I have a kind of older model Dell laptop. Not used for anything spectacular, just basic stuff. It was refurbished and bought for $200 last year. Just looking for some suggestions if anybody knows anything about laptops. It worked fine for a while.
All of a sudden, the fricken thing won't charge. it won't turn on even if it is plugged in to the wall by the power cord. I got it to start charging once, then my wife decided to use it too soon, and it died. Now it won't come on anymore. The power cord has one of those little black boxes in the middle that has a green light on when it is plugged in. the light still comes on when it is plugged into the wall, but the light on the laptop that shows when it is charging will not come on anymore.
Any suggestions? I am a total noob when it comes to laptops.

 

That happened to my iBook. What happened to me is the socket that the charging plug plugs into broke loose from the motherboard. Two of the four pins broke at the solder joint. The only ones holding were the ground, which has two pins that are attached to the outer metal housing of the socket. Those pins are only ground and won't allow the laptop to get power, while still holding the socket in place like it isn't broken. If this is the same problem you have, you're going to have to open it up, desolder the socket, and resolder it restoring the connections. I have a lot of experience with soldering and such so if you need help I can help you through it. I hope this all made sence I am pretty [sm=smokin.gif]ed.

 

The same thing happened to a Toshiba of mine and it's quite common. The socket where the power plugs into the notebook was loose inside the laptop and would work intermittantly then just conked out. It cost $200 to have it repaired but it was a $2K laptop so I felt it was worth it.

 

Ouch! $200 just for an hours work? Seems like I should get into computer repair lol.

 

Thanks for the answers guys! I'll see what I can figure out tonight. I'll see if I can tell if any of the pins are broken or loose. I'll report back tomorrow with any findings.

 

Try pushing the plug toward a side and hold it there for a couple seconds. If nothing from the charging light, try another angle ..... if the socket is breaking free, you should be able to get it to charge when pushing the plug 1 way. If nothing, try taking out the battery for 5 minutes then put it back in and try charging it.

 

Haha ^ that's exactly what I was planning to try first.
I am a little scared I'll break off one of the prongs though
But I guess it's not doing me any good sitting there not working. The worst that could happen is I trash a $200 laptop. maybe I'll try out my soldering skills. Haha I haven't soldered anything since I installed my head unit in my 90 Mustang when I was 16. I think this will take a little bit more finesse. but it is a great excuse to go out and buy a new soldering iron!

 

You've got to be careful, you can burn a trace if not careful. And repairing a trace is going to be out of your league. Make sure you get a 15w iron, a 30w is my preference but it is safer to use a 15w. Depending how the joint broke will depict how to go about fixing it. It is possible that that pins are fine and you just lifted a solder pad. If thats the case your going to have to solder to a trace. Which requires scraping at the silicon until you see the copper trace then soldering to the paper thin copper.


EDIT: Moving it side to side will only work if the pins are intact, and the solder pad wasn't lifted. It would mean that it was soldered bad from manufacturing and the solder joint cracked around the pin. While thats possible I have a feeling its either a lifted pad or broken pin.

 

Just to let you know, Radio Shack has a pen like tool, that allows you to create your own traces.
I forget what metal it is, but you can apply it to the top on the silicone and w/e and its just like a pen.
So if you do ruin a trace, it is possible to do it again.

 

I'm in the same boat with a Dell Lattitude C640.

Check out Dell.com for some info about a recall on some of their power transformers. Mine was NOT covered, but maybe yours??

I know my problem is the cord, right where it plugs into the laptop. For awhile it would work if I flexed the cord just a certain way. Now it just quit. Gotta order a new cord.

Anyone know a good source other than Dell??