Kept beeping and now no power at all

I repasted my old alienware m11x r2 after the temps were hitting 90c in idle. It was working before the repaste. When I put everything back together the laptop just kept beeping with the power logo blinking and the fans blowing at max. I turned it off and unplugged the battery and held the power button for 20 seconds. Plugged it back in and now it won't turn on at all. I tried unplugging the cmos and still no go. I even tried doing the disassembly again and reassembled it slowly double checking everything.

I also tried unplugging the battery and trying to power on with the ac plug and still nothing.

It had a full battery before the repaste attempt.

How can I tell if the motherboard is dead?

I don't want to buy a motherboard and find out it still doesn't work.

 

I would try to re-seat all the connections such as the monitor and daughter boards. It does sound like a problem with the motherboard though. Maybe the increased temps before the repaste caused one of the BGA solder joints to crack.

 

Just finished reseating everything. Is the daughter board the IO board? Still seems to be no good I saw on eBay a new mobo seems to go for 50-110 depending on the model. Might just go for the i7 then I guess

 

Yeah, unfortunately motherboards go as they age. I've replaced my M15X board a couple of times already. My M11X is still running strong though. I say go for an i7 but not if the price is too high; I don't think you'll see much of a difference with the i5 anyway.

 

If the laptop still doesn't turn on with a new mobo what should I Check?

 

Good question. Most everything is on the mobo.

Actually, have you tried re-seating the RAM or maybe tried booting with one RAM stick at a time?

Besides the RAM, a bad AC adapter may cause boot problems; so if you have a spare Dell power adapter you may want to try that. However, if your battery has enough charge, it should still turn on with just the battery alone.

Also, I am not positive as far as the M11X is concerned, but I know that the M15X will not boot unless the native display is connected, which is why I suggested re-seating the monitor cable.

I can't think of anything else that can prevent the laptop from turning on.

 

I took the plunge and ordered a i7 680um for $90 (free shipping) which seems like a decent $40 upgrade over my current i5 520um (which hopefully is dead).

I tried switching the ram sticks around, using 1 stick, tried using my 180w 17 r4 power supply (this worked before it died) and it also had a full charge before the repaste.

I have my fingers crossed the new mobo will work. Thanks for all the helpful tips. Hopefully if anybody else finds their old m11x r2 this might help them diagnose their mobo issues.

I wonder if it's because I was using the mx11 at 90-100c for a year before storing it in the closet for 2 years(didn't know much about pc's and temps back then).

 

I would bet a new motherboard will work...as long as the motherboard itself works

 

It works! Came in today and just replaced it (repasted with my kyronaut). Temps are now 45°C cooler and the upgrade to an i7 680um from an i5 520um gives me a 400ghz higher clock speed

 

Nice. Enjoy your new mobo. Cooler temps also means less fan spinning which on the M11X is a big plus because of the loud fan noise.