Whats the deal with this notebook?

J

JHawkFanMan

n00b
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Messages
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I just bought a broken Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop from my friend for $100. He told me he didn't want it because he didn't want the hassle of trying to fix it. He promptly bought a Dell desktop and that was the end of that I guess. Anyway, I figured I could see this thing on ebay for x2,3,4 what it is worth if I can't fix it.. which is why I'm here. Either way I come out way ahead I'd guess. Anyway.. I guess the computer store he brought it to said that it was a broken motherboard. I'm not sure.. but all I can say is that it is totally screwed up. They formatted the HD to see if they could fix it so I can't show you what it looks like in WinXP but take my word for it.. it's quite messed up. Anyway.. here are some pics;

lap8ir.jpg

lap24eo.jpg


The top pic is a lot worse in real life.. I unfortunately can't hold a camera still apparently. Also, sorry for the swearing if anyone takes offense. I didn't want to have to re-edit it.. because I already posted on another forum before this one. Anyway.. anyone have any ideas?

Cliffs:
Got this laptop for $100
It is quite messed up.
Any idea why?
 
Looks like a GPU problem which translates to a motherboard problem on a laptop, probably pretty expensive to fix. I'd try contacting Dell about it and see if you can atleast get a price on a motherboard replacement.
 
i have that laptop, it sucks, my backlite is 50% dead, it only turns on when it wants to, RAAWWWWRA!!! I HATE DELL, but its obviously a HW problem
 
I am almost positive that is a video card problem as stated above. I have seen similar things in my desktop when I got a bad nvidia card. Looked almost exactly the same.

Gator
 
My one concern that I realized last night.. if it was an LCD or a video card problem.. those letters wouldn't appear in the second pic, right? I mean a LCD or video card problem wouldn't make a bunch of letters all across the screen would it? If you hit the keyboard while those letters are there it shifts them around.. kind of like the matrix when the letters are falling. I haven't been able to take it apart yet as I don't have a small enough screwdriver =\ But I'm going to take it apart later today.
 
i had the same problem where the text would become all messed up and look weid on and compaq desktop and all i did was switch the ram out and it worked fine
 
Without more info, or actually seeing the laptop in person, I cannot tell you what it is. But if it is the motherboard, you can expect to pay about 400 ish depending on several factors. If it is ram, well you got off lucky but I doubt it will be that. Either way it is worth getting fixed no more than you have in it. IF you decide not to fix it, the LCD if unscratched will bring you 100 bucks on ebay, so you already inthe green. The case assembly if sold seperatly will bring you another 50-100 bucks. The cd drive depending on what it is will bring between 30 and 150. Given the uncertain damage, I would not sell the motherboard or the ram. The CPU would bring you another 100 bucks. The hard drive maybe 30-40.

Randy
 
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