Dear Friend:

I am an electronics technician and I personally own a Compaq Presario 1200-XL110 (Laptop). What had happened is that the inside of the USB port (the plastic part containing the 4 metal pins) broke. With the laptop powered up, I tried to put the USB device connector back into the port. Two of the USB port pins touched, shorting the circuit. This immediately killed the power to the laptop and has been down since.

I know that killed or tripped something on the motherboard. Surely the mobo manufacturer installed a "safe measure" in case of such event. I have checked fuses soldered onto the motherboard around the USB connector (shematic reference number CN26) and all are ok. I saw a small grey momentary push-button (labelled ZIPPY) that was a few inches away. Its shematic reference number is SW3. I am not sure of its use though it is nowhere near BIOS which could be use to reset BIOS (???). It would be nice if it were a breaker!!! I didn't check its continuity prior to pushing it.

Laptop model: Compaq Presario 1200-XL110

SPECIFICATIONS: AMD K6-2 475 MHZ
6.7 Gig Hdrive
24X cdrom
56K V90 Modem
128 Meg SDram with 192 being max
--shared video and audio
1 PCMCIA slot
PORTS:
--1 USB, 1 parallel, 1 (9 pin) serial, 1 PS2

Status: No power (bad mobo)

Motherboard Part numbers below (2):
“PWA” Mobo Mfg Partnumber: 40M060700-54 (note: not sure of o's or 0's or manufacturer)
Copaq's Replacement Part number: 173539-001

Possible Solutions:

1) Replace the mobo.
--COSTLY $$$. How much??

2) Get a mobo service manual containing the schematic, find the USB safety feature and reset it, and replace the USB header (CN26). PREFERRED METHOD
--Practically free. Spare parts, service manual, and sometime!!!

3) Sell individual spare parts or as a whole.
--Keep money aquired and eventually purchase an upgraded version.
I would be interested in any information that would help me solve this problem.

Thanks
DAVE