Dell complaints

[smell_dell]

I have an Inspiron 5150 that powers on for a few seconds then shuts down, does that mean it could be a bad motherboard? Or, a bad cooling system? I even tried BIOS update as well.

I've also tried two different known, working power supplies. Still the same problemo.

I swapped the MoBo with a known, working unit, the CPU, and swapped the SoDIMMs as well and am still gettting this problem. Could it be I missed something?

I'm thinking the problem may be with the circuit board power board button, or maybe not enough compound gel on the processor?

One other area I've read is the VRM. Where do I find the VRM on this MoBo? How do you replace the VRM?

Any suggestion would be appreciated?

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

VRMs are only replaceable on servers and workstations. On desktops and laptops they are permanent parts of the motherboard.

Overtemp shutdown causes an error message to appear next time you turn it on. Overtemp takes more than 'a few seconds' even if the heatsink is missing altogether. It takes a few minutes if the heatsink is intact but the fan is missing altogether.

This is a laptop? And you substituted a motherboard, CPU AND the power adapter and got the same results? Same thing happen with the drives removed? Does the same thing on battery power? The power button itself is like a mouse button, no power actually passes through it, it's just a signal to the chipset to turn on. Power light doesn't flash, just goes off? Not just the display, that can be something else. Geez, I'm stumped. Anyone?
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[smell_dell]

Rocke,

I think you're right! It's an overtemp issue. Yes, it is a laptop.

I will try again when I head back to my office. I think the I need to clean the old thermal grease stuff off and put slap some new one.
I may have been a bit frugal during my attempt.

I think it may be the cooling fan system. I haven't tried swapping that out.

The odds of having s second bad MoBo is too unbelievable.

I'm thinking about this, and I think now the problem may be the video (i'll have to try reseating the video when I get back to the office).

Thanks for the insight!

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Frugal is the rule with heatsink compound. More is not better. All you're trying to do is fill in the air gaps between two roughly machined surfaces. The goo has a higher thermal resistance than the metal. But it IS important to remove all residue, since the old stuff loses its ability to reflow, gloms up and increases the space between surfaces.

Still, "a few seconds" is damn fast for the system to shut down on overtemp. Desktops definitely show a thermal error on restart, but I can't say for certain whether laptops do or not.

Blow the dust out of the air path--fan, fins, chassis/case intake and exhaust.

Don't discount peripherals like video card and drives--if they have a major fault, they overload the power supply and shut it down. Also, don't wholly discount the possibility of a replacement part being defective--though the odds of the replacement having exactly the same fault as the old one are astronomical.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[FallenAngel]

Not all thermal events see an error at next boot, nor do they all produce an error about a thermal event prior to a shutdown. In this example, knowing that parts have been replaced with known good ones and the issue remains, the item in question is your 5150 itself.

The system is overheating and that has more to do with the inability of the fans to dissipate the heat than it is the compound gel/thermal grease. One of your fans may have stopped working altogether. This has happened in the past and is not so far fetched. Put together what you can WITHOUT assembling the entire shell and turn it on. Check the fans and check for any blockages of the vents.

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Unless smell's idea of 'a few' seconds is a great deal different from mine, dust and fans are not the issue. Any Pentium will run at least one minute from a cold start with no fan whatsoever, as long as the heatsink is mounted correctly.

To run reliably more than 1 minute, the fan has to work and the vents have to be clear.

I've heard of Dell depot (Solectron) telling customers their laptop was clogged with cat hair. I think they did this pretty much with disregard for whether the customer had a cat or not. But laptops DO clog easily, something to keep your eye on.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[nis_pero]

Yes, a can of compressed air can do marvellous things for a laptop. Believe me.

(I do own a cat, a rat and a rabbit).
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Don't be lazy, build your own computer...