Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
    #1

    Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

    Yesterday, while out of town, a Buddy and I took a look at a D600 On CL.

    The guy wanted $35... I got it for $30. Here's what I got:

    -The laptop was in "B-" Condition. The lid had a dent (no screen damage) and two base stickers were missing (Service tag was intact). Some scuffing at base corners. No missing screws.
    -The keyboard is missing the right ALT key... the softkey is still there and works but the key and scissor mechanism are gone.
    -The Bios was locked down with two passwords. The Owner knew the HDD password but the admin password was unknown (bought from a lot de-commissioned from Indiana University a few years back). However, thanks to some tools Gilly1984 posted back in my D800 thread, I was able to fix that issue for good.
    - The battery had about 50% wear... meh.
    -Specs: Pentium M 1.4ghz Banias, 512mb DDR2, ATI Radeon 9000 GPU, 1024x768 screen, 40gb 5400RPM Hitachi Travelstar, Phillips Combo drive, Intel 2100 B wifi

    - There is an issue where sometimes the laptop won't turn on; instead, the power LED at the hinge lights up and the HDD led at the hinge and all LEDs in the power button area flicker for about 3 seconds before turning off. The seller claimed it was due to a "missing screw" but no screws were missing. I will give him credit, it is indeed a screwy issue!

    - The power cord included was a noname knockoff "PA10". When I got home I cracked it open, wasn't super impressed, but it wasn't the worst I'd seen. Still a turd, mind you.

    -The lid had two "911 was an inside job" Bumper stickers on it.. luckily those came off w/o issues.

    Anyway... I took it home, and cracked it open to clean the cooling among other things. Surprisingly there was very little dust in the heatsinks! (IIRC the fan runs) However, the thermal pad for the chipset was cracked and the one for the GPU crispy, so I busted out some silver pad material to replace those. Also, I took of the metal foil think on the CPU and swapped for traditional thermal compound. Upon the swap I felt more heat blowing out the heatsink... so the pads and compound are doing their job.

    While I was in there, I swapped the 1.4gHz cpu for a 1.6gHz one in my junk bin. Also, until I can get an intel replacement, I swapped the B wifi for atheros ABG wifi.

    All seems to work... except the damn power on issue! I looked and looked but nothing inside the laptop seems to indicate why it's doing that. If anybody has a clue as to what is causing this, due tell...

    And if ^ is an cheapish fix, then I'll get an OEM PA10/PA12 brick for it, a fresh keyboard, and a decent wifi card that doesn't show up as "unknown" in the BIOS.

    And if not? Looks like I might have some D600 guts to sell!
    sigpic

    (Insert witty quote here)
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

    Forgot to add... I've also flirted with adding a BT module. My only reservation is that thanks to them using a weird module (not like the ones other latitudes have), AFAIK i'm limited to BT 1.1
    sigpic

    (Insert witty quote here)

    Comment

      #3
      Re: Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

      More evidence:

      I found that If I applied pressure to the upper right corner of the keyboard that sometimes that would break the flickering and allow it to POST... I did a full dissassembly of the laptop, and found nothing. Given that the keyboard is toast anyway, could that be the cause of failure?
      sigpic

      (Insert witty quote here)

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

        Did some more testing using the keyboard out of my dad's D800... the busted keyboard isn't the issue.

        I did even more testing by tearign the laptop down to the bare guts (RAM, CPU, metal frame, power board, cooling parts) and found that if pressure was applied to the mainboard near the interconnect to the daughter (USB/S-video) board, the issue would cease. I resoldered all the exposed SMD joints in the area... with no change in symptoms. MY guess is that either a trace in the PCB's inner layers cracked or this one big chip's non-exposed joints (barely visible, not solderable) cracked.

        Looks like I gambled and lost on this deal... Last time I ever buy a fix-me laptop on Craigslist
        sigpic

        (Insert witty quote here)

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

          MLCC cracked?

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

            Originally posted by joedaddy277 View Post
            MLCC cracked?
            Possibly but I didn't see anything in the vicinity visibly cracked.
            sigpic

            (Insert witty quote here)

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

              Crap, looks like the place I mae a few offers on parts for this laptop (keyboard and decent wifi card) actually accepted my lowball initial offers. Too bad you can't reject accepted offers on ebay . At least I'm only out $13.

              I may have to see how cheap I can get a replacement mainboard... The same seller has them but at a Buy it now of $30, even a lowish offer doesn't quite make economic sense.
              sigpic

              (Insert witty quote here)

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

                I have fixed/rebuilt half a dozen of these. One had the wont switch on problem, I used to get it to post by firmly pressing on the F8 key until it started then it worked ok. Sometimes it started without having to press.
                If I recall I think it was the little button board that was the problem.
                Obviously try cleaning the connector and any dust that stops it getting right down. Make sure the screws are tight. I believe the connector sometimes
                detaches from the motherboard in which case it will need re-flowed.
                Please upload pictures using attachment function when ask for help on the repair
                http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=39740

                Comment

                  #9
                  Re: Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

                  Originally posted by selldoor View Post
                  I have fixed/rebuilt half a dozen of these. One had the wont switch on problem, I used to get it to post by firmly pressing on the F8 key until it started then it worked ok. Sometimes it started without having to press.
                  If I recall I think it was the little button board that was the problem.
                  Obviously try cleaning the connector and any dust that stops it getting right down. Make sure the screws are tight. I believe the connector sometimes
                  detaches from the motherboard in which case it will need re-flowed.
                  Reflowed the connector already. Screws are nice and tight too.

                  I kinda doubt it's the button board. Next time it acts up again I'll look into it (it's an intermittent problem).
                  sigpic

                  (Insert witty quote here)

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: Craigslist Dell Latitude D600 issues

                    Given that Mmy D400's charging circuit took a dump (overcharges batteries), I may move the HDD and RAM from it to the D600 and go ahead and complete this D600's repairs.

                    Knock on wood, but the power issues suddenly have ceased..unless I poke the small chip with a screwdriver, and even then, it powers on after a few seconds. Weird.
                    sigpic

                    (Insert witty quote here)

                    Comment

                    Previous template Next
                    Working...