Member Avatar for michelleRebelle

Nice to meet you! Me and my 13-yr-old son are newbie nerds, we are planning to build a desktop together. We saved up and bought our striker motherboard but, its going to be a while before we can afford the rest of the parts. In the interm, we really need our Dell Inspirion 1100 to work. Right now, it won't even turn on :( At first it was like it had a power cord issue, it would be on and plugged in but the screen would go to power save mode as it switched to battery-only power. I would move the power cord and it would register the power again. Pretty soon I knew you had to have the power cord adjusted right so it would not be moved while the computer was on. Then it seemed as though it was the screen couldn't be moved while it was on either. Then one day it just wouldn't turn on period. We prepared the desk like a surgical table and opened it up. It had so much dust in the fan - power sink area it was stupid. We removed the power sink and cleaned it up. After this we put it back together. It started for a second then turned off. Then it started a second time and actually came up with the "resuming windows" screen but turned off midstream... What should I check next? Is there a good reference website to understand how to rebuild or repair these things that anyone is aware of? Is there perhaps one part that will shut down the whole computer if it doesn't work anymore?

  • 3 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 105 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by ramjo

Dani AI

Generated

Brief summary and next steps that build on 's and 's suggestions. The behavior described by — intermittent power when the cord is shifted, a brief successful boot after cleaning, then an immediate shutdown — points to two high-probability areas: power-delivery (adapter, jack, board) and cooling/thermal contact. Memory faults are still possible (see ), and BIOS thermal settings were correctly suggested by ; below are additional, practical checks ordered by diagnostic value.

Start with the power path: confirm the AC adapter's labeled output is present and steady (multimeter) or substitute a known-good Dell adapter. If the laptop loses power when the cord is moved, a loose or damaged DC jack or nearby solder joint is likely — inspect the jack for play and the motherboard for cracked solder, burn marks, or swollen/leaking capacitors. Observe whether the fan spins and whether any POST/beep patterns or power LED blink codes occur; these are useful failure signatures.

Because cleaning briefly helped, the cooling path deserves attention: ensure the heatsink is seated correctly, the fan connector is fully engaged, and thermal paste between CPU and heatsink has been renewed if the unit will be disassembled again. If BIOS is reachable, record idle CPU temperature for comparison; if BIOS is not reachable, use fan behavior and timing of shutdowns to infer thermal or power collapse.

If basic checks fail, isolate with a minimal-configuration boot (one RAM stick, remove HDD/optical, battery removed/AC only or vice versa) and document any changes. Safety note: disconnect mains and battery before working inside, and keep track of screws/connectors. If DC jack or motherboard power circuitry is damaged, part-level repair may be required; for an older Inspiron 1100, repair cost should be weighed against replacement. These steps complement 's memory-focused advice and 's thermal angle while targeting the likely power-delivery faults suggested by the symptoms.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for fren

With the computer turned off and unplugged. Remove the battery and reseat the memory modules/sticks inside the memory bay. Put all the components back then start your computer.

If the problem still persists, repeat the process and at this time test one stick at a time in both memory slots or try to test the sticks in another computer (if any).

Clean first the gold contacts of your memory stick with a pencil eraser.

Member Avatar for michelleRebelle

Thanks Fren for your suggestions, my son and I will test it this weekend and post the results.
-MichelleReBelle

Member Avatar for ramjo

Does your bios have a processor temprature checker because i think it's the over heat that is causing the computer to turn off. Check it in your BIOS and see what is the shut off temperature

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.