Dell forum: Dell XPS M1210 Motherboard replacement

Phillips #1 driver required (NOT Pozidrive)

I assume machine out of warranty and you have a replacement mobo.

Before removing the system board:

* Remove the AC power.
* Remove the battery.
* Remove the SIMM card.
* Remove the Bluetooth card.
* Remove the memory DIMM B.(under cover on base)
* Remove the WWAN mini card. (under cover on base)
* Remove the WLAN mini card. (under cover on base)
* Remove the optical drive.
* Remove the hard drive.
* Remove the keyboard bezel.
* Remove the keyboard.
* Remove the coin battery. (Disconnect from mobo)
* Remove the memory DIMM A.
* Remove the LCD.
* Remove the palm rest assembly.

Now we have to remove the palmrest (top cover).
Turn the machine over and there 5 screws on the base. Remove them.
Turn machine over, top up, and there are 7 screws to remove.

Disconnect cable connector from mobo.

The palmrest will lift off (there may be an occasional lug which may need easing)

* Remove the modem daughter card.
* Remove the processor heatsink assembly.
* Remove the processor.
* Remove the expressCard/ HD cage.
* Remove the fan.

2 screws retain the mobo. Remove them and the mobo should lift out. Maybe some gentle leverage may be required to release USB ports etc.

I am a Dell certified engineer in UK. If you need extra help I can send illustrations that may help.

Tom

my name ali and i need your help plz, my email,i have dell xps m1210 laptop and now i got this problem when first time i forget to turn off laptop then put it in bag,when i try to start on i heard like a small noise then off ,i leave it off for more then 2 weeks then when i try again to start on that's work for 6 months ,and then again not work ,now when i try to turn on there to led green and blue work for second then stop off ,i try to Chick possessor and bios they works so can you help me and explain what i do to let my laptop works again \\thanks

Hi Tom
Is there any chance i could have the illustrations that you mentioned in this thread as well....we have been donated an XPS M1210 for our community project...it worked fine for a whole 10 days and then black screen, no boot screen, nothing, minimal led display....looks like either the graphics card or the motherboard...groan...just when the kids were starting to enjoy their lessons....ive had a look at various forums and it seems that this model was prone to just such a common fault (question of solder???) is there any reasonable way of repairing it, as we have v v limited budget as it is let alone for any IT problems? Can you recommend an aftermarket motherboard that would fit straight in with minimal fuss and get us up and running again?? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.
All the Best
Docjab1

Rob said
May 14, 2011 at 11:35 am
Hey all. I want to echo what Gabe said above. My M1210 has been sitting idle for almost 2 years now with the black screen while the computer is working fine. I was unwilling to pay the money to take it to a repair shop and also I work in Africa so I don't have many options. I decided to take the computer apart (I've never done it before) and give the oven trick a try. This afternoon the screen was black. I took it apart and baked the motherboard for between around 5 minutes (2.5 min on each side) and then reassembled my computer. It actually worked!! I can't believe it. If it starts having the problem again I'll update this post, but for now it looks great. I too was worried about melting, but I didn't see anything harmed at all. If you are about to give up on your M1210 then give it a try. It was interesting to take a whole laptop apart anyway

22.Anonymous said
December 17, 2011 at 10:38 pm
Incredible advice. Who would ever believe it? Actually, I did because I had the exact same problem. I looked for a replacement video card but couldn't find one. So I threw it in the oven as suggested and holy moly, I put it back together, fired it up, and wham, I got my laptop back. Unbelievable. If you have nothing to loose, try it. I sounds insane, but the idea makes sense. 350 degrees is just hot enough to fuse the loose solder back together to give the circuits a sound connection. Thanks everyone for making this repair possible

21.knol911 said
November 30, 2011 at 9:57 am
Seriously, the oven. I tried this two weeks ago and have had zero problems since. I placed the mobo in a 320 degree oven on top of a ceramic casserole to keep it off the metal rack. 2 minutes 30 seconds, flip, another 2 minutes 30 seconds. Let it cool completely. Rebuild. Viola! Works perfectly.

Now I've acquired a second M1210 sold cheap for the same problem. Going to use the oven method. I ran this one through boot diagnostics (available with the F12 key) three times with no issues. After it's been running awhile, the screen suddenly goes black. I'll report after the baking effort
Good luck everyone..will let you know how mine turns out...waupee

Hi..i read it in a forum and a few people did it and had their lap top screen working again..i am replacing the back light tomorrow on mine and if its not that i will cook my mother board like they did..guess it redoes the solder and takes out the holes in the solder buy heating it up and makes it solid..guess most of the M1210's have the same problem...good luck..there is a lot to taking the lap top apart so might wantto get some directions to take the mother board out...