M17X-R1 Power Panel Problem

Good evening to all. I have a problem with a used m17x, the 8800gtx's were overheating do to lack of cleaning from previous owner. I then disassembled the laptop to clean the fans/heatsinks. Upon reassembly, after tons and tons of dust made its way out of the said cards... I noticed that the Flat Flex Cable that was attached to the Power Touch Panel Bar (power button/volume/etc) was crinkled at the ends, making for a bad cable.. thus the unit will not turn on. It looks like it is a 20 pin with .5mm spacing... can anyone confirm this?? also is there anyway to buy a new panel somehow if i cannot find the cable? Thanks for any feedback.

* also any other way to turn this unit on, maybe from the mobo?

System Specs:
X9000 @ 2.8
4 Gbs of ram
8800gtx sli
250gb hdd @ 7200rpm
vista 64 ultimate
1920 x 1200

 

Welcome to the forum.

Have you tried ebay or Ztronics?

 

Thanks for the prompt reply Rob, I have tried Ebay.. No luck though. I will check into Ztronics.... I hope i can find some solution... Alot of expensive equipment not being used just because a panel/cable seems rediculous.. These FFC's supplied are very fragile.

 

Although Ztronics seems like a very solid site, no luck.

 

hummmm maybe some members have some old m17x's that don't work.... its all i can really tell you ...

You could find the + - for the power switch on the cable and rig one

 

Moo, thanks for your suggestions. I have tried some of my own mods, and thus far no luck. These flat flex cables are very picky.... the only thing i tried was making a 22pin into a 20pin that i had laying around... this was no easy task as the wires are .5mm thick and have 22 on each end. i used an exacto knife and succesfully made it to a 20pin.. no luck though, most likely knicked a wire or something. Has anyone else ventured into messing with these flat flex cables??? they really arent like 'wires' per say, more like copper thin sheets of metal, just in very very thin layers.

 

conductive glue

Its tricky though because you cant let them touch

 

conductive glue is actually a good idea (this is when you say "those are the only ones i have" lol). <---- Grandmas Boy reference.

but in all seriousness I will gladly take any other suggestions/insight..

 

you could split the cable into 22 separate ones n use the conductive glue that way....

 

thats also another solid idea.. on another note; do you or anyone else know if these will power on without the keyboard/touchpad plugged in?

 

it will prolly power on but give a error for no keyboard ... i suggest a usb on

 

yeah thats what i was planning on doing, thanks Moo.

 

Here is a way you can turn on your laptop.

There is a small switch near cpu. It looks like a small button, just press it and your m17x will be turned on.

 

is this the small button from the bottom of right of the cpu?? any reason why it wouldnt be turning on from pessing this button? do i need the palm rest/keyboard plugged in? i cant seem to turn it on with the buttom by cpu..

 

try having it all plugged in and check.... also make sure its plugged in

 

cant plug in the touch pad because of i have to get a 16pin cable for it... i tried with the keyboard plugged in as well... no luck.

 

hummm....

YOU SURE the MOBO isn't fried?

 

well the machine was powering off due to the heat of the cards... i took it apart to find a ton of dust build up in the cards... used a can of air (up right of course) and then i found the end of the cable was creased that went to the power button... nothing so far has indicated the mobo a problem until now when this little button wouldnt turn it on.. jacktheripper could you help me out on this? i see u have pretty much the same laptop... can u power it on without the keyboard/touch pad installed? is there a trick to powering it on with that button next to the cpu?

thanks!

 

double check all your plugs and everything ...

 

double checked everything.. still no luck.

 

humm so no flashes no beeps nothing happens ?

 

nothing happens.. which is odd.

 

sounds like no power is getting there ....

or a plug is keeping it off

 

i know..... and ive also tried with the bat. in as well. Jacktheripper.. could you think of any reasons why i cannot power this unit on with the small button next to the cpu?

 

welp if i cant get this thing working in the next few days i will be parting it out... at least the parts i know that are good.. CPU/Graphics/memory... so if anyone wants some parts for cheap.. let me know.. i need a laptop asap for online school.

 

jack do u know if u can power ur unit on without ur keyboard/touch pad/power button panel plugged in by using the small power button by cpu?

 

hi

that method was told by alienware's tech support. Yes, it is from the bottom right. I don't have my laptop with me so I can't show you the exact location.
Can you take a picture around your cpu so I can point it out?

If you found the right button and you still don't have any luck, then there may be an issue on the motherboard. That button is like an alternative so if that doesn't work then it may not be the issue of touch control panel.

I don't think you need to have your keyboard nor touch control panel connected. My control panel was broken once and I turned my laptop on by this method. Althougn I had to send my laptop in for repairing.

 

Hi Snarebeast, Hope you're getting on ok with your laptop.

If you haven't had any luck with it and you are parting it out, I would be very interested in some of the parts, if you could email me on

[email protected]

Hope you can get things sorted out.

Zach.

 

he sold the cards and CPU and screen