Can someone advise me on PC issue?

[Jack Sprat]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1000 laptop, quite old. Have some old music files on it that I want to transfer, but it no longer powers on. When the cord is plugged into the wall outlet and not into the PC, it's green power light is lit. However, when I plug it into the PC, then it is blinking ever so weakly and not providing any power to the PC.

In your opinion, is the power supply cord gone dead or is the PC itself dead? Prior to this while this PC was in use and power was being supplied to the PC, the screen would go completely black while in use. This is why I purchased a new PC in the first place. Now I wish I had some old files off the old Inspiron 1000 and don't know how to get them from a dead computer. If I just have a dead power supply cord, then I would order one. But I don't know.

I know this is General Discussion and we have Computer Help Board, but it looks kind of dead itself.

[Electric Monk]

1. If all you want is the data, and not a functional laptop, I'd just remove the drive

and plug it into your new computer.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Yup

Agreed

It could be the power supply and when those go, so does the motherboard.

[Jack Sprat]

3. You can remove a drive from a laptop?

Where is it located? Inside the laptop somewhere?

[Mosby]

9. on the bottom there are a couple screws

with the letter 'H' next to them, once you have it out you can hook it up through USB to a current computer with a device like I linked to below. I got one at Fry's electronics.

http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Adapter-Converter-Optical-External/dp/B001OORMVQ

[DisgustipatedinCA]

10. Yes, you can remove the drive. It's inside the laptop, and methods to reach it vary

Look for all the tiny screws on the bottom of the laptop and unscrew most (not all) of them. You may or may not be able to get to your hard drive (which will be the size of a pack of cards, but only half as thick). If you still need to expose more innards, look to get the keyboard out of the way next. There are usually a couple of screws up at the top of the keyboard by the function keys. There may be a snappable plastic piece that comes out near the function keys, exposing the screws. Then you normally need to pull the keyboard toward yourself a fraction of an inch to get it clear so that it can be removed. You'll also have to unplug the data ribbon cable from the keyboard...it's the thing that connects the keyboard to the rest of the laptop. Once that's out of the way, you should see the hard drive.

I'd normally recommend extreme caution, but if you just want the contents of the drive, and you're scrapping the old laptop, I wouldn't worry too much about putting Humpty together again after you've pulled the hard drive. Just keep the hard drive safe, and you should be ok (so long as it wasn't the hard drive that failed in the first place).

Good luck.

[teddy51]

11. Get the make and model number off of the laptop and then google it.

You will find lots of information (including, probably a repair manual) online that you can download for free. These manuals are the same ones that an A+ Technician uses for reference, and usually come in a PDF format.

[SoDesuKa]

6. It May Not Boot

I don't know how to configure a laptop hard drive as a slave, but that sounds like what OP wants to do. Putting the HD into a new laptop won't necessarily solve his problem, because the computer may not boot. It depends on the O/S.

[teddy51]

4. If you know of anyone with any expertise, get them to pull the hard drive and

if it won't fit into your current laptop you will need to use an external hard drive enclosure to put this old drive into. If I lived near you, I would fix it for ya.

The external hard drive enclosure will allow you to plug it into a USB port on your new laptop, and pull the date from the old drive over to your new system.

[notadmblnd]

5. Does your power supply work with your new laptop?

that is, if it is a DELL. I've had power supply units go bad, so if you can- test your power supply on another DELL laptop. If it works fine then it is your laptop. If you get same results on a different machine, it is the power supply.

[Jack Sprat]

12. No, it doesn't fit the new laptop even though

they are both Dells. The 1000 is ancient.

[Scuba]

7. You may simply need a new power supply. n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

8. Try pulling the battery out and

then plugging it in while leaving the battery out.

Sometimes batteries fail in a way that sucks all of the charger's juice, leaving not enough juice for the PC to run. Once the battery's out, it no longer pulls down the power supply.

I have actually seen this happen.

[slipslidingaway]

13. ^^ My husband said he ran his for at least a year without the battery as it caused problems. n/t

[Jack Sprat]

14. Thank you folks for the advice.

I will try all of them. Seems like I should be able to get the hard drive removed at the least. May have to get someone else to do it, but it sounds as if the files can be redeemed for my new PC.