The biggest problem is that my power port pin is busted and I can't power it up rendering it useless.

Is it just a matter of buying one of these and finding someone to install it for me...http://www.laptoprepairco.com/searchbrand/searchbrand.asp?submitted=6#dcjack

Anyone know which DC Power jack I need for my 600x? I'd be happy to do a $100 repair instead of buying a new laptop.

Thanks.

EDIT: I think I found some on ebay for $9, but they must be soldered onto the motherboard.

All of them have to be soldered - no tape+knife ugliness here. The soldering job is easy - ripping the lappy apart will be the biggest challenge.

You should try to get a new port that is exactly like your old one. The pin placement and the port height are the most important - you do want the thing to fit The hole/pin size is not that critical, since you can always replace the plug coming from your AC adapter.

I found a company on ebay that will do it for me. Only $120 total including shipping. This will be sweet if it works. I almost bought a new Dell last night - glad I didn't.

Just to give an update, I got my laptop back last night and all is well. That was a pretty good bargin for repairing the power jack.

On top of that, I found out that my usb ports are not fried - it was my mouse that was causing the problem. It feels like I have a brand new laptop. Lets hope it lasts!