15 to 30 minutes and now it's booting up to the xp
welcome screen. I like it when it fixes itself grin.


Well crap, it got stuck in the welcome screen since I forgot my
password and so I tried to reboot and now it's doing the same thing as
before. I had it plugged in too all the while. Now I just thought
about the CMOS battery. Could it be so weak that it's causing this
failure to boot? I don't think this laptop has been used or plugged
in for a couple of years.

Continuing this saga... I got it to boot up now and into my name so it
appears to work but I still wonder if the CMOS battery is weak? Will
it charge up if the laptop is plugged in? Sorry for all my posts in
this thread....

In ,
RnR wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:18:54 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:03:18 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:59:31 -0600, "RnR"
wrote:

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format
it. Problem is it won't boot up. On the device status lights,
the 2nd from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the
laptop seems to want to boot up. The manual says this light
"turns on when the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming
a bad drive???? Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive
and see if I can just swap out a spare laptop drive with the
existing one. If not, wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with
this one?


Never mind.... I think maybe the battery was too weak. I had it on
electric for about 15 to 30 minutes and now it's booting up to the
xp welcome screen. I like it when it fixes itself grin.


Well crap, it got stuck in the welcome screen since I forgot my
password and so I tried to reboot and now it's doing the same thing
as before. I had it plugged in too all the while. Now I just
thought about the CMOS battery. Could it be so weak that it's
causing this failure to boot? I don't think this laptop has been
used or plugged in for a couple of years.

Continuing this saga... I got it to boot up now and into my name so it
appears to work but I still wonder if the CMOS battery is weak? Will
it charge up if the laptop is plugged in? Sorry for all my posts in
this thread....

I don't know about most Dells, but some laptops have weird CMOS charging
restrictions. And this information is usually hard to find out (service
manual usually says though). Sometimes they have to be powered on to
charge (not just plugged in and off). Although any power on state should
be ok even at the BIOS Setup. And my old Toshiba 2595XDVD is even more
restrictive before charging the CMOS battery. As the laptop screen has
to be lit too or it won't charge (there is a hotkey to toggle the screen
on and off). And generally speaking, virtually all laptops take between
12 to 24 hours to fully charge a CMOS battery.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
Centrino Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:36:53 -0600, "BillW50" wrote:

In ,
RnR wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:18:54 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:03:18 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:59:31 -0600, "RnR"
wrote:

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format
it. Problem is it won't boot up. On the device status lights,
the 2nd from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the
laptop seems to want to boot up. The manual says this light
"turns on when the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming
a bad drive???? Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive
and see if I can just swap out a spare laptop drive with the
existing one. If not, wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with
this one?


Never mind.... I think maybe the battery was too weak. I had it on
electric for about 15 to 30 minutes and now it's booting up to the
xp welcome screen. I like it when it fixes itself grin.


Well crap, it got stuck in the welcome screen since I forgot my
password and so I tried to reboot and now it's doing the same thing
as before. I had it plugged in too all the while. Now I just
thought about the CMOS battery. Could it be so weak that it's
causing this failure to boot? I don't think this laptop has been
used or plugged in for a couple of years.

Continuing this saga... I got it to boot up now and into my name so it
appears to work but I still wonder if the CMOS battery is weak? Will
it charge up if the laptop is plugged in? Sorry for all my posts in
this thread....

I don't know about most Dells, but some laptops have weird CMOS charging
restrictions. And this information is usually hard to find out (service
manual usually says though). Sometimes they have to be powered on to
charge (not just plugged in and off). Although any power on state should
be ok even at the BIOS Setup. And my old Toshiba 2595XDVD is even more
restrictive before charging the CMOS battery. As the laptop screen has
to be lit too or it won't charge (there is a hotkey to toggle the screen
on and off). And generally speaking, virtually all laptops take between
12 to 24 hours to fully charge a CMOS battery.


Thanks Bill. I found the manual and service manual on line so I'll
read both in regard to the CMOS battery. Thank You !!!

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:36:53 -0600, "BillW50" wrote:

In ,
RnR wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:18:54 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:03:18 -0600, "RnR" wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:59:31 -0600, "RnR"
wrote:

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format
it. Problem is it won't boot up. On the device status lights,
the 2nd from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the
laptop seems to want to boot up. The manual says this light
"turns on when the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming
a bad drive???? Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive
and see if I can just swap out a spare laptop drive with the
existing one. If not, wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with
this one?


Never mind.... I think maybe the battery was too weak. I had it on
electric for about 15 to 30 minutes and now it's booting up to the
xp welcome screen. I like it when it fixes itself grin.


Well crap, it got stuck in the welcome screen since I forgot my
password and so I tried to reboot and now it's doing the same thing
as before. I had it plugged in too all the while. Now I just
thought about the CMOS battery. Could it be so weak that it's
causing this failure to boot? I don't think this laptop has been
used or plugged in for a couple of years.

Continuing this saga... I got it to boot up now and into my name so it
appears to work but I still wonder if the CMOS battery is weak? Will
it charge up if the laptop is plugged in? Sorry for all my posts in
this thread....

I don't know about most Dells, but some laptops have weird CMOS charging
restrictions. And this information is usually hard to find out (service
manual usually says though). Sometimes they have to be powered on to
charge (not just plugged in and off). Although any power on state should
be ok even at the BIOS Setup. And my old Toshiba 2595XDVD is even more
restrictive before charging the CMOS battery. As the laptop screen has
to be lit too or it won't charge (there is a hotkey to toggle the screen
on and off). And generally speaking, virtually all laptops take between
12 to 24 hours to fully charge a CMOS battery.


Well had it on charger over nite and it booted up fine 2 or 3 times.
Waited about 20 minutes or so and turned it on again and this time, no
dice. I figure it's got to be the CMOS battery or reserve battery as
Dell likes to refer to. I just wish there was a way to monitor this
CMOS battery as the regular battery (now fully charged). Problem is
whether I want to spend for the replacement CMOS battery for a 6 yr
old laptop that otherwise works fine?? I already have spare laptops
collecting dust now. And I think another daughter will be buying a
new laptop so I'll be adding to my laptop collection soon if true.
I'll probably end up buying the CMOS battery reluctantly and watch the
laptop collect dust

On 2/16/2012 7:26 AM, RnR wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:36:53 -0600, wrote:

In ,
RnR wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:18:54 -0600, wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:03:18 -0600, wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:59:31 -0600,
wrote:

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format
it. Problem is it won't boot up. On the device status lights,
the 2nd from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the
laptop seems to want to boot up. The manual says this light
"turns on when the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming
a bad drive???? Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive
and see if I can just swap out a spare laptop drive with the
existing one. If not, wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with
this one?


Never mind.... I think maybe the battery was too weak. I had it on
electric for about 15 to 30 minutes and now it's booting up to the
xp welcome screen. I like it when it fixes itselfgrin.


Well crap, it got stuck in the welcome screen since I forgot my
password and so I tried to reboot and now it's doing the same thing
as before. I had it plugged in too all the while. Now I just
thought about the CMOS battery. Could it be so weak that it's
causing this failure to boot? I don't think this laptop has been
used or plugged in for a couple of years.

Continuing this saga... I got it to boot up now and into my name so it
appears to work but I still wonder if the CMOS battery is weak? Will
it charge up if the laptop is plugged in? Sorry for all my posts in
this thread....

I don't know about most Dells, but some laptops have weird CMOS charging
restrictions. And this information is usually hard to find out (service
manual usually says though). Sometimes they have to be powered on to
charge (not just plugged in and off). Although any power on state should
be ok even at the BIOS Setup. And my old Toshiba 2595XDVD is even more
restrictive before charging the CMOS battery. As the laptop screen has
to be lit too or it won't charge (there is a hotkey to toggle the screen
on and off). And generally speaking, virtually all laptops take between
12 to 24 hours to fully charge a CMOS battery.

Well had it on charger over nite and it booted up fine 2 or 3 times.
Waited about 20 minutes or so and turned it on again and this time, no
dice. I figure it's got to be the CMOS battery or reserve battery as
Dell likes to refer to. I just wish there was a way to monitor this
CMOS battery as the regular battery (now fully charged). Problem is
whether I want to spend for the replacement CMOS battery for a 6 yr
old laptop that otherwise works fine?? I already have spare laptops
collecting dust now. And I think another daughter will be buying a
new laptop so I'll be adding to my laptop collection soon if true.
I'll probably end up buying the CMOS battery reluctantly and watch the
laptop collect dust

For me, it is hard to say what the problem is yet. As it sounds like it
could be lots of things to me yet to put my finger on one or two things
yet. And yes, it could be due to a weak CMOS battery, but a lot of
laptops don't care if the CMOS battery is working or not. Unfortunately,
some do care.

If the trouble is the battery is just weak, which could cause lots of
weird problems. So it might work better if the battery was disconnected.
That way it wouldn't be stuck between good and bad states. Is it easy to
get too just to test this idea?

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v3.0
Centrino Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

On Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:39:25 -0600, BillW50 wrote:

On 2/16/2012 7:26 AM, RnR wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:36:53 -0600, wrote:

In ,
RnR wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:18:54 -0600, wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:03:18 -0600, wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:59:31 -0600,
wrote:

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format
it. Problem is it won't boot up. On the device status lights,
the 2nd from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the
laptop seems to want to boot up. The manual says this light
"turns on when the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming
a bad drive???? Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive
and see if I can just swap out a spare laptop drive with the
existing one. If not, wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with
this one?


Never mind.... I think maybe the battery was too weak. I had it on
electric for about 15 to 30 minutes and now it's booting up to the
xp welcome screen. I like it when it fixes itselfgrin.


Well crap, it got stuck in the welcome screen since I forgot my
password and so I tried to reboot and now it's doing the same thing
as before. I had it plugged in too all the while. Now I just
thought about the CMOS battery. Could it be so weak that it's
causing this failure to boot? I don't think this laptop has been
used or plugged in for a couple of years.

Continuing this saga... I got it to boot up now and into my name so it
appears to work but I still wonder if the CMOS battery is weak? Will
it charge up if the laptop is plugged in? Sorry for all my posts in
this thread....

I don't know about most Dells, but some laptops have weird CMOS charging
restrictions. And this information is usually hard to find out (service
manual usually says though). Sometimes they have to be powered on to
charge (not just plugged in and off). Although any power on state should
be ok even at the BIOS Setup. And my old Toshiba 2595XDVD is even more
restrictive before charging the CMOS battery. As the laptop screen has
to be lit too or it won't charge (there is a hotkey to toggle the screen
on and off). And generally speaking, virtually all laptops take between
12 to 24 hours to fully charge a CMOS battery.

Well had it on charger over nite and it booted up fine 2 or 3 times.
Waited about 20 minutes or so and turned it on again and this time, no
dice. I figure it's got to be the CMOS battery or reserve battery as
Dell likes to refer to. I just wish there was a way to monitor this
CMOS battery as the regular battery (now fully charged). Problem is
whether I want to spend for the replacement CMOS battery for a 6 yr
old laptop that otherwise works fine?? I already have spare laptops
collecting dust now. And I think another daughter will be buying a
new laptop so I'll be adding to my laptop collection soon if true.
I'll probably end up buying the CMOS battery reluctantly and watch the
laptop collect dust

For me, it is hard to say what the problem is yet. As it sounds like it
could be lots of things to me yet to put my finger on one or two things
yet. And yes, it could be due to a weak CMOS battery, but a lot of
laptops don't care if the CMOS battery is working or not. Unfortunately,
some do care.

If the trouble is the battery is just weak, which could cause lots of
weird problems. So it might work better if the battery was disconnected.
That way it wouldn't be stuck between good and bad states. Is it easy to
get too just to test this idea?


Well I saw a cmos battery for $3.00 new with free shipping on Ebay so
I bit the bullet and ordered it. I'll just take the chance. If I'm
wrong, then it goes into the pile for parts or donating. Now if I'm
right, it goes into the pile for collecting dust
No wonder why I can't get rich this way....
Last, thanks Bill for the help !!!!

On Feb 16, 9:44*am, "RnR" wrote:
On Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:39:25 -0600, BillW50 wrote:
On 2/16/2012 7:26 AM, RnR wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:36:53 -0600, *wrote:

,
RnR wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:18:54 -0600, *wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:03:18 -0600, *wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:59:31 -0600,
wrote:

Got my daughter's old laptop back and I decided to try to format
it. Problem is it won't boot up. * On the device status lights,
the 2nd from the left (4 total) flickers fast then goes out as the
laptop seems to want to boot up. *The manual says this light
"turns on when the computer reads and writes data" so I'm assuming
a bad drive???? Meanwhile I'm going to try to see what type drive
and see if I can just swap out a spare laptop drive with the
existing one. *If not, wonder if my old 1100 or 1405 can swap with
this one?

Never mind.... *I think maybe the battery was too weak. *I had it on
electric for about 15 to 30 minutes and now it's booting up to the
xp welcome screen. * I like it when it fixes itselfgrin.

Well crap, it got stuck in the welcome screen since I forgot my
password and so I tried to reboot and now it's doing the same thing
as before. *I had it plugged in too all the while. *Now I just
thought about the CMOS battery. * Could it be so weak that it's
causing this failure to boot? *I don't think this laptop has been
used or plugged in for a couple of years.

Continuing this saga... I got it to boot up now and into my name so it
appears to work but I still wonder if the CMOS battery is weak? * Will
it charge up if the laptop is plugged in? * *Sorry for all my posts in
this thread....

I don't know about most Dells, but some laptops have weird CMOS charging
restrictions. And this information is usually hard to find out (service
manual usually says though). Sometimes they have to be powered on to
charge (not just plugged in and off). Although any power on state should
be ok even at the BIOS Setup. And my old Toshiba 2595XDVD is even more
restrictive before charging the CMOS battery. As the laptop screen has
to be lit too or it won't charge (there is a hotkey to toggle the screen
on and off). And generally speaking, virtually all laptops take between
12 to 24 hours to fully charge a CMOS battery.

Well had it on charger over nite and it booted up fine 2 or 3 times.
Waited about 20 minutes or so and turned it on again and this time, no
dice. *I figure it's got to be the CMOS battery or reserve battery as
Dell likes to refer to. *I just wish there was a way to monitor this
CMOS battery as the regular battery (now fully charged). * Problem is
whether I want to spend for the replacement CMOS battery for a 6 yr
old laptop that otherwise works fine?? *I already have spare laptops
collecting dust now. *And I think another daughter will be buying a
new laptop so I'll be adding to my laptop collection soon if true.
I'll probably end up buying the CMOS battery reluctantly and watch the
laptop collect dust *

For me, it is hard to say what the problem is yet. As it sounds like it
could be lots of things to me yet to put my finger on one or two things
yet. And yes, it could be due to a weak CMOS battery, but a lot of
laptops don't care if the CMOS battery is working or not. Unfortunately,
some do care.

If the trouble is the battery is just weak, which could cause lots of
weird problems. So it might work better if the battery was disconnected.
That way it wouldn't be stuck between good and bad states. Is it easy to
get too just to test this idea?

Well I saw a cmos battery for $3.00 new with free shipping on Ebay so
I bit the bullet and ordered it. *I'll just take the chance. *If I'm
wrong, then it goes into the pile for parts or donating. *Now if I'm
right, it goes into the pile for collecting dust
No wonder why I can't get rich this way....
Last, thanks Bill for the help !!!!

I have a 600m...it was a nice laptop with good graphics for the time
and a solid build. About one month past the three year warranty, my
screen went dark, but it works fine with an external monitor. I have
some dos based games that I still play on it.

Larry