The older DELL Dimension 8200 with a orange light problem. So first check if the lights in the back of the computer light up at all. Those lights are there for diagnostic purposes! In this case none of the lights lit up.

Several possible suspects come up…

• • • Motherboard
    • Memory

However, this was not the usual case…

After looking around and taking out one PCI card at a time the Video Card was the problem.

Let’s take a look at the pictures to figure out why…

After taking a closer look at the card, an electrolytic cap came to attention due to it’s blown top. Check out the details on the next three pictures to see what i’m talking about. The cap surface should be clean and smooth, if it has brown stuff oozing out of it then it’s most likely not good. However, please understand that the only way to really check the cap is by measuring it with a cap meter, but if the top is blow it’s a pretty safe assumption…

The value of the blown cap is defined using two numbers,

uF and v (Microfarad and Voltage)

Make sure that the new cap you place in it’s place:

• • • HAS THE SAME Microfarad value!!!
    • Has same or HIGHER voltage (this value is sort-of an ‘UP TO’ value, so higher would be fine)
    • Size DOES matter here… it should be same OR LARGER size… it is used for heat dispersion

Notice that the numbers are 1000 and 16v

So that means that our blown cap is:

• • • 1000uF (Microfarad)
    • 16v

I replaced the silver blown cap with the slightly larger green cap (with same value)

When you take out the old cap, you will notice that there is a circle that marks the spot where the cap was. Half of the circle is shaded and half of the circle is not, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! The shaded half is USUALLY the ‘Negative’ side, BUT in this case it’s the exact opposite, make sure to place the negative side of the cap into the correct half of the circle

You can use other caps on the board to reference the direction as ALL caps on the board will follow same direction…

Here is the only tool needed for the job…

If you have any questions, submit them to me at artem@rhinotechie.com

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I took the pics as I was putting the laptop together, so i’ll switch their order to show you how to take it apart. There are LOTS of screws and little pieces. IF YOU DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH SOLDERING OR SMALL PARTS, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS.

What you will need for the job:

• This job should take you anywhere between 30-90 minutes to complete, please do not hurry, take your time.
• You will need a small Phillips Head Screwdriver. I used Craftsman Professional 1X4 (41528)
• You will need a small Flat Head Screwdriver. I used Craftsman Professional 1/8 X 4  (41523)
• You will need a 3/16″ driver (For the VGA connector pins) I used 1/4 Extension from Craftsman (43372)
• You will need a GOOD soldering iron (At least 35 Watt, no more then 50 Watt) I used a Weller WP35 with a needle tip.
• You will need a small roll of solder. I used Nippon America (60% rosin core) 0.8mm
• You will need a solder sucker or a small roll of solder remover tape. I used Techspray PRO Wick (Width .044″(1.4mm)) 1802-5F

So, now that we got that out of the way…

Let’s get started…

Let’s Start by taking out the battery and place the screwdriver into the little crevice on the right side and pry off the cover that spans the front of the laptop including the power button… Once the cover starts coming off you can carefully pull it and it will come off. It is held to the computer by a few clip-in’s. Step one is complete

Next we should take care of the keyboard! Let’s start by taking off the FOUR screws that hold the Keyboard down as shown in the pics below…

The keyboard has several metal tabs that keep it in place at the bottom and a black ribbon cable that connects the keyboard to the motherboard.

Now we will take off the scree to take it out of the way and out of path of damage

Take out the two screws from the back panel:

Now Flip open up the screen. You will see the screen is held to the chassy by two metal brackets (one on each side) The brackets are attached to the chassy through two screws on each side.

Now the only thing standing between you and taking the screen off is the ribbon cable connecting it to the motherboard. Please BE VERY CAREFUL! Pull off the sticky tape that holds the ribbon cable to the frame and gently pull the connector up for it to come off.

VERY IMPORTANT: Now pull the screen up and place it in a SAFE location where nobody will step on it, sit on it or scratch it!

You should now have a screenless chassy in your posession. Let’s take out the extra’s starting with the battery and hard-drive. Try not to drop/shock the hard-drive as that may result in permanent data loss… Take off the RAM cover and pull out the chips…

Undo the screw on the Wireless Card (C) cover, take the wireless card out by disconnecting the two antenna wires and sliding the two metal holders apart so that the card can come up and out of the mini-pci slot and disconnect the small wire from the modem card

Take out the Power button control panel, it is held by two screws

Next, let’s take out the metal retaining plate where the keyboard used to be. It’s only held by one screw, so should be easy…

OK… most of the work is DONE… Just kidding…

While the laptop is facing up as in the picture above, you’ll see two small screws that partially hold the top cover to the bottom assy

Let’s take out the DVD-ROM… Unscrew the screw shown here an pull out the DVD (some of these laptops also have a screw holding the DVD-ROM under the keyboard area. So double check. This particular machine did not have it, but I’m pretty sure I did have a screw hold the DVD-ROM under the keyboard on a different 5150…

Time for the TOP cover to fly off…

Alright… a few more screws out of the way…

Let’s flip the assembly and pull the top cover off. Please noticed that the TOP cover is connected to the motherboard by a small connector which is located right above the mousepad…

Take out the graphic card, it’s mounted by two screws. Once the screws are out, pull it up by the white tab…

Let’s take out the CPU, start by disconnecting the power for the fan and then unscrew the four silver heat sink mounting screws…

Now there are a few heatsinks that require your attention…

Take out the metal brackets for PCMCIA cards and DVD-ROM and the plastic bracket for battery…

Once you took out the two screws holding this bracket you should be able to wiggle it out of the spot it is in. Don’t be rough with it, but it might take some playing around to get the metal holders out of the slots they are in.

Next let’s take off the PCMCIA slot and a supporting card…

One more bracket left (plastic) that holds the battery… two screws like the previous brackets and then lift up :)  …

We’re almost DONE! The motherboard is held to the plastic casing by the VGA adapter, you’ll need the 3/16″ to take that out…

Disconnect the Audio Connector…

So now that we have the laptop TOTALLY apart… the power adapter is a small metallic box with plastic input. Notice that solder around the pins of the connector could be cracked, if there is a crack-ring around the solder joint, this might just be your problem. However, the jack may also have damage on the inside and MAY need to be replaced. The jacks can be purchased for a rather cheap price on ebay… Expect to pay between $6-$10 (including shipping) DON’T PAY ANY MORE!!

There are four ground pins, one positive voltage and one detector pin. The detector pin is important!

Congratulations… You’ve successfuly took apart your 5150…

Now just follow the directions in reverse order to put it back together!

As so many of our customers have noticed, a product that calls itself Antivirus 2008 or Antivirus 2009 is not an Antivirus at all or in the words of Peter Griffin “it doesn’t make you breakfast at all… all it does is shoot you!”. As a matter for all intents and purposes this software disables many everyday functions of your computer and should be considered armed and dangerous…

The makers of this ROGUE software went so far as to inject code into web-sites you visit to make it look like that site recommends for you to register/pay for a copy of that software. A good example was http://www.google.com, it brought us to the google page with a warning from ‘Google’ that the copy of Antivirus 2009 was not registered and that we should do so as soon as possible.

While to a tech this looks funny, to a normal person that trusts that these words come from a respectable organization (Google) will go and pay the makers of Antivirus 2009 to further infect their computer.

The software protects itself well by making sure that you cannot browse the net for solutions by labeling the sites with solution as ‘Too Dangerous’ and not allowing you access.

The good news is that there is a solution! MalwareBytes software is able to clean Antivirus 2009 and loads of other threats.

You’ll most likely not be able to download MalwareBytes from the infected machine. As I mentioned previously, this software protects itself well. However you can download and burn the MalwareBytes onto a CD and use it to remove the parasite. Make sure to perform an Update prior to scanning, as you will need the latest definitions to fight this type of parasite.

If you need help removing Antivirus 2009 email me at artem@rhinotechie.com

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A Wii Knock-Off

The title almost sounds like a Starwars joke! However in the Consumer Electronics Show a several Wii clones were shown by companies most people never heard of. I found the idea rather interesting and suddenly remembered that when I lived in Russia, kids had Nintendo games for consoles like ‘Dendy’ and ‘Hi-Tech’ - Korean knock-offs from the original Nintendo console with all the same games like Duck Hunt and Mario Brothers.

I just treat these consoles as a joke, because they are rather flimsy with games that try to immitate but cannot duplicate. However, I would like to know how that makes you feel! Send me a response at artem@rhinotechie.com or post one here!

Avoiding this is easy! To start visit http://www.dtv2009.gov - a government sponsored web-site to provide you with the latest information about the switch and who is effected.

We received many requests to clarify who will be effected and what steps you can take.

To start, TV’s that do not have a digital tuner will be effected. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your flat-screen TV has a digital tuner. Check the manual if you have to. Most (about 99%) of televisions made prior to 2004 have standard tuners and will require a converter box. While government has been advertising the $40 coupon that can send you, if you have not ordered it yet, you will most likely not get one anytime soon. The current economic sittuation added with people that took advantage of the program to get extra coupons (to sell, trade, etc) the original estimate of funds that would be needed was not close to the actual demand. I do suggest you still apply just in case, but you will NOT have the coupon through the government in time for a switch.

The converter box will take advantage of the digital signals and will bring you a clear picture and sound. The quality of the new digital age IS NOT your daddy’s rabbit-ears. I myself have a 55″ Hitachi Plasma TV (w/digital tuner built-in) and use a Philips DTV antenna. The picture is so clear on my Boston and Providence channels that it feels like the football game on the other side of the screen is going to end up in my living-room!

Need help with your DTV or have a related question? Feel free to send me an email at artem@rhinotechie.com

EECS specializes in HD TV and high-end DJ Audio equipment repair. They’ve been servicing Greater New Bedford Area since 1988 and have been featured in the local papers for their great work! The two master-tech’s have Masters of Electronics Engineering degrees from SMU