M17R1 Won't boot won't turn off

Hey Guys,
I've been looking around via google for a few days now and haven't had much luck. Very experienced with computer hardware & software but this one has me stumped. Randomly my Alienware M17-R1 (pre-dell) stopped working. First off it will NOT turn off, holding the power button just restarts it, only way to get it to actually turn off is by pulling the battery - plugging it back in the same issue occurs (turns on), leading to the next issue: blank screen. Blue lights all come on and it looks like its working (hd access blinks cpl times then stops) but nothing happens.
I've pulled it apart and reseated the processor, new thermal paste, etc... checked all the connections and couldn't see anything abnormal, put it all together and the same thing happens. May be worth noting that inside-wise the fans start to spin for about a second then stop. I figure power supply (which i can't find, laptop hardware i'm not so experienced with) or processor (hopefully not). Any ideas? Debugging ideas? Anything? Thanks,

Hazey/Craig

 

I've tried resetting the BIOS by unplugging the coin-cell battery for a while but to no avail, and since I can't get to the POST regardless can't change it any other way [that I know of, also tried the tiny reset button on side].
I have a feeling its the PSU or Processor but am not sure, as I said i've reseated the processor with new thermal paste to no avail. Also am skeptical about the power supply because neither the AC plugged in nor battery make a difference (opposite sides of the mobo). Would the processor be the cause if all the fans are starting for a second than stopping? Along with all the lights coming on (except keyboard backlight) and the HD status indicator flashing for a brief second? Seems to be something pre-post, mmm

 

the pre post you see is the emergency bios recovery procedure it hapens when nothing is loaded yet so you can recover no mather what happens in theorie but the process to make use of it is yet undocumented thanks to all of the w840 resellef/fabricant to droping the ball

if the cpu was wrong the mobo would tell you or at least make a sound code to tell you i<d go more along the ram failing or your bios getting corrupted maybe event he gpu has gotten damaged

if you don,t see anything on screen i bet on the gpu if you see the alienhead on screen then i bet on the ram or bios corruption

 

Yea for sure, well i'm not getting anything at all - the monitor was acting up prior so it may be that but would that cause the prepost to halt completely? (Fans stop after a second). That's what made me think it was a processor issue, but as you said usually with processor issues you get a beep diagnostic if nothing else. I've checked the RAM via taking them out and rotating the slots one at a time so I don't think it's that unless both sticks failed at the same time (unlikely).

I've also tried hooking it up via HDMI to other monitors/tvs and gotten nothing which made me think it wasn't the graphics cards (there are two). Lights turn on, HD light blinks for a second, fans jerk for a minute and that's it. Hearing weird noise out of the speakers but that's not anything abnormal for the situation. Can feel something spinning in waves (speeds up, slows down, repeat) although that may be the HD trying to start. I'm just trying to narrow it down a bit, monitor was my first guess as it's been having issues lately but at the same time I didn't think so because usually that doesn't halt the system pre-post (that I've experienced).

I could try swapping the master and slave VGA cards but not sure if that'd make much of a difference. The main question I guess is, would a monitor malfunction cause prepost to behave as it is? (Fans jerk/stop then nothing). As I also mentioned prior the really weird thing is the computer NOT turning off, it'll just reboot and reboot if I hold the power button, no way to keep it off. That's what lead me to believe it was the mobo, processor, or power supply. Mmmmm

 

no monitor would not but if your master GPU is dead as in completely dead it could prevent post and cut the screen output

how ever i wonder what gpu do you have i almost never heard about an ati GPU failing in alienware unlest it was faulty from the start

 

There are two graphics cards in there, i'll try swapping the master and slave and maybe with one at a time. But what I can't figure out is the power issue - it won't stay off, I plug it in/hold down power and it just restarts/powers up. And definitely wasn't faulty from the start i've had this almost 2 years. Will try it and let you know

 

the master and slave card have 2 diferent vbios and they report thier actual identity to the mobo bios so if only the slave report the system can't boot since it need a master

 

I have similar problem just now - have tried to update bios to 029 z's and bricked the laptop - it wasn't starting up at all as you would expect. After pushing the reset button it just stays on permanantely.

Any ideas on how could I fix it?

Any help would be much appreciated!