Hi John
  Please forgive top-post but I hope to be short.  I don't see mentioned
anywhere you checked for thermal problems, the number one enemy of laptops.
 If yours has a cpu fan I'd make very sure it still works.  Because the
elements that get hot in a CPU are so very tiny they heat up essentially
immediately and will often prevent a unit from booting or even posting.  If
your cpu hs is fanless it might be worthwhile to check/replace the silicone
thermal grease to insure heat is actually getting to the hs in order to get
out.  Anyplace else that could have thermal issues should be addressed
also.  It is not uncommon for thermal issues to crop up most when the house
heat comes on even though the unit worked flawlessly during merely cool
fall or spring, or better, air conditioned summer.

  I certainly hope your eBay purchase helps out but I can't help but wonder
if owning a laptop, especially an old and slow laptop, is so valuable that
it wouldn't be worthwhile to consider a desktop unit?  MaximumPC magazine
featured a story in the January 2006 issue about a $300 budget computer
that included:
   Sempron 64bit 2800+
   MSi RS480M-IL
   512 MB PC3200 DDR ram
   80GB Barracuda SATA HD
   Lite-On 16X double-layer DVD burner
   generic case + PS

Pretty impressive system for ridiculous bucks, I think, especially
considering the onboard video is ATi RS480.  It also has USB 2.0 and
Firewire.  Shoot! It's even PCI-Express.  It ain't really portable but it
should be a pleasure in the speed department. I'm sure this isn't the only
possibility nor the absolute lowest cost decent possibility either.
  Jimmy
 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: John Morrow 
> On 1/27/06, John Morrow  wrote:
> >
> > Hello!
> >
> > Sorry about the OT post, but my wife's 'baby' died and she's frantic about
> > it.
> >
> > We have a Dell Inspiron i8000 which is roughly five years old, the service
> > contract has expired. Last night when she tried to power on the computer -
> >
> 
> >
> > What we have tried:
> > 1. Swapping out power supply and cords with another functional Inspiron
> > laptop we have at home.
> > 2. Testing and swapping out the battery with the other laptop.
> > 3. Removing all 3 disk drives (Hard drive, DVD, and CDRW), and one module
> > of RAM.
> > 4. Removing, cleaning, and re-seating the RAM. The RAM works in the other
> > laptop.
> > 5. Taking the case apart and searching for loose objects that could cause
> > a short.
> >
> > We have not tried because I have never done it:
> > 1. Replacing a fuse.
> > 2. Replacing the BIOS
> > 3. Replacing the CPU
> > 4. Replacing the system board (mother board).
> >
> > The budget is very tight, we cannot afford to replace or spend much money
> > on this machine.
> > If you could gaze into your crystal ball and offer up suggestions, we
> > would greatly appreciate it.
> >
> > Thanks!
> > John Morrow
> > Atascadero, California


 
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