Xps m2010

[thailemon]

Hello there everyone.

New to this board, but maybe I can get some help here..

I have had a Dell XPS M2010 for some years now, and it basically just died after a year or so..

Now I've changed the motherboard one time, graphics adapter 2 times..
But in all honesty it seems the biggest problem is the motherboard.

Maybe someone knows about this issue? the M2010 has a "bad caps" issuse they said, and I was asked to try plugging in/unplugging the power cord for XX times and it would start again. Now I tried that, and the laptop has actually been running for the last 48 hours. But I have no faith in that it will still keep running if I unplug the power cord for more than 3 minutes..

My question here is basically, if anyone knows what kind of components is the problem with this motherboard, and how to change them to better ones / replace them :-)

Thank you in advance. Any comments or suggestions
are much appreciated.

[seanc]

Re: Xps m2010

What flashing lights do you get?
I had 6 service calls on one of these before Dell relented and replaced it with a machine of my choice.
I think most of those were graphics cards and a couple were motherboards.

[Sixmark]

Re: Xps m2010

Most of those fell under the same category as the Xbox 360's, poor choice of design. The video chips tend to overheat and pull away from the PCB or just overheat and die. Usually on laptops it's the 6100 series of GPU's

[Scenic]

Re: Xps m2010

Sixmark: the XPS M2010 was only sold with ATI Radeon X1800's AFAIK
(and proprietary format ones too.. not even MXM .. how lame)

[thailemon]

Re: Xps m2010

The problem with mine is really not the graphics adapter.. I have 3 different cards now and with all the testing I've done, it really can't be the graphics adapter I believe..

Machine died. Just laying around for 6 months.. then now, I tried to see if its fixable. After having the power cord in it for about 15 mins, and when the fans start to run, i take out the power cord and then put it in again. Did that for about 3-4 times and now it's running...3 days straight now.

The start button doesn't work, it turns on when the power cord is in, and shuts down when its taken out..

If I now remove the power cord again for some minutes, it will not start up again.. Any ideas about this motherboard? part number CG571.. Anything is fixable I believe and instead of buying another motherboard (which will have the same problem..) I would rather try and fix it if its possible

[Sixmark]

Re: Xps m2010

Scenic, that's why I said "usually"......lol. thailemon you stated that the power button does not work, you may be solving your issue right there, when power buttons fail they can become erratic. Sometimes they may fix themselves in an open circuit or in a closed circuit. I will look through my pile of motherboards and see if I happen to have one that I can check out for you and tell you what to look for.

[thailemon]

Re: Xps m2010

superb. thanks all help appreciated

[Piglet]

Re: Xps m2010

All
I have owned and persevered with a Dell XPS M2010 since 2007. Have had no less than 15 warranty call outs to replace everything from motherboards, optical drives and mainly the graphics card. Fundamentally this machine design is flawed and overheats.

Dell have provided exeptional service throughout but the inconvienience of not knowing if it will work from one day to the next is untenable.

After many persistent demands they have finally relented and given me a trade in. A great pity as I loved the concept but my advice to anyone in the same boat is don't put up with the pain. Yes I even wasted hours installing Win7 and struggled with BT drivers for the keyboard/mouse etc etc. It obviously didn't solve the main/recurring hardware issues.

If you own a M2010 I feel sorry for you. If you dont suffer the problems I had I am envious!