Laptop Connections Failing

[patsfangr]

I need some help, in the form of opinions, advice, and/or references to experts on problems with the connections on my Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop. This PC is just over 3 years old, and is out of warranty.

The problems have occurred one at a time. First, the 2 USB ports on the back of the PC went dead. About a month later, the headphone connection on the side of the PC went dead. About a month after that, the 15-pin video connection on the back went dead. The only connection ports now working are the 2 USB ports on the side; and those are having intermittent problems.

A repair expert at Tuk Com (GT Electronics) checked it. His opinion is that the chip on the mother board which controls all of the side and rear connections is decaying. He says it's likely that this will continue, until all of the connections fail. He further advised that this chip cannot be replaced on the mother board of this unit, because it is a 6-layer board.

First, I'd like to know if any of you have encountered a similar problem in the past. If so, did you discover the cause, and what was it? Do you agree with the analysis of the Tuk Com technician?

If we have identified the problem, can you help me locate a replacement board?

If you disagree with the analysis I've been given, can you suggest a technician who can help me further examine the problem with these connections?

Thanks for any help that you can provide!

[opalhort]

Not sure if this helps:

Had the same problem with an older PC some time ago. Many connectors (4 USB and 2 sound) started to fail one after another.

Looked at the sockets with a magnifying glass and found them to be either greenish or greyish in color. Used Philips Contact cleaner spray and a toothpick to clean the contacts.

Plugged and un-plugged things (of course while everything powered off) many times. All but one USB port came back to life.

In our climate, especially near the sea, contacts oxidate/erode fast if not gold coated.

It can't hurt to give the above a try.

opalhort

[patsfangr]

Not sure if this helps:

Had the same problem with an older PC some time ago. Many connectors (4 USB and 2 sound) started to fail one after another.

Looked at the sockets with a magnifying glass and found them to be either greenish or greyish in color. Used Philips Contact cleaner spray and a toothpick to clean the contacts.

Plugged and un-plugged things (of course while everything powered off) many times. All but one USB port came back to life.

In our climate, especially near the sea, contacts oxidate/erode fast if not gold coated.

It can't hurt to give the above a try.

opalhort

Thanks! That's a reasonable possiblity that I had not thought about. I'll check it out, as best I can.

[dominique355]

I had a similar problem, all USB ports and card readers one after the other simply disappeared.

I was able to fix the problems by booting the machine pressing the Del key to get into the Set-Up screen. There I disabled all USB ports and then went on. to boot normally. Then turn off again, turn on with the Del key again to enter the Set-Up screen. Enable the USB ports again and ... voila! Everything came back.

One trick, though: Make sure your keyboard is NOT attached through the USB port (for obvious reasons). Use rather an old keyboard through the PS2 port (this purple and green plugs).

[JetsetBkk]

...One trick, though: Make sure your keyboard is NOT attached through the USB port (for obvious reasons). Use rather an old keyboard through the PS2 port (this purple and green plugs).

I use the mouse in the PS2 port and the keyboard via the USB port - my 7 year old Dell laptop has only one USB port!

(The built-in keyboard is knackered, so I've disconnected the cables inside.)

Not sure if this helps:

Had the same problem with an older PC some time ago. Many connectors (4 USB and 2 sound) started to fail one after another.

Looked at the sockets with a magnifying glass and found them to be either greenish or greyish in color. Used Philips Contact cleaner spray and a toothpick to clean the contacts...

Two of my Acer's USB ports are beginning to play up. Sometimes I have to jiggle the connector around for the hard drive that is on the other end of the cable to be recognised.

The trouble is, I need more USB ports - whenever I do a backup, I have to unplug one drive and plug in the backup drive. So now the port is getting worn out. I may open the PC up soon and see if the USB's solder joint is broken or corroded.

I really need to find a good quality 4 port USB hub. The non-powered cheap ones are no good for hard drives.

[patsfangr]

Well, I've tried all of the above, and nothing worked. I still have only 2 USB ports working. Yesterday, I was running a replay of an NFL game, and, after about 1-1/2 hours, the sound just stopped. The USB audio controller that I use (because my normal headphone connection is also dead) was still lit; but no sound was coming through to my external speakers. The inboard speakers work; but I can't transfer sound to external speakers, or headphones.

So, it looks like I'll be seeking a new mother board. Again, if anybody knows of a source for a mother board for this laptop; or even if you have information as to a fair price for one; please let me know.

This is a Dell Inspiron 6000, purchased new in 2005.

Thanks for any and all help.