Dell XPS M1530 startup problems !!!!

Hello, I'm having problem starting up my laptop (Dell XPS M1530). When I start it up, I hear the usual turning on sounds of the fan, CD drive etc. But after that nothing shows up. Not even the Dell start up screen which shows up before the windows actually loads. I also pressed the Caps lock key to see if that works but to no avail. I only see the 'Turned on' light on the laptop and there is also no light of the HDD which shows the HDD is working. Any suggestion mate? Thanks

 

I would try:

- Piping out the display through HDMI/VGA and see if you get video externally

- Reseatting your RAM

- Using known good RAM

If all that fails, you likely are the victim of the defective Nvidia chips. If you are out of warranty, you can try reselling it or baking your motherboard back to life, personally I'd get rid of all Napa/Santa Rosa laptops with Nvidia, they just keep failing over and over.

 

Thanks for your reply!
How do I reseat the RAM? If it was the video chip error which nVidia had, wouldn't the laptop still boot up normally with windows loading sounds etc just without showing up? Because I can't hear anything!

 

Dell Service Manual on RAM upgrade/removal. No sound, it could possibly be muted? If you get no display externally and on the internal LCD rules out a bad LCD. All M1530 are ticking timebombs as there was no Intel graphics offered on the M1530 to the best of my knowledge. Black screen of death is the last symptom of Nvidia failure.

 

Actually this problem started after I accidently pulled the plug of the AC adapter and it shut off completely (my laptop runs direct on AC power since the battery is dead). How can I heat the motherboard?

 

Both m1530s and m1330s were available with either "Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100" or an NVIDIA gpu.

Do you know for sure that you had an NVIDIA in there? The Intel ones don't have the same problem.

Have you tried Tsunade's suggestions of seeing if an external monitor works or reseating the RAM? Those are the most useful thing you could do at the moment to determine the problem.

I believe baking the motherboard would entail taking your whole machine apart and literally baking the motherboard in the oven to attempt to melt the solder with hopes the gpu will reattach itself correctly (I'm not entirely familiar with this, perhaps someone can clarify or link to a guide). It would only be a temporary solution if it worked.

If it is the NVIDIA gpu, when did you buy the laptop and how long was your warranty for? All m1530s were given an extra year extended warranty for issues with the NVIDIA gpu - so even if you are "out of warranty" if it has been less than a year since it expired then you are still covered for that issue.

However your gpu may not be the problem in the first place. Let us know how you get on with trying the RAM and external monitor.

 

Yes, my m1530 comes with Nvidia gpu. But I have tried both the external monitor trick and the reseating RAM as well but no use. It still is the same. A local tech guy told me it might be a probem with the IC of motherboard? What exactly is that? .... My warranty has been long gone now. I bought it way back in 2008 and now probably it's over 2 years now!

 

Yes if you get no POST externally or internally, you are one of the millions of victims to the Nvidia chip. If you bought it that long ago, Dell will not honor the 1 year extension warranty due to the Nvidia issue. You could try parting it out on Ebay, you'll recoup maybe 300 dollars for it.

 

So can't I get it repaired from a repair shop? Actually am out of my country at present and have about 2 months before I go back and buy a new laptop AND my work type requires me to be on the laptop most of the time !

 

Unfortunately there IS not fix. All the Nvidia GPU's on the motherboards are ALL defective. Changing the motherboard will not guarantee that will be permanently fixed. I've seen Nvidia motherboards baked back to life fail after just 24 hours, some have lasted 2+ years, all depends on luck of the draw.

I would part out the M1530 for whatever money you can get, and get a new laptop.

 

I will give a try of 'baking' the motherboard just to make it last for sometime before I go back.

I am getting HP Pavillion DM4-1201TX Laptop with the following specs:
Processor: Intel Core i5-560M, 2.66 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
HDD: 640 GB
Screen: 14'' BrightView LED
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon with 1 GB Memory

Can u advise me how this laptop is overall? I am getting this for about $575 and it's almost brand new used for just a day or so. Would appreciate your reviews about it !