M17x R3 7 Beeps + Blackscreen, out of warranty....

I was recently given an M17x R3 which is exhibiting the 7 beeps + black screen indicating a bad motherboard or CPU....I am interested in fixing it, but not sure how to tackle the troubleshooting. The guy that gave me the system said it was working fine until after thunderstorm, during which he forgot to unplug it. The system is out of warranty, so calling Dell is out of the question...

Is there some way to differentiate between motherboard and CPU issues indicated by the beeping? Everything I've read has said basically just trial and error replace 1 part at a time until it works.....this is terribly inefficient cost-wise as both the motherboard and cpu are 300+ each, so if there were some way to narrow down which component is bad prior to investing in a replacement it would be most helpful. It might still be worth replacing both these components to get the sytem operating again, but I'm concerned there may be additional components that have gone bad (gfx primarily, as its another 400+ to replace).

I plan to do a full teardown in the next couple of days to see if there are any obvious signs of the problem....outside of burnt capacitors, are there any other components I could visually identify as bad?

Any insight/help is greatly appreciated!

 

The proper way to diagnosis in the service center, even if it is paid. Provided if you do not want to pay the extra money. Personally, I have had problems with the 7 beeps, when I'm not completely clamped CPU in the socket

 

I'll check the cpu's seating in the socket when I disassemble, but I don't foresee that being the issue. To my knowledge, the laptop wasn't moved between the time it was working and when it stopped working, so some sort of blunt force to the system to unseat the processor isn't possible. A Dell Rep on their forums says that 7 beeps is a CPU cache failure, and that 3 beeps is motherboard chipset failure.....On similar posts I have read, other dell reps have said that 7 beeps point to one either cpu, mobo, or both.....so I'm at an impasse.

I'm not sure what sort of diagnostic equipment is needed to highlight the actual problem component, but is it something that can be done at home? Perhaps locating an alienware service center would be best.....however I have no idea how much they would charge for the diagnostics alone. I definitely do not plan on having them fix it, as If I know the component I can replace it myself for much cheaper.

 

Of course replace the item itself is cheaper, but you need to diagnose the service center, believe it will be cheaper than alone seek breaking. In Ukraine it is worth about 20 USD

 

This might help has all the info here with video..
My Alienware Computer is not showing image and is beeping (No POST Beep Codes Table) | Dell US

http://www.youtube.com/user/Alienwareservices?feature=watch

 

I have the same problem just yesterday..which sucks because My replacement video card just came today from Reborn ( left a rep :thumbsup just to figure out my CPU is bad or a least dying. But it only happens when I plug my charger adapter while it boots up. But when I remove it, I boots up like it should . I fixed it by removing the battery, discharging it and putting it back but only when the "charger is removed". Now, It boots up while the charger in on the computer after I uninstalled warframe? I'm thinking because I tried to download warframe recently but It failed to download direct x due to the undected GPU in my system, or Just because the CPU or BIOS has something to do with it. But right now Im a bit confused. . I hope I don't have to send it because Im also out of warranty . But I'm not messing with the components of the computer

 

Any update on the no post?