Alienware M17xR4 doesn't work after being shipped

My son's Alienware M17xR4 worked just find before shipping it to his base.

There was no damage to the packaging, of course Fedex refuses to pay for the computer even though it was insured.

When the laptop is plugged in the connector to the computer flashes slowly but the computer does not turn on.

We have been through all the Dell checklists through their phone support. They have stated that the likely problem is the mother board is now bad.

As anyone else had this problem? No life except a flashing connector into the computer?

 

It does sound like something went terribly wrong, i am sorry to hear this. If you are still under warranty and his base has access to Dell service(i might be wrong) have a dell rep look at it ASAP.

he could also open the back and see if everything is sitting tight on MB.

 

The laptop is two years old and out of warranty. Also, Dell will not fix it as they say they no longer stock the M17xR4 mother board.

 

Then unfortunately you will need to get the part from a retailer and test it. (or send it to him for testing).

 

This is wrong because people have bought r4's with 4 years of warranty so they should most likely have motherboards regardless. Does the system not power on on battery? Or is the issue only with the AC Adapter.

 

Something happened during shipment. Just because the package is fine, doesn't mean it wasn't dropped or tossed around. If it landed flat on one side, there would be no damage to the package, but there could be damage to the machine on impact.

Your best option (aside from purchasing a new computer) would be to have him ship it back to you, purchase a year of warranty for $289 through Dell's website, and then call technical support to ask them to diagnose the issue. If they come to the conclusion that the motherboard is bad and they cannot replace it, they may send you a Manufactured Refurbished Alienware 17 - the new 2013 model. That's best case scenario.

This process may take less than a week, or more than a week. You should be prepared for the latter. If they ask you to send it to their repair depot, tell them you were advised not to because of bad experiences your friends have had in doing so. Unfortunately, the repair depot has about a 50% chance of success. Even the representatives I've spoken with in the past advised against the depot.

 

It's not the 50% rate of success it's the rate of additional damage occurring to the system .. Usually they fix the problem but something else is broken XD.

 

If the depot is as bad as people keep saying you would think somebody at Dell would have looked into the problems there and resolved them!

 

Every time I bring it up to a tech.. They say it's being looked into and they are aware of it.. :\