Alienware M17 Repair Questions

Hi everyone, I'm new here and have some questions about my Alienware M17. First to start off, I've had mine since May 2009 and I love it to death. I had a one year warranty on it, and everything worked perfectly fine until of course the warranty expired.

The first problem is a Bulge in the keyboard. I posted an image to give you an idea of how it looks. The keyboard lights up perfectly fine and the keys all work. The bulge is mostly just an annoyance. I've heard that the bulge could be caused by a cable simply slipped out of its holder but I'm unaware of any other possibilities. Perhaps someone can shed some light on the cause, if it's not a loose wire.

Second, my screen is extremely loose and wobbles annoyingly. I tightened the screws in front which temporarily solved the problem, but it came loose again. What's really strange about the wobble is the area around the right screw. It just seems off and it appears to be coming apart. I took images to give you an idea of what I mean.

I was wondering if anyone had any pics or video of how to get to these areas saftely so I can fix them. I would pay to have Alienware do it but cash is scarce at the moment so if I can fix it, that would be great. Right now I'm just looking for help/ideas from the men and women who know more than I do lol

Thanks for any help you can give me

 

You should be able to find the repair (breakdown) manual on Dell site in the support area or look for M17 breakdown on youtube. It's pretty easy to do. It looks like your hinge is a problem and you'll need to replace the front bezel. Check ebay for parts. You will probably be able to find a new keyboard too. It could be a cable, it could have gotten warped from heat, it could be not seated properly.

I just checked ebay for parts and the only thing listed is keyboards. You may want to try a google search. On another post Ztronics is mentioned as having alienware parts.

 

look in the legacy sub forum there is a thread with a guy who ahs the exact same issue as you

 

Thanks . I managed to fix my screen but I can't figure out how to get the keyboard out to check that wire. The diagram I have simply says pull the indicator board off but I don't know how many screws there are or where they might be. I don't want to accidentally break it.

 

there is one behind the laptop in the midle part the other ones are under there is only 3 at all

 

Here is a Disassembly Guide for the M17

Alienware M17-R1 OCZ OCZDIY17A2 and the ASI IQ17



Hope this helps A259

 

Hey everyone, thanks for the assistance. Unfortunately my screen is far from fixed. It turns out the right joint somehow seized up and no longer turns. So every time I closed my screen it put force on the cover panel and snapped off the plastic pieces the screws go into. I bought a set of joints for $12 and ordered a new cover panel which should arrive within the week. Hopefully this will end my problems.

I probably should have asked this first before already ordering them but does anyone have any other suggestions or thoughts? I don't know if anyone else had something like this happen to them before or anything like that. But I thought I would ask or at the least, update my progress.

I have pics but can't get them posted until I can use my Mom's laptop. I'll keep you posted.

 

so far the last one had to do the same has you

 

Hey everyone again. I have a question about taking the screen panel off. There are two wires, white and gray, which appear to connect to a silver strip on the top left side of the panel. The diagrams I have say nothing about it and the replacement panel doesn't has the silver strip. The wire appear to be soldered to the strip as well. Can anyone let me know what they are and how I'm supposed to place them on the new panel.

Sorry I don't have a pic to show you what I mean. Technology isn't being my friend today.

 

my screen wooble to so i have to take it apart i'll likely do it today i'll take picture at the same time tell us what you are talking about on the pic cause i can,t figure what you are talking about

 

Sorry it took so long but this is what I was trying to describe,



I'm also curious about this one too. I haven't tried to take it off so I don't know if it's tricky or not.



And this is the full back side.

 

that's the wireless antena

 

Any idea how to get that off? It looks like it's on there pretty good.

 

there is not one in the replacment?

i honestly have no idea on how to get it out you could still buy replacement on ebay

 

The new panel is a completely blank slate. It just seems weird that the antenna is that permanently attached that I would have to replace it along with the panel.

 

The antenna looks to be taped down to me. The shiny silver part below the area where the cables connect looks to be tape.