What happened to the "7 beeps of bulls*it" thread?

[Earth Bound Misfit]

Working on my cousin's Inspiron M5010 with same problem, the original thread had valuable info/links.

Anyhoo, I contacted Dell Support seems my Cuz never registered her laptop w/Dell (last warranty info left BestBuy Jan 2011, expired May 2012) As laptop is end-of-life and out-of-warranty the Dell tech wanted nothing to do with fixing this despite it being an obvious design/construction defect/flaw in the AMD/GPU/solder manufacturing process. Dell Tech said "take it to a local guy"

I'm not giving up just yet. Round II to follow... any suggestions?

[ChromeFoundry]

1. You should give reflowing the solder a try...

I used this method on several PS3s and a few motherboards and it is really very easy.

Her is a video on how the process should be done on you particular laptop:

Here is a cheap heat gun from Harbor Freight $9.99:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-watt-dual-temperature-heat-gun-572-1112-96289.html

This is a link to the liquid solder flux I use, just before I apply heat for the reflow $12.95:
http://www.amazon.com/Chemtronics-CircuitWorks-CW8100-Clean-Dispensing/dp/B000LBA7PG/ref=sr_1_8?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1453048824&sr=1-8&keywords=Liquid+solder+flux


Honestly, I know it looks and sounds intimidating, but it is a very easy process. Take your time pulling apart the laptop and don't lose the pieces... This would save you a ton of time and money.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

2. Thanks for the info/links/video very useful as usual CF!

I've already decided to try the reflow, I just came back from Lowe's where I purchased a butane pocket torch ($19.99) & an infrared thermometer ($34.98)... both tools will be useful for me beyond this project. Laptop is already disassembled - this model was actually pretty easy to take apart - and have cleaned the thermal paste off the GPU. I'm off to Staples or The Shack to get some Arctic Silver & prolly tackle the reflow later today/tomorrow.

Thanks again for the always useful, practical & thoughtful reply, you are a true DU Treasure!

[Earth Bound Misfit]

3. BOOM! Reflow worked...

Laptop fired up Next project: Decrapify, already saved her user folders to external, probably just do a clean install.

Thanks again for the encouragement, it really was remarkably easy!

[ChromeFoundry]

4. Excellent!

Rock on!

[Earth Bound Misfit]

5. Thanks discovered another problem...

No DC current--laptop only worked for as long as the battery had a charge... crapped out after about 2-3 hours. Ordered replacement I/O board from Amazon $27 + $8 shipping less $10 gift card for applying for Amazon Store card... should get it Fri-Sat.

[ChromeFoundry]

6. Could it be a bad connection?

Is it possible that when you disassembled/assembled it one of the connectors did not get seated correctly? I think the AC power jack has a current sensing pin that enables the charging circuit. Not sure if this is the your situation, but definitely something to look into.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

7. It was the power button/ ribbon

Found one on E-Bay for 5 bucks & change/ free shipping, replaced it yesterday, good to go

[ChromeFoundry]

8. Nicely done.

One less unit in the landfill.