Laptop only starts to boot when I press the bottom really hard

[brando]

Hi all,

This is a really strange problem - maybe some genius can put together the clues and figure out exactly what's happened. First of all, here are the specs:

Dell Inspiron 2600 Notebook
Celeron Processor
256MB RAM (I KNOW!)
OS: Windows XP Home


More detailed specs here: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins2600/en/sm_en/specs.htm#1119395

 

This is a five-year-old work laptop which I'd never used before this weekend, so unfortunately I have no idea what its history is. However, all of yesterday and most of today, it was working great. Then I removed the battery and the RAM to see what kind of RAM it was (there isn't much, and I thought maybe I'd get some more). Then I put the RAM and battery back and tried to start it up again, but it wouldn't even begin to boot up (no lights, sound, anything). I took the RAM back out and it booted up fine (there is more RAM built in to the laptop farther in). I thought maybe I hadn't seated the RAM right before, so I put it back in and pressed it in a little harder. Again, wouldn't boot. Took the RAM back out, now it wouldn't boot even without it. No booting no matter what.

Then I incidentally happened to push on part of the base and I heard a sound. I pushed harder, and lo, it started to boot up. But I had to push really, really, hard, and even then it only got to the first boot-up screen before it petered out. It's a very specific spot I have to press - I don't know what's under it, but I know it's basically right where the socket for the hard drive is, and where the socket for the battery is. This happens whether the RAM is in or not.

Only other clues I have are:

- normally all three front lights are out (battery/power, data, power on). When I squeeze hard I can get the batter/power light to go on, and then it stays on when I stop squeezing. If I then unplug the power cable, the light goes out, and doesn't go back on when I reconnect the power cable unless I squeeze.

- when it was working fine, the battery worked really well (it didn't need to be on mains power)

- when I push really hard and let go, it keeps whirring for a minute, like it's deciding, then shuts down


Anyone know what's going on? Is it anything I can fix without taking it to a Dell technician? It's just so frustrating - I feel like if I had never taken that RAM out it would still be working fine. Thanks a million for any help anyone can offer.

[Eg0Death]

That's a toughy.  And odd. 
Will it run without the battery using external power (plugged into a wall outlet)? 

[brando]

No, seems to have the same reaction whether it's plugged into the wall or not, and whether the battery's removed or not. Obviously if it's not plugged into the wall AND the battery's removed, nothing happens at all.

[truenorth]

brando, By no st reach of the imagination would i concider myself to be a "genius" however from your initial post and your subsequent reply to EgODeath's inquiry logic (almost an oxymoron when it comes to computers) i feel you are dealing with a connection fault at the power source (battery and adapter)-they probably share a common power entry point inside the case. This probably occurred at the time you removed the battery. Was the battery resisting when you removed it? It may also have been caused by the force you were using to install your additional ram stick if they are in close proximity to each other. good luck,truenorth