I need some help with my M17x R4.

Hello guys! I have a problem with my M17xR4, and i hope someone here can help me out. Whenever i try to turn it on, and it is on for 2 secs( everything is on, except the display) then it shuts down by itself. I believe overheating is not an issue here. But when i open the underneath panel, and remove the RAM and then i put them back in, the machine will on again. But when i try to turn off the laptop, the problem comes back again. Oh one more thing, when the laptop can turn on, it acts weird, it turns on then after 2 secs it off and then it turns back on by itself. I really have no idea. I plan to get a new RAM to test it.
I was wrong about removing 2 sticks of Ram out then put them back in. It does not work all the time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it is on and boot into the Windows normally it will run fine and I can play game as long as I want, but when I try to shut it down, then turn it back on, it won't run for more than 2 secs and it shuts down by itself.

 

Any beep codes? Also you tried one of the ram sticks at a time could be a faulty one?

 

If you have warranty call it in, if not still write to tech support they might have a solution for this problem.

 

it looks like the bios is getting reset
did you change any settings in bios? (overclock too high maybe?)

it could also be a ram issue
2 sticks are easily removable, but for other 2 you will have to take out the keyboard also (assuming you have 4 sticks installed)

 

Yup agree the BIOS is getting reset and could well be memory. If you change memory settings and restart, that power down, power up sequence occurs to restart the clocks.

 

I don't hear any beeps, I turn it on and everything is light up (but not display), but it shuts down itself after 2 secs later. I did try to take one of the ram stick out, but it does not help. I only have 2 sticks of Ram which is located underneath.

I will call tech support if anyone here cant solve it.

I don't overclock it. But I will try to reset the bios and take out the Cmos battery when I get home from work, maybe I will buy one Cmos battery, but I don't know what kind of it yet.
I also googled and I saw lot of people have/had same problem like mine.
Last Monday night, everything was working fine until I updated the video driver of 7970m. On Tuesday, I tried to turn it on when I got home from work, and it acts weird like this until now. And last night I ran the the System test from the Bios, and result was normal, so I think problem is from power supply.

 

Try without the hard drive and/or clearing the CMOS.

 

I will try it when I get home. thanks for suggestion.

I have a question. My laptop has 2 harddrive, one is SSD and one is storage hard drive. So should i remove both or just the SSD?

i tried to remove both hard drives and both Ram module. The laptop stays on and has beeps sound, but it dont turn off immediately. Then i put both hard drives back in, and power it up again, it stays on and has beeps sound. After that i put 2 sticks Ram in, and try to turn it on, it wont stay on for longer than 2 secs then it shuts down. So because of RAM right? but last night i ran diagnostic test in BIOS, and there was no error for Memory. Any idea?

 

Now I'm stuck. Hope someone can help me out. I put the new Ram in, but it does not fix the problem.does anyone have any suggestions before I call tech support? Thanks in advance.

 

After taking all parts out did you held down power button for 30 secs ?? If not try it once more but do that (without battery or power cable) plus once that done reset bios. And then put back all parts in

 

I will try that tomorrow. Thanks bolko.

 

Yes I was going to suggest the same......power-drain

 

If you are under warranty I suggest you to call support. Given that the actions are random, It could mean a faulty motherboard.

You could also try to:
1. Remove all power sources (battery and adapter).
2. Remove CMOS.
3. Push power button for about 30 secs (power drain).
4. Re-install battery.
5. Power up while pressing the FN key on the keyboard. The computer will automatically shutdown after a few seconds.

That should help you by restoring the BIOS to factory settings. If that doesn't help, hit F12 and run notebook diagnostics or dell diagnostics. I don't remember the name right now. That will test all the hardware on your computer and should give you a pass/fail grade.

 

Thank you for those advice,but the problem can't be solved. I'm on the phone with technician supp. I have to send the laptop. I will post back when i receivethe laptop. Hope everything will be fine. Btw, do i need to format the harddrive before sending out?

 

Hm it would be better if you format it. You never know what someone will do with date that he/she will find on your computer. My Advise is format.

 

According to what I was told you do not even need to have the HD in the machine when you send it in, they should use their own. But I'd agree, if you wipe it they will have to start from a clean image.

 

I can confirm this. You don't need to send your HD to the depot.

 

So I just remove all the HD in my laptop, and send them just the laptop and battery only?

 

Yup .

10cha

 

The repair status got updated. It was in being repair step last night, but now it is on hold for the part, it is out of stock right now. I hate waiting game.

 

They fixed and shipped my laptop back already. I will receive it on Monday. They did replace "board", does it mean motherboard?

 

I would expect so. Glad to hear it has been fixed quickly. Fingers crossed it's all good now

 

Thanks bro, I will receive it today. I will report back.

 

I received my laptop back. I replaced motherboard. I also tested a game, and everything is fine so far. One thing i don't like is packaging. They packaged very bad. The laptop could move around in the box. When i shipped the laptop to them, i had to pay $5 more for FedEx to put paper around the box. Lucky that the laptop was not got any damage. https://www.box.com/s/gn89bftqpifqxeewv3bc

 

Glad they got it back to you in working order...the packaging they use is kinda sub par...mine came back almost the same way, a little more sturdy then yours as it looks like the styrofoam collapsed on yours. Hopefully it all goes back to normal and you have many years of happy gaming ahead.