hello im trying to see what can be done about my problem my usb port has snapped off the back of my laptop, and my keyboard has stoped working also after it fell, so now its technically a desktop, would a docking cradle solve my usb problem ? this laptop has served me well over the years i bought it brandnew at bestbuy years ago, and now my one single usb port is gone. both card slots work and the touch pad work. i tried googleing some stuff to see if they make a card slot usb hub, but i had no luck.

That's a concern !

As you may realize the USB port is (or was) soldered directly into the motherboard
Therefore if it has broken off, then basically you have m/b damage

Here's an option
PS2 Keyboard
Serial Mouse (for external)

Not sure if the docking port would work, but I'd do it ! you'll get USB back

from my experiences with the c series models the docking usb will work if the onboard one is broken.
you could also use a pcmcia usb card... works fine and gives you the ability to use usb 2.0
did you disassemble the keyboard yet? it might just have lost the contact to the mobo. there are 5 screws on the bottom side ( I think it was 5 for c600 ) and they are marked with the letter "k" for keyboard.

good luck with it! I liked the c series too. they were more quality then the d series....

I also worked with Dell hardware support for 6 years
If that helps

not sure what you want to tell me with that....
I was just posting my thoughts and I have 9 years of experience with dell laptops and desktops from a support perspective.
"if that helps"

yes i took the whole laptop apart and saw where the usb port was at all the connections where broken right off, as for the keyboard i got it off and the ribbon cable is still pluged in. i was looking around ebay, i found some old dell c600 laptops for like 40 but its barebones no processor or ram or drive bays i managed to get the laptop apart before im sure i could harvest what i need from my borken one and put it new shell basically or find a dock that will allow to use usb with the port gone lol. i have bad luck with computers, my desk top i was building wont let any OS install, i even tried Leopard, along with multiple versions of windows. and nadda i keep getting weird errors like bootmgr missing, or various dlls missing. the only thing old is the case, and i know that cant have anything to do with it. thanks for everyones advice and opinions i will put them to good use.

No didn't mean any disrespect just thought it was ironic at the time of viewing your message. I thought you had been in "U." as I had.
Small world