dell e1505 will not boot

hi - i was just getting started in the hijackthis forum to remove some malware, when my laptop powered down by itself. when i tried to restart, the fans (i presume) started whirring, the num lock led stayed lit, and the caps lock and scroll lock led's were blinking for 40 seconds, then nothing. many others alluded to this being a memory problem which could be fixed by reseating the RAM. impatient, and unable to find any instructions on how to reseat the memory, i opened the laptop up–all the way (i was expecting to open this thing up easily and spot the RAM quickly, like my mac). predictably, this solved nothing. i then found the dell service manual and realized that the RAM was very easy to get to. after putting the laptop back together, i tried to simply reseat the ram, that did not work. the exact same problem occurred. i then re-removed the hard drive, memory, modem, optical drive, and battery, then attempted to start the system up. the same blinking and flashing led's occured. i was hoping for some kind of error message. i reinstalled all of the components and now nothing happens, no lights. have i killed my laptop? do i need a new motherboard? approximately how much would one pay for this to be fixed? more importantly, how can i get the data off my hard drive. can i simply plug the hard drive into another e1505? are there any other compatible laptops? my last backup was several weeks ago, fortunately.

Hi,
Sorry to hear of the problem with your machine.
I am assuming that your machine is no longer under guarantee/warranty/service agreement and that's why you were not too concerned about opening up the laptop. (opening it up will normally immediately invalidate any guarantee)

In our workshop we always charge considerably more for fixing a laptop compared with a desktop computer as it's a lot more of a fiddle to operate inside a laptop and its easier to dislodge or damage, parts, which in themselves are more costly to renew.

The labour charges we need to make often mean that it's cheaper to buy a new machine rather than fix the old one, especially now that new laptops are available from £169 (GBP) and just a little more will now purchase a reasonably well specified machine, suitable for email. Internet and routine office tasks, spreadsheets, letters reports and the like together with a fair degree of image manipulation and the like.

It's quite easy to get your important data off the old hard drive, firstly though start your repair log and list every step you take, (a cheap digital camera is useful for recording images of the disassembly as an aid to correct assembly )
now just remove the drive from the computer, make sure the machine is unplugged from the mains and any other equipment and remove the battery (It's surprising how many folks forget to remove the battery, and this can cause severe damage) You should be careful to take all the necessary personal safety and anti static precautions. before you start.
NOTE if you are in any way unsure of exactly how to do this then it would be best to entrust the task to a local competent computer technician as whilst it's good to learn and save money this should not be at the risk of injury or damage to your family, computer or its data.

With the hard drive removed, strip it out from its caddy (usually held in by just a few screws) and put it in an external hard drive caddy that can connect to any Windows Vista XP or 2000 machine via an USB interface. The drive will then, usually be "seen" by the new machine and the important stuff can be copied off. External USB 2.5 inch caddies are available for about a pound or two (or a dollar or four) but if you wish, for a similar amount, you can use what we often do and that is a "Desktop/Laptop/IDE/SATA hard drive connector and cable, with its own 5V power supply (although you will most often not need a separate power supply for a laptop hard drive.) These connectors are available through your electrical dealer for a few pounds (or Ebay) note all prices exclude post & packing/shipping.

I have had a quick glance at your HJT log on the malware removal forum and see that your hard drive has infections in it .
When copying off your data, please be most careful and ensure that the machine you use for the task is not connected to the Internet, has a good and completely up to data antivirus, anti spyware and 2 way software firewall in place and that you are most careful not to infect the Host machine, ensure that no applications or services are run from the infected hard drive limiting yourself to just copying off the data is wise)
When you have your data off you should scan it for undesirable elements using a number of scanners and ensure, for example that Macros are disabled before opening a Word document file.

Some experts would say that data from an infected hard drive can never be trusted 100% again, others may take a more relaxed view….as always its your call.

Once you have secured your data, its time to put the hard drive back into your laptop and see if you can get it to work. This will mean reviewing every step that you took previously and looking hard at the repair log that hopefully listed every step you took so that you can redo it and put everything back together (as it was when it left the factory).

It is very easy to damage your system by forgetting to remove the battery before starting to open it up, or using a srewdriver (turnkey) that has not been effectively de-magnetised, or failing to bring adequate anti static precautions into play. We often find that folks disconnect cables unbeknown to them when carrying out the disassembly/assembly, the keyboard and video connectors in particular as easy to damage.

When checking the memory modules and reseating them, again its important to take all personal safety and antistatic precautions and remember to remove the battery before starting, Its easy to access them, there is no need to disassemble anything, they are reached from the underneath of the computer and the cover is generally secured by 2 screws, remove the cover and you will see them there.

Once you (hopefully) get your machine running again continue your disinfection work with fencer girl in the malware removal forum and once she has declared your machine clean, post back here in this forum if you still have issues with your machine and we will do our best to help
Regards
paws