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    M17x R3 won't boot, power cable turns off?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Fiora, Jun 22, 2013.

  1. Fiora

    Fiora Newbie

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    I'm trying to help a friend of mine with her alienware M17x, which won't turn on at all. When we plug in the power cable, it actually turns off -- there's a small sound and the blue light on the plug actually turns off, and it only resets if we unplug it from the wall for 10 seconds or so and plug it back in. This happens even if we take out the battery, and the battery's dead, so I can't try to boot without the plug. The laptop doesn't do anything when the button is pressed (though this isn't really surprising without power).

    Any idea where to start with this? I think it's a bit out of warranty; are there places we could take it to get it looked at and repaired? It's a bit expensive to just write off...
     
    Fiora, Jun 22, 2013
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  2. TR2N

    TR2N Notebook Deity

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    No expert on this but looks like psu has failed. Do you have access to another psu friend,etc to try?
     
    TR2N, Jun 22, 2013
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  3. Fiora

    Fiora Newbie

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    The PSU, as in, the charger cable? I just found an old generic charger that has adapters for lots of different laptops, and it does the exact same thing when I plug it in -- the blue light flicks off the instant I put the plug in the laptop.
     
    Fiora, Jun 22, 2013
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  4. TR2N

    TR2N Notebook Deity

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    TR2N, Jun 22, 2013
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  5. Fiora

    Fiora Newbie

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    How would we get the motherboard replaced out of warranty? I mean, paying for it is fine, as long as it's cheaper than having to get a new laptop...
     
    Fiora, Jun 22, 2013
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  6. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    Dell will sell you the part. Or you can try hunting for a second hand part on the likes of ebay.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Jun 23, 2013
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  7. Fiora

    Fiora Newbie

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    I'm not sure we have the expertise to replace the motherboard in a laptop; would a computer repair shop or the like be able to do it, or could we send it into Dell? I'm not sure how this works; I've never had to repair a laptop out of warranty before.
     
    Fiora, Jun 23, 2013
    #7