Comments on: Laptop Repair

By: greg

greg — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:54:10 +0000

I just solved a no power issue on a 5160. It would not boot, but most of the time the power and battery lights would blink a few times. Not always though. The problem was the touchpad of all things. It boots perfectly now that the touchpad cable is disconnected.

I found a post on yahoo of all places where a guy describes the problem as being a switch that is built into the touchpad. He says sometimes if you tap hard on the palmrest close to the touchpad, it will free the switch and the laptop will boot for a while but it’s best to replace the thing if you want the mouse to work and the laptop to be dependable.

I didn’t find his post until after I figured out what was wrong and googled inspiron 5160 touchpad problem no boot. So there is another surefire oddity of these laptops and something the rest of you can try if yours is acting like this one was.

By: Debbie Miner

Debbie Miner — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:19:06 +0000

hi, I’m just now working the same problem…only my cooling unit came out without any issues…from what I’ve read here, it should have stuck or possibly been a bit stubborn…does that mean my compound had all evaporated or dried up? If so, when I reinstall the fan, where exactly do I need to put the compound.? The manual talks about the mylar being removed and thermal grease put there…? I’m reinstalling the same fan, so is that the brand mylar label on the fan, and do I use the same compound? And is it the “Silver thermal compound” or the “Silicone Heat Sink compound”?

By: Debbie Miner

Debbie Miner — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:12:39 +0000

Okay, so I’m just now getting around to seeing if I can upgrade and repair my Inspiron 5160 myself…the problems were: 1. my usb ports went out. 2. my battery seemed to be overheating and the computer would auto shutd own.
Now after 3 years of non use, I tried removing the battery and found i could operate about 4 times longer before the auto shutdown, however, it still overheats…so okay after reading this blog, I’ve discovered it may or may not be the battery that’s overheating, but most likely is the thermal cooling assembly. So I dismantled the unit per the manual, and my cooling assembly wasn’t overly dirty as I was actually hoping, however when I removed it, it came up extremely easy. After reading this blog, I was expecting it to stick and be a bit stubborn. So does that mean all of my thermal grease had dried up and could that possibly be the problem overall..?

By: Staffan

Staffan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:31:38 +0000

Had the same problem, changed the Videocard. Now working!

By: Raj

Raj — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:38:43 +0000

Geeks….My Laptop Inspiron 5160 does not start at all. If I plug in the power adapter, the power lights even don’t turn on. Some times if press Power button no of times, yellow light blinks for like 4 times but nothing happens.

Pls help!!

Thx

By: Raj

Raj — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:37:37 +0000

Geeks….My Laptop does not start at all. If I plug in the power adapter, the power lights even don’t turn on. Some times if press Power button no of times, yellow light blinks for like 4 times but nothing happens.

Pls help!!

Thx

By: San

San — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:21:31 +0000

Anyone have a pin diagram for the Battery Pack 6T473 for Inspiron 5160? My AC adapter is good, but due to the DCConnecter loose connection its not powering up. If I can directly charge the battery from the AC Adapter output will be nice. Hoping this will work atleast untill the data is backedup… Any help?

By: Barry

Barry — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:08:09 +0000

When I get a dell that doesn’t power up or display, I connect an external monitor in back and it fires up & displays. So… sometimes the ground in the dc jack won’t connect and the external monitor jack acts as a … um, replacement ground.

By: dissapointed owner

dissapointed owner — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:28:57 +0000

Hi – I have a Dell Inspirion 5160 laptop. The laptop screen is flickering. Sometime it will work well without any issue but soon the screen will start flckering. I have NVIDIA 64MB graphics card. Any idea what can be the cause of this issue?

By: bob borum

bob borum — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:21:13 +0000

I have a dell 5160 with trouble , it not power on , ot it displays no lights , the fan does not get power , new power adapter new battery