XPS M1330 won't turn on: motherboard or GPU failure?

Hi everyone,

I was web surfing with my XPS m1330 last night (purchased 11/30/07) and it gave a small chirp and turned off immediately (did not go through the normal shutdown process). I tried to turn it on again in the hopes that it had overheated (though it was on a hard flat surface and I had literally just started using it - I had woken it up from "sleep" less than a minute earlier), but it wouldn't turn on. I decided to leave it overnight - still won't power on this morning. I've tried two different adapters on different outlets, the one that comes with the system and the Dell travel adapter that you can buy as an accessory - neither works (I think the adapters are fine though, since the LED lights on them come on when you plug them in, although the lights immediately turn off once you plug the adapter into the computer). I've tried using the adapters with the battery inserted (fully charged, according to the LCD lights on it) and with it not inserted - no power.

Does this sound like a motherboard failure or a GPU failure or something else to you? The machine won't power up at all, so I'm thinking the former or something to do with the internal power supply perhaps, but I'd love to get your opinions on this. Thanks.

 

Try taking the battery pack out and AC power

Hold the power button for 30 seconds

This time try powering on with only AC power

 

Hi Flipfire:

I've plugged the adapter that comes with the XPS into the wall (blue LED comes on), then I've plugged the adapter into the XPS power port (blue LED goes off immediately) and held the power button down for 30 seconds (XPS battery removed) - machine does not power up. I've repeated the procedure with the travel adapter (green LED comes on and then goes off immediately once I plug it into the XPS) - machine does not power up.

 

Your gonna have to call and get it replaced im afraid.

Power rail is dead

 

Gah, sadness - I'm traveling to Germany next week and I was hoping to use it there. Thanks for helping to diagnose my problem though. Do you think they'll send me a refurbed system or the same machine? I've not used it much, so it's still relatively "shiny". Also, I upgraded the RAM to 4GB - should I remove it and go back to the original stick of RAM or will I be ok with leaving it in there?

 

You have to get it replaced, Mom's m1330 just happened to had that problem...

So yes, you need to send it in.

 

Hi BenLeonheart,

Do you think the power rail died because I left the machine on sleep (plugged into the adapter, with the battery inserted) most of the time? I'm just wondering if it died prematurely because that might stress the rail too much?

 

You will need to put the original parts back in or else Dell wont touch it.

No, something most likely shorted or overloaded.

 

Ok, thanks for the confirmation Flipfire. Appreciate the help again.

 

Wow, Dell is sending a tech out - I might be able to take my laptop with me to Germany next week! I'm so glad I bought from them and got the warranty. Thanks again for all the help, guys!

 

Hope they fix it man.... I know how frustrating having a busted computer is when your going on vacation

 

Yeah, me too. I'm not sure I could survive my family without some sort of outlet to the sane world. I'm just glad it failed here, rather than in Germany. Here's hoping the new parts fix everything.

 

Anybody know what Dell would charge for this repair? I have the exact same problem but I only got a one year warranty (yeah yeah) and that ended some time in August. I'm considering just buying a new, cheaper laptop, since I just need it for taking notes.

As an aside, anybody know how to get data off an m1330 hd? I remember trying before on my old hd (before one of the several times I got this thing serviced - great quality this laptop was) but found Dell had attached some screwy connector that didn't plug into my hard drive enclosure.

 

I had the same problem with my brand new in my first power up try. It was the MB. I ask for a new one, not a MB replacement, and I got it and for now is all good (cross my finger)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=295153

There is all the info about it

 

A standard sata enclosure would be fine..

 

Erika, I have just run into the same problem with my Dell XPS M1330, and wanted to check with you to verify that this solved your problem. Did you have the power rail replaced? The whole motherboard? What was the cost? Mine is out of warranty (ugh)...

 

The same has just happened to me. This is my second Dell XPS M1330, and the second that has had severe problems. My first died after a year. So all in all I haven't had the best of luck in this regard. My problems started on Sat after putting it into sleep mode and now I have the exact same symptoms as he other posters in this thread (blue ligth going off when charging, and not being able to boot). Would love to know specifically how this problem is fixed.

Simon

 

I also had this problem. It was just out of warranty so Dell wouldn't even talk to me. I'm working with ____ to get a new laptop. They required it be sent in for repair - but not to dell. The repair work order just came back today. Chargerboard took out the motherboard. $686.09.

This is what I had. One morning the computer wouldn't power on. Blue light on ac adapter worked but as soon as we plugged it into the computer, it would go out. We had to cycle the power to get the blue light back on. Battery checks fine. I started lurking on the message boards to find out what it might be, and to put it mildly, I was shocked to see all the motherboard issues with this model and knew that's what I had.

I have the intel gpu and it only lasted 14 months. It would be nice to see them do the right thing.

As far as retrieving the data, I'm going to buy one of those thermaltake hot swappable units. I'll pull the hard drive and drop it in.

Of note, if you have an Nvidia gpu, you have a good chance of getting this fixed for free as long as it within the first 24 months.

 

Why does NVIDIA make a difference? I called about my video card a couple months ago, they noted the problem, my motherboard blew and they absolutely will not do anything for my laptop :S

 

Having the exact same problem. I push the power button and nothing happens, no lights, no sound, nothing. When I unplug the AC adapter and replug it, the led light comes on briefly but then immediately goes away. This was bought in late 2007. It seems that many people are having this problem, has anyone found a practical way to solve it if the warranty with dell is expired? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Because Dell extended the GPU warranty on Dell XPS M1330 by one year for anyone with the nVidia card due to frequent problems.

 

Yeah but this problem doesn't have anything to do with the GPU...right?

Woke up this morning to this exact problem. My original warranty has expired and I'm into the extended warranty on the nVidia GPU. Any idea how much this will cost to fix?

P.S. This is the third time my laptop has died in the last 9 months. First two were GPU failures, and now this. I fear it's time to abandon Dell permanently.

 

Hey, I bought a Dell M1330 for my wife last year. We split up and just bought the laptop back from her. Same day I bought it, I leave it plugged in to charge, but I neglected to see if it was actually taking the charge. The light on the adapter stays lit when plugged in. When attempting to power on the laptop, the battery liht on the display lights up, but that's it. Black screen. Dead.. What could this be? The warranty expired last month

 

The same thing happened to my Dell XPS M1330, but I got it off Craigslist Used about a year and a half ago.

I'm in Austin, so there are many laptop places I could take it - is a power rail very expensive? Seems like it should be less than a motherboard!

Most of the places want to charge $100 to diagnose, but then some of that can go toward repair if I get it fixed. I've just been trying to decide if it's worth the chance or get another one off Craigslist for $500, put my hard drive in the next one and go on...

Any suggestions?

 

My guess is that it is the Motherboard. It sounds exactly like what I have been going through. I have noticed, however, that Dell seems to be hesitating to offer an explanation when I first call now. After prompted to check for my repair history they seem to be more helpful.
Aside from the fact that the DVD drive has never functioned correctly, this laptop performed admirably well for the first 12 months. Then, during month 13, it died. Dell sent a tech out, and the MotherBoard and power supply were replaced.
During month 14, once again the computer died. Again Dell sent out a tech and the MotherBoard and Power supply were replaced.
Now we are in Month 16. Once again the computer has died, and once again Dell sent out a tech to work on the unit. This time the MotherBoard, Heatsink, Power Supply, Touchpad and onboard camera were replaced. Within 2 hours of the tech leaving, the computer failed to perform. I called Dell and their answer was "it is a software issue." OK, so it is a software issue, but there were no problems with the software before the last breakdown. The tech did, however, install new bios. Was that done correctly? I have no idea. Am I tired of trying to deal with a piece of junk? IMPHATICALLY YES!
I have two jobs to finish within 9 days, and somehow I don't think they will get done.
Thank you Dell for a lousy product. Next time I will shop elswhere for my laptop needs.

 

For those of you blaming Dell and saying you will buy elsewhere next time: this is actually an NVIDIA issue. The chip causes the whole thing to overheat and die. NVIDIA makes chips for ALL PC manufacturers - Dell just got unlucky this time with them. Personally I am impressed at how well Dell has handled this issue (mine has died twice, both under warranty,) and the warranty has been extended a year. Go ahead, buy some crap from Acer, see if they treat you as well. =)

 

The power problems with the XPS M1330 (especially where the power brick LED goes out when plugged into the laptop) is related to problems within the power supply circuit on the motherboard.

aqstech.com/dellbios12.htm

I believe they charge $99 + shipping for that repair.

 

Hi Everyone.

My XPS M1330 motherboard failed. The blue light on the charger would go out as soon as I plugged it in. I disassembled the machine, and found that there was a short curcuit on the motherboard.

I was able to find the short circuit and repair the motherboard in the following way: I connected the motherboard to a laboratory power supply (kind of like an adjustable battery) and monitored the voltage and current. I adjusted for about 1-2 Watts of power into the motherboard. (It was around 1 Volt and 2 Amps.) Then I monitored to see which component was getting hot. At first I found some FET switches getting hot. But this is because the applied voltage was too low to turn them on fully. So I soldered a wire to a large power resistor near the LAN transformer, so that I could bypass these FET's and inject power directly to the area of the short circuit. Eventually I found that C541 had failed. (With 2 watts going into the motherboard, this component was getting quite hot. It practically unsoldered itself!) It is a ceramic chip capacitor, 1206 surface mount package. I could see that it was one of several in parallel...likely to be a filter cap, and not critical. I simply removed it and the motherboard started working fine again.

Amazing and sad that a component costing 5 cents can lead to the ruin of a machine that costs $1,500. They skimped too much when choosing this component. Dell should definitely change their priorities and shift to higher quality over cheaper initial price if they want to survive in the long run. I would not buy another Dell at this point.

 

Hi,

I have the same problem and i'm search the schematic of the motherboard or a link for download the file.

Thanks for your help.

Where is the C541 component in the motherboard, do you have à picture....


Knpc

 

Sorry I did not take a picture. It is near the LAN cable connector, along the semicircualr cutout for the fan. All the components are marked in white silkscreen layer of the motherboard.

I saw the schematic offered for sale on the web, but did not buy it.

 

Hi,

Thanks for your answer.
if I take a picture of my motherboard, can you tell me where the power plug for my tests?
Do you have an email for send my picture ???

Thanks

Knpc

I have the shematic....

 

ok i think it could be any of this cap c519,521,525,535,532,ec81,ec523,c495,c602,c547 or any of the cap of this size

 

can you send me a schematic in my email I need to see where this cap is???

 

What is a Power Rail?

 

If you have any questions about M1330 power/motherboard/GPU issues, please create a new thread, bumping old/dead ones will not be of any help.