Dell Latitude CPi

I was just Given a Dell Latitude Cpi laptop with a bad motherboard. I know a little about compuers, but have never worked on one. I am trying replace The mother board but do not know what type I need or where to find out what is compatible. any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks

1. RE: Dell Latitude CPi
stephenl May-30-02 06:30 AM
In response to message 0

If your on about a laptop which i assume you are then probably dell would be your best bet. Laptop motherboards are normally system specific and usually a complete pain in the a*** to swap out. Depending on how rich you are it might be worth taking to a decent shop that specialise in laptops dell will probably bankrupt you if you go there direct.
Larry do you handle any laptop repairs at your shop ??? (not advertising Just interested wether you do or not ?) Most shops i know dont touch them apart from windows installs or upgrades.

5. RE: Dell Latitude CPi
lbyard May-30-02 02:45 PM
In response to message 1

I try to avoid them and have been burned quite a few times by attempting to work on them. One cannot usually work on laptops effectively without a very large supply of parts, extensive documentation, and experience. The parts are usually hard to identify and get, expensive, and difficult to return. The documentation is almost impossible to get. There are an “infinite” number of models and manufactures, and many manufacturers have gone under, and they keep changing. The cases have no rhyme or reason and are often hard to figure-out, and they are very fragile. They are difficult to take apart, put back together again, and avoid breaking or marring while doing it. You need a large shop (or depote--thats' what I usually use if I can't avoid them) in a large city that specializes in laptops, and you will usually pay to the nose for parts and labor. If it has a bad motherboard, chances are that it is beyond economical repair. Except for basic repairs and troubleshooting, the same is true for printers and monitors, although to a lesser extent, and they are now so cheap that in most cases they aren't worth fixing if they are outside of warrantee. Them’s the facts as I see ‘em… Larry

6. RE: Dell Latitude CPi
Strom May-31-02 11:19 AM
In response to message 5

Hah!!
Thank you Larry. I work in a phone tech support facility, and I get customers always complaining when we have to depot a laptop when it needs repair. That has got to be the best explanation as to why I have yet seen. Thank you

8. RE: Dell Latitude CPi
lbyard May-31-02 03:19 PM
In response to message 6

You are welcome.
I still have a 486-based (might be 386) laptop that I got stuck with after a customer changed his mind. I could not return it. That ended my relationship with that vendor (and almost ended it with the customer--a big one). After it sat unsold in the show room for quite some time, I managed to rent it two or three times, which broke the hinges on the lid and made it unsellable as used and unrentable. I could not collect for the damage. That one "only" cost me about $3,500 upfront cash and it is still setting on the shelf gathering dust. Larry