I want to hire someone knowledgeable to fix my laptop.

Computer description: It's a Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop I bought in 2002.

Problem description: In short, it won't turn on at all. It doesn't matter if it's plugged in to a power outlet or not. It tried to start, makes a fairly quiet single beep, and shuts down.

I tried to have the problem fixed about a year ago. The guy was very helpful, took the laptop apart, and cleaned out the fan and put it back together. He said it might help if I got new memory, so I did, but it didn't help.

For a while I could turn on the laptop IF I took the keyboard out, exposing the fan. Now I can't do that.

Before I started being unable to turn it on, it got very hot with any kind of use. It also sounded like the fan was working very hard.

I just want to be able to use the laptop again to surf the internet and do some word processing. I really want to get all the old filed I have on there out and onto my desktop.

Let me know if you can help! It will be very appreciated.

3/4/2009 5:21:42 PM

I might be able to help, but from your description, this might be a motherboard problem. I can take it in to work and diagnose that for sure. Getting the files off of the harddrive is no problem. I won't be able to do this until the end of next week, though.

I usually work this kind of stuff for pretty cheap. If your laptop is still under warranty, you might have to get a Dell tech to come by and replace your mobo (I could call the guy for you, too...for free since it's really no work involved for me). Let me know.

3/4/2009 5:29:33 PM

Quote :

"I bought in 2002. "

3/4/2009 5:40:32 PM

Inspiron 5100's have a pretty well known motherboard issue, where one of the power control chips on the bottom gets partially desoldered. Yours sounds like a textbook case. They run fairly hot too, so usually you need to replace the heatsink thermal grease with better stuff before it'll run decently cool.

I'll fix it for a $50 flat fee, including repairing the motherboard and redoing the heatsink so it runs cool again. 24-hour turnaround time, and you pay nothing until its working and you're happy with it. I've done easily 100+ of the 1100/5100 Inspirons over the past year, so at this point I can do the repair with pretty much 100% success rate.

3/4/2009 7:14:44 PM

^ PM sent.

3/4/2009 7:49:52 PM

someone needs to make an infomercial for fregac indicating that he will fix anything for "a $50 flat fee plus parts"

3/5/2009 10:29:09 AM

Usually I charge $75 for resoldering/logic board repairs, but I knock it down a bit for TWW.

3/5/2009 2:38:18 PM

Hmmm, maybe we could add a "but call right now and say "I'm on the wolf web" and get $25 off your service charge! But hurry, you know we can't do this all day!"

3/5/2009 3:09:46 PM