Inspiron 600m on Last Legs

This seems to have been eaten up by the server, so I am reposting...

-------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,

I have a 2.5 year old Inspiron 600m that is on the verge of death. I'm
starting a new job in Sep and will get funds to buy hardware, so I don't
want to buy a new laptop now. I'd like to invest a bit in fixing this
one so it ties me over until the Autumn.

I think that I basically need a new motherboard and this one is not
fixable. I list the symptoms beneath. Is it OK for me to just buy one of
those 600m/D600 motherboards that are being sold on eBay for $150 or so.

I presume I don't need to buy one with fans and brackets, just the bare
with video? Will any of them work with my CPU (1.5GHz Pentium M)/memory,
etc.? Anything I should know? Is it reasonably easy to install?

In case there is something that can be done to this machine, or it's not
the motherboard, the symptoms are:

1) Every other day, after being moved around, the laptop turns itself
off from sleep and I can not power it on. After the power button is
pressed, the keyboard LEDs blink rapidly for 2 seconds and then switch
off. I have discovered that a couple of well-placed punches to the
power-button area (even while the LEDs are blinking) seem to fix the
problem. The laptop then boots. However, it has been getting more and
more difficult to resuscitate it this way.

2) It seems that the laptop is draining a lot of power during sleep, but
I've not been able to quantify this. Keeping it closed and unplugged for
an hour is enough to have the battery low LED flashing on wake up.

3) The Ethernet port is not recognised by Device Manager, it just sits
there as an unknown device. Disabling it and re-enabling sometimes makes
the machine recognise it and load the driver. The port then seems to
work, but if I have a cable plugged in, after some time (10-30 mins)
Windows will blue screen and reboot with the port dead.

4) The MiniPCI Dell wireless card is increasingly often not being
recognised after wake up from sleep. Either it sits there as Dell
Wireless in Device Manager and needs to be disable and re-enabled for
the driver to start and the computer to connect, or it is not recognised
at all and missing from the device list, in which case a few punches and
a reboot seem to bring it back.

4) Just now the PCMCIA drivers also disappeared and I had to reinstall
them after a reboot. But they seem to be OK right now (I don't have any
PCMCIA stuff to test the port).

If I am unlucky, the devices will appear but will not be recognised as
anything useful. Again, this fixes itself after some time.

Strangely enough, the computer is otherwise perfectly stable, no
software crashes or anything like that.

Any ideas? Thanks a lot!

Deja vu all over again? ... Ben Myers

On Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:07:35 GMT, Wigster <> wrote:

>This seems to have been eaten up by the server, so I am reposting...
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Hi,
>
>I have a 2.5 year old Inspiron 600m that is on the verge of death. I'm
>starting a new job in Sep and will get funds to buy hardware, so I don't
>want to buy a new laptop now. I'd like to invest a bit in fixing this
>one so it ties me over until the Autumn.
>
>I think that I basically need a new motherboard and this one is not
>fixable. I list the symptoms beneath. Is it OK for me to just buy one of
>those 600m/D600 motherboards that are being sold on eBay for $150 or so.
>
>I presume I don't need to buy one with fans and brackets, just the bare
>with video? Will any of them work with my CPU (1.5GHz Pentium M)/memory,
>etc.? Anything I should know? Is it reasonably easy to install?
>
>In case there is something that can be done to this machine, or it's not
>the motherboard, the symptoms are:
>
>1) Every other day, after being moved around, the laptop turns itself
>off from sleep and I can not power it on. After the power button is
>pressed, the keyboard LEDs blink rapidly for 2 seconds and then switch
>off. I have discovered that a couple of well-placed punches to the
>power-button area (even while the LEDs are blinking) seem to fix the
>problem. The laptop then boots. However, it has been getting more and
>more difficult to resuscitate it this way.
>
>2) It seems that the laptop is draining a lot of power during sleep, but
>I've not been able to quantify this. Keeping it closed and unplugged for
>an hour is enough to have the battery low LED flashing on wake up.
>
>3) The Ethernet port is not recognised by Device Manager, it just sits
>there as an unknown device. Disabling it and re-enabling sometimes makes
>the machine recognise it and load the driver. The port then seems to
>work, but if I have a cable plugged in, after some time (10-30 mins)
>Windows will blue screen and reboot with the port dead.
>
>4) The MiniPCI Dell wireless card is increasingly often not being
>recognised after wake up from sleep. Either it sits there as Dell
>Wireless in Device Manager and needs to be disable and re-enabled for
>the driver to start and the computer to connect, or it is not recognised
>at all and missing from the device list, in which case a few punches and
>a reboot seem to bring it back.
>
>4) Just now the PCMCIA drivers also disappeared and I had to reinstall
>them after a reboot. But they seem to be OK right now (I don't have any
>PCMCIA stuff to test the port).
>
>If I am unlucky, the devices will appear but will not be recognised as
>anything useful. Again, this fixes itself after some time.
>
>Strangely enough, the computer is otherwise perfectly stable, no
>software crashes or anything like that.
>
>Any ideas? Thanks a lot!

Ben Myers <> wrote in
news::

> Deja vu all over again? ... Ben Myers

Sorry about that: my news server seems to have eaten up the original
posting.

the failure to power up and resulting rapidly flashing keyboard lcd suggest
to me a memory error. i suggest that you remove the memory modules and
reseat them. modules can become loose over time or your module may be
incompatible if you upgraded it with some other memory. if you added a not
original dell memory module then keep it out until you have determined that
the system is working ok. and batteries do go bad over time and a
replacement motherboard isn't going to fix it, only a new battery will. i
wouldn't spend any money on this machine. just try reseating the memory and
hope for the best. the fact that it comes back on probably has nothing to
do with you pounding it, it is just random weather it starts or not when the
modules are not seated correctly or if the modules are incompatible. good
luck.

"Wigster" <> wrote in message
news:Xns98F5899D8D610feroxityyahoocouk@207.115.33. 102...
> Ben Myers <> wrote in
> news::
>
>> Deja vu all over again? ... Ben Myers
>
> Sorry about that: my news server seems to have eaten up the original
> posting.

"Wigster" <> wrote in message
news:Xns98F5899D8D610feroxityyahoocouk@207.115.33. 102...
> Ben Myers <> wrote in
> news::
>
>> Deja vu all over again? ... Ben Myers
>
> Sorry about that: my news server seems to have eaten up the original
> posting.

We still see your original post, and it has some replies

"Mark" <> wrote in message
news ...
>
> "Wigster" <> wrote in message
> news:Xns98F5899D8D610feroxityyahoocouk@207.115.33. 102...
>> Ben Myers <> wrote in
>> news::
>>
>>> Deja vu all over again? ... Ben Myers
>>
>> Sorry about that: my news server seems to have eaten up the original
>> posting.
>
> We still see your original post, and it has some replies


He needs to hit his machine again, maybe.