[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] requesting help in repairing a Dell Inspiron 6000 motherboard

[Samudra Haque]

Hi,

My XYL's personal laptop is (was) a Dell Inspiron 6000, which has
developed the flaky power connector problem.

After some research and a look at
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2007/12/06/dc-power-jack-repair-guide/comment-page-17/,
and also Dell's informative online service manual concerning how to
access the motherboard and replace the motherboard,
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins6000/en/sm/sysboard.htm#wp1000473,
I have ordered a small power connector, from ebay,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=280287632901
which cost me a total of $9.00

So far, I haven't yet touched the laptop, as I need to organise the
tools etc. I don't have any recent experience with SMT solder and
don't have the equipment here in my shack, and a two-sided solder
seems doable, but I think I will need help as it is a significant job
I gather for inexperienced techs..

Would it be possible to borrow the solder station from any of you when
I do this disassembly and repair -or- could I bring the laptop to any
club member and ask for your guidance as I do the repair job? I asked
around and am facing either paying a lot of $ for professional repair,
or paying $$ for a new laptop computer. If I can get this fixed, then
at least it can be put to use in my radio shack, as she didn't like
the laptop which is quite heavy, but she did like the screen.

BTW, the original hard disk of this laptop has problems, and I am also
looking to replace that when the system power problem (loose jack) is
fixed.

73 de N3RDX