Resurrecting my Dell Latitude D830 from The Grave

 

The Laptop I wrote over 30 books on! 

A few years ago after seven years of service, my Dell Latitude D830 died. Due to an issue with the video card, the motherboard was beyond repair.

Unfortunately The video card wasn’t the only issue I had with that Latitude. After I got my A+ Certification way back in 2009, I found myself putting my PC repair skills to work fixing that Laptop more times than one. Before the extended warranty expired I wound up doing TWO partition and formats to the hard drive where I reinstalled the operating system and the software. And after the extended warranty expired in 2011, I replaced the cooling fan inside the D830, and in 2014 I replaced both the broken hinges that held the screen up. After the Dell died, I searched eBay long and hard for a new motherboard. Unfortunately with limited funds I couldn’t find anything in my price range.

Worse, I found out the Motherboards in most Dell Latitudes are bolted into the case by the monitor jack ports. So there was no replacing the motherboard.

Since I had a functioning hard drive, I went looking for a way to replace the computer. What most people don’t know is that if you have the same make and model computer and you put the same hard drive inside that unit, it’ll boot up just like the old computer.

 Searching eBay I found a few leads on units on Goodwills across the country, but I kept getting outbid. At the time I was looking for a motherboard with the processor inside. I found one motherboard for $34, but I also found a whole laptop for $25 with a Buy It Now. Since I had some birthday money I picked up that laptop for $25 plus shipping.

The laptop I got was old, but very clean. It looked practically new. A former school computer, the unit had a working DVD drive and a battery. So it was a pretty good deal for just $25.

Back to LIFE! 

Once I got the laptop delivered, I put my old hard drive inside and after two years…My old computer was brought back from the dead.

After a few adjustments to the drivers using the Dell Driver CDs I had from the old laptop, I had a functioning laptop again. The whole process to reinstalling the hard drive and the drivers took less than an hour, and I’m very happy.

After six years, my PC repair skills are still sharp. I can still break down and fix a laptop and get it back running new. I’m still looking for a full-time job where I could do PC repairs professionally but I’m just happy to know I can still fix a problem on a Windows PC easily if I have a problem with one at home.

I’d love to learn how to fix tablets and Macs. Maybe if I can find a cheap Surface Pro or a MacBook pro I believe I could learn how to fix those as well.