Replaced Motherboard on Dell D830, laptop boots successfully then shuts down

My trusty Dell D830 had water spilled on it, so I replaced the motherboard (after having successfully done this with another Dell a few years ago).

After installing the motherboard using the previous CPU, memory, battery, hard drive, display, etc. the laptop starts up, appears to begin to boot successfully, then the fan comes on right after that (even if it's not warm yet), and then it shuts down automatically after 1 or 2 minutes.

Sometimes it shuts down before windows XP loads, sometimes after - I can't seem to figure out why. Does it have something to do with needing to install a new Bios version with a new motherboard?

 

The instructions that came with the motherboard, would have stated if you needed to update the bios to work with your machine. Some of the Dell motherboards are used in multiple machines. Now, the big question is, where did you get this replacement motherboard from.

 

I got it on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/K372D-Dell-D830...551470049?pt=Motherboards&hash=item25619d03e1

It seemed like a good source, but it did not come with instructions - I followed the instructions at http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd830/en/SM_EN/sysboard.htm

It seems like the laptop thinks it's overheating, turns the fan on high and then shuts down because it thinks it's too hot.

 

Did you reapply TIM when installing the CPU in the new mobo?

 

I did not - I didn't think that it would make a difference, but after more reading, apparently it does. Do you recommend any specific type of thermal paste (i.e. ceramic or silicon based)?

 

I took the laptop apart, cleaned off the old TIM from the heatsink and CPU, and re-applied it according to instructions at :

http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appmeth/int/vl/intel_app_method_vertical_line_v1.1.pdf

And still no joy :confused - laptop shuts down about 1-2 minutes after starting up. I tried to get into BIOS to look at CPU, hard drive temperature, etc but the computer shuts down before I am able to do so.

 

I would contact the seller. It could had been FUBAR from the beginning.

 

Thanks plodr and brownizs -

The fan turns on almost immediately after turning on the computer, first at slow speed, then on higher speed, then super high speed then shuts down. All this takes about 2 minutes. If I try to turn it on again right after trying, the process takes about 30 sec.


To test the memory, I tried taking the memory modules out (one at a time) and the results were the same (with each of the memory modules in by itself) - the computer shutting down after startup. Is there another way to test the memory? I wish I had some extra new memory modules around to put in and test.

I also performed these tests:

1. took out the battery and used only AC power - laptop started for a few minutes, went into windows, then shut down.
2. unplugged the LCD totally from the laptop and plugged in an external monitor (which displayed everything as it should when booting up - then tried to load windows then shut down.
3. took out the hard drive and booted from a windows xp cd - the laptop appeared to be functioning normally, trying to load the set up files (blue screen) then the fan turned on, then kicked into high speed, then the computer shut down.


After all this I'm thinking that it may be a faulty motherboard - FUBAR - unless something else comes to mind!