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May 7th, 2007 01:00

Inspiron 1000 keeps shutting down!!!!!

I've had this Inspiron 1000 laptop for about 2 years I think, I rarely use it and usually just bring it out if I'm on a trip or something.  It keeps shutting down and if you even think about moving it it shuts off right away.  I've done a search and pretty much figured out that this model seems to self destruct after about two years but I am very disappointed.  I've taken it apart before when it was doing this and tightened all the screws, which did seem to help for a short while.  The mother board is the problem from what I have read.  Is there any way to fix or shield the mother board from touching whatever it's touching to cause it to shut down?   I went on EBay to see if maybe I could pick up a cheap one and just use mine for parts (mine is in mint) but every 1000 I saw does the same thing mine is doing. 
I guess my options are to part it out, throw it out or tear my hair out every time it shuts down when I'm in the middle of something.
I guess Dell isn't willing to do anything in regards to this?   I think realistically I should get a decent discount on another laptop or there is no way I will buy a dell again.  I know it's a budget laptop but cmon.....every one of them has the same issue.  Dell should offer at least a discount.  I guess maybe I'll go the Compact route next time.  Does anyone have any fix (even a radical one)?  I have nothing to lose the thing is basically garbage anyways.
PS WHEW!!  I actually typed and posted this whole message without it shutting off!!!  

268 Posts

May 7th, 2007 05:00

If the battery is dead, the power plug may have a short in it - this happens a lot with a lot of dell laptops!

May 7th, 2007 13:00

No the battery isn't dead.  Every one of these 1000's has this problem sooner or later as far as I have read.  Apparently it isn't isolated to the 1000 either, many Inspiron's from a couple of years ago shut down if moved or bumped just a little bit.  Sooner or later the things won't even get past the Window's opening page without shutting down (or freezing with the screen going black).  I just can't believe Dell wouldn't at least provide owners of these pieces of junk at least a discount on their next purchase.  How do they think anyone would buy another after owning a laptop that has had such problems to make it totally unusable.
So nobody has any radical fix to shield the motherboard so this doesn't happen?  I'll try anything. 

May 16th, 2007 22:00

I THINK I FIXED IT !!!!!!!
I found this site on the net.
 
 
I tore the laptop down to bare bones.  I never thought I could dismantle the thing that much (I didn't realize when you pryed off the cover just below the screen you could really strip the laptop down to the bare bones, I was always just going at it from the bottom)  The heat sink and processor  had no thermal grease between them so I lubed that up real good and tightened every screw on the motherboard and everwhere else etc and put it back together and was relieved to find out it still worked and it hasn't shutdown on me since.  Now it could have just been tightening everything up or the thermal grease I used (it was bone dry between there) but it seems like it's fixed now so I'm not going to complain.  Just thought I would report back as I know everyone was on pins and needles worried about me. ;-)

January 20th, 2008 22:00

I just figured this one out on one. Could be the cable to the lcd is kinked, but on this one it was a piece of tin foil shielding on the left upper corner. It was down near the motherboard and and when you move the lcd a little or bump it it shorts out and shuts off. I took a screw driver and pushed it all back up, then tested it by shorting the screw driver and did the same thing. Works like a charm now. Of course you have to take the keyboard off and the shield underneath to get to it. See the service manual for an Inspiron 1200 or 1220 I think, since there isn't one the 1000. Good luck.

10 Posts

April 24th, 2011 09:00

@ babedinkleman & JWarfComputers,

HaHa...I know these posts are old, but there are enough of these old Inspirons still around that someone or two may benefit by these answers.

*The LCD cable-kink-thing, I solved by cutting away some metal where the cable bends, (with tin snips) then smoothing it with a fine file..Just get it so it doesn't pinch at 90 degrees.

*For the piece of tin foil in the upper-left corner, just reposition it so it isolates the power jack. Everything is way too tight in that little space. Anything to insulate the power post would be ideal.

I have had both of those problems, only ONCE. I don't know why Dan & Sherry were having recurring problems, but even my overheating never came back.

*There is one more problem, related to the two above, that I just solved, and another thing to try when your Inspiron shuts off unexpectedly....remove the screw from the back/left side (not the bottom/left). It creates a short when it is positioned in a 'one in a million' position. Over the years, what, with wear and tear and all, it doesn't surprise me that it can happen in that tight space. If you are the anal retentive type, then put in a plastic, brass, SS, etc. screw. Just leave the pot metal out.

None of this costs anything and it is challenging. Since the Inspiron 1000 has no service manual, you can download the one for the 1200. That's what I use. After you dismantle your Inspiron once, you really won't believe how simple it really is.

Good Luck,

Beebs

1 Message

September 2nd, 2011 18:00

There is a consistency of a broken mounting post of the Northbridge heat sink (it looks like a waffle iron) on the Dell Inspiron 1000 Motherboard (MB). This causes the heat sink to eventually swing freely over MB shorting out the circuitry wherever it touches. Often this kills the MB.

If you notice this heat sink loose on a MB you are interested in buying I would suggest you pass it by and buy another MB.

7 Posts

January 17th, 2012 00:00

Two important things that you should do to fix a laptop which keeps shutting down are:

1- Scanning computer to eliminate malwares, spywares and the viruses from your laptop.

2- Repairing and cleaning Windows registry.

These two tips are found to be very helpful to fix the laptop shutdown problem.

I also got some help from this article

ezinearticles.com

Hope it works for you.

10 Posts

January 19th, 2012 07:00

Hi Glenndrew,

  In general, I would never suggest someone 'repair and clean' the registry for a shutdown problem. It wouldn't do squat for a hardware problem, and could damage the system. Glad it worked for you, though.

3 Apprentice

 • 

20.5K Posts

February 4th, 2012 09:00

Aside from the fact that this discussion is rather outdated because the original poster's question was posted months ago, I agree about the need not to "repair and clean" the registry.

I don't support the use of so called "registry cleaners" because they can aggravate a situation and take steps we are many times not manually aware of.

 It is better not to resort to such programs if you don't know what is happening with the proposed fix and the registry.
Otherwise, a change to the registry can make a system unbootable by one mistake.

Here are some good discussions:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Are-registry-cleaners-necessary
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099
http://cwsandiego.com/2010/11/16/registry-cleaners-proceed-with-caution/
http://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/archive/2005/10/02/registry-junk-a-windows-fact-of-life.aspx
http://www.whatthetech.com/2007/11/25/do-i-need-a-registry-cleaner/
http://billpstudios.blogspot.com/2007/04/do-i-need-registry-cleaner.html


If you absolutely must use a registry cleaner, always backup the registry first:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Back-up-the-registry

 

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