mini 10 problem

[Tumbleweedracef]

Hey all !
I have a Dell Inspiron, mini 10 laptop with Windows XP, and a Gig of RAM, updated to SP3.
One day I went to updrade the RAM in the laptop from 1GB, to 2GB. Should be simple.....NOT !
Ya have to take the motherboard out to do this. GRRRR ! I took out the m-board, put in a 2GB stick and put it all back together. When I started up the laptop, eveything worked great except the touchpad and the keyboard. No response at all from them.Took it back apart to make sure I put it together right, and I had. Put it back together again and got the same results. I decided that maybe the RAM was bad so I got another 2GB stick, took the laptop apart and put in a different stick. I ended up with the same results. Touchpad and keyboard.....dead. I thought I'd put the original 1GB stick back in and see if that was it. NOPE ! Same result. Is there a magic switch somewhere that I don't know about ? Is there a secret combination of buttons to push that turn the touchpad and keyboard off ? I read on a thread that someone suggested to push the FN and F7 or F9 buttons. That did nothing either.
They are hooked up right. Ya can not get them mixed up. Anyone run into this before ?

[JorgeM]

With these laptops, you may have noticed that everything is squeezed together. You may need to open the laptop once again, and make 100% sure that the connector(s) from the keyboard and touchpad are snug and in place. try resetting those cables, but be careful not to pull on the actual ribon cable and they are pretty delicate and will come off the connector. If that happens you wont be happy, if that hasnt happened already...

[Tumbleweedracef]

I've already checked, rechecked, and refitted about 8 times.

[JorgeM]

Just to rule out any other issue with the OS, if you plug a USB keyboard/mouse, do those devices work?

[Tumbleweedracef]

Yep, USB keyboard and USB mouse both work. I'm still confused at how both devices just went bad by putting in RAM ???

[JorgeM]

That may have been a coincidence. It is possible that when you opened the device, the cables, connectors, and/or other circuits were damaaged. RAM is not going to cause this issue. At the very minimum, if you plugged in RAM that was not supported, the system would not boot up properly and the POST screen would have informed you that there was a problem.

[Tumbleweedracef]

The RAM didnt effect the laptop in any way and the computer booted perfect and ran perfect, just no keyboard or touchpad. I'm lost. After hooking up the USB mouse and keyboard, I searched the laptop to see if the drivers were ok and if there were any signs that there were problems with the computer and there were none. So now what, start replacing parts ?

[JorgeM]

I understand the scenario. If you want to completely rule out a driver issue, you can try a system restore point to a date previous to this issue. I doubt that is the issue. The fact that the USB keyboard and mouse worked indicates to me that the drivers are good. There are no special drivers for keyboard and mice. So far it sounds like a hardware issue to me. I doubt that the keyboard and pad went bad. I still suspect it's a cable or connector problem.

[Tumbleweedracef]

If one of them went bad, could that cause them both to be bad even though they have thier own cables ?

[JorgeM]

hmmm... Of course, I have been providign suggestions based your description of the problem... Before you begin to spend money on parts, do you have a nearby computer store that can take a look and provide you with their diagnosis? I just am having a really hard time connecting the RAM itself to this issue. I really thing something happened when the case was opened.

[caperjack]

the usb keyboard and mouse would not use the same drivers as the laptops keyboard and mouse ,the touchpad at at least ,,so the fack the usb ones work means nothing ,
the laptop used a Elantech driver ,check Dell and download drivers and reinstall
to be sure .check input section for touchpad driver ,
http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/ca/en/cadhs1

[Tumbleweedracef]

Ok, will do.

[Tumbleweedracef]

I tried the drivers and that didnt work and I also tried a system restore and that didn't work. grrrrr! After looking at the ribbon cable on the touch pad it looks like it may have been pinched upon assembly but would that stop the keyboard from working also ?

[caperjack]

only a guess ,but yes if it pinched it enough to bake the wire inside

[Tumbleweedracef]

Well, it will take me a couple weeks to get another touchpad because I'm off work because of surgery. I guess I can finish this when I get the part in.