M17x R1 wont boot past Alienware logo

Hi all

Yesterday i decided to replace some parts i had bought

I replaced my whole screen which was the same model, just had to swap over the main cables from my old screen.

The keyboard was replaced
The power bar was replaced
and the whole touchpad was replaced

before attempting this everything was working fine apart from the power bar with media buttons, sometimes it would light up and sometimes not

after changing all the parts i tried turning it on, and it just sits at the alienware logo and wont allow me to get into the bios (F2) or boot list (F12)

The fans also stop at the alienware logo for a short period but im pretty sure its supposed to do that anyway. But all the fans do work

Also I have to hold the power bar in a certain place to turn it on, it looks like the old ribbon cable which im still using is faulty and has a break in it some where. Im guessing this was the reason the old one wouldnt light up all the time.

Once or twice i got it to boot and get into the bios and also got it to start loading windows, but about 5 seconds into seeing the loading windows logo the laptop just shuts off. It has done this everytime i get passed the Alienware logo.

If i try the diagnostic program (f12) it just starts then shuts off like booting windows

When in the bios it seemed fine, everything seemed to recognised as it was before.

Also when it does actually boot passed the logo, it shows a message telling me that the overclocking has failed and to adjust the settings. But i have never messed with the overclocking settings.

I have applied new thermal paste to the cpus but no change. I checked the heatsink/fan for the cpu and it was free of dust. The GPU headsinks required a little clean but it was not too bad.

I really have no clue what has happened, ive taken this laptop apart many times and have had not problems like this

I hope someone can help me get this fixed

Thanks a lot

Jason

 

Since you have access to bios; reset to defaults. Second thing is to make sure to replace power bar (or its cable), the 5 sec. delay might indicate that power-on is shorting, so it works like a hard power-off (hold button for x seconds).

 

ok have ordered a new cable to go with the power bar. How do i reset the bios?]

thanks so much for your help

 

F9 then F10, probably; ' Setup Defaults' and ' Save and Exit'. Just to rule out any possible 'overclock' issue.

Meanwhile; if it is the power bar then you might try this; connect, power on and then quickly unplug bar + cable from the system. System ought to keep running then, if that really was the cause of the shutdown issue (power-on is trigger-once-keep-running).

 

i just tried that, unplugged it and now my laptop is telling me theres no operating system LOL

what next lol. Im thinking the amount of times it shutdown may have damaged the intallation in some way

 

Just need to set SATA, RAID and boot order to their previous settings. Should boot fine then.

 

update - even without the bar connected when it starts to load windows 7 it then shuts down

 

now when im getting into the bios it freezes

 

Alright, since everything started with keyboard and touchpad; disconnect their cables and boot. Perhaps one of their cables is seated askew and shorting.

 

touchpad has been disconnected for a while and the problem perists. tried it without the keyboard and i just tried it without the screen connected, still shuts down

 

got the windows 10 operating select screen (win 7 or win 10) only power cord connected and laptop display, everything else disconnected and still shuts down

 

Try bootable usb drive, remove hdd and boot. Hopefully it's only a faulty drive and it won't power down automatically in DOS.

 

ok i have removed the hard drives. Im not sure what do next, i have a blank usb drive

 

both hard drives out and tried to load win 7 install disc, still stutting down

 

What happens if you stay in bios menu for a while? And can you check cpu/gpu temperatures in bios?

 

stay in bios and it seems fine, doesnt shut down.

i dont see anywhere in the bios that shows temp

 

Use the blank usb drive and write Windows PE on it. If that's running stable, reconnect the boot drive and use PE's ' Fix Boot Problems' function.

 

ok but it still shuts down without any hard drive connected

thx

 

but i dont have another windows 7 machine here to use. How can i create it?

 

Only need another pc for that:

1. Install Macrium Reflect on another system.
2. Plug in USB drive (~250MB minimum).
3. Other Tasks -> Create Rescue Media -> Windows PE 5.0 -> Next -> USB Device -> Finish.
4. Download HWiNFO64 portable and extract.
5. Drop HWiNFO folder to the USB drive (root is fine).
6. Boot from USB and once in PE start HWiNFO and hit 'Sensors'.

This will give you access to current cpu/gpu temperatures and all sorts of hardware-related info from a live environment. Beside temperatures, also verify fan RPMs and see if these report non-zero values when they're running. Might also put QwikMark Portable on the USB drive; that will enable a little light-weight stress testing.

 

sent the laptop to a local guy who is good with the machines. Turns out the onboard GPU was no good and either was completely ruined or required a reball. gave up and got myself a brand new r4. Thanks for the help during this thread.