Alienware 17 Power Button Issues

I've been having this issue since I first got my Alienware 17, and Dell support was never particularly helpful. Unfortunately, I had to use my laptop for work and so sending it in for a repair was not viable. I've since had time to address it, but sadly my warranty has since expired (idiot me).

Anyways, when off, the power button doesn't work, and I had to button mash it till it did. After tearing it down, doing testing, and reseating the power button board cable, I found that to power it on, I had to do a full power drain (unplug charger, press and hold power button for 15 to 20 secs) each time I wanted the power button to turn on the laptop. I have the 240W power brick, if that makes any difference, but it doesn't seem like anyone else has run into this issue.

 

Do you happen to use a usb mouse and/or keyboard or other peripherals that you disconnet while your machine is shutting down??, if so, try connecting them before powering on the laptop.

Also update bios.

 

I've done all my testing with no peripherals attached at any point. Bios is already updated to latest version (A14).

 

Reinstall the BIOS is what i meant, it may be corrupted.
And nvm the testing, do you use any peripherals on your laptop?

 

I just did that, no luck. It's been plaguing me since the stock BIOS I got (A09 or A08 I think) through all the updates. And yes, I use a ton of peripherals, but it's also been happening since before I used peripherals on it (there was a month after I got it that I didn't use any peripherals).

 

Should've RMAed the thing when you had the chance :/
Btw, when you say a "full power drain", do you mean pressing on the power button while BOTH direct power AND battery are removed??

 

If it's Windows 8.x/10 by any chance; turn off Fast Startup. If that didn't help; try a new power button board + cable. However, it really sounds like a software sleep/hibernation issue, rather than anything hardware.

 

Sorry for the unclear language. I first tested it without direct power and battery, and then plugging power back in and hitting the power button. It turns out it works even with the battery in, but without direct power. Yes, I should've RMA'd it. Unfortunately, work didn't let me, and I also suspected it to be software, which leads me on to the next post...

It's Windows 8.1. I'm going to try this. There are some other issues I've had with it (which is why I suspected software issues), for example, if it goes into sleep or hibernation, my entire laptop shuts down versus going into sleep/hibernation.

I've been considering doing a fresh reformat to Windows 10 (since it refuses to upgrade, for whatever reason), but the fact that AW doesn't officially support it yet is putting me off from doing that.

Wow, my laptop is a whole bag of issues - but I'm not complaining, it's gone through all the **** I've put it through (aka running it as a desktop replacement).

 

I followed those steps to disable Fast Startup, but it's still the same issue. Should I go into BIOS settings to disable Intel Rapid Start and the Windows 8 Fast Startup options there too?

 

Yes, why not. Can't see how it'll make a difference, though.

And don't 'upgrade' to 10 just yet; wait at least until the last possible moment. Better try a 7 install on a different partition or, even better, a clean drive. Hibernation and Fast Startup require disk space; so check free storage and drive health, too (SMART values and error-checking).

 

At this point the most likely cause is a faulty power board.

Edit: here's something that's unlikely to work but might be crazy enough to work; Try replacing the CMOS coin battery.