Trouble with m1710. Need advice

I've been a long time lurker of these forums and never had to post until now.

I have a m1710 that will no longer power on. When the power button is pressed the power light and hard turn on then turn off. Thats all it does. So far I've tried replacing the power supply (the old on no longer works), trying a different battery, and just replaced the motherboard. I figured there was a short in the motherboard but no dice, still won't turn on. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the problem may be or an idea of what to try next?


Thanks

 

Do not stick in the battery, just leave the adapter in and see if it powers on normally. If it does, its your battery.

If not, then try reseating your RAM or making sure if you swapped out any components with different ones such as RAM upgrade, Wifi card upgrade, etc that everything is situated properly. Sometimes though when upgrading the RAM it looks as if its seated properly, taking it out and putting it back in fixes it up.

 

Taking the battery out and just pugging in the AC adapter did not fix the problem. The RAM was taken out and replaced into the new motherboard. It seems to be in there correctly. I'm hoping it's not the processor. Is there any way of testing this?

 

What components did you upgrade/install/swap out of your notebook aside from RAM?

Also, when you have your AC adapter plugged in and you press power button, then the computer shuts down, is there a blinking light where the indicators are?

 

The only thing that was originally replace was the Wi-Fi card. I swapped an intel 3945 with another intel 4965. The computer worked fine for a few months. Then when booting up, I got a screen that said the power supply was not compatible. Eventually it never turned on again. I replaced the power supply. It didn't turn on. The motherboard was replaced and the original RAM was used. The 2 lights come on then go off. No flashing or anything that looks like a warning indicator

 

Is it possible for you to swap back in the original Wi-Fi card?

Since there is no flashing warning indicator, it is not a processor problem and shouldnt be a hardware problem.

Since you plugged your adapter into your computer without the battery and it doesn't work either, its not a battery problem and is most likely an adapter problem. Have you checked to make sure that the adapter is the right one? If that is also not an issue. It could be that the motherboard may be the issue in terms of compatibility with the adapter.

Of course, it is also possible that when replacing your motherboard, the technicians did not plug in certain things properly, or may have accidentally damaged something else, or had a loose connector, etc. Definitely check the connections.

It is likely that the problem lies with the motherboard itself that its tricking itself.

You should definitely send it in for repair if it still doesn't work. Hopefully its under warranty still.

 

I will try to the old Wi-Fi card. As for the power supply. The original one doesn't work. I bought a new one and that one works with other computers. If it were the adapter I don't think I would see any signs of life at all.

 

Ah ok. It makes perfect sense now. Because the lights arn't blinking, its definitely not a hardware issue, and the motherboard not being in place is odd too.

It all makes sense. I am almost 100% certain it has to be your power adapter. Get the official m1710 adapter (not the universal type adapters) either from Dell, which would be kinda expensive, so I recommend looking on ebay or elsewhere that sells the official m1710 adapter.

Not all universal adapters work as well as advertised. Oftentimes there are differences in wattage that make some systems work well, some not work, and some work for a certain period of time, then die due to differences in power consumption.

Don't bother swapping out to the old intel card. The problem is definitely because of your power adapter. Get the official M1710 one and I am certain it will work.

 

The lights come on and then turn off but they don't blink. I replaced the motherboard (as in i bought a new one and installed it). The power adapter was replaced as well and it is a "dell" part. I have tried this adapter on another m1730 and it works (it is not a universal adapter).
I just tried taking out the wi-fi card that didn't work either. Switching the memory didn't either. I can't think of anything else I can try

 

Well someone mentioned something about adapter revisions that may have something to do with it. Maybe it has something to do with the motherboard revisions or something but for the M1530 certain systems have problems with the A01 adapter and require the use of the A04 adapter to make it work. Though I don't think it would matter.. apparently for some people it does.