M17xR3 Power Supply Issues

So I think my power supply just crapped out and took out my laptop with it. I was loading a game and everything went dead. No blue ring on power supply and laptop doesn't boot. Battery is full but wont power up even on battery. Tried CMOS drain and still nothing.

Can some one confirm if the power supply is unplugged what output voltage is read? Also when does the blue light come on as well?

Thanks

 

Disconnect the power cord from the R3 and then reset/recycle the PSU by disconnectiing and reconnecting the PSU from the wall/power strip outlet several (3-4) times. The blue ring will light up if the PSU is functional. If it doesn't then your PSU died and must be replaced. If it does light up, then reconnect to the notebook and try to power up. If nothing happens, then the motherboard has probably died. You can check the battery by removing it and pushing the button on the bottom side. If it's alive, the lights (up to 5) will light up. If nothing happens, it may not be dead. If a mobo goes, it will typically drain the battery, but it can usually be recharged once the notebook is restored. If the battery carries a charge, but the notebook won't boot, sounds like a dead mobo. Good luck.

 

The light does power up on the PSU if I leave it unplugged for a min and plug it back in. Once I plug it in to the laptop no blue light. I am thinking the mobo is dead as well. On the phone with Dell and fighting with them about not sending out a tech. They want me to send it in to their repair facility. Why did I pay for a 4 year Accidental Warranty again for? lol

 

I'm not sure, but I don't think this will fall under your accidental damage warranty. That would be used for something like spilling a drink on it, dropping it, ect. Your issues appears to be hardware related, therefore it would fall under the normal warranty program. I could be wrong though.

 

It was more of a Rhetorical question since the normal warranty covers next business day service and they wanted me to send the laptop in with a 5 day turn around lol.

Just waiting on the tech to schedule a time now.

 

We normally do that when we are concerned about a problem on the motherboard, the depot may take longer but they have a lot more tools and time to repair it, however I'm glad that you got to a resolution that would make you happy. Let us know how it went.

 

I would suspect that the 6990M graphics card bit the dust before the motherboard did. A way to test that is to remove the 6990M from the system and see if the power supply maintains a power connection (blue ring) when plugged into the system. If it does, then the graphics card is shot. If not, then something else or the motherboard itself is causing a short.

Accidental warranty does not include onsite service. It just covers your butt for when you spill liquids on the keyboard, crush the screen, drop the notebook, stuff like that. Onsite is part of the standard warranty, up to one year.

 

Just a update. Both the MB and Power Supply were changed and still nothing. So I am sending it in which I am not happy about. On the recommendation by livid I pulled the 6990m and low and behold it boots. 2nd 6990m dead in less than a year.

Any one have any experience with mail in service? I am pulling my hdd out since I don't trust anyone lol.

Oh well I'll be in Disney all next week trying to figure out how to blow up the It's A Small World ride

 

If you pull the hard drive from the system, Dell will ship it back to you with a NFF (No Fault Found) ticket on your case number. Leave the system fully assembled or put in a hard drive with a clean Windows installation so that the Dell techs can assess your issue.

Don't make the situation more difficult than it already is. So far the problems sound like they are self-inflicted and you are not owing up to it.

 

Self-inflicted? A dead 6990M and probably a dead motherboard? WTH?

 

The motherboard is not dead. The same thing happened with my third-party 485M before it was replaced with a Dell 460M. It died due to a lack of cooling, which these higher wattage graphics cards do require.

Unfortunately the OP is finding ways to avoid Dell from properly doing their job. Data loss is a b*tch, but the user is always responsible for the data saved on their hard drive. If that is an issue, clone the hard drive or image it for future data restoration in case of drive failure. Removing a hard drive prior to service is a sign of guilt.

 

Self-inflicted? I didn't know turning on my laptop and trying to play a game then having a hardware failure is self-inflicted. ?

On a side note I dont see why they need my HDD to fix my issue or why I would have to format my drive before sending it there. Not having the ability to safe guard my data shouldn't be a issue. Below is a bullet point in the support request I received from Dell.

Hard Drive: Sending us your hard drive can help us diagnose a problem, but before you ship the system back to us, it is very important that you back up files and data, and remove confidential, proprietary, personal or sensitive data from your hard drive and any storage device. DELL WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONFIDENTIAL, PROPRIETARY, OR PERSONAL DATA; LOST OR CORRUPTED DATA; OR DAMAGED OR LOST REMOVABLE MEDIA. In some cases we will need to re-install your operating system and/or replace your hard drive in order to resolve an issue, which WILL result in data loss. If you need assistance in removing the hard drive from the machine, please contact Dell Tech Support at 800-624-9896

Lets see how it goes and to why I asked if anyone had any experience with the mail in service.

 

They need your hard drive w/ your current Windows installation to test the graphics card to ensure that it is fully working as expected after it has been replaced. Your hard drive(s) are also serialized to the system. Dell has a right to see if the damage was caused by overclocking software, 'soft' volt mods, etc.

Now in your case, accidental damage forgoes all those things so the techs are not going to fault you for any problems. Image the drive and let Dell do their job as intended.

 

I think you may have misunderstood my post. I was just mentioning that I have a 4 year Complete Care warranty that includes next business day onsite support and accidental support. What happened to my laptop was hardware failure of no fault of my own.

I do not like the fact that I have to send it in when I have a onsite support warranty. The whole HDD data issue is my choice and is not trying to hide anything. For me to have to jump through hoops to safe guard my data by reinstalling a clean OS but then not being able to load the AMD driver anyways due to it being dead. I am going call Dell tomorrow to verify exactly what my options are.

 

Accidential damage DOES NOT include onsite support. Onsite comes with the 1 year standard warranty and that's it. As I stated, complete care just saves your skin from spills, drops, and electrical surges.

I think you need to read up on Complete Care a little more. Nowhere in the warranty terms does it state anything about onsite service.

http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/services/CompleteCare_dhs.pdf

 

Idlehand's hardware failure/defect issues have nothing to do with Accidental Damage Service. ADS is part of the Advanced Service Plan, which also includes the Basic Service Plan coverage for the same term. It is that Basic Service Plan that provides coverage in this case, and it includes in-home repair service. What's with the hostility and accusations against a forum member who is just trying to get his notebook repaired in accordance with his warranty coverage? Go troll somewhere else.

 

Rev, butt out. I've seen plenty of customers not understand the warranties being sold. So please, stop coming to his defense in the matter. If his R3's normal one year warranty is expired, he won't get onsite service from this point forward.

 

And you conclude from the fact (a) that Dell has already replaced his motherboard and power supply during an in-home visit, (b) that Dell has requested that he send the notebook to a depot for further repair or replacement and (c) that he has stated that he has 4-year Complete Care warranty coverage (aka Advanced Service Plan), that he nevertheless does not understand his warranty and has only a "normal one year warranty" which has expired (because you concede that otherwise he would be entitled to in-home service)? Your powers of deduction are staggering. Perhaps it is you who does not understand the Idlehand's stated warranty coverage. I'm not going to butt out when a troll is casting unsubstantiated allegations and insults at another forum member.