If your processor is damaged it can be replaced independent of your motherboard. My experience is the motherboard dies more often than the processor, but your case may be different of course. Especially if heat has been an issue. There is a nice service manual provided here on ifixit. [document: vostro-1550servicemanual.pdf] First things first though. Please describe your symptoms so we can be sure that's your problem.

The right size Torx bit and a lot of pressure solves this nearly every time for me. If you don't have a Torx bit you can try a Pentalobe or Hex wrench. Some suggest a rubber band between your screwdriver bit and the screw head, but I haven't had success with this. Plan B ideas would be to put a small dab of superglue on a screwdriver and hold it in place until it dries. Then twist it out. I have also used a tiny bolt extractor bit for a drill. Worst case scenario, drill off the heads with a small bit. Maybe try to grind a slot into the head and get it out with a flathead screwdriver. Pics could prove helpful, so go ahead and post them if you have them. Hope this helps a bit. Happy repairs! -Toupee Scalper

If the power supply is dead then its time for a new one. They are not safe to open or try to repair. Your local electronics store or radio shop should have a compatible one. I suggest calling a local computer repair shop. They tend to have many extra power supplies, and can sell you a used OEM one. Not sure if I can name specific stores, but you should get the hint. Hope this helps a bit. Happy repairs! -Toupee Scalper

Yes you can put an SSD into a Vostro 1700. If the images im looking at are correct, you will set the laptop on its lid with the battery pointing away from you. The bottom right panel covers the hard drive bays. The two screws along the bottom edge farthest right will need to be removed. It will expose your hard drive and an empty bay. If you want to replace your hard drive with the SSD, you will transfer the caddy over from the hard drive to the SSD. If you want to add the SSD, you will likely need another caddy and L shaped Power/Sata adpater. Mind you, if you're replacing the hard drive with the SSD you'll need to clone your hard drive to the SSD, or install Windows onto the SSD. Hope this helps a bit. Happy repairs! -Toupee Scalper

Key points to check are heat, hard drive and ram. Power is also a possibility, but let's start easy. iMacs are prone to heat problems causing the processor to overheat, and even the hard drive to overheat. The cooling is definitely my first suggestion. There is a vent along the top of the back panel, and also a circle vent near the mount to the foot on the back panel. There are vents along the bottom side of the iMac too. Canned air may blow out some dust, but an air compressor at 20-40psi will make quick work of it. You can usually check your hard drive SMART status from Disk Utility. If it's reporting any Reallocated Sectors, Current Pending Sectors, or worse yet Uncorrectable Sectors, then it's time for a new hard drive. Get your data off while you still can. While you're in Disk Utility, verify your OSX and check the Disk health Ram can also crash a computer. If you're using more than one stick of RAM, try using just one stick to test. If it still crashes try the other. Try alternating sockets too....

Be sure to discharge the big capacitors and handle it with one hand. I may be mistaken, but that looks like where the transformer bridges from the AC side to DC side. It will have very high voltage there. If that's exposed wire in the pic then it is likely indicating a problem. The end of one wire looks yellowish too, as if it may have been hot. All of your symptoms point to a bad power supply. About 70% of the time I see these it's the Power Supply, so I'd definitely put my money there.

Try holding SHIFT+F8 when powering it on to see if you can get into the troubleshooting options. From there you can try the options such as Safe Mode or Restore. I forget the exact menu options. It may take a few tries, as the new computers try to boot very fast.

I once had an old clapped out xbox 360 that I had to help push the disk tray shut to get it to read a disk. The same motor that closes the tray typically also moves the laser up and down. If you notice that the tray appears to be getting slower, it may not be moving the laser into place. This seems more common if you usually push the tray to close it, rather than pushing the eject button. Try ejecting the tray. Then close it by pushing it, giving it some assistance so it closes swiftly and snug. This will ensure the laser flips up into position.

Try the silly stuff first. 1. Try the input button on the monitor. 2. Check that you're using the right HDMI output. If you have a graphics card your PC may have more than one HDMI output. One on the motherboard, and one (usually lower) on the graphics card. The graphics card will be the correct choice if there are two. 3. Is your power button or reset button stuck, miswired, shorted? Fiddle with the buttons and check their connection to the motherboard. You can also try unplugging the power button connection at the motherboard, and bridging the pins with a screwdriver. 4. Try another type of cable, like a VGA or dvi If that doesn't work try this. 1. Turn on the computer 2. Inspect the computer for signs of it booting into windows. Look/listen for: --A POST success beep. A single beep a few seconds after powering on. Most PCs nowadays don't have this, but if yours normally beeps then it's worth checking for. --The hard drive light flashing like its loading windows. You may also hear the hard drive reading...

A charging issue can make a device turn on and off. A bad battery, a bad charger, a weak charger, or more commonly, bent pins in the charging port.