PreviousWednesday 5 April 2006, 4:05 PM
Warped motherboards twice
First, the Dell 4150 is a LOUSY laptop. That's what ~70% of owners/users here attest. It has a flawed motherboard design, as many have discovered. Apparently excessive heat problem leads to premature failure, causing the motherboard to warp. Here what a tech says:
"I've worked with these for a while and I believe it involves a loose solder joint in the memory holders. If I warp the motherboard slightly, it boots. With it just sitting flat, it doesn't. I have to apply pressure in the middle of the board. If I warp the board and start it, and then remove the pressure, it then hangs.
I've tried many different parts: cpu's, powerboards, memory sticks. The one common thread is that it will boot if you have the keyboard off, put your left hand under the cardbus area so as to raise that in heighth and apply pressure to the powerboard area downward"
Basically it means buy a new motherboard. Beware of discounters on Ebay. Better yet, get your data off (if neeeded), and use it as a boat anchor. Buy from another manufacturer this time.
Dell has lost their healthy fear of the consumer. Its all about high market share, and that often means cheap products. And to lock you in, they have their proprietary branding, followed by out of warranty abysmal support.
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