Dell Latitude D620 - A Problem I Can't Figure out

Eathan Elf

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Apr 23, 2013
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A Problem I Cannot Figure Out

It is a Dell Latitude D620. When I push the power button, the power light lights up as well as the three 9, A, & down arrow lights. Also the wifi light blinks once very quickly. The other lights stay on for 3 seconds then go out until you push the power button again. Same thing happens everytime. There is no screen, no fan, no HD activity, no beeps & no flashing. First I tried a new battery, but even when you have power cord only plugged in, the same thing happens. I took out both memory chips, reversed them, tried only one in the dimm B in the back, and only one in the dimm A. Also tried with no memory. Same thing. I also unplugged the cmos battery and tried again, and let it sit for a few minutes then plugged it back in. The board I replaced several months ago, by getting an almost new bottom case with just the mother board, because of the bad Nvidia chip. New one has an intel one. So I am unsure if the processor died, or the board did. The person has used it fine for a few months, but he put it in his car for a week on a soft area. He said a small amount of moisture from his cooler got under it, but he knows it was off because the old battery would only last for a few minutes. He said the amount of moisture was minimal and so it wan't soaked, nor on. The temperatures in the vehicle never reached extremes nor did he hit any hard bumps (it was on a soft suface as well). He never even used it but when he got home, he turned it on to find this issue. He ordered the new battery, but it made no difference as this model will run even without a battery in it. So, what would you say is the issue? I don't want to replace the board only to find it's the processor, or something else. (Thanks much for your time)
 

scottiemedic

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Feb 10, 2010
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"He said the amount of moisture was minimal and so it wan't soaked, nor on."

It might have been minimal WHEN he found it, but how long BEFORE he found it was the water slowly seeping in? I'll put my money on damaged HW from water...
 

Eathan Elf

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Apr 23, 2013
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Yes, that does make sense. So I guess I should replace the motherboard (again), and you think the processor is probably fine, since it is on top of the board? Maybe he should just buy both and keep the other for backup if its good. If the processor is fried but board is good, wouldn't the fan still run and lights stay on, just have a black screen?
 

scottiemedic

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"If the processor is fried but board is good, wouldn't the fan still run and lights stay on, just have a black screen? "
Yes.
I would guess mobo or battery even. Can you run on just the power cord with the battery out?
 

Eathan Elf

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Apr 23, 2013
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To Jim; He is over 70, but also an engineer and uses three computers and cad2013. He would rather spend the 35$ for new mother board and 25 for the processor. (It is an extensive processes to replace a laptop motherboard and processor as you know, but I have done it before so its just a 'put cats outside' and a tad time consuming to do, but I will.
To Scottie; Okay. I didn't see how the processor could be bad being off and on top of board and very secured in place. And I figured the processor had nothing to do with the fan. The battery is brand new and an exact match. It is fine. Yes it does the same thing on power cord only as well. I figure the CMOS battery is irrelevant since is merely remembers the bios settings and time. Not having one, you would just have to change the time and date, and any special settings (like boot from CD first) ... Am I correct on all this?
 

Eathan Elf

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I will speak with him and see if he wants to just replace the MB or both that and processor. Just hope I can get one off ebay again that is good. thanks for your input.
 

Eathan Elf

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Apr 23, 2013
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Ok just for anyone wanting to know, once I got the new board, the same thing happened. Seemed highly unlikely it was a second bad board. I ordered a new processor and it started working fine. What a pain in arse, but at least I realize a processor actually can go out in a laptop.
Also, the good part is the other board is actually still good for when the graphics chip goes out in the newer board. And just for the record, on a desktop the fans will still turn, but on a laptop, you get nothing but the quick lights on then off. Guess the processor controls the whole thing since there really isn't a 'power supply' with any logistic circuits in it. :pt1cable: