I have a Dell Latitude CPx that just died. (It won't power on) It had been getting tempermental for the past few months. You had to hold your mouth just right while pressing the power button or it woudn't come on. I bought it used from AnythingPC in Garner. Less than a year after I bought it one of the memory slots went bad. (not the memory, just the slot) After paying them $45 for diagnostics they sold me a new memory clip. When I returned it and told them that wasn't the problem, they tried to charge me a restocking fee. After getting more than a little irritated with the manager, they agreed to give me the money back for the memory but not the misdiagnosis. They looked at it again and said the slot was bad. Questions: 1 - How does a slot just "go bad" unless Dell makes junk. 2 - Shouldn't my computer power on while plugged into a wall outlet even though my battery is permanently dead.? I'm trying to decide what to do next. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
1. sounds like the mobo was dying and has finally died. the processor is probably integrated so replacing that will cost as much as buying a new. double if its integrated tho. 2. yup.
Definitely could be a motherboard flaking out on you, but also: 1. Laptops in particular can be pretty tempermental if the specified memory isn't used. In particular the voltage rating has to be correct. I've had a couple of times where a particular brand of memory would "sorta" work in a laptop, but not be reliable. There are a lot of sites that sell memory and can help you determine the correct config to use. Here's one: http://www.memorystock.com/ I would especially suspect this if the Dell didn't have the stock memory in it when you bought it...if the store had upgraded it prior to you buying it. Frankly their diagnosis sounds like a "we don't want to deal with it" kind of answer. 2. Yes, it should, although a bad memory chip *can* cause it to not power up, as can a bad power switch itself. Try removing the battery from the system and then see if it will power up. With a problem like this you may be in that position where it is cheaper to buy a new laptop than put a lot of effort into the repair. I assisted with the purchase of some Dell laptops last month and they were in the $500 range for a basic config. Correctly tracking down the problem on your laptop and then possibly replacing the motherboard could run you half to three quarters that cost. And not to try and push Dell, but that's what I spend my own money on for laptops. I've used Toshiba, IBM, etc. before in the past and Dell has always been the easiest to deal with on repair and warranty service.
Is that the "H" model or the "J" model? What happens when you push the power button? Does it try to start and then die or do you get no response? The CPx series has the cpu soldered to a removable board. That series has a problem with the cpu front pcb clip and the screws holding the CPU become loose due to heat. Both models do have a bad memory circuit or slot problem. There is no fix for that other than mobo replacement. Even then it's a 50/50 chance it will occur with the new board. If your getting no power when you push the power button: Hold down on the "BackSpace" key and gently apply pressure. What you are doing is pushing down in the CPU area under the keyboard and forcing the connection. Hold it down and push the power button. If it turns on let the backspace key go and see if it shuts off. If it turns on there is an easy fix you can do yourself. I repair laptops and my diagnostic fees are $00.00. If we can't get you fixed on here I'll be glad to take a look at it.
