The power button pcb on it's own

Main mobo without the button pcb

The pcb connected

@uchetil I can solder, the thing is I'm not sure what exact chip I need to re-solder. I remember this video shows where to apply pressure when powering on. Also I remember once getting it to stay on longer than 10 seconds only turning off when I manually shut it off so I could figure out which one I held down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILLvioWt...

⟐ Commented June 04, 2022 at 14:00 MST

The issue now is you cannot find new IDE hard drives and many of the ones left are expensive, low capacity or a combination of the two. This is primarily because companies destroy them when they retire these notebooks, even though a wipe will probably be fine and the data is probably no longer relevant to their business. Because of the scarcity of good ones, I need to get creative to get around that issue as well.

One of the options I’ve looked into is doing an M.2 AHCI->IDE conversion using a 128GB SSD. It’s a bit more expensive then M.2->2.5” SATA because you need additional translation hardware (specifically the IDE->SATA bridge from IDE i915 notebooks), but it can be done. However, XP does not support TRIM as far as I know.

Is it possible to make TRIM work on WinXP? The version I have probably doesn’t matter too much, but I have Pro SP3 installed. I never installed any unofficial service packs because I don’t want to muck up compatibility and potentially make an irreversible mess without a wipe and reload. I am running No CD cracks for legally owned games to save my discs and modified files in Sims 2 Double Deluxe because of the 800x600 problem that comes up on 1024x768+ capable displays on some systems in the original SecuROM pressings that’s fixed in the Origin version. Mine was affected by that documented problem, so I had to patch multiple graphics rules files in order to fix it.

⟐ Answer edited August 08, 2020 at 3:15 MST

well imagine my surprise when I pulled it out of storage and plugged it into its 100 watt replacement brick (had worked before and works on a more modern toshiba) and nothing. no lights no small clicks just completely dead. the power is making it in but maybe it's battery is just finally that dead and it needs to sit on charge for a few days

if anyone has any ideas that would be great but I will list the things I've done so far

1. complete disassembly to check for power making it past the ac jack
2. checking for bad components on the board with a multimeter after discharging the caps by holding the power button (none found)
3. attempted to bypass power jack at the traces leading to the converter circuit and nothing.

I do know I haven't done any damage as of yet since it's not my first time experiencing a power issue on this specific laptop and have done this before and one day it kinda just worked so idk

⟐ Commented December 20, 2025 at 4:19 MST

*Read me* I upgraded this notebook to solid state with an SSD using an M.2 128GB (SATA)->IDE adapter. I calculated the partition size manually so I can get this right, since XP cannot be trusted to do it correctly AND my modern PC format resulted in a disk read error. This is why I clean installed XP on a configured system.

When it got past the installation, I noticed that screen glitch. I’ve already replaced the LVDS cable AND LCD to try and sort out previous problems, but it persists. Is there *any* way I can test the GPU to confirm it on such a horribly intermittent problem I can’t get to stick in a testable environment? This happened on the charger and it NEVER happened in the past that way. I’m hoping it’s the LVDS cable (even though it’ll annoy me) since it’s better then a board failure. Having to make this unit work is getting old and I’m just about out of patience to even bother finding the failure mode.

I have another unit I can prepare if I’m dealing with GPU problems - it’s not a regular failure on these but I’ve been told it happens enough I should watch for the signs it’s going to happen. This swap unit needs prep work (CMOS battery, SSD fit modification and thermal paste) but I can do that and may as well do all 3 at once since the unit needs to be opened either way.

⟐ Answer edited March 19, 2019 at 12:20 MST

This laptop was having ocassional LCD glitch issues for a while. Since it has persisted, I replaced the LVDS cable and applied new tape to make sure the problem is fixed; I have a few spare cables. If it doesn’t, I need to try a display to rule out the GPU (somewhat common on this model). I don’t think the cable will come loose:

HOWEVER, I inspected the old cable to see if it’s good to see if it can still be used. When doing that, I noticed multiple unusual kinks. I have attached pictures of the kinks that look unusual.

I don’t think this cable is kinked (or if it is, it doesn’t matter) but the ones I shown in the photos do raise some concerns. Does it look normal or does the cable I removed look like it had hidden damage that created the display problems?

⟐ Commented February 18, 2019 at 5:45 MST

At this point, I know both of the LVDS cables are probably okay so I am thinking the issue with this notebook is now related to the GPU/motherboard or panel. If I don’t use the notebook for a while, the LCD glitches. It doesn’t always do it and it always seems to recover, so I’m thinking there’s a display or GPU issue. While I have a parts unit to get a panel from with the correct resolution (XGA cables only work with an XGA display), I can use that to further troubleshoot it. However, while it’s not a hard repair it is a time consuming repair. I need to pull it from that unit, install it onto the one I’m trying to troubleshoot and protect the old part in case of a bad diagnosis. I’d like to be 100% sure before I open that unit and pull the LCD.

Is there any tests I can do that will rule out a GPU problem? I don’t ever see it on an external display so I’m fairly confident the screen is the problem at this point, but I’d rather test the GPU to be sure. Diagnostics for Windows 4.12A is rudimentary and only detects major GPU problems and passed it.

⟐ Commented February 03, 2019 at 21:15 MST

I have an HP nc6000 here and it needs a new hard drive (I have a 2009 WD IDE installed, but it clicks a lot as if it’s persistently recalibrating from being dropped with the notebook it came from). I can TRY and source a NOS 120GB+ IDE hard drive, but that isn’t going to be easy. I need better options and I have a few

• 128GB IDE SSD (More expensive then I’d like, but knowing what I’m dealing with it’s worth considering)
• CF->IDE (Card lifetime concerns once you go past DOS/Win9x)
• mSATA->IDE with 128GB SSD (Possibly error prone? That said, I can get the drives with no hassle and reuse it easily)
  

That basically breaks the drive situation down today for these legacy notebooks. I’m probably not going to find a NOS IDE drive so I need to get creative. I’ll have to figure it out, but that will be determined by how read/write heavy XP is.

⟐ Commented January 03, 2019 at 8:30 MST

⟐ Answer accepted July 02, 2016 at 18:05 MST