P751DM Power Button not functional - Need info on replacement options

Hi folks!

So looks like the power button on my passionately loved Dark Knight gave out on me.

I am pretty confident its just the power button / respective cable thats defective, since this issue slowly started to pop up over the past few days. At first, I had to press the button a bit harder than usual for it to register. Then this past weekend, I couldnt properly switch off the machine by keeping the power button pressed. And now that the laptop is switched off, I cannot power it up again

General operation was fine and the battery / power LEDs are as they should be with the AC connected in powered off state.

Planning to take the machine apart and see if a reinsertion of the power button cable will do the trick. But if that is not the case, I need some input from the NBR community!

1) Does anyone know if the Power button on this machine is only connected via a flat cable directly to the mobo? Or is there a power switch daughterboard, which in turn is connected to the motherboard?

2) What is the part number and where can I source a new power button + cable and/or a power switch daughterboard?

Reseller reps are welcome to let me know if they can provide these parts (together with a quote via pm, ideally )

Ill only get around to disassembling the machine tomorrow, but I'll keep you guys updated.

Thanks in advance!

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Exactly the same thing happened to me on my P870... Had to keep pressing it harder until it gave up completely. On the P870 its just a little daughter board that needs replacing along with the cable, wasn't that difficult tbh if a little time consuming. To be honest, the power switch board might have been fine and it could have just been the cable, but i replaced both just to be sure. Hopefully its a similar setup on the P751DM, but i'm not entirely sure...

I'd check some of the Chinese sellers on Aliexpress/Taobao since they have the best prices, that's where I got a replacement 980 heatsink from.

Good luck getting it sorted

 

thanks for your input buddy! i actually stumbled upon your old thread haha so yeah im hoping for the same simple outcome. what kinda keywords did u use to find that on ali express / taobao? i checked via google, ebay and also aliexpress but couldnt really find definitive hits.

would be a shame to replace the whole upper chassis or even the motherboard just cuz of that! ugh...

so yeah guys, if anyone has some pointers on parts, always appreciated!

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I had similar issue in ZM model. The reason was small plastic latch on cable connector, which was not properly closed It just opened itself during normal use

 

that would be brilliant *lol* gonna take apart my machine today to have a proper look, maybe a cable reseat is all it takes if not, ill contact several clevo shops and ask for quotes on the parts. so far, worst case would be to replace the top case which i found cheapest with rjtech for 70 USD.

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In the meantime, I contacted CEG in Germany, NovaCustom in the Netherlands, as well as Sager and Rjtech in the US. Lets see who can help me out here

@Meaker@Sager
@clevo-extreme
unfortunately no Rjtech or NovaCustom reps on NBR?

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Hopefully they can get you sorted

 

@jaybee83 drop a massage to Pcspecialist UK as well. They are Clevo distributor and have dedicated site for B2B. But distributor site only work with b2b orders so you need to go through their retail arm Pcspecialist.

https://www.fortunetechnology.com/fortune-spares/7986/

I manage to crack P775 bottom panel and they got parts for next day delivery. Cost me £34.

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Its just a cheapo 5 cents SMD tactile button, changing a whole mobo for an SMD button would be bonkers..

If you know someone that can solder, its a 5 minute repair..

 

thats the thing, dunno if its the button itself, the flat cable or the daughter oard / mobo connection. so lets take it step by step

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ok, so....how the heck do i get the top case off? *lol* ive been trying to pry it open in several spots with a flat screwdriver but all that does is causing scratches and bumps in the chassis any spot i should pry open first? any input would be appreciated here...

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Did you check the service manual? Also never use screwdrivers to pry it open. Use plastic credit card. Chances of damage is minimal.

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yep, the service manual is pretty specific up to that point, then it just states to lift it up and remove the top case *lol* not very helpful...im suspecting there are tons of plastic clips holding it tightly in place. ill try the credit card idea, lets see how that goes!

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He he... Clevo service manual is as good as their bios ..

I have plastic prying tool specifically made for opening this sort of things. But otherwise I use plastic card. Metal is not good with plastic.

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credit card was helpful. but yeah, clevo might have mentioned the 18(!) frigging screws needed to be removed on the underside first before one can loosen and remove the top cover *lol* anyways, finally got it off without any damage, thanks to the credit card trick

now lets check the components in question...

edit: so here is the little *****




so yeah, its indeed a daughterboard which in turn is connected to the mobo via a data and a power cable. sent it to NovaCustom, since they were the only ones to respond so far, lets see about cost and shipping time now...

things are looking up!

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https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/113788710353

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You should never need to pry with a screwdriver. If you are then something has gone wrong

 

hindsight is always 20/20 its the first time ive taken the top case off my machine haha.

thx buddy, but that price is outrageous and its for the 17 inch model. they have different solder points for the connectors between 15 and 17 inchers so id rather play it safe and go with the 15 inch board...
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So I ended up going with NovaCustom on this one. In the time their rep first contacted me, discussed the details on board sku, pricing and shipping and sent off the package (even before I went through with the payment *lol*), the other three shops havent even responded yet to my initial message

So guys, NovaCustom in the Netherlands - Highly recommended thus far

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Update: Sager just answered my initial request RjTech and CEG still no response... and yeah, its been 3 days now

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There was the holiday on Monday and it's back to school season so that will have caused the delay...

 

Aah, so lots of backlog and other stuff....so good to cover your bases with several countries, if you have the flexibility

 

All those pesky holidays, who'd have them eh?

 

certainly not us in SG here... very low holiday rate, ugh....

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Always got to find that work/life balance or it never ends well.

 

Update: the part from NovaCustom finally arrived Took a while to get here to Singapore from the Netherlands *lol*

Anyways, the new daughterboard is installed, but wont find the time until this evening after work to completely reassemble my machine. Wanted to clean out the fans and exchange some thermal pads while I have it in pieces

Fun fact: I noticed that the chipset is connected to the top case with a thick thermal pad, now it makes sense that I never had thermal problems in that regard, very nice

Also @Meaker@Sager there is another thermal pad placed beneath the top case, it sits on top of.....well, no idea tbh! They look a bit like mosfets, but more rectangles instead of squares and theyre not as flat. judging from the positioning they might be on the backside of the cpu VRMs? Any idea what they might be? Can provide a picture later for easier referencing...

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Hi. Nobody answered.. Because today I'm back from hospital.. So.. Did you received everything or still need this power button?

Fastest Customizable Gaming Notebooks & Mobile Workstations | CLEVO Integrator

 

Yeah with a picture it's easier to say.

 

Haha no worries! Hope you are well again Besides, maybe someone else could have filled in for you in the meantime....?

So i found an image of the mobo inside the service manual that shows the spot nicely:




first image with the red rectangle shows the SMDs with the thermal pad beneath the top case. second image shows the other side of the mainboard, and it really looks like the underside of the CPU VRMs, right?

in any case, im gonna exchange the stock thermal pad with fujipoly, surely cant hurt

 

They are the filtering capacitors , the pad will be to help cool the vrms really from the other side yes.

 

ITS ALIIIIVE *MWAHAHAHAHAHA*

but, of course, Murphy couldnt keep his dirty lil fingers out of it and one of the plastic thingies keeping the keyboard cable in place broke *ugh* so now gotta get creative in making the cable stick with all contacts working properly. right now, only half of the keys are registering input.

ah well, ill take it! my baby is back! tomorrow ill take care of the keyboard issue, off to dreamland for now.

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fixed the keyboard connection, lights all green now yehaw! thanks for all the input, guys!

 

The plastic clips are delicate, no screwdrivers to unclip them or yanking

Nice on getting it done.

 

if you got any tricks up your sleeve for those damn plastic clips, please let us know

 

Plastic tools or a dexterous finger/nail ifixit kit is great.

 

Any old plastic credit/debit/store card works wonders.

 

Or plastic guitar pics.

 

well thats not the issue though. sure, a screwdriver leaves some tiny scratch marks on the clips, but the actual problem lies in those retainer pins on the sides of the clips. no matter if u use a screwdriver or a plastic tool, those are bound to break off once u remove the clips one too many times...

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Mine are yet to go and mine has been apart a fair few times. Getting both sides at once and being gentle are often the answer.