I need HELP with my laptop

[Navydoc]

I have a Dell Precision M70 laptop and ANY time I plug in, unplug or even TOUCH 1 of the 2 USB ports on the back, my power shuts off and my laptop makes a strange "zapping" sound. Any ideas?

 

[OnionKnight]

I have a Dell Precision M70 laptop and ANY time I plug in, unplug or even TOUCH 1 of the 2 USB ports on the back, my power shuts off and my laptop makes a strange "zapping" sound. Any ideas?

 

 

I have no clue? Maybe something broke inside your laptop? (probably not your fan though or else you laptop would just shut down randomly). Pick it up and shake it to see if anything is broken inside =P

[Number1Dad]

Sounds like something knocked loose. I'd get it fixed before turning it on again.

[Navydoc]

Well Onion..... There's nothing rattling around. I haven't dropped it or knocked it or anything. Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot?? GRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[OnionKnight]

Well Onion..... There's nothing rattling around. I haven't dropped it or knocked it or anything. Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot?? GRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Okay first when you say power shuts off, do you mean the whole comp shuts down or just the AC adapter (so battery is still working?). I have some guesses as what it could be but before that you should try some of these things (if you haven't already done so)

 

Some things you should try to do:

 

1.) Download realtemps or core temps and see if there is overheating. If it is overheating, you will see a steady increase in temp even though your computer is doing nothing for like 10 mins (overheating obviously XD) http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/ or http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/

2.) Take out the battery, run it directly on AC power, see if it makes zapping noise - (Would label it as a AC adapter problem)

3.) Run it on the battery, No AC cord - (it is possible that the battery is too old or faulty)

4.) Try different power saver settings to see if the zapping noise persists when you plug something into the usb ports

5.) Unplug all USB devices and start the laptop

 

If those don't tell you anything, here are some common reasons for zapping/powering down:

 

- A loose motherboard - would result in possibly some broken/ bent parts and twisted/strained connectors. This can cause both the zapping noise (as reported by some people) and the random shut downs (could be caused by overheating, loose parts...etc).

 

- Faulty USB port or device (EXTREMELY COMMON): A Zapping noise coming directly from USB is 90% of the time actually be either a faulty USB device like a mouse ...etc. Or the USB ports are bent or damaged. I think this is the most likely case for you. Does not relate in anyway to the computer actually shutting down (has never caused that ), but it could be a combination of a Fautly USB port + some other issue (like loose motherboard or old battery). My moms old comp had this problem with the zapping noise.

 

Final Word:

 

But I definitely do think the zapping noise is caused by faulty USB ports/devices (from experience with my parents laptop ). As for the powering down part, no fricken clue lol. There are lots of possibilities out there (overheating due to fan not working, faulty motherboard, motherboard loose parts, faulty AC adapter, AC adapter with a loose cord/connection or an old battery).

 

ALSO:

 

I think dell gives 1-3 year warranty with all their computers so maybe you should look into it (10 years ago I bought a Dell comp and it came with a 3 year warranty.)

[Krauersaut]

I don't know about your service plan, but have you already contacted Dell's technical support?

 

They usually help you instantly with your problems.

[-=Medic=-]

throw you laptop from your window, if it come back then try to fix and if it don't then buy new one ^^

 

 

 

seriously as Krauersaut said try to contact Dell support, check also if warranty still valid

[Navydoc]

throw you laptop from your window, if it come back then try to fix and if it don't then buy new one ^^

 

 

 

seriously as Krauersaut said try to contact Dell support, check also if warranty still valid

 

LMAO Medic.... This is BY FAR my favorite reply!! It goes OLD SCHOOL with "LOVE!" If you love something let it go, if it comes back... Try and fix it, if it doesn't.... I didn't need that b*** ANYWAY!!!

 

I can only talk to the military help desk at Dell since it's a Navy Laptop and they aren't back until Monday

[JoeDirt]

Call Dell support if you have warranty and tell them that the motherboard needs replacing, having owned similar laptop I can tell you it could be that the solder has a micro fracture where when you press a certain part of the laptop it will shut off. The problem with mine was that you would have to firmly pres the power button and number 8 to turn it on. The daughter board where the power button was located had a micro fracture, it was to small of a solder to fix myself so I just had them replace it.

[blackhawk]

As others have posted here it's probably some sort of motherboard issue. If it's actually a "zapping" noise that could be the sound of electricity arcing which would imply a poor connection on the motherboard. Being that you said you had a M70, which was a model from 2005-2006 I'm guessing you're likely out of Dell's warranty. It could be that the connection between the USB ports and motherboard have broken and need to be soldered (or maybe the usb ports are bad themselves but likely a bad connection) You'll likely want to take everything out and see if you can see any broken connections on the motherboard. A year ago I had to repair an Compaq Presario AC Jack and solder a new one on. Previously I would occasionally get a click noise as the motherboard got AC power or stopped getting power as the connection met or broke as it was loose and finally just broke off all together. Rather than repair the connection and hope the AC Jack was still good I just bought a new AC Jack for a couple of bucks and got that soldered on. In your case you might have a connection failing between the mobo and the usb ports and a short is created when you touch the usb ports and that's why it shuts down, or maybe the mobo itself is going bad.

[PHANTASM]

well I just googled your problem (I entered "Dell Precision M70 laptop complaints") out of curiosity, I looked through the previews of the first fifty or so webpages that popped up, and I didn't see anything similar. So it's not a manufacturing defect, someone must have dropped it or something.

 

I had a 2006 Gateway laptop that started overheating and finally had an internal electrical fire. My laptop started smoking from the monitor and I had to remove the battery very quickly to cut off the power. It was ruined. I opened it up and one of the wires had melted.

 

Laptops can be dangerous. Always remove the battery when it is unattended, if you think you have a short circuit.

[NoGooD]

I agree with everyone else stating this is most likely a broken solder connection. This occurs fairly frequently on laptops, especially if your plugging/unplugging USB devices often. How good are you with a solder gun?