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From: MZB on 3 May 2010 09:31
Well, I've been posting about problems with my Dell Inspiron 2200. In short,
after 6-7 years of no problems, it suddenly started slowing down, freezing,
trouble booting, etc. It got so bad that I often had to do cold shutdowns.

Anyway, I tried lots of things, to no avail.

Last night, I got together with a friend who is not afraid to take laptops
apart. We reseated whatever could be reseated although we didn't find
anything amiss. However, he did find that the CD drive was quite "loose." He
removed the drive and put it back in.

The computer now works better than it has in months! Could a CD problem as
stated above cause the aforementioned symptoms? It seems very strange to me.

Mel


From: RnR on 3 May 2010 10:13
On Mon, 3 May 2010 09:31:55 -0400, "MZB" <moo(a)noway.prudigy.net>
wrote:

>Well, I've been posting about problems with my Dell Inspiron 2200. In short,
>after 6-7 years of no problems, it suddenly started slowing down, freezing,
>trouble booting, etc. It got so bad that I often had to do cold shutdowns.
>
>Anyway, I tried lots of things, to no avail.
>
>Last night, I got together with a friend who is not afraid to take laptops
>apart. We reseated whatever could be reseated although we didn't find
>anything amiss. However, he did find that the CD drive was quite "loose." He
>removed the drive and put it back in.
>
>The computer now works better than it has in months! Could a CD problem as
>stated above cause the aforementioned symptoms? It seems very strange to me.
>
>Mel
>


I've had strange things happen to me in the past that I could never
explain to myself so you're not alone. Around usenet, old posts claim
that prior to cleaning or reseating boards, systems would react
strangely so I'm thinking in your case, perhaps in reseating your
boards, etc.., you dislodged dirt and the combination probably did the
trick for you. Regardless, you know the old saying.... "don't look a
gift horse in the mouth".

Enjoy your good fortune !!!
From: Ben Myers on 3 May 2010 10:13
On 5/3/2010 9:31 AM, MZB wrote:
> Well, I've been posting about problems with my Dell Inspiron 2200. In short,
> after 6-7 years of no problems, it suddenly started slowing down, freezing,
> trouble booting, etc. It got so bad that I often had to do cold shutdowns.
>
> Anyway, I tried lots of things, to no avail.
>
> Last night, I got together with a friend who is not afraid to take laptops
> apart. We reseated whatever could be reseated although we didn't find
> anything amiss. However, he did find that the CD drive was quite "loose." He
> removed the drive and put it back in.
>
> The computer now works better than it has in months! Could a CD problem as
> stated above cause the aforementioned symptoms? It seems very strange to me.
>
> Mel
>
>


IIRC, the optical drive in an Inspiron 2200 is held in place by a single
screw through the bottom of the chassis, actually like most other Dell
laptops and many other brands. If the screw is missing, the drive can
slide slightly out of the chassis. When this happens, the motherboard
BIOS struggles to find a drive that is not there, leading to long
startup times. Could cause the other symptoms you are describing, too.

In summary, your system has a screw loose. Or missing. Scecuring the
drive with a screw will stop this from happening again... Ben Myers
From: William R. Walsh on 3 May 2010 11:41
Hi!

> The computer now works better than it has in months!

Sometimes that's just how it goes...you have to pull the offending
device apart to convince it that you mean business. Once a device
comes to realize that despite your not bringing it into this world
that you could certainly take it out, it tends to start behaving. <g>

Or you have to deal with it "professionally".

In all seriousness, especially with a portable device, every piece is
subjected to conditions that desktop computers usually don't have to
contend with. All of vibration, temperature extremes and life in
general conspire to make life difficult for a laptop, and all of these
factors can certainly cause problems. (As it happens, my LatD800
presently has a keyboard that is troubled. I've got an idea for a fix
but I have not tried it.)

It's nice when a fix is simple, even if it is something you wouldn't
have done. I'm glad to hear that your system is up and running nicely
again...hopefully it stays that way!

William
From: RnR on 3 May 2010 11:42
On Mon, 03 May 2010 10:13:41 -0400, Ben Myers <ben_myers(a)charter.net>
wrote:

>On 5/3/2010 9:31 AM, MZB wrote:
>> Well, I've been posting about problems with my Dell Inspiron 2200. In short,
>> after 6-7 years of no problems, it suddenly started slowing down, freezing,
>> trouble booting, etc. It got so bad that I often had to do cold shutdowns.
>>
>> Anyway, I tried lots of things, to no avail.
>>
>> Last night, I got together with a friend who is not afraid to take laptops
>> apart. We reseated whatever could be reseated although we didn't find
>> anything amiss. However, he did find that the CD drive was quite "loose." He
>> removed the drive and put it back in.
>>
>> The computer now works better than it has in months! Could a CD problem as
>> stated above cause the aforementioned symptoms? It seems very strange to me.
>>
>> Mel
>>
>>
>
>
>IIRC, the optical drive in an Inspiron 2200 is held in place by a single
>screw through the bottom of the chassis, actually like most other Dell
>laptops and many other brands. If the screw is missing, the drive can
>slide slightly out of the chassis. When this happens, the motherboard
>BIOS struggles to find a drive that is not there, leading to long
>startup times. Could cause the other symptoms you are describing, too.
>
>In summary, your system has a screw loose. Or missing. Scecuring the
>drive with a screw will stop this from happening again... Ben Myers


I know some people who also have at least one screw loose or
missing <g>.
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