XPS m1530 Not starting up

Hey,

This has been a problem I've had for the past day or two. When I press the power button the power button lights up, i hear the hard drive kick in, and then everything just goes black after 1 second. The only thing left is the sound of the hard drive quietly running. Nothing ever shows up on the screen or anything.
I've tried running it without the battery in, running it without the power cord.

I'm at a loss at what I should try next.

 

Your ticking time bomb might have finally gone off. I had the same issue and they had to replace the mobo because the GPU was toast.

 

Mmmmmmm. Is there any way to test to see if that's the problem?

Yesterday morning it wouldn't turn on like this, I go out for a few hours, and I came home to it turned on and running. Apparently my sister turned it on. Then last night I turned it off normally and now this morning again it won't turn on. The whole situation just seems very strange.

Oh, and I tried putting in a Windows installation disc to see if it would boot up into that. Nothing other than the sound of it trying to start reading the disc. And now the disc won't come out. Not my brightest moment to say the least.

 

I would try;

- Trying to display externally with an external monitor

- Using known good RAM

Is it completely black or is it black with a blinking cursor? If it's completely black after all that, likely you have a bad motherboard/GPU which if you have an Nvidia M1530 as hockeymass has stated, are ticking timebombs, badly affected by the defective Nvidia chips.

 

Not really, but with a failure like that it's almost always something on the system board, in my experience. Like Tsunade Hime said, you could try different memory or an external monitor. If anything's going to fix it, it's more likely to be the memory. The 1530's NVIDIA GPU is known to be faulty. There was a class action suit regarding it, but I think it may be too late to file a claim now.

 

Dell extended the warranty on laptops with the defective chips by 1 year, and a repair/exchange can still be done if it's still under warranty. IIRC there were some M1530/M1330 that shipped with Intel GPU. The offical Nvidia settlement is over, but you can start your own in your state.

If it's a black screen with a blinking cursor means there is a bad file system or something got really messed up in the file system.

 

I guess it all depends when he bought the PC. I got mine in 2008 with a 2 year warranty, and they tried to pull some crap on me about the extension only covering a year from the factory warranty, not the extended warranty I paid for. Needless to say, I was having none of that.

Call them up and tell them you demand a replacement.

 

There's no blinking cursor or anything.

I don't have any other latpop RAM to test it with. Would desktop RAM work? xD

I was going to join the class action suit because i knew that mine feel under the qualifications to join it. BUT, i forgot about it. Then, one day when i remember that the claim period had started, i checked the site and saw that i literally missed the claim period by 1 day. I was pissed.

I'll try another monitor right now.

I'm pretty sure it's the GPU/Motherboard, but I wanna try all other options before i make a final verdict on it.

My laptop is waaaaaay out of warranty, lol. It expired some time in 2009. I only had a 1 year warranty.

 

You can get real cheap RAM on Newegg. Desktop RAM definitely won't work Might be worth it just to test.

 

Tried my desktop monitor. Nothing.

I just realized that the RAM i'd be using to test it would be from my old PC which only had like 128 mb RAM. I don't even think my laptop would start up from that. I don't want to be taking the RAM out of my current pc xD

I think i should just start talking to dell support about getting a replacement mobo.

How cheap is real cheap for the RAM on Newegg? Because i don't want to be taking a risk in buying something that may or may not fix my problem because i don't have much money to be throwing around right now.

 

4 gigs of PNY for 32 bucks?

I believe the price they quoted me was $330 for a 1 year warranty extension, $400 for a la carte replacement.

 

Wow, 4 gigs for 32 bucks? That's epic.

So, $330 for the warranty with replacement included and $400 for replacement without warranty?
Uggggghhhhh, this is gonna get pricy if the RAM thing doesn't end up working.

 

Yeah. 2 gig sticks are cheap. 4 gig sticks are a bit more, but you can still get a pair for under 50 bucks sometimes.

It's very expensive to get the mobo replaced. I was ready to buy a whole new computer until I called one last time and argued with them to replace it for free.

 

I wonder what the odds of them replacing mine for free are. Because if i have to pay for this, it's gonna wipe 75% of the money i was going to use for a tv away.

I am going to try my hardest to get it for free.
What exactly do they include on the replacement mobo? The GPU for sure because that's attached to the mobo permanently. But, the CPU, that's detachable and replaceable, so would they be including a new one, or would i be putting my current one on it?

 

The GPU is BGA soldered. They should send a technician or you should have to send it in.

If it's OOW, honestly Dell will likely not consider a replacement. It should be a tough fight for a replacement board at no cost. I would just look to get another laptop unless Dell gives you something for free. Nvidia never fixed the problem, in fact they still don't admit fault. They did release a batch of fixed Quadros but there is no marking or stepping indicating which ones were the good batch.

If you ask for a replacement, you'll likely receive an XPS 15, I doubt they are still shipping out Studio XPS anymore.

 

I'd be fine with any type of replacement part or replacement laptop. Heck, a replacement laptop would be awesome because that means newer and better hardware all together. The base XPS 15 looks like it has better specs than the one i have right now.

I'll see what happens.

Edit: When i contact them, should i call them or do it over online support?

 

Have you looked into reflowing the GPU yourself? If it's out of warranty it's worth a shot.

 

I would call.

 

I have no clue that is.

Ugghhhh, lol. The last time i had to call was for hard drive issues back when i first got it and the got had a strong indian accent. It was very hard to follow his directions and such.

 

Just got done talking with a Dell support agent. They said that it would cost me $585 + tax to replace the motherboard. Definitely not worth it.

What are your opinions on buying one off of ebay for $100?

 

I had two hp laptops that were having what sounds like the same issues you are where the lights would flash and hard drive would spin but no video. I broke them down heated the gpu and pressed it on the board and both are working fine now. If the motherboard is shot then this can't make it worse just make sure the motherboard is completely stripped down so as not to cause damage to any other parts. If you google reflowing a motherboard a few simple ways to do it pop up.

 

Sounds like a plan. I'll probably try that first.

 

Reflowing the GPU is like toasting an RROD X360. It might work, it might not. If it works it might buy you a few weeks or a few months. It's worth a shot if you're not going to bother with having Dell replace it (I wouldn't, for 585 you could get a whole new computer).

Replacing the mobo is a little complicated, if you know your way around a PC you could probably do it. I don't think it will be easy.

 

The problem with the Nvidia chips is TSMC's use of cheapo substrate material in the GPU package. The constant heating and cooling caused the solder joints to fail, causing the GPU to be disconnected from the motherboard and thus the loss of video/really bad artifacts.

Some people have successfully "baked" their motherboards in hopes of reflowing the solder joints and reconnecting the GPU to the motherboard but the results are unstable (some lasting as little as 2 days, some lasting as long as 2+ years). Also there will NEVER be a permanent fix, as it is the entire GPU that is defective. I don't recommend a heat gun as there is no way to apply constant/even heat and even with a probe it is difficult to control the heat. To "properly" reball and reflow your GPU you need a infrared solder station (1800+ dollars).

Basically, if you don't want to bake your motherboard and Dell rejects any resolution, look to buy a new laptop. Personally the new XPS line does not look good. Also given the major issues with the entire XPS line over multiple generations, I would personally avoid all of them (M1710/M1210 had the defective Nvidia chips, M1730/M1530/M1330 had the defective Nvidia chips, SXPS 16/13 had GPU throttling issues, current XPS has its myriad of problems too). To prevent a future meltdown, get a laptop with a removable GPU (ASUS G series is a good value).

 

Yeah, i'm not looking to spend any big money anytime soon. I'm about to buy my first car, so i can't be spending any money on a new laptop.
I know that whatever I do to try and fix my laptop, the problem will never be 100% fixed. If i reflow it, there's still a chance it'll happen again. If i buy a new motherboard off of ebay, there's still a chance it'll happen again. If i buy one from dell, there's still a chance it'll happen again. I think right now, reflowing is my best option. Is there any risk of damaging the rest of my laptop by reflowing the motherboard?

 

Commander_Wolf has a writeup but by no means an official guide, just his experiences on GPU baking. If you remove everything necessary it is not that difficult/dangerous. Absolute worst thing I could see is you bricking your motherboard, but considering it's not working.. I have only experiences baking desktop GPU's and removable modules, not actual soldered on GPU's. The only resolution I can see of you keeping your M1530 and still working without spending an arm and leg is buying a motherboard with the Intel GPU. It won't have the Nvidia issues but hey you'll at least have a laptop that won't melt down possibly in 2 weeks.

 

I hope the reflow goes well it will at least buy you sometime to evaluate your options. Have you looked to see if anyone in your area offers a reballing service to repair the chip more permanently.

 

Even if you reball the GPU, it will still fail. People have used leaded solder which is more forgiving to heat fatigue, but due to RoHS it's all unleaded solder now..

Point being, buy Intel GPU or another computer.

 

If it was repaired and the temps didn't go above say 70c would the chip still fail again? Also if so what temps would it consistently need to be below to keep from failing again?

 

Hrm well there are no confirmed numbers, but I was reading 60-70C would start the process. Only time will tell. The problem is finding a way for it not to quickly cool down, but to ease it down temperatures. But my Vostro 1500's 8400M GS was easily 70-77C all the time from gaming, though it is a discreet card and removable so if it failed (it hasn't but I upgraded to the 8600M GT) I could just buy a new card.

 

Darksider94 did you have any luck? Also do you remember what your GPU temps were before it went out?

 

Ok, sorry I haven't posted any updates yet.

Last night I finally had time to disassemble my laptop. Today i'm going to reflow it. I just have a few questions about stuff I should take off the motherboard.

I still need to take off some of the little foam spacers. I just don't know if i should remove the black sheet of plasticy material that covers the whole backside of the mobo and some parts of the front. Also, should i be trying to remove some of the adhesion that was used to attach the cooling unit to the GPU and that other thing that i don't know what it is?
The thread you guys linked me to about the guy's experiences reflowing is helping a little. He leaves the plastic sheets/covering on, but would like a second opinion as well(He leaves it on, so i'm leaning to that).


Taking everything apart took a while, but was fun It was a good learning experience as well. Although, i broke two of the nubs that screws go into. But, it's nothing that strong glue won't fix xD

And no, sorry, i don't remember my GPU temps before it went out. I used it for gaming A LOT and it would get HOT. So, i'm surprised it lasted 3 years. I have a cooling pad that i would always use when playing games, but it never helped too much.

 

Update: I reflowed it, and it was a..... success

My laptop is now up and running and all good. The only problem is that i forgot to put two screws back in place. From what i remember, they weren't major ones, so i'm not worrying about it right now, lol.

Thanks for all the help guys

 

Sorry for the three posts in a row, but just another update.

It seems the fix only lasted a week. The problem has come back. I went to go use it after my sister, i opened the lid, nothing happened. I turned it off and then tried turning it on, it wouldn't turn on. My sister told me that it apparently did this last night, but turned on this morning.
I'm thinking new laptop time xD

Tbh, right when i fixed it last week, i decided to start looking at new laptops anyway b/c this one can't handle games anymore to begin with. I'm not sure if i want to go through the trouble of reflowing it again. And i don't really want to buy a mobo off ebay, b/c it's gonna have the problem as well and still suck.
I think i've pretty much decided on the lenovo y570. I'm gonna wait for it to go on sale again tho. I regret not buying it yesterday while the sale was going on