M15X Not Booting, CPU Fan stops, GPU Fan runs 2 seconds then stops, no display, no lights

Hey guys

I just bought a silver M15X i7-740QM with Radeon HD 5850M and it is not booting up at all. I bought it with an assumption that the GPU is dead and needs replacing but now I'm not so sure.

Upon pressing the power button, looking at the fans, the CPU fan twitches and stops, while the GPU fan runs for about 2 seconds and then stops. There is no display at all and after both fans stop, there is no noise anymore but it seems as if the machine is still powered on as to power it on again, I have to press the power button to turn it off and then press again to power it on again.

I have tried with battery, power drain, without battery + power drain, removed CMOS battery, removed GPU with only CPU in there, with ram and without ram, with and without SSD HDD...

None of the AlienFX lights turn on either, not sure if this is relevant.

Could this in fact be the GPU that is faulty? In order to test this, I have to buy a new GPU so I just need some clarification if anyone has come across this before.

Any help will be much appreciated as I am stuck!

Cheers

UPDATE: SOLUTION on page 2 post 2.

 

I assume the seller mentioned the gpu was dead? i would replace it. the m15x doesnt have integrated graphic so you need to have the gpu install. i would also remove the cpu and re-seat it, i had a similar problem that my m15x pretty much died while shutting down, i tried turning it back on and got nothing at all, and the psu light would shut off if i plugged it into the m15x so i pulled the gpu, cleaned it and reinstall, and all i got was the fan kicked on for a second and the off no lights or errors, so i took the cpu and re-installed it and after that it started working again. if it is your gpu you could find a nvidia 260 of cheap to test

 

are the scroll and caps flashing?

 

If you dont mind me asking, how much did you pay for it?

As-is laptops are a shot in the dark, as axelfoley said, those lights would be flashing if the GPU was dead.

I bought a m15x on CL for $200 (had a 920xm, 260m, 9 cell, etc) which had a similar problem, I could not figure it out (it would turn on and work fine, then shut off 10 seconds or so later).

I just replaced my 240m with to a 460m, the 240m is just sitting around now

 

I didnt mention that I had removed and repasted the CPU and the GPU and put them back and still same issue. Also, the battery is charging so I don't think the mainboard is dead.

The AlienFX lights stopped working as the previous owner told me he installed the CC drivers from standard resource disc.

thehunterooo, I paid $250 AUD for it (mainly as it has Samsung 128GB SSD)... How did you fix it, what was the problem? How much do you want for the 240M with postage to Sydney, AU and does it work 100%? I could take out one of the 6970Ms out of my M18X but I don't want to risk frying one of them. I am considering getting a 560M via eBay for $195 delivered but haven't made up my mind yet.

 

Thanks to a user who PMd me and suggesting a dead CPU, I have tried powering the laptop on without CPU and the result is the same, so could it really be a dead CPU and not GPU?

Also, I noticed the CAPs lock area icons briefly light up for a second on first boot. Also, once I power it on, it goes into a reboot loop.

 

Is it even possible to power up the laptop without the CPU? There was once I had not reseated the CPU properly after repasting and it refused to turn on until I reseated it again. The CPU was completely fine without faults.

 

Yep, with the CPU in there I get the exact same results as with the CPU taken out. CPU fan twitches, GPU fan runs for a second then everything turns off... now its not reboot looping strangely enough.

 

i had the same problem, and yeah you need both cpu and gpu for it to boot. I would recommend taking it to a computer shop to get the gpu and cpu checked to see if they are at fault.

 

In my experience the m15x can be pretty finicky when it comes to parts that aren't working exactly right. I installed a blu ray drive that had something stuck on it and it wouldn't boot. Another time I repasted the gpu and I had to reseat the RAM of all things to get it to boot. Anyways, no working gpu = no boot. I have a working gtx 260 on sale at eBay right now for 70 if you're interested, not sure how much your shipping would cost though

 

Interestingly enough, what I did not mention is that upon boot, there is a loud click noise from the DVD drive, as if it tries to spin a disc but fails miserably. What if I disconnected the DVD Drive?

Edit: After completely dismantling the machine, the same happens with both the LCD and DVD drive disconnected. I'm now pretty certain its either the CPU or GPU.

 

SOLUTION:

The 5870M GPU is faulty. Plugged in external screen via VGA and the display is completely distorted with green and blue artifact lines, but it boots into Windows. Installed 6970M from my M18X and the M15X now works perfectly well =) but the 6970M is going back into the M18X for XFire so I need a new card, might get a 6990M from eBay laptopupgrade seller.

Also, if anyone comes across this issue, the fans are very illusive and don't consider them for any diagnostics! They only turn on upon boot then turn off! Only after a while, when the GPU and/or CPU heat up, they start up again! How do I know? I have another perfectly working M15X here doing the same thing.