[friedpooodle]

I have a Dell INSPIRON 5000. I got this through a friend of mine so I am not exactly sure of its history. When I got it, I noticed that on the bottom, a few screws were missing. I don't really know where I could buy these screws and they might have something to do with the problem.

The problem is that whenever I pick up my laptop to move it somewhere, it imeddiately turns off. No shut-down or anything, the screen just turns black and it ceases to run. Now, when I have it running through a power outlet I can pick it up and move it as freely as the 6-foot cord will allow me. But when It is unplugged, it just shuts off when moved.

Now I'm not exactly sure if it has to do with the missing screws. I think the battery pack might just be loose. I'm not sure how it got that way and I'm also not sure how to fix it. I'm actually pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with the screws, because to insert it, you just slide it in, and to take it out, you slide this button over and just pull it out. Please help me in fixing this problem.


Thanks.

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How is the battery pack held in place? Are there any obvious clips etc?

[Samm]

How is the battery pack held in place? Are there any obvious clips etc?

[friedpooodle]

Yes, there is a little slider button that when pulled, I can take the battery out. It keeps the battery in place.

In case I just made up "slider button," what I'm refering to is a small rectangular area that juts out. When I pull this to one side, I can pull out the battery.


Thanks for the quick reply.

[Hemal]

have your tried any way bonding the battery to the laptop- i know its not very ethical and stuff- but tape at the bottom of hte laptop securing the battery in its spots- also make sure all the pins are in place and not damaged

[Samm]

Soxrok just beat me there, I was gonna suggest checking the contacts as well.

When the battery pack is clipped in place, if you lift the laptop up, does the battery feel loose or not?
If it feels OK, then I'm thinking that maybe the part of the laptop that the battery connects to (ie where the corresponding contacts are) is loose instead. This would tie in with screws being removed etc.

[friedpooodle]

I actually tried this. The first day it worked great and I was pleased. But after that, it didn't really work. Anything else I can do?

Will getting screws help?

[Samm]

Does the battery pack feel loose though if you lift the laptop up (with no tape or anything on)?

[friedpooodle]

Yes. It does.

[Samm]

Then I guess either the clip is damaged, or some part of the laptop case that holds the battery in place is either loose or damaged.
Laptop screws aren't that easy to find for sale in computer stores but you could try either an electronics supplier or go into your local laptop/PC repair shop & see if they have any spare ones.

Although missing screws is not a good start, I think I would be more concerned about the reason the screws were removed in the first place. You may want to make sure there's no loose ones rolling around inside the laptop either.


Also, found this by accident...
Probably nothing to do with your particular problem but it's quite interesting anyway :

["Dell has announced a recall of over 284,000 Inspiration 5000 and 5000(e) notebook computer batteries due to a faulty design that can overheat and in one case, caught fire!

The recall is on the batteries and not on the computer itself. These units were sold between January of 2000 and March of 2001."]

[friedpooodle]

Haha. Thanks for the information. I guess I'll just keep it up with the tape.