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    Alienware M15x replaced thermal paste and now laptop won't power on... please help

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by azurelied, Jul 19, 2013.

  1. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    This is my first post so I apologize if this isn't the right place to post this topic.
    Before I begin to explain my problem, my battery has not been able to be detected for over a week and I troubleshooted every way possible and nothing has worked so the computer has to be plugged in at all times. These are my system specs:

    OPERATING SYSTEM:
    Windows 2.6.1.7601 (Service Pack 1)
    CPU TYPE:
    Intel® Core™ i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz
    CPU SPEED:
    1.62 GHz
    SYSTEM MEMORY:
    4.28 GB
    VIDEO CARD MODEL:
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
    VIDEO CARD MEMORY:
    2.93 GB
    VIDEO CARD DRIVER:
    nvd3dum.dll
    DESKTOP RESOLUTION:
    1600x900
    HARD DISK SIZE:
    249.95 GB
    HARD DISK FREE SPACE:
    95.71 GB (38%)
    DOWNLOAD SPEED:
    1.55 MB/s (12.4 mbps)

    First off my laptop has been running a lot of games slow and at absurd temperatures reaching over 90 F. So I finally decided to take my laptop apart through a youtube guide video on the m15x tear down video. I cleaned the GPU heatsink and there was a lot of built up dust and decided to wait on cleaning out my CPU while waiting on new thermal paste. After I put my laptop together, I can notice a huge difference on the laptop on the GPU side. The fan was actually cooling my GPU and it wasnt just blowing hot air and making my laptop super hot on that side. Most of the games I play have been running a lot smoother and I can tell that what I have done has fixed some of the issue and it was noticeable that what I did had an impact on my laptop. The CPU side is was still running a bit hot and I couldnt wait for my thermal paste to come.

    After my thermal paste arrived (Tuniq X-2) I have watched vidoes and precautions on how to remove the old thermal paste and how to apply the new one. After watching several methods, and the do's/don'ts, I have finally applied the thermal paste on my CPU and the process went smoothly. I then put my laptop back together making sure everything was in their right spots and nothing was wrong. After turning my laptop on I decided to load one of my many games, Sims 3 and see how that will run with my new changes. Sims 3 was one of the many games I could not even handle due to how hot the laptop was getting. The loading was a a little bit faster and once i got into the actual game everything was running smoothly and I was surprised. After about half an hour the laptop froze. When i tried to power my laptop back on sometimes the screen would be all black or sometimes it would turn on and when i try to download any files or reload my game it would freeze.

    It came to the point where my laptop wouldnt turn on so i automatically started to check if my RAM sticks were bad. The same problem happened, sometimes i would get to the desktop screen and freeze or dont start up at all. I decided to go with trying to see if the RAM was the problem first because my laptop was only detected 2GB or RAM instead of 4GB of RAM. The laptop continued to recognize only 2GB when i had 4GB. Then the real problem started happening when all of a sudden when I try to power on my laptop the CPU fan isnt turning and when i hit the power button the laptop would power on for 1 split second and then turn off, then after 3 seconds it would try to power back on for 1 more second and then turn back off for another 3 seconds and it would keep repeating the process until i unplug the power cord since i can't run my laptop through my battery since holding the power button doesnt work since its doing this flashing on and off i dont have enough time to power it off like that.
     
  2. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    Hey man, a quick bit advice, break your posts up into paragraphs. Making your post easier to read will mean you will get more help.

    Maybe try taking it apart and reseat everything again. If that does not help you maybe did not get a thermal pad seated correctly or a component was going to fail anyway.

    You could look in that case into the video card baking method as the 260M is vulnerable to solder cracking.
     
  3. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    (Update) After numerous times of taking off the CPU, GPU and RAM (literally all day) about an hour ago it finally turned all the way on after putting it back together the last time.
    I left out one stick of RAM.
    Now it stays on roughly 1-3 minutes and once for about 15 minutes and then it freezes.
    I'm hoping someone may have some insight as to what could cause any of this.

    Upon calling a local shop earlier in the day for the initial problem, I was told it sounds like I "bricked" my cpu
    and that there was no way to tell if that was the problem. Then he offered to trade me a much older area 51. Sounded kinda sketchy to me.
    I am completely at a loss as to where to go from here.
    I appreciate any who take the time to read and respond to this.
    Thank you for your time all :)
     
  4. batfinks

    batfinks Notebook Consultant

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    try resetting the bios,

    unplug the charger
    remove the system battery and remove the base cover
    disconnect the CMOS coincell battery
    keep the power button pressed for 30 seconds

    This will reset all BIOS settings to default.
    While you're at it, reseat the memory modules again make sure there push in correctly.
    put the system back together and see if this works.

    if still having problems after this, power down the system and remove the hdd and see if it will start without the infinite loop
    or try to power it on with the charger plugged in and the system battery disconnected.
    let us know how you get on so we can all help further.
    btw as for the offer to trade, sounds like some fools trying to take you for a ride !
     
  5. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have reset the bios many times and now i can barely make it pass the windows screen without freezing if at all :mad:
    Thanks for the speedy reply though, any other suggestions?
     
  6. batfinks

    batfinks Notebook Consultant

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    have you tried to boot the laptop without the battery corrected ?
    have you tried to boot the laptop without the hdd been corrected ?
     
  7. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have tried many times without and with the battery but I have not tried without the HDD
     
  8. batfinks

    batfinks Notebook Consultant

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    how it boots, all be it for a limited time have you tried going into safe-mode and doing a repair ? to see if its anything driver or os related ?

    btw you did remember to reconnect the fans for the cpu/gpu correct ?
     
  9. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    Have you tried using the other stick in the other memory slot by itself?
     
  10. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey there, sorry it's taken me so long to reply. As far as things stand now I seem to be in a place where either It turns on to a black screen though will boot up after I retry,
    freezing within seconds either during boot up or within seconds to a few minutes after and once it allowed me to stay on the log in screen for a half hour before I attempted logging in
    and after logging in another 20 minutes or so before I tried running anything but then within 10 minutes of starting WoW it froze and after that was back to a few seconds to about 3 minutes tops.

    I tried running alien autopsy I got a failure once on the mem part of the test then it froze without completing, I tried again and it passed and froze without completing.
    I have tried one stick at a time with the same results I'm thinking of picking up a 4gb stick and trying that in case the 2nd slot is bad and the sticks as well.
    Is it possible for the RAM to only work partially? I'm also going to try to take out the hard drive today and see where that gets me.

    Sadly EVERYTHING in this laptop was replaced last August while it was still under warranty with the exception of the dvd drive.
    I'm hoping it turns out to be nothing major though I have been pretty worried since being told by that shop it sounded like I bricked the CPU when I replaced the paste.
    There is definitely a lack of reliable places where I live to even have this machine serviced if it came to that and I hate to throw away money to get it diagnosed if they
    are telling me they cant even be sure they can find the problem. Thanks again for the advice up until this point. Will post back with news after I remove the hard drive.
     
  11. fatboyslimerr

    fatboyslimerr Alienware M15x Fanatic

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    Definitely sounds like a memory issue if it was failing the mem test.

    I'm pretty sure if you damaged the cpu you wouldn't be able to boot up windows.

    Could either be the RAM or the RAM sockets.

    Hope you manage to get it working again
     
  12. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello, Finally have another update. I removed the Hard drive as Batfinks suggested and it seemed fine. Didnt freeze at the BIOS.
    I wanted to be sure as well as address the memory issue so I left it at that screen with the hard drive out while I went to pick up one new 4GB stick of ram to replace the 2- 2GB sticks.
    10 minutes after I left it froze. I came home, reinstalled the new RAM and powered up with the hard drive back in.I made it to the windows 7 home premium screen that says please wait
    just before the log in screen when it hung at that screen and just kept flashing.Everytime I load windows normally it never makes it to the login portion of windows now without flashing.
    I restarted in safe mode and it appeared fine.It seems to only be fine when I start in safe mode. I then decided to run my resource disc to try a system diagnostic.
    Unfortunately it gave a strange error several times WCMATS TEST compare memory error. Then it froze again without finishing.
    I am currently trying again.

    This is a brand new stick of RAM so Im even more confused now. Also I dont know if it matters but when I was at the BIOS menu earlier I realized my BIOS version had changed.
    I was running BIOS version A09 and now it says Im running version A08. I have a USB drive DELL gave me with my OS on it and I thought of trying to reinstall the OS but I have a feeling
    if it freezes during it Im going to have more issues. Someone suggested flashing the BIOS but again, if it freezes.... not good.

    I tried contacting a few more places here about a diagnostic but definitely cannot trust them with my machine.
    One suggested trying to reapply my thermal paste again and another wants to swap out my laptop parts with a non alienware laptop he has lying around and see where it fails.
    I'm not sure what my next step from here should be. Any ideas or thoughts are EXTREMELY welcome. :)
     
  13. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    Adjustment to previous post: It actually froze after being in safemode for about 20 or 30 minutes not performing any actions :(
     
  14. batfinks

    batfinks Notebook Consultant

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    when you put the new memory in, did you reset the bios ?
    the test is saying your new stick of memory is also faulty. try and exchange it.
     
  15. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    I tried without first and then tried it an hour after i placed the new RAM in. It froze once during Safe Mode but stays on much longer during Safe Mode than any other time and no flashing screen before logging in and loading my desktop
     
  16. batfinks

    batfinks Notebook Consultant

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    in safe mode have you tried to do a repair ?
    and have you ran another memtest on the new memory ? tried it in different dimm slots ?
     
  17. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    Have not tried to repair in Safe Mode fearing the reason that it might freeze. Didn't run a memory test because it won't allow me in Safe Mode but its been in Safe Mode for the past hour and hasnt froze so I might try it.
     
  18. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    Good Morning everyone, I tried a few times last night to repairand wasnt able to get anywhere. I also ran sfc/scannow in safe mode and it said something about corrupt files.
    Will need to look at it again.I did have the presence of mind to snap a pic of a screen I got during one of my other scans at the point where it froze.
    IMG_20130721_045809.jpg
    I'm going to try to run it one more time before I head out and hoping it completes instead of freezing.
    I'll exchange the new stick of RAM while I'm out and hope for the best.

    I was able to leave the machine on in safe mode for about 3 hours last night before I powered it off.
    That's the longest its stayed on without freezing so far.
     
  19. Jdpurvis

    Jdpurvis Notebook Evangelist

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    Sorry you are having such a tough time. Do not believe the folks who tried to tell you that your CPU is bricked. The fact that it runs anything (even intermittently) indicates that the CPU is not dead. If you haven't done this already, try removing the CPU and reseating it. Make sure that there is no debris in or around the socket, including paste. You might use compressed air to be sure there isn't a little piece of metal or something somewhere it shouldn't be. HWInfo64 can log temps for you - you a loose or ill-fitting thermal pad could allow spot overheating. HWInfo can tell you if the fans are running correctly, and will also allow you to manually control fan speeds until you can find an overheating problem. Although it's proving hard to track down, I suspect this is not a fatal problem.

    We're with you.

    Joe
     
  20. ASCI_Blue

    ASCI_Blue Notebook Consultant

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    Sounds like it's time for musical RAM. Gonna want to test each of those suckers by themselves in each slot.
     
  21. azurelied

    azurelied Notebook Enthusiast

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    UPDATE: Sorry it's taken me so long to get back here but it's been a rough and crazy ride. About a year ago I had actually given this laptop to my fiancee and she has been running me ragged over it. :)
    I completely understand her angst over it however so have been jumping through hoops trying to figure out whats wrong with it.
    She found a DELL certified Tech and paid him half the money up front for a diagnostic who never came but asked us to run a bunch of tests we werent able to run.
    He then said to be honest it sounds like the motherboard and he doesnt need to come out to tell us that.
    We finally bit the bullet and took it to a local shop.

    The shop asked us to give them till today to get back to us with some news and they decided not to charge a fee because they said they felt bad for all the crap we've gone through.
    They ended up calling us back about 3 hours after we dropped it off and said the motherboard was bad. :(
    They said the tech who put the board in at our home about 11 months ago did a horrible job. Bent heat pipes. Bad RAM module, Old misplaced and incorrectly cut thermal pads and that the board he used was definitely not new. Now the HD is bad too and they cant even test the graphics card.
    The shop we left it with was pretty disgusted over it and my girlfriend now heartbroken.She's an avid gamer and this laptop is like her baby.

    The DELL tech she wired money to called us back and said he contacted a tech at DELL and they said even though it had only been 11 months that they only gave a 2 month warranty on the board and that we should contact them for a replacement.
    I already priced the boards at the DELL site before and they are pretty high especially considering they are used.
    He said to call and make them cut me a deal based on all the trouble and it being less than a year but DELL customer service has never been good and I highly doubt they will do anything like that.

    So now Im on the hunt to try to find a reasonable motherboard replacement. I just rebuilt my computer a day before this Alienware went and we are moving into a new house this weekend.
    My budget has been strained to the max already but I need to fix this machine.
    So if anyone has any info about any reliable places that I can look at for a reasonable motherboard replacement please let me know. The HD Im not worried about. Its rather cheap to replace.
    Thank you to everyone who has kept up with this thread and offered advice and support so far.
     
  22. fatboyslimerr

    fatboyslimerr Alienware M15x Fanatic

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    Sorry to hear about all your troubles. I have found its must easier to learn how to do things yourself than rely on people who probably don't care or really know what they are doing.
    Riri-fifi is selling one for €130. He's very trustworthy and that is probably as good a price as you'll get. Maybe you could negotiate cheap international delivery as he lives in France.
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/computer-components/724971-fs-dell-motherboard-m15x.html

    Just to let you know that I think the majority of M15x motherboards are pretty long lasting. I've put mine through a few scary moments yet after nearly 3 and a half years its still going strong.

    Hope you can get it sorted.
     
  23. fatboyslimerr

    fatboyslimerr Alienware M15x Fanatic

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  24. batfinks

    batfinks Notebook Consultant

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    i can nolonger find the place where i purchased my motherboard from but it was new and only £100 inc pnp... but having said that i have my old board kicking around works perfectly other than the MIO is corrupted so you get no lights on the keyboard, it was the only reason why i placed my board.
    again having said that, that is now fixable ! but involves a mess around