The problem likely is the mainboard, and yes, that's a good estimate of the repair price.
As for not recommending Dell - well, Quanta built the notebook for Dell, as it does for every other major computer company - in fact it builds about 60% of all notebook computers. You're no more or less likely to have a failure even if the name on the outside is Sony or Apple.
If you decide to get a new system, a 3-year warranty is a must on ANY notebook. They're inherently unreliable devices, and as you have seen, repairs are expensive.
I am also having a problem with my Inspiron 1501 and have been told that it could be the motherboard. I agree completely it was exactly 1 year old when the problem began and I contacted Dell immediately and got the run around for 2 months so it wouldn't be covered under warranty. Needless to say I have reported this to the BBB. If they had answered my questions when I first contact them it would have ben under warranty. I will NEVER buy another Dell laptop.
Just to let you know that you are not alone I purchased my Inspiron March 2007 and in August 2008 could not start the laptop. Dell in Spain have informed me that it is the motherboard and it needs to be replaced at the cost of 1130.00 Euros (810.00 English Pounds)!! Its a joke isn't it. Like you I hardly use the laptop and will definitely not be buying another Dell Computer ever. Unless you keep paying warranty you have no chance. It seems to me that Dell are taking the throw away society too far and don't care about the environment only selling more computers that have a limited life and not caring about the customer. So I understand how you feel. Regards Serafina
Stupid Question dell says my motherboard is gone to IT JUST FREEZES ON THE DELL SCREEN AND WON'T LOAD ANY THING IF I REPLACE THIS
will i lose everything that is on my computer
Take the hard drive out of this computer, mount it in an external case and attach it by USB cable to a working computer. Then copy over all the stuff you need from this hard disk to the hard disk of the working computer.
I too have an inspiron 1501 that is not but a couple years old and am looking at possibly having a bad motherboard. I understand your frustration. I have not had much luck with this computer at all. I have replaced the batter, charger, and hard drive also and now this. Of course the warranty is expired. It makes me very leary about Dell products. Best of luck with your system!
me too -- I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 AMD processor and I cannot get it to boot up any more. After the bios loads, the monitor turns into a test pattern for a tv set (or like one) and freezes. Before it does this, the monitor flickers like crazy. I think what happened is the motherboard overheated and the video card fried. With these integrated video cards, there's not much you can do except replace the motherboard. I don't have the funds to shell out for a new laptop so I'm kind of stuck replacing the motherboard. I used to swear by Dell but I no longer find them to be any better than anyone else, despite their higher price.
Almost exactly my story. I bought my son a 1501 which he basically ignored and used little. After basically a year of little use it refused to turn on. just after the warranty expired. Again it was diagnosed as a bad motherboard. Tried new battery and charger after being given prohibitive estimates by dell . and still no reaction from the computer. I basically let it sit for a year and now am in process of replacing the motherboard my self for about 140 dollars. A side note i bought a smallt LCD TV from Dell which lasted again one month past warranty for I think 400 dollars or thereabouts. It failed one month past warranty and Dell graciously opined they could fix it for about the same price i paid for it. It turned out it was the backlight which i replaced my self for a few dollars. I am now an Apple owner. I will say the MB replacement is a lot simpler on The inspiron than the Toshiba L505 series.
I wanted to add Dell bottom case are often on ebay and bottom cases for other brands show up frequently. Prices vary from what I paid 86 to 140 dollars for a Toshiba L505d for example. The Dell was an easy y fix with no dis assembly the Toshiba was a complicated dis assembly. but not bad if you keep your screws separated.
again an addendum. Make sure you know what the bottom case has included . As I noted previously some people strip their cases And all you get really is the reassembled case with a motherboard. Other offer a complete or almost complete Bottom half. Most often missing is the HDD and caddy.. If you have all your innards off your old computer thats great and you might even be getting an upgrade. I got a 160 GB HDD where I had a 60GB and a working CD where mine was broken. OK I think I finally got everything. Let me know if this gave you any ideas,:O)
about 140 dollars. What I ended up doing was s going on EBay where I found a complete bottom Case with 1 Gig of RAM, = CMOS Battery and a 160 GB HDD along with the CD for 86 dollars. It was = a slightly different model than mine but so what?:O)Three days later I = was up and running.- It saved me a bunch of money and work reassembling = the Dell which is not that hard compared to a Toshiba.. Hope this helps. = I think I got lucky most people selling their bottom strip it and you = have to supply your own HDD, CMOS Battery, CD and sometimes even your = chip and HDD Caddy. so mke sure what your buying
ejn63
9 Legend
•
87.5K Posts
0
April 28th, 2008 20:00
The problem likely is the mainboard, and yes, that's a good estimate of the repair price.
As for not recommending Dell - well, Quanta built the notebook for Dell, as it does for every other major computer company - in fact it builds about 60% of all notebook computers. You're no more or less likely to have a failure even if the name on the outside is Sony or Apple.
If you decide to get a new system, a 3-year warranty is a must on ANY notebook. They're inherently unreliable devices, and as you have seen, repairs are expensive.
daach
1 Message
0
June 18th, 2008 02:00
Stupid Question dell says my motherboard is gone to IT JUST FREEZES ON THE DELL SCREEN AND WON'T LOAD ANY THING IF I REPLACE THIS
will i lose everything that is on my computer
bonshattuck
7 Posts
0
September 1st, 2008 14:00
serafina
2 Posts
0
October 7th, 2008 15:00
Balaji Ramanath
1.8K Posts
0
October 7th, 2008 19:00
tmack820
1 Message
0
December 11th, 2010 13:00
I too have an inspiron 1501 that is not but a couple years old and am looking at possibly having a bad motherboard. I understand your frustration. I have not had much luck with this computer at all. I have replaced the batter, charger, and hard drive also and now this. Of course the warranty is expired. It makes me very leary about Dell products. Best of luck with your system!
Bladeder
6 Posts
0
March 12th, 2012 23:00
me too -- I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 AMD processor and I cannot get it to boot up any more. After the bios loads, the monitor turns into a test pattern for a tv set (or like one) and freezes. Before it does this, the monitor flickers like crazy. I think what happened is the motherboard overheated and the video card fried. With these integrated video cards, there's not much you can do except replace the motherboard. I don't have the funds to shell out for a new laptop so I'm kind of stuck replacing the motherboard. I used to swear by Dell but I no longer find them to be any better than anyone else, despite their higher price.
reddkard
7 Posts
1
August 17th, 2012 00:00
Almost exactly my story. I bought my son a 1501 which he basically ignored and used little. After basically a year of little use it refused to turn on. just after the warranty expired. Again it was diagnosed as a bad motherboard. Tried new battery and charger after being given prohibitive estimates by dell . and still no reaction from the computer. I basically let it sit for a year and now am in process of replacing the motherboard my self for about 140 dollars. A side note i bought a smallt LCD TV from Dell which lasted again one month past warranty for I think 400 dollars or thereabouts. It failed one month past warranty and Dell graciously opined they could fix it for about the same price i paid for it. It turned out it was the backlight which i replaced my self for a few dollars. I am now an Apple owner. I will say the MB replacement is a lot simpler on The inspiron than the Toshiba L505 series.
sourav787098228
1 Message
0
September 22nd, 2012 23:00
what will your motherboard cost ? reply soon.............
reddkard
7 Posts
0
September 23rd, 2012 02:00
I wanted to add Dell bottom case are often on ebay and bottom cases for other brands show up frequently. Prices vary from what I paid 86 to 140 dollars for a Toshiba L505d for example. The Dell was an easy y fix with no dis assembly the Toshiba was a complicated dis assembly. but not bad if you keep your screws separated.
reddkard
7 Posts
0
September 23rd, 2012 02:00
again an addendum. Make sure you know what the bottom case has included . As I noted previously some people strip their cases And all you get really is the reassembled case with a motherboard. Other offer a complete or almost complete Bottom half. Most often missing is the HDD and caddy.. If you have all your innards off your old computer thats great and you might even be getting an upgrade. I got a 160 GB HDD where I had a 60GB and a working CD where mine was broken. OK I think I finally got everything. Let me know if this gave you any ideas,:O)
reddkard
7 Posts
0
September 23rd, 2012 02:00
about 140 dollars. What I ended up doing was
s going on EBay where I found a complete bottom Case with 1 Gig of RAM, =
CMOS Battery and a 160 GB HDD along with the CD for 86 dollars. It was =
a slightly different model than mine but so what?:O)Three days later I =
was up and running.- It saved me a bunch of money and work reassembling =
the Dell which is not that hard compared to a Toshiba.. Hope this helps. =
I think I got lucky most people selling their bottom strip it and you =
have to supply your own HDD, CMOS Battery, CD and sometimes even your =
chip and HDD Caddy. so mke sure what your buying