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Quadcammer
7 Posts
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3861
May 2nd, 2005 12:00
5150 DEAD after 1 year.
I was talking to a few people on aim last night, with 1 window of firefox up and a word document of approximately 12 pages.
the touchpad and keys go dead and the screen absolutely freezes. Nothing is happening AT ALL.
I turn it off and restart.
all i get is a black screen with the blinking cursor. Keys still don't work and nothing happens.
figuring it got too hot or something i let it cool overnight. Still no good.
same situation.
zero keys work
touch pad doesn't work
black screen flashing cursor.
this is obviously very serious.
harddrive?
motherboard?
???????????
It is a dell insipirion 5150 that is approximately 1 year old. P4 with 3.06, 80 gig hd, 512mb ram, etc etc.
any ideas on why this could have happened? it didn't seem to have any virus, i didn't open any weird emails or anything.
all i basically used it for was typing papers, and screwing around online.
the touchpad and keys go dead and the screen absolutely freezes. Nothing is happening AT ALL.
I turn it off and restart.
all i get is a black screen with the blinking cursor. Keys still don't work and nothing happens.
figuring it got too hot or something i let it cool overnight. Still no good.
same situation.
zero keys work
touch pad doesn't work
black screen flashing cursor.
this is obviously very serious.
harddrive?
motherboard?
???????????
It is a dell insipirion 5150 that is approximately 1 year old. P4 with 3.06, 80 gig hd, 512mb ram, etc etc.
any ideas on why this could have happened? it didn't seem to have any virus, i didn't open any weird emails or anything.
all i basically used it for was typing papers, and screwing around online.
sounds like the motherboard or ram. try reseating the ram. if you have two modules, remove one and try booting -- if it doesn't work, switch the socket it's installed in. if that fails, try the other module in both sockets.
to be absolutely sure, remove all user replaceable parts (hard drive, cd drive, modem, internal wireless card, and all attached devices) and try to boot
try with just the battery or just the ac
if all of this fails you will likely need a new motherboard...
I forgot to mention, if you're under warranty, obviously call dell and they will take care of it
Quadcammer
7 Posts
515
0
Posted May 2nd, 2005 14:00
ok, you are gonna have to dumb this down a bit for me.
how do i remove all of this stuff?
im not what you would consider computer savyQuadcammer
7 Posts
515
0
Posted May 2nd, 2005 14:00
ok, ram has been removed.
harddrive is also out
anything else?
what do i do now?
sorry for the dumb questionsthis should help you out ... start with the ram as it's a likely possible cause. removing the other parts is unlikely to help you, but if you're looking at a motherboard replacement it's good to cover your bases.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins5100/en/sm/index.htm
as always, if you have specific questions, feel free to ask :)Message Edited by NemesisDB on 05-02-2005 11:40 AM
Quadcammer
7 Posts
515
0
Posted May 2nd, 2005 15:00
ok, when taking out the ram in slot A, it turns on, and the A light at the top of the keyboard flashes. When you put the ram back into slot A, its back to the other nonsense.
when you move the ram from A to B, and do not have ram in B, it does the blinking cursor thing.
any thoughts on this.Quadcammer
7 Posts
515
0
Posted May 2nd, 2005 15:00
yeah, i understand that part.
i have had one in there at all times.
however, now it will turn on, the light flashes (no cursor) and then it shuts off after about 15 seconds.
does this sound like a motherboard problem to you?Quadcammer
7 Posts
831
0
Posted May 2nd, 2005 16:00
is that a real pain for someone of my knowledge level to replace?
i found a few on ebay. can i just buy any of the ones for the 5150 or do they have to match the stuff thats on my computer(ie processor speed, ram, etc)
thanks for the help
fenderguitarguy
328 Posts
515
0
Posted May 2nd, 2005 14:00