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Dell Laptop start up problem


I have a Dell Laptop Inspiron 7000 with Windows 10.


Suddenly it stopped starting up. I thought it was the battery or the power port on laptop.


I changed both and still no pulse.


How can I diagnose the problem to find out what broke down?


I need to get some files off the HD.


It seems to be a power related issue. not sure if there is a piece connected to the start button.

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CompProbSolv
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Is there an LED on the laptop that lights up to show that the power supply is connected?  If so, is that LED lighting up when you connect power?


"I need to get some files off the HD ": if that is your only concern, you can remove the HD, put in in an external case, and read it from another computer.

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sam15

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No, there is no LED light. I want to fix laptop if i can in addition to backing up the files.


How can you rule out HDD or RAM  problem and pinpoint the issue?

First, go to your local computer recycler.  Take the Dell charger along and ask if they will sell you a Dell charger that matches.  Shouldn't cost more than $15.  This allows differential diagnosis on whether the charger failed.

If the charger is good ...

The Inspiron 7000 can be had as a used working unit for around $200 on the fleabay.  I doubt if a reputable tech ($100/hour) could open it up (20 minutes), diagnose the problem (1 hour), buy the faulty part, test the system (another 20 minutes) and close it up for that price.

Salvage the battery out of the existing system, thank the system unit for (previously) reliable service, and swap the disk and battery into a replacement.
This is what I find with searching at Dell.com for Inspiron 7000: https://dl.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_inspiron_laptop/inspiron-7000_reference%20guide3_en-us.pdf .  Is this your model?  If not, please provide a service tag or more details on the actual model.

was the laptop battery charging properly before?  i

are the rep^lacement charger and batter original, not generic?

>How can you rule out HDD or RAM  problem...

Remove them both and it should beep when powered on.
the battery or the power port on laptop.
I changed both and still no pulse.

what did you actually mean or do for "changed... the power port"?

I need to get some files off the HD.

ultimately, if the laptop cannot be working any more,  you can remove the HD from the laptop and attach it to another known-good computer and retrieve all files (if the HD is not encrypted using something like BitLocker).
Documentation for your system (linked above by @CompProbSolv) indicates your battery should have a status button and indicator display on the rear of the battery

Remove your battery and press the status button. What levels are displayed ?

User generated image

I seriously doubt that the link is for the correct laptop. That would really be an ancient model, built at least 2 decades ago for Windoze 98 (in the link it is mainly explained how to get & install w98 drivers)! Also Images show it must be a Vintage Laptop. Something of that age would not be worth keeping alive, except maybe for "Museum" purposes. Disks in laptops of that age would probably IDE rather than SATA, so to connect it to a current computer would at least require an additional adapter, as no PC's I know of still have IDE interfaces (besides that the 3.5" disks used in PC's use different IDE connectors than 2.5" Laptop disks did. So at least such an adapter would be required.). In the screenshot from the start of the manual below you can see the initial release was in 1998!:


Dell™ Inspiron™ 7000
Specifications
Jumpers, Switches, Controls, and Indicators
Tech Notes
Documentation
Graphics
Initial release: 26 Aug 1998
Last revised: 17 Aug 1999


I believe there are some more modern inspirons which have "7000" in their Model number, for example inspiron 13,14,15 7000 models, & of those there are probably also different generations...


So I think the Asker must first tell us the exact inspiron model we are talking about.

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CGCD732
Service Request Number:984665065
Express Service Code:27109617950
System Type:INSPIRON 7347,COTTONWOODHWFBTX


I tried another charger i have but it did not work. The new battery replacement also normally works because new battery is half charged when it is shipped.

Here is the quick-start guide: https://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_inspiron_laptop/inspiron-13-7347-laptop_setup%20guide_en-us.pdf .

"No, there is no LED light": do you mean that the LED is off or that you don't think there is one?  If the former, it's either an issue with the power adapter (try a known-good one) or an internal problem (likely not worth the cost of repairing).  If the former, then I'd suggest looking at item #15 in the manual I posted.
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Well #15 LED light is there. That used to turn ON after hitting the power button or #16 but not anymore.


I tried the power adaptor for this new Dell Inspiron laptop which seems to be similar but there was no difference in light or power up.


https://www.costco.com/dell-inspiron-14%22-touchscreen-laptop---amd-ryzen-5-5625u---fhd%2b-(1920-x-1200)---windows-11.product.100970618.html


Do you still think this might be power supply issue that I should try getting a new one from amazon or there is another internal problem?


Shall i try the internal reset by removing battery and pressing the power button for 20 seconds described here


https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/dell-laptop-wont-turn-on


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Since the battery is an internal one, you needed to open the case to replace it. Could you possibly take some Hi-Res Photos of the insides of the laptop, if possible with the battery removed so we can see as much as possible, then upload those pictures. Maybe we can then see some details...

I don't think that a battery issue will cause the power/charging LED to be off when a good power supply is connected.
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would using the other dell laptop power supply rule out the power cord or not?


Can I assume if it is not power supply, there there is no point of taking to a shop to figure out what is internally bad?

"would using the other dell laptop power supply rule out the power cord or not": yes, if you knew that the other power supply was working properly.  The problem is that you don't.

"Can I assume if it is not power supply, there there is no point of taking to a shop to figure out what is internally bad":  You could do that, but if it is an internal problem, it is very likely more expensive to fix than is practical.  Have you looked at what it takes to remove the hard drive and are you capable of doing that?  If "yes" to both, then you can have your data available to you for about $15 US in the way of an external drive case.

i got no answer to my q; so here it is  again :

was the laptop battery charging properly before? 

are the replacement charger and battery original, not generic?

You could connect the original Powersupply to the other Dell to verify if it works or not. But generally those PSU's are pretty robust & normally they don't just give up. That's why Photos of the Notebook's insides might help. We might then be able to some some details of which we currently have no idea of.

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yes laptop battery was charging before.

replacement charger and battery are not original.


I will try using the old charger to new laptop to see if it works.

I will also post some photos of the inside.

if they are not Dell - it won't work

"I will try using the old charger to new laptop": excellent idea.  I missed the fact that you had access to a second laptop.  I'd try both chargers and test by confirming whether or not they turn on the appropriate LED on the laptop.  If that works, then go into Windows and confirm that they are charging the battery.

Almost all failures I've seen in chargers/power supplies are in the cable form the charger to the laptop.  Most commonly it is in the inch or so after the connector at the laptop.  If the charger lights the LED, slowly move the cable (straighten, bend, etc.) and watch the LED.  It's not unusual to have an intermittent break in the cable there.
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The charger for the first failed laptop worked fine charging a new dell laptop,

"worked fine": it would be helpful if you stated what you actually observed.  Did you see the power LED on the laptop light?  Did you see Windows telling you that the battery was being charged?  Or?

That implies to me that the charger is functioning properly, with the concern that it might have an intermittent break in the cable.  You can test for that as I described before.

Does the second charger also work with the new dell laptop?

If you have known good chargers and they don't light the power LED on the laptop, then the problem is in the laptop.  It could be the power connector on the laptop, but my experience has been that such a failure will be clear if you look carefully at it.  You'll feel that the power cable doesn't fit snugly in the jack, for example.

If the power LED doesn't light with a known good charger and the connector feels fine, then it's very likely a problem on the motherboard of the laptop.  Those are not usually economical to replace.  It's likely more cost effective to buy a similar laptop and move your drive over.
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I tried a hard RESET by unplugging battery and pressing the power button for 30 seconds and the laptop started after that. Strange! not sure what caused the problem. There is no problem with charger at all.


I am posting two photos of laptop motherboard.User generated imageUser generated image


it's not the first time i see this - it's simply a "bit" somewhere in the hardware that is set in the wrong state, and reset with a hard reset

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Is it possible to replace the top laptop cover where motherboard is installed for this laptop?

There is small broken piece on left side (See photo) right next to power port so it was always loose and not straight. I had to take power port out from the case so it will charge but it is not a good long-term solution.

Wow, expensive site. Others selling V5CHP inc choice of keyboard for less on eBay.
I have "repaired" broken power jack mounts by strategically placing something solid (folded cardboard, hard foam, etc.) around the power jack to brace it against something that is secure.  Epoxy could work well, too.
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But It seems there is too many digital connections between motherboard and the cover based on what I saw that makes it very difficult to replace. Is this  correct or not?

post a picture of what you mean plse

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A tip regarding your 2 photo's that show the inside of the laptop? The background shows you have put the laptop on some sort of blanket? I would not do that because of a possbile issue with static electricity. I would put it on a flat desktop surface instead.