Question for computer savvy folks...

[Episteme]

I recently got a Dell Inspirion 1525 laptop, and just today it fell off my desk while it was on. The fall was about 2.5 feet on a wood floor. It fell forward and landed in the fully extended (open) position face down. From what I can tell, everything works as well as it did before the fall. No strange noises, no visible cracks. I restarted it to see if it would boot back up, and it did so without illness.
So the question: can I assume safely that the computer (and it's inner workings) were NOT damaged? How long after the fall, if damage did occur, would I start to see the malfunctions?

I'm stressing about it now b/c it's a new laptop (parents got it as a gift).

Any thoughts?

Kind regards,
Mike

[gandalfe]

I have built an number of systems, and from my experience computers are quite tough.Liquids are your worst enemy, and many students have trashed their laptop by spilling their drinks on it.Another thing to watch out for is to close the lid of your laptop on a pencil or pen.It trashes the lcd screen.I would say if it works fine now it won't do anything strange later.Check the drawer of the dvd drive.It's the weakest link.If it dosen't work send it in for a warranty repair.

[Episteme]

Thanks for the reply gandalfe. I checked the DVD drive and it seems to work fine. I put in a DVD and played it for a while and all seemed to be functioning well.
I know exactly what you refer to regarding the liquids on the keyboard; I am very careful about keeping my coffee or protein shakes or other drinks away from the laptop. I usually do not keep any drink on the desk that my laptop is stationed at.
Interestingly, my ex was a computer engineer and I accidentally splashed some drink on the keyboard of my old lap top. I immediately tried to type something and the keys to letters on the screen were all messed up. So my ex turned the computer off, inverted the keyboard and took a blow dryer to the keyboard (set on low) for a few minutes. Turned the computer back on, and there were no more problems.
Just a tip for future splashes- I imagine a full on spill or submergence would kill the thing right off.

-Mike

[jzmtl]

Watch this, may ease your mind a bit.

http://www.dell.com/html/us/products/latitude/test.html

[Fred Sanford]

Mike,

I wouldn't worry about it. I have dropped a Dell Latitude about from about 3 feet off the ground onto the corner and it popped open a little bit. After snapping the piece back together it was fine. I've never had a problem with dropping a laptop. I have however had a problem with spilling 7-UP on the desk and then watching the heat sync fan suck the 7-UP in and spray it around the inside of the laptop. It sucked. After about an hour things stopped working. I even took it apart and tried cleaning everything up and it didn't work right.

Just last week I replaced the system board in my Dell D830 Latitude. Everything is screwed on so I don't see how anything could come apart unless it physically broke and you'd see that about 95% of the time. And for those that don't know, replacing a laptop system board means taking the thing entirely apart.....processor and all. Seriously....everything!

If it works now, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[Daniel]

If it works after the fall, then it will probably be OK.

You cannot really compare a Latitude to an Inspiron. Latitudes are made much more structurally sound than the Inspiron line--they are made for business travel.

[feeny]

...hope this teaches you not to spydie drop your laptops.

[Lostification]

...hope this teaches you not to spydie drop your laptops.

HAHAAAHA! :D

[nicholaspoole]

the dell latitudes and inspirons were designed for hard use by business men/women. it will survive most anything you can do to it except exposure to sugar (if youre going to drink next to your machine, make it a diet)

[Agent Starling]

after I bought my 3rd Apple I decided to take apart both my old Apple desktop and my old Apple laptop just for the **** of it.

I had to try really hard to physically break the boards and all the components on the boards of the laptop...they are quite rugged...but it was fun to try... :eek: :D

Agent Starling