Re: Dell Inspiron 5100 power issues

yablonsky1 · 02-25-2009, 01:05 PM

I have an IDENTICAL problem with my laptop. It has been going on for a long time, and I have another computer I've been using in the meantime, but I asked a dell rep about it before my warranty ran out. All he would do is send me a new power adaptor, and then my warranty ran out. But the new adaptor didn't fix a thing. It still has the EXACT same problem.

So I tried stripping down the entire computer to barebones, and it actually started working while it was in pieces, BEFORE I did anything at all to fix it. I saw nothing loose, and wasn't sure what else I could do. So I put it back together, and it worked momentarily. I noticed that after it was back together, I would plug it in, and nothing would happen for the first 30 seconds. Then the lights would suddenly turn on, and it work. It went on like that for a few days, but now its dead again.

**TriggerFinger** · 02-25-2009, 02:09 PM

Strip it back to barebones (just leave power ON button, motherboard and LCD) and put the parts back one at a time... of course you need to power ON each time you put a part back to know which one may have caused the problem.

yablonsky1 · 04-15-2009, 07:48 AM

I took your suggestion to strip the laptop to see whats causing the problem, but still have not been able to identify it. I noticed there is on plug that connects stuff like the Power Button to the motherboard. I need to unplug this connector in order to take anything out of the laptop. It takes many screws to get to this plug, but once I unplug and replug it, it comes back on normally. I've also noticed that if I take the regular power cord and plug it in and out of the laptop over and over again...eventually it works. I also get a message when I start the laptop that says the power supply is not recognized...and I've already tried replacement power cables so I know thats not the problem. Any ideas now?

**TriggerFinger** · 04-15-2009, 08:04 AM

If you have a charged battery may be you should use it instead of AC. That way you can test if it is the power ON switch or something on the mobo.

Dell (AFAIK) has some issues with their motherboard/power supply. Refer to this:
http://www.laptop-junction.com/toast...not-recognized

and

http://www.laptop-junction.com/toast...r-id-chip-died

02-25-2009, 01:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
yablonsky1 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Re: Dell Inspiron 5100 power issues I have an IDENTICAL problem with my laptop. It has been going on for a long time, and I have another computer I've been using in the meantime, but I asked a dell rep about it before my warranty ran out. All he would do is send me a new power adaptor, and then my warranty ran out. But the new adaptor didn't fix a thing. It still has the EXACT same problem. So I tried stripping down the entire computer to barebones, and it actually started working while it was in pieces, BEFORE I did anything at all to fix it. I saw nothing loose, and wasn't sure what else I could do. So I put it back together, and it worked momentarily. I noticed that after it was back together, I would plug it in, and nothing would happen for the first 30 seconds. Then the lights would suddenly turn on, and it work. It went on like that for a few days, but now its dead again.

02-25-2009, 02:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,851 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Dell Inspiron 5100 power issues Strip it back to barebones (just leave power ON button, motherboard and LCD) and put the parts back one at a time... of course you need to power ON each time you put a part back to know which one may have caused the problem. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

04-15-2009, 07:48 AM	#3 (permalink)
yablonsky1 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Re: Dell Inspiron 5100 power issues I took your suggestion to strip the laptop to see whats causing the problem, but still have not been able to identify it. I noticed there is on plug that connects stuff like the Power Button to the motherboard. I need to unplug this connector in order to take anything out of the laptop. It takes many screws to get to this plug, but once I unplug and replug it, it comes back on normally. I've also noticed that if I take the regular power cord and plug it in and out of the laptop over and over again...eventually it works. I also get a message when I start the laptop that says the power supply is not recognized...and I've already tried replacement power cables so I know thats not the problem. Any ideas now?

04-15-2009, 08:04 AM	#4 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,851 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Dell Inspiron 5100 power issues If you have a charged battery may be you should use it instead of AC. That way you can test if it is the power ON switch or something on the mobo. Dell (AFAIK) has some issues with their motherboard/power supply. Refer to this: http://www.laptop-junction.com/toast...not-recognized and http://www.laptop-junction.com/toast...r-id-chip-died __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE