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View Full Version : Weird laptop issue...

crabig
11-06-2009, 04:48 AM
Hey everyone,

I've got a Dell Inspiron 1150 that I just rebuilt from the ground up, as the heat sink was full of cat hair. Running MoBo stress tests, it seems to work fine, however, if I jiggle the lid, it reboots.

Anyone seen anything like this?

TIA
zchehi
11-06-2009, 06:03 AM
I would say you might have a screw or wire shorting out one of the components or something not set in right.
ComputerClinic
11-06-2009, 07:25 AM
I would say you might have a screw or wire shorting out one of the components or something not set in right.

+1. My next step would be to disassemble and reassemble it again. Make sure that all cables are exactly where they are supposed to be and that you didn't use a longer screw where a shorter one belonged. After you are absolutely positive that you have it assembled correctly, then its time to start looking for the faulty part.
studiot
11-06-2009, 11:47 AM
Examine the wiring between the lid and the body of the case carefully. Look for pinched or damaged or wires/cables.

You could disconnect the lid stuff altogether and run the laptop from a plug in monitor.

Then reintroduce the invertor cable and jiggle.

Then reintroduce the screen signal cable and jiggle


You get the idea.
crabig
11-08-2009, 10:05 PM
Well, it seems I mis-diagnosed the original problem. It's not in the screen. It happens when I press down on the right side of the palm rest (which I was doing while opening and closing the screen). I have a feeling something may be touching and shorting out, so I'm going to have to take this sucker apart... again.
NYJimbo
11-09-2009, 12:52 AM
Well, it seems I mis-diagnosed the original problem. It's not in the screen. It happens when I press down on the right side of the palm rest (which I was doing while opening and closing the screen). I have a feeling something may be touching and shorting out, so I'm going to have to take this sucker apart... again.

Actually you are quite lucky. This kind of short usually means a screw or cable but sometimes part of the top comes in contact or presses on a chip and causes a reboot. It shouldnt be too hard to isolate it now that you have a better grasp on the cause.