Dell Latitude D630 Cooling Mod and Memory Upgrade

The Dell Latitude D630 is a fantastic machine, the model that I have is a Intel Core 2 Duo T9500 2.60 GHz with 4GB memory. See full specifications below:

• 223-5764 : Latitude D630, Intel Core 2 Duo T9500, 2.60GHz, 800Mhz, 6M L2 Cache, Dual Core
• 310-9094 : US - System Documentation Power Cord, Latitude D630
• 420-8734 : Vista Business Service Pack 1 with media, English, Latitude
• 420-8010 : Roxio Creator Dell Edition,9.0 Dell Latitude/Mobile Precision
• 430-2375 : Intel 4965 WLAN (802.11a/g/n) mini Card Latitude, Factory Install
• 320-5289 : 14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD for Latitude D630
• 374-7297 : CFI,B8JV01,Information,Label, Large,Factory Install
• 366-1040 : Custom Asset Report
• 365-0257 : CFI Routing SKU
• 320-5485 : 128MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 135M Latitude D630
• 341-6439 : 80GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive 9.5MM, 7200RPM,Latitude
• 430-2275 : Dell Wireless 360 VSTA Bluetooth Module for Vista Latitude
• 366-1552 : PCA custom project fee
• 312-0484 : 6-Cell/56 WHr Primary Battery Latitude D630
• 420-9184 : Cyberlink Power DVD 8.1,with Media,Dell Latitude/Mobile Precision
• 366-1416 : Image Load
• 310-8768 : Internal English Keyboard for Latitude Notebooks
• 372-8900 : CFI,Information,D630,Nvidia, ONLY,Factory Install
• 313-5638 : 8X DVD+/-RW for Latitude D-Family
• 310-9096 : Resource DVD with Diagnostics and Drivers, Dell LatitudeD630 Notebook
• 310-8792 : Standard Touchpad for Latitude D630
• 330-0888 : Nylon Deluxe Top Load Carrying Case 14.1 inch for Latitude E/Mobile Precision
• 310-7283 : 65W AC Adapter for Latitude D-Family
• 366-1557 : Integration of a Service Tag o r Label
• 311-5689 : 4.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMM for Dell Latitude Notebooks
• 310-8759 : You have chosen a Vista Basic System

Recently, it started to randomly shutdown on it's own, so I decided to open it up and see what was going on inside. Interestingly enough, I think the issue is the miniPCIe WLAN card is causing the system instability since switch to an external USB Alfa wireless adapter, the problem has gone away.

That still doesn't mean that it didn't need a good ol' fashioned cleanup job on the inside.

Dell XPS 15 L521x Overheating

I was asked to take a look at a Dell XPS 15 L521x ultrabook because it was having video flicker problems. I originally took the approach of swapping out the thermal paste which helped a little, but the problem persisted. However, looking at the heatsink assembly, it was clear the problem wasn't the thermal paste, rather the heatpipe and heatsink is way too small for the Intel Core i7 and nVidia video processor. Remembering a similar issue with the HP Pavilion tx1000, the Dell XPS 15 L521x also had the heatpipe and parts of the heatfin covered in a black paint. I decided that it was time to scrub it off.

Before photo of the heatpipe and heatfin.

After photo of the heatpipe and heatfin. I scrubbed off the black paint using high isopropyl alcohol and a 800 grit sandpaper. A regular toothbrush had no effect on the paint. I had to use something a little more abrasive. The 800 grit sandpaper doesn't grind, it polishes. I use this particular sandpaper to polish down uneven heatsink surfaces. Even still, I couldn't get all the paint off.

HP Pavilion dv4165cl Upgrade and Cooling Mod

I came upon an old HP Pavilion dv4165cl (see here for specifications).

The owner loved the old computer but it was having a serious problem it would shutdown after a few minutes of work. I decided help out and take a look. If I was lucky it would be an easy fix and make someone happy and it would also save someone a lot of money.

I want to apologize in advance for the blurry pictures but my camera and I weren't getting along and I was having trouble focusing.

The HP Pavilion dv4165cl was generally in good condition. The battery wouldn't hold a charge but all in all, it was fully functional, except for the overheating issue.

Dell SmartStep 250N Overheat Solution

I have an old Dell SmartStep 250N and let me tell you it's been hell trying to figure out a solution to the overheating problem.

Symptoms:
Computer runs for a period of time, but as soon as the CPU usage spikes and the CPU fan kicks in the computer automatically shuts down.  Things like playing mp3's and video files for a sustained amount of time causes the shutdowns.