Pretty self explanatory. I'll keep spam to a minimum by first asking the owners and users of this Inspiron model to reply before continuing on my inquiry. I'm having a technical issue but would like help from those who own a 600m. Thank you.
My family does have two Dell laptops, both Inspiron brand but the model series is not 600m. Even though it's not the same model series, I may still be able to help with something.
Okay Snake. Thanks. My problem deals with my frame rate crashing down to 3-4 fps and my processor dropping to 600 mHz from its initial 1.5 gHz. The fan turns on and the performance drops. The laptop "overheats" althought it isn't overheating. The laptop for some reason kicks in to some defense mechanism because it thinks it's overheating and drops the processor's performance to maintain this "heat". I know it's not a heat issue because this happens when I just switch it on. I cleaned the fans and vents thoroughly so it's not dust clogging the fans. I flashed BIOS back to A06 from A17 by recommendation. This seemed to have solved several others identical problems but it doesn't solve mine. I doubt it's anything having to do with the parts because people with the same problem have tried to replace motherboards and etc. to no resolve. If anything comes up, I'll update you. Thanks for any advice.
Specs on 600m:
512 mb RAM
Intel Pentium M 1.5 gHz
32 gb hard drive
Oh ... so is it a desktop, or a laptop. I was like "how do you replace motherboard of a laptop".
Anyways ...
If it's not the physical heat issue, and flashing BIOS doesn't seem to change anything, then it could either be a faulty part that is producing more heat that it should, or it could be a thermal sensor problem and it's reporting the wrong temperature.
I don't remember exactly about Dell computer's BIOS settings, but OEM motherboards, such as Asus, have a tap for Fans and Temperature. See what the temperature in the BIOS is reads when you do a cold boot (from a shutdown computer that's been cooled down) and from warm boot (restarting windows or press reset button on the the computer case). If you see a specific temperature (such as CPU temperature, or other components listed) being really high, then it could either be the faulty part or a faulty thermal sensor on that part.
EDIT: I just did a quick search and I found this "cool" solution. Though you probably seen it already since you said you've searched around.
| QUOTE |
Gather two unused ziplock sandwich bags. Fill one to 2/3 capacity with crushed ice and seal it. Water leackage is usually at the seal, so insert filled bag into second bag such that the seal of the filled bag goes into the bottom of the second bag. Seal second bag. Place napkin over seal of second bag and always position second bag seal towards you (incase of any leakage). Place your new icepack under the part of the laptop labeled "M". It is the unscrewable box in the middle-front between the battery and the fan (The box nearest the fan I think is the cpu, and a pack there is for a whole 'nother problem). Enjoy.
After my hour of half-life 2 gaming, the ice pack still contained around 90% ice, which leads me to believe that much use can be had out of one pack. The best practice is to use it while the memory is still cool so as to reduce melting (and possible leakage). I haven't tried prolonged gaming yet, but if I do, I'll try and measure it as well (and post the findings).
I know, I know, this was all over dramatic and over climactic for a post about ziplock bags and crushed ice. It's just with all the anger associated with dell and fears about having to do a BIOS downgrade (is it really from 1999?), the solution was a welcome relief. |
But who knew, this person replaced his missing rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop and solved his heating problem.
| QUOTE |
And indeed: it seems that when the CPU overheats, the motherboard slows it down dramatically to a crawl (I'm sure it's much more severe than the reported 600 MHz), and then nothing short of a hibernate/dehibernate cycle will help.
And the overheating was all to do with my having lost nearly all the little rubber feet on the base of the laptop. I bought replacements at Radio Shack for $2 and my CPU temperatures have gone from 75 C to 50 C. Now the laptop is again snappy like it hasn't been for a long time. |
And there's also this solution where the faulty modem card is actually the problem. This is probably more similar to your case, since you say that it boots up at the slow speed already.
| QUOTE |
| This little exercise took me a while to figure out, but as the laptop aged, it began to have the infamous power up problems. Today, I think I've found the culprit. I think it's the Broadcom modem, I think it may be sensitive to pressure and thermal changes and that over time it becomes damaged. Today I simply removed and it seems to have fixed my power up issuse.** It seems that if it malfunctions it can prevent the computer from actually booting up. |
That's all I find in the 10 mins time I have here at work. If your problem persists, maybe I'll look into it further.
Hey thanks snake. Considering what I'm expecting, I don't think I'll do much with my laptop in terms of experimenting to fix it. It's not worth going through all the frustration. Besides, I'm not using it for gaming or anything. Again I'm just thinking out loud so don't mind me. I'm using it simply as a word processor for my novels and other literature. But thanks for taking your time to helping me look for solutions.
Well the first solution is a bit over the top. But perhaps consider looking at the 2nd and 3rd one. They shouldn't be too difficult to do.