My Alienware M17xR3 can't power on! Please help me! :-(

Hi, everyone!
When I was watching MTV with my Alienware M17xR3 the last night, it powered off itself with the sound like "poke". No voltage problems! No electric shock! I have no idea what it happened. Then, I pressed power button. My rig didn't respond anything. I can't think about the solution and I need many idea to solve this problem and I also have many questions. Can you guys please help me?

At first, please let me tell you about my current condition. I'm from Myanmar (from Asia). I bought my laptop from USA about 10 months ago via Myanmar Online Store Service because no showroom of Dell, Alienware is located at Myanmar. I believe the last night problem is not a minor case. Maybe motherboard or something was failed. I think the only way to fix it is to send it back to official Alienware service center. 51-day warranty period is left.

Ok. I'll try to send it back. But about 5 months ago, I changed primary hard disk of HDD to SSD. About 6 or 7 months ago, keyboard light problem occurred. Actual colors didn't match with command center software. But that kind of such problem is minor and I ignored it. But display problem again!!! Sometimes it went black. So, I opened the back case to check that the cables are firmly attached. Just checked keyboard cable and display cable! I didn't fix anything and didn't touch any CPU, Motherboard, GPU. So now I really worry about the warranty issue. Opening the case makes invalid the limited hardware warranty??? Can I still send to Dell and request the free service or new one??? Sending it back will make me the big cost and I don't want to waste money if my rig is not still valid the warranty issues.

Can I send it back with only one HDD by removing the one that contain my important data. As I'm from Myanmar, I don't know these processes. Every help is really appreciated!!! I really need help!!! Thanks a lot!

 

can your turn it on with battery only?
power brick connector blue indicator still on?

 

Hello black-bean!
Thanks for the reply. I can't turn it on with battery. Now, I plug out the power cord and trying to power on. But I noticed something. When I let the power cord get electricity without plugging into the laptop, the blue indicator is on. When I plug it into the laptop, the indicator doesn't have blue light anymore. Any idea???

 

Hi Chris,
Let me assure you my friend, opening your laptop will not void your warranty, unless you damage/break something by your own doing... You can still send it back to Dell and ask them to look at it... i would advise you to listen to all the knowledgeable people on this forum; they are pretty good at helping to diagnose what the real issue can be, thus can save you a lot of time, effort and probably money too

Regarding your minor issue of lighting, i had a similar problem on my previous alienware once... turned out it was due to a faulty led... it is covered under the limited hardware warranty that you have... call dell, explain to them what is happening and they will send out a new keyboard and technician to fix it... Keep us posted!

 

Thank you so much Mahesh_Singh! You let me know that my laptop's warranty is still valid. I think you mean that even Dell knows that I opened the case and may change or remove hard disk, the warranty is officially valid. That's really cool. I hope I can send my rig with my current hardware. By the way, I'm from Myanmar. Even calling to Dell is not an easy one. So, the only way is to send it back even it may cost me more. Humm... I'm not sure but I doubt power supply. If I can order power supply and equip it by myself, I can have the big saving. How do you guys think?

 

i'm not sure at this point that it is something that's very easy to replace yourself. my guess would be that your motherboard is fried, since you can't even turn the laptop on even with just the battery.
isn't there any local dell service center in myanmar?

 

No local dell service center at all! I will send it back. You guys confirmed me that my rig's warranty is still valid. If something failed again after this time, I've to blame only to my bad luck.

Hi!
I have another idea. I want to sent it back to Singapore instead of USA. Dell 1 Year Limited Warranty is international, I guess. So, I must able to send it to Singapore. If this option is possible, it will not cost me a lot. Is there any document needed to prove my rig as authorized one? Only service tag is enough? When I ordered my laptop, it came with (2 x 500GB HDD). Then, I changed the primary HDD to SSD. So now my laptop has primary SSD and secondary HDD. Before I send it to other country to repair, I would like to remove secondary HDD. Any problems for that? Will they request the original HDDs? I've read the following post http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/670224-m17xr3-power-supply-issues.html . They said Dell requested the original HDDs. Is that true? Thanks.

 

Do you still have your old HDD? If so, just install it back in. If you created an alienrespawn disk when you first got your laptop, restore your system back and box it up. Since you're under warranty, it wont cost you anything to ship the laptop to Dell.

Have you even called them and spoken to them yet? I wouldn't waste too much time trying to ask everyone besides Dell these questions. It seems you have gotten your answers from us, now ring up Dell. Let them know your service tag number (is it registered under you with your current location?), and they will send you out a return label and box. Chances are, they are going to shipping your laptop to a repair center closest to you.

 

Hello SkylineLvr!
Thanks for the reply. If I can call to Dell and speak with them, I'll definitely call them or go there instead of asking for the advices here. I'm from Myanmar. Maybe you know it or not. There's no Local Dell Authorized Center at all and I've to ship it to the nearest country in order to send the laptop back to Dell.

As for me, that shipping cost is expensive and I need to save money for that cost. So, before I ship it to Singapore, I need to make sure everything to get repair from Dell and that's why I'm asking for any information. I hope you will understand my condition. Ok! You mean that I need put original HDDs back and I will. Then, the only thing I need is the service tag. Ok, cool! I appreciate your help. I'll send it to Singapore as soon as I can.

 

i don't think there should be any problem with exchanging hard drive, the problem wasn't on the hard drive anyway.
just the service tag is enough to claim the warranty.
but if you haven't or can't call DELL how would you know where to send the laptop and if it actually reached DELL service center, how would they know what happened with the laptop and what to do with it?
have you tried emailing them?

anyone know if Dell_Bill is still around?

 

Hi black-bean!
I'm sorry. I must explain in very detailed. At Myanmar, there's a store named "Yangon Online Store". It is famous at Worldwide Purchasing Service. I liked Alienware laptops at very first sight. There is no Local Dell Authorized Store and I was not able to buy it directly from Dell. So I bought it from Yangon Online Store which made order my desired laptop for me from USA and shipped it to Myanmar. I had to pay very expensive shipping cost as Alienware laptop is heavy.

Now, the laptop doesn't work. All I need to do is to contact Yangon Online Store to send my laptop to the nearest country. I will tell them what my laptop happen and they will send my laptop to Dell by telling the problems what I've said. I have to pay expensive shipping cost again. So, my rig's warranty definitely needs to be valid. Now, my laptop is installed with primary SSD and secondary HDD. The original is primary HDD and secondary HDD. I want to send the laptop only with the primary SSD because all two HDDs include my confidential data. I'm really really afraid that Dell will complain about it. Will they think that condition makes the warranty invalid? Thanks.

 

Again, you won't be paying for shipping if you are indeed under warranty and you are registered under the service tag (with your current address). Now, the real question is, are you registered under the service tag, or is the company who you purchased the laptop through? If you're name is not under the service tag, you may be running into some issues getting your laptop repaired. Have you spoken to either Dell or "Yangon Online Store"?

 

so when you first ordered your alienware you didn't ask that "yangon online store" regarding what will happen if your laptop somehow got damaged?
i didn't buy my laptop from Dell directly either, but i made sure that my reseller would handle any claims should anything went wrong, at no charge.
i would suggest you inquire "yangon online store" about it.
as i see it now you're stuck with that store to handle your claims. if they refused, then theres no other choice but to contact DELL no matter how hard it is for you.
and i am not a Dell Rep. so i'm not entitled to say whether your warranty is valid or not by switching or removing HDD. as far as i know it shouldn't make your warranty invalid. again it is best for you to contact DELL directly if you want to make sure.

 

I've called to Yangon Online Store. I think service tag is not a problem because they bought it with their Dell Account. They will take responsible for sending my laptop to Dell Singapore and vice versa, without any physical damage. As I am a returning customer, I need to pay them only shipping cost (Myanmar to Singapore, Singapore to Myanmar). I don't need to pay them for their service. But they will not take responsible if my laptop warranty is invalid due to my own fixing or something like that. I'll send mail to Dell and I'll ask about the HDD. I'll let you know when they reply. Thanks to all!