Dead Laptop??

-annex-

Yesterday I turned on my laptop (Dell Inspiron 6400 - out of warranty) and noticed that when it got to the Windows login screen my touchpad and keyboard weren't working. I restarted and a message came up on screen saying "i/o card parity interrupt XXXX" (not sure of the exact code), and to press (R) Restart or (S) Shut down. I pressed R but no response. I rebooted again and nothing happened. Nothing on screen, no cpu fan, but the HDD was spinning. I removed the CMOS battery for a few minutes, put it back in, and it started up with the same message. I was able to access the BIOS for a minute or so before it froze. I was only able to ever get that far if I removed the CMOS battery for a while, otherwise nothing.
Today however I can't even get that far. Nothing happens no matter what I do. The HDD still spins and I get all power lights on but still no CPU fan or anything on screen. I've removed all drives, reseated the RAM and CPU, and disconnected everything non essential. I've also tried another power adapter. Any ideas?

Username!

Ring Dell... sorry to hear your out of warranty. Off the top of my head, take out the battery and leave it sit for a bit, connect up the power with the battery and turn it on.

listermint

if it carries dual ram stick remove one, start up. nothing? replace with the other. Try to eliminate an offending ram stick.

listermint

Also try removing the psu and the main battery. leave idol for 10 mins then try to hold the power button down for 10 secs. Quick test.

-annex-

I've tried that alright. Still no luck. I got them on ebay dirt cheap though so could it be possible that they've both failed at the same time?

listermint

possibly. did you ground yourself when installing them? also try the originals if you still have them.

-annex-

Yes I'm pretty careful when it comes to grounding. I'll have access to another working identical laptop later on so I'll switch the RAM and see what happens.

-annex-

Still no luck after changing the RAM. I've spoken to Dell tech support and they're saying it's a dead mobo. I'm tending to agree. They say they'll replace it for me but it'll cost over €300. Is there anywhere else I can buy a Dell mobo from that'll be cheaper?

majiktripp

Ebay...whip out the old board (and by whip I mean go through 30+ minutes of disassembly) and check the model / part number on it, then jump on the bay and search. Will probably be pricey enough but not near €300...

majiktripp

Meh...did it for ya.
http://search.ebay.ie/search/search.dll?sofocus=so&sbrftog=1&dfsp=1&from=R10&_trksid=m37&satitle=6400+motherboard&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&floc=1&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sappl=1&sabfmts=1&fobfmt=1&saobfmts=insif&ga10244=10425&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search
Didnt need part no. after all...

-annex-

Cheers majiktripp, looks like I'll get it almost half price there. Thanks a million.

Jackovarian

before you go spending hard earned cash on a new mobo,
did you put in any new system components? did you remove any components?

if not, try updating the bios, or, knocking the bios down to the last version, it could be a simple problem, i doubt the mobo would have just died man. you would have had a bit of hassle for a bit.

-annex-

Jackovarian wrote: »

before you go spending hard earned cash on a new mobo,
did you put in any new system components? did you remove any components?

if not, try updating the bios, or, knocking the bios down to the last version, it could be a simple problem, i doubt the mobo would have just died man. you would have had a bit of hassle for a bit.

Nope I haven't added or removed anything except some RAM a few months ago. If I leave it for about a day without touching it and then power up I can sometimes get into the on-board diagnostics program which reports everything is fine, before freezing soon after. But most of the time it's just a blank screen. Holding Fn and pressing power results in Num, Caps, and Scroll lights flashing repeatedly which, according to Dell, means a dead mobo. The only other thing I can think of is the CPU fan, which doesn't turn on at all. Would the system refuse to boot if the fan was broken? I'm pretty sure it's not the CPU itself as it gets hot while running the diagnostics.

Jackovarian

your fan should kick in straight away i think. its dangerous for your machine to run without a fan, so id reckon it could be a failsafe.

check the fan is connected properly, check there isnt a short on the system.

the fan motor wouldnt burn out as it would have to be pushed far beyond its capabilities. unless you overclock?

for the sake of it, take out the battery, have a snoop around for any broken wires.

try starting the lappy without the battery in it, like with just the power adapter...