5100 Power Socket

Question

I have an Inspiron 5100 which started acting up recently.  I had to hold the power cord just right in order for it to recieve power.  I've had this problem before, I just replaced the power cord, and everything was fine.  So I got a new power cord, but I still have the same problem.  It seems to be the the socket in the back of the computer that is bad.  All the pins appear to be fine, but I have to hold the cord up and to the right in order to get it to work.  It is getting worse and worse (harder to get the cord just right).  From the research I have been able to do, it seems that there is no way to replace the power socket without replacing the mother board.  Is this true?  If this is the case, I am probably just going to replace the whole computer (it's several years old and really heavy  anyway).    Thanks in advance for any opinions or help.

cadilac4u · Answer

I have seen so many of these computers with the same problem, including mine. Is your warranty expired?

jeffreyhocking · Answer

Yes, my warranty is well beyond expired.  I experienced Dell's 'service' after warranty a couple of months ago when my hard drive crashed.  I ended up solving the hard drive problem myself, but this problem seems to be too much to deal with on my own, so I think I am going to get a new computer.

sc43whaler · Answer

I recently had my Inspiron 5100 repaired by the Dell folks for overheating problems.  Since I got the machine back I don't see any battery light and have difficulty powering up with the ac, I have to jiggle the power cord at the machine, and I can't power up from the battery.  Am I also looking at a mother board problem or could it be something else?  Thanks for any help.   sc43whaler

rfvertjr · Answer

I have the same issue with my
Inspiron 1200 and have not been able to find anyone to help me either.

New Battery and new power cord did not help. The folks at BestBuy referred me back to Dell and I can't find the right folks at Dell to help.

jeffreyhocking · Answer

Yes, I had the same problems as those of you above have listed and decided to purchase a new computer.  I decided to change brands.  If Dell does not care about an obvious recurring problem with their computers, I am willing to see if a new company is better.

cadilac4u · Answer

I replaced my system months ago, this was my first and last Dell purchase. I went back to gateway and told all my friends that recommended Dell the problems I had, they were shocked and sorry they suggested I buy from Dell. So Dell lost several Customer from their lack of concern for this issue Even though I replaced the junk Dell sold me it does not set well that I am out over $1000.00, many hours of my time and a lot of hair off my head. I am all for the over Dell's junk inspirons and I will wait it out as long as it takes to get justice over it.

jeffreyhocking · Answer

I must say, though I had a few irritating problems with the Inspiron (particularly with the overheating), my  5 year old model was faster than the brand new Toshiba I replaced it with, even though it had half the RAM (256 instead of 512).  I think this may be because it had a Pentium 4 in it, which was really nice even though it made the computer like 10 lbs, but also because Toshiba packed their computer with way to many background processes.  There are at least twice the number of programs running in the background, and together they use almost all of the RAM.  I am frustrated that my brand new computer restarts slower than a computer that is 5 years old.    That being said, it is ridiculous that Dell knows about the motherboard problem and has done nothing to remedy it.  I would have repaired my Dell if I knew that the same thing wouldn't happen again (and most likely after their 90 day warranty was up).  Dell should have done something for their customers to keep them - either fix the motherboard problem for good so all new replacements did not have the same problem, or offer a much longer warranty.  For $500, I'd much rather get a new computer with a longer warranty than take my chances with a repair.

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5100 Power Socket

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