Bricked M17x R2...Won't Power Up

I have had a ton of problems with my R2 in the recent months, had Dell tech out to replace the motherboard for the 3rd time, because the system wasn't recognizing the both 285m's. He got the system to recognize both cards, but the ac adapter wasn't recognized.

He said it could be a faulty mobo, but that was my 3rd one, so they are going to issue me a replacement.

We finally had all issues resolved, I am wondering if there is something else that I should try.

I tried unpluggin the CMOS battery and then replugging that in...Anything else it could be you think?

 

Could be the eeprom chip in your AC adapter has gone bad, do you have another Flextronics/Delta 240 watt PSU to test with?

 

I did try that...I own two of those adapters...Tried switching them and still nothing. The blue light at the end of the adapter lights up, it just isn't collecting any power on the laptop...I have tried jiggling the connection and all of that, still nothing.

The tech said that the power source is connected to the mobo, so maybe just that portion of the mobo was bad, but anyways, I'll probably be getting a replacement...Was hoping to try a last ditch effort to save the hassle though.

When you remove the CMOS Battery, just you just unplug the pin connector? Or do you literally pull the battery off of the machine?

 

You just unplug the connector along with the power cord and system battery and press the power button for ~30seconds.



Do you get the adapter warning before booting Windows?

 

No nothing at all, it won't power on. The tech and I were troubleshooting it on Friday and we were getting the warning to hit F1, but that's just because the system didn't think there was an AC adapter hooked up.

I'll tell you what, this whole experience has me very down on Dell/AW customer support...I have had to place a dozen + calls into them in the last two months, and they are really inept.

On Friday, they told me within 24-48 hours someone would call me with a decision on whether I would get a replacement, then I call back today, and they tell me the process hasn't even started...So now the earliest I can order, if I am approved for an exchange is on Wednesday. The entire way they handle everything is really poor...The Tech was out to exchange my GPU's on Friday and they had sent him the wrong ones, I have 285m's and they end up sending AMD 4870's...I mean, how do you get it that confused?

The tech shared with me that the AW support that they go through is based in India, while all other Dell brands are based here in the USA...So for someone who purchased a $3300 laptop, I am getting the short end of the stick..While someone who bought a $500 laptop, is getting the great customer service.

I am at the point where I don't even care what M17x I get as replacement, I will probably just sell it and order a Clevo/Sager from Origin/XoticPC/Mythlogic...

This whole process has been total bs.

I just removed the CMOS again, waited a minute then plugged back in...Nothing still.

 

The AW tech support calls are supposed to go through Costa Rica. Those agents were formerly Alienware support techs before the merger with Dell. Every call that I have placed to the Costa Rican agents has been positive. Are you sure that you are calling the right number for support?

 

I was there when Tech called his support line, the guy was indian sounding...I thought the tech said India, but maybe he said Costa Rica, don't know and don't really care where they are based. The point is that the service is pretty crappy when you are waiting for Nvidia GPUs and they send AMD ones by mistake...This is supposed to be a enthusiasts' company.

AW is finally exchanging and offering me replacement R4. Not really excited as I loved that RGB LED...At least they are offering me a replacement,
however the whole process was a big pain in the butt.

 

It was an enthusiasts' company before Dell acquired the Alienware brand name. They are now providing support for Compal assembled hardware (and that's why hardware failures are on the rise :cough with an Alienware moniker.

I have seen cases where the Indian agents are providing support to Alienware customers without verifying the Service Tag or Express Service Code. This is why I am asking if the Alienware support # was called instead of the regular Dell support hotline.

 

Just curious what is your r2 specs and what r4 specs are they offering?