Solved Mystery of my Dell Laptop

[BoraMurdar]

Well let me introduce my beast Vostro 1015 Laptop | Dell

It's an old laptop, that served me well through all these years. I bought it in 2010.
Dual Core Celeron on 1.8GHz, 2GB of RAM, HDD 320GB (last year replaced with Silicon Power SSD 240GB - the best investment of my life )
Battery half-dead from 2013 due to some electricity malfunction in apartment I lived in... Battery lasts for kinda ~ 3-5 minutes when fully charged.

Problem :

It starts randomly with

Power adapter is fine, I checked the voltages and wattage with multimeter.

When this happens, I strike F1 and boot to Windows. System is running slower, main symptom/sign is that Celeron's Cores speed drops to 1.36 GHz. So the combinations are :

• When this happens I pull out the supply cord out of laptop, monitor the core speed, and it elevates to it's nominal 1, 79GHz (sometimes to 1,65GHz due to Intel's Speed Step). I insert the power again it drops again to 1,36GHz
• Power plans are set to Maximum Performance (but I tried other plans also)
• I reseat the battery, same happens.
• I pull out the battery, same happens
• I drain the battery until system shuts down, and power it on again, the same happens

So, when on battery, I suppose, the system is OK and speedy with the core speed on it's factory settings 1,79GHz. And when on Power Adapter it drops to 1,36GHz... Windows is sayin' that battery is plugged in but not charging.

I tried to pull out the battery, and uninstall

Windows reinstalls it when system boots again, but no changes to core speeds, nor battery charging changes.

So the mystery part is : THAT SOMETIMES, ONE OF THE STEPS I TOOK TO FIX THIS PROBLEM, OR COMBINATION OF STEPS, ACTUALLY WORKS!

and sometimes no matter how I try, and do the same I did before, nothing helps...
_____________________________________________________________________________________

It would be very appreciated if someone knows what's going on

 

[BoraMurdar]

And, of course, I broke a bolt holding the motherboard DC jack , I've could solder the the 4th pin and improvised the base of the holding spot... And yep, it's Dallas , and I just saw that spikes around the motherboard connector is constructed by Hyundai Electronics...
The main problem is now that I think I cannot open the the keyboard frame cover again and access it as it will probably brake Miraculously it solved the wattage problem... for now probably

Conclusion, don't do anything if you are nervous. If you are nervous, go to sleep, it's smarter!

 

[SHvFl]

And, of course, I broke a bolt holding the motherboard DC jack , I've could solder the the 4th pin and improvised the base of the holding spot... And yep, it's Dallas , and I just saw that spikes around the motherboard connector is constructed by Hyundai Electronics...
The main problem is now that I think I cannot open the the keyboard frame cover again and access it as it will probably brake Miraculously it solved the wattage problem... for now probably

Conclusion, don't do anything if you are nervous. If you are nervous, go to sleep, it's smarter!

Let me know if you figure the problem out because i will for sure need the fix.
EDIT:So you broke the base that the motherboard seat on? If yes it's not you it's just breaks from years. I replaced mine fro 35$ or something like that.

 

[Myriad]

Now, i know just about **** when it comes to electronics but if this really is a "UniqueWare™ Add-Only Memory, known under type DS2501, DS2502, DS2505 or DS2506. The difference is the size of the memory." that it says on this page:
http://www.laptop-junction.com/toast/content/inside-dell-ac-power-adapter-mystery-revealed

Shouldn´t it be possible to use a crappy piece from here to replace it? I mean it´s a DS2501 and as i understand it nothing else really matters?? However it seems as if needs to be programmed before use...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10P..._7&btsid=9bf6b840-4709-4ff7-b6b5-ffbf8d0b37a9

But then i´m no good at electronics!

@nclr11111

You know what ?
.... you're onto something .... I can just feel it in my bones !

Thank you.

I'd seen that "laptop-junction" link years ago , when I first started on this but I never went any further with it .

Yes , it probably needs to be flashed before use , which would explain the strange numbering.
I'm going to look again at the device specs , and post back here .

In the meantime , does anyone want to buy any Dell laptops with fully working charging systems ?

Only kidding ... just my little joke

 

[BoraMurdar]

So you broke the base that the motherboard seat on? If yes it's not you it's just breaks from years. I replaced mine fro 35$ or something like that.

No no, I broke a bolt hole, a screw bolster, so the screw spins in circles infinitely

 

[Myriad]

No no, I broke a bolt hole, a screw bolster, so the screw spins in circles infinitely

Easily done .

I couldn't count the number of times I've done the same .....
..... and quick setting epoxy is my best friend when it happens

 

[SHvFl]

No no, I broke a bolt hole, a screw bolster, so the screw spins in circles infinitely

Oh i see. That is really not a serious issue use epoxy as @Myriad said. For mine i did superglue because that is what i had. Remember to wear gloves before applying though so you don't get stuck finger.

 

[BoraMurdar]

Remember to wear gloves before applying though so you don't get stuck finger.

I had some solder flux paste, so I did some workaround. But yes, stuck my fingers countless times with superglue (mainly gluing the plastic parts)

 

[nclr11111]

I´m amazed the effort you guys putting into those ancient things! Even thinking of getting parts and then have to flash them? WOW!
I´d just pick up a new one, used or new but i´d never had the patience to fix things like this...
Good job!

 

[BoraMurdar]

I´d just pick up a new one, used or new but i´d never had the patience to fix things like this...
Good job!

Thanks
I probably couldn't find a part required for my model here at local stores

 

[nclr11111]

Thanks
I probably couldn't find a part required for my model here at local stores

Ahh, sorry. Too fast reading.... Oh, nwm! Think i´ll just go to bed. Worked way too many hours. I can see i don´t make any sense no more. G night!
A new laptop would probably be the best thing.

 

[BoraMurdar]

A new laptop would probably be the best thing.

Cannot agree more

 

[Myriad]

I´m amazed the effort you guys putting into those ancient things! Even thinking of getting parts and then have to flash them? WOW!
I´d just pick up a new one, used or new but i´d never had the patience to fix things like this...
Good job!

@nclr11111 .... it's the challenge that makes it attractive

OK , I've been over the specs for that device ( which costs five bucks for 10 ) and how to flash it .
It's way too much trouble now , and it never even crossed my mind to look at those Dells again until I read this thread

I really don't like to be defeated by bits of plastic and silicon , but in this case , I'm going to chuck in the towel .
Some of what I posted ( from my notes made more than 6 years ago ) turns out to be plain wrong.

eg. There is no 2nd ID chip ( on the MoBo ) which probably explains why I couldn't find a photo with my notes
My mistake came from a recommended work-around at the time , which was to move the ID chip to the MoBo !

Flashing the new DS2501 ID chip is actually no big challenge , but it needs to store the psu/laptop ID code(s) which
it sends out very briefly when power is first sensed , and then it does nothing .
And getting that code is going to be mighty difficult , because you are sure not going to get it out of a fried chip.

@BoraMurdar

Somewhere in my reading I saw that the problem usually appears as random / intermittent but eventually becomes permanent
... sorry to be the bearer of bad news .

I've taken the time to write in detail because I'm sure there are a still a lot of folks out there still happily running their old
and cherished Dell laptops .... not just BoraMurdar
And if they have moved to Linux , they are probably seeing some excellent performance too !!

Anyway , it's all fun for me , it keeps that one remaining brain-cell active

PS - there is actually a sane reason for my fascination with reviving "dead" laptops ,
.... it is not just some "Sheldon-esque" geekery .

 

[BoraMurdar]

@Myriad
Thanks for your inputs. I suppose, when it dies completely I will just take out my SSD and try to find a proper replacement, and would be happy to find one that will serve me as long as this Vostro did

 

[Myriad]

Dell in that era used a method (a chip or a third wire) to identify its own chargers, supposedly to protect the consumer from himself by forcing use of Dell brand chargers.

@Paul B.

I missed your post when I first read this thread , I don't know how .

But anyway , you were bang-on right with what you wrote ..... Thank you !

PS - does anyone want to buy some old Dell laptops without battery charge working .

 

[BoraMurdar]

@SHvFl just to notify you that it was an adapter problem at the first place Changed it and everything works fine

 

[frogboy]

@SHvFl just to notify you that it was an adapter problem at the first place Changed it and everything works fine

Finally after all this time, well done.

 

[BoraMurdar]

Finally after all this time, well done.

I didn't know that amperage is that important. 6 months ago I tried another adapter which was not in that +- 5% toleration, but not that much, and it didn't work. I've excluded that as a potential solution to my problem. I was so wrong

 

[SHvFl]

@SHvFl just to notify you that it was an adapter problem at the first place Changed it and everything works fine

Hmmm interesting. Mine is the original one but i have a spare one of the same model again original. Will try the other one when i can have access to it.

Thanks.