fix a broken dell laptop?

**kuo** · 02-27-2006, 08:35 AM

my sis has a 2 year old dell inspiron laptop. i forget the model number at the moment, but recently it has lost the ability to charge. i know that the power adapter is good because when i use it on my dell laptop, it works fine. also when i use my power adapter on the broken laptop, it does not charge it. i know the laptop works because there is a tiny bit of charge left in the battery so it will turn on for a few minutes. also, when you plug the power adapter into the wall, the light on the power brick lights up. when you plug the power adapter into the laptop, the light goes off. the power adapter will not work again until you unplug it from the wall.

it sounded to me like there is a short where the power adapter plugs into the laptop. i asked my sis if she dropped the laptop on the plug or knocked it somehow but she says she didn't. anyways i disassembled the laptop expecting to see a broken solder joint but everything looked fine apart from a lot of dust. i blew out the dust and put it back together, but the laptop still does not charge. any hardware experts out there have any words of wisdom? or should i just send it back to dell and let them fix it and charge me an arm and a leg?

**Enforcer** · 02-27-2006, 08:42 AM

We has a similar issue with one of our work ones. Luckily it was still under warranty, as Dell replaced the whole motherboard.

**kuo** · 02-27-2006, 09:00 AM

so then i'm screwed basically. this laptop is definitely more than 1 year old. dell will probably charge more to fix it than it would cost me to get a better brand new laptop. maybe i'll sell it on ebay or something. anyone want to buy a laptop that won't charge?

**rustyboxx** · 02-27-2006, 09:07 AM

I'll give you $50 for it

**kuo** · 02-27-2006, 09:11 AM

how about i give you $50 bucks if you fix it for me.

edit: oops, nevermind. you're in england.

**rustyboxx** · 02-27-2006, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by kuo

how about i give you $50 bucks if you fix it for me.

edit: oops, nevermind. you're in england.

So we're back to me giving you $50 to take it off your hands?

**roadhog** · 02-27-2006, 01:53 PM

I'll give you $55

**jjh221** · 02-27-2006, 02:24 PM

throw the damn thing out the window!

**roadhog** · 02-27-2006, 04:58 PM

Yeah. Video someone doing that and send it into "You've Been Framed" or similar tv show, they'll probably pay more than we would!

For bonus bucks get a 2 year old to do it with a cute expression

> off to ponder life....