It's alive! No, wait, wait...
September 29, 2010 10:35 AM   Subscribe

Can my franken-laptop make it through the rest of the semester? Help me find out if I should invest anymore money into this thing, or throw it in the ocean.

I have a Dell Latitidue D600. It's had numerous problems, which I've tried to fix. It has new memory, new optical drive, and basically a whole new motherboard/CPU assembly. The only original components left are the case, the display, and the harddrive. It's old, but it works until I can buy something new.

Yesterday it started randomly turning off. Running the diagnostics on it made it beep. I got error codes for the memory (1000-0111) and for an existing error (1000-0146). These are Dell diagnostic codes. I tried all possible comibnations of the 2 memory sticks and 2 memory slots...computer started up. Checked the BIOS, memory was recognized as there. Took out the harddrive and memory, then put them back in....computer still randomly turned off. I was hearing a static-like noise (like when a TV is turned off) at times before it turned off. Anytime I would move the computer, it would turn off.

Ran the diagnostics again today, no memory error. The other error is still there. The computer hasn't turned off yet today.

Is this cheaply fixable? It just needs to get me through this semester, and my budget is extra tight.

Possibly related: I carry the laptop to school everyday, and use it pretty frequently. Everything is backed up.

(I won't actually throw it in the ocean, I'd recycle it)
posted by shinyshiny to Technology (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I'd think that an intermittent problem like this would be down to a dry joint or split track on the motherboard, which I wouldn't fancy tracking down! I'm no genius with laptop hardware though, so I could be well off the mark.
posted by cottleston pie at 11:02 AM on September 29, 2010


Sounds like a bad motherboard trace or some sort of battery/power supply issue.

Dells of this vintage don't have a particularly great reputation. I'd keep it until it's truly no longer usable, and start saving up for a new PC.

Fortunately, refurbished/slightly-used laptops are cheap-ish. Probably cheaper than fixing your current PC. I've had good luck with Geeks.Com, who have a number of pretty cheap systems.

If your budget's really tight, you can pick up something like an IBM T42 off of eBay.
posted by schmod at 11:11 AM on September 29, 2010


Best answer: Sounds iffy..

Don't forget that it has some value as parts. If you upgraded the memory, that stuff is worth something. The hard drive, LCD, and power adaptor all have reasonable value, and if the battery holds charge it does too.
Other parts, hinges, keyboard and etc. do get sold once in a while, but probably aren't worth the time.
posted by Chuckles at 1:25 PM on September 29, 2010


Best answer: Don't invest money into this computer. Chuckles is right, some of the components may be salvageable, especially the LCD and any of the parts that are new. But this computer looks to be a 2003/2004 model and is not worth any repairs just based off of its age.

As for the errors. Ignore error 1000-0146. It means that there was an existing error code and has no real use other than to be annoying. The fix is to re-install the hard drive.

1000-0111 is the oddball. Dell doesn't list any fix, only to contact Dell on how to fix it. If I investigated correctly, this computer is over 5 years old, which means obsolete in the eyes of Dell. They probably won't help you, but it might be work a shot. When manufacturers say to call them, there is likely a "special" fix that isn't listed anywhere or requires repair to permanently go away.

Summary: if the error goes away, run it until it's dead. Keep up the backups. If the error comes back, you will probably see it repeatedly. Replace.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 3:37 PM on September 29, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks for the answers. It's a 03/04 model, got it refurbished. Guess I'll just be a bit more careful, and get more familiar with the computer labs on campus.

The 1000-0111 is supposed to be a memory error, but my memory works. Maybe it got jiggled lose. Weird, weird computer.
posted by shinyshiny at 5:25 PM on September 29, 2010


Response by poster: For anyone that reads this, I used Memtest86 to clear up my problems. Faulty memory, which the manufacturer is replacing for free.
posted by shinyshiny at 11:25 PM on October 7, 2010


« Older Help me banish my demons!   |   I Dread This Visit Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.