Putting X50v into cradle fried my laptop

DLew · 10-03-05, 10:23 AM

Well I have had my X50v for about five days and everything was going great...until yesterday. I have been trying out various programs to see what I wanted to use on my Axim. Yesterday I had downloaded a couple trials and was going to install them on the pda. So I slid the pda into the cradle like I have done many times over the past week, and instantly my laptop just shut off. I pressed the power button to turn it back on, and the power light comes on for a couple seconds and then goes off. Nothing else happens - no hard drive spinning, no fans spinning - nothing.

After an excruciating hour and a half on the phone weeding through the frustrating customer service maze at Dell, it was determined that the motherboard probably is fried. Fortunately it is still under warranty and is being shipped to Dell for repair.

Anybody ever hear of this before? Of course when the laptop comes back I'll be afraid to plug in the pda again. I guess I'll just cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Anyway, I know nobody can help me or anything, I just wanted to share my experience.

DLew

Jukov · 10-03-05, 10:33 AM

I wonder. Was it connected to AC or working on batteries?

DLew · 10-03-05, 10:38 AM

It was running on battery power at the time. That shouldn't make any difference, should it?

DLew

Jukov · 10-03-05, 10:43 AM

Unless the AC is not grounded properly... Anyway I feel Your pain I just fried mine ... :) yep , it's dead...

DLew · 10-03-05, 10:47 AM

Jukov,

Did yours happen the same way, or did it just die on its own?

DLew

eve6grl02 · 10-03-05, 12:15 PM

i've heard of this before...

what order did you plug things in? the instructions for the cradle say:
1) plug power into wall
2) plug power into cradle
3) plug in USB cable
4) place Axim in cradle.

something about a power surge if you do it in the wrong order...i dunno. i always did things in that order, and never had a problem. i use it with a Inspiron 6000 (usually plugged into the wall, but not always). i also usually plug it into a hub (i'd rather fry that than the mobo), but i've plugged in in directly in the past...

well anyway...there's alot of threads about this...maybe you can find someone with a more definitive answer.

Jukov · 10-03-05, 12:19 PM

well mine is fried alright but I don't know if this was Axim related...

DLew · 10-03-05, 01:13 PM

eve6grl02,

The cradle was plugged into the laptop, but not connected to the wall outlet. I just slid the Axim into the cradle and it was lights out for the laptop. I do like the idea of using a hub to act as a little buffer zone between the cradle and the laptop though. I may have to get one of those while Dell is working on my machine.

Does it make any difference if the pda is on or off when you put it into the cradle? Mine was on at the time, which I think is supposed to be ok to do.

Thanks,

DLew

rammstein · 10-03-05, 01:18 PM

DLew, it doesnt really mater if its on or off. Cant it be just coincidence...?

c00lk1d · 10-03-05, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by DLew

eve6grl02,

The cradle was plugged into the laptop, but not connected to the wall outlet. I just slid the Axim into the cradle and it was lights out for the laptop. I do like the idea of using a hub to act as a little buffer zone between the cradle and the laptop though. I may have to get one of those while Dell is working on my machine.

Does it make any difference if the pda is on or off when you put it into the cradle? Mine was on at the time, which I think is supposed to be ok to do.

Thanks,

DLew

I did see a fried USB controle berfore... not an entire Mobo though. you should check the usb cable between the laptop.

DLew · 10-03-05, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by rammstein

DLew, it doesnt really mater if its on or off. Cant it be just coincidence...?

If the pda had been in the cradle for a while and then the computer died, I would say it's a coincidence. However, since the computer shut off the instant that the pda made contact with the cradle's connector, I think there is a direct relation there.

DLew

Geil · 10-03-05, 02:04 PM

you should just count yourself very luky that both your laptop and PDA are from DELL. Imagine if laptop is from another manufacturer, they would have tossed you back and forth, I wonder who would have repaired it.

yannickevenas · 10-03-05, 03:35 PM

Dlew,
before you ship your laptop to Dell, try this:
unplug the AC power from laptop
Remove the battery (batteries) from laptop
push the power button for about 10 seconds.
Reconnect the power and see if your laptop starts up.

Yannick.

DLew · 10-03-05, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by yannickevenas

Dlew,
before you ship your laptop to Dell, try this:
unplug the AC power from laptop
Remove the battery (batteries) from laptop
push the power button for about 10 seconds.
Reconnect the power and see if your laptop starts up.

Yannick.

Yannick,

I did that several times. In fact, when I was on the phone with the Dell "Hardware Specialist" he had me remove the battery, the memory, the DVD drive, and the hard drive - testing it after each component was removed to see if it made a difference. No luck.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

DLew

doo567 · 10-03-05, 03:45 PM

This exact thing happened to me but on a Dimension 8300 desktop last week. My desktop immediately powered down. It fried all my USB ports on my motherboard. My new motherboard is in the mail! Also, you should get your cradle replaced at the very least and maybe your x50v. Dell replaced both of mine. I would definitely not plug that cradle into any other computer or your repaired one. Dell in fact told me not too and said they have heard of this problem before. If you search around this is very well known problem, the lethal cradle thread is very large one. I found about it when I had the problem with my x50v.