I have the above machine which I rescued from certain death last year. Following a clean up and a new charger its been working fine for months and has been a great machine!
However, it no longer powers on. The alien head power on button wasn't lighting up to acknowledge that the charger was connected. I tested another charged which highlighted it wasn't related to that and made me lean more towards the machine itself.
I've stripped the machine and given it a gentle but decent clean so its free from dust and I've started by looking at the DC in jack. On previous machines I've seen these soldered onto the motherboard but in this machine the DC port has a number of cables coming off of the back of it which goes down the left hand side and towards the middle at the bottom where it connects to the board.
The cables coming out of the back of it don't look damaged which I suspected might be the problem due to a crack on the underside of the machine just below where the DC in jack lives. The crack has been there since I bought it but due to that being the only issue with the plastic I never saw the need to replace it.
The board underneath the power button that has LEDs for Capslock, Numlock, Scrollock, Power, Bluetooth, Wireless, Alienware and Low Power - none of which are lighting up. I have to admit that since I got it the power button was stiff and had to be pressed fairly hard to switch the machine on. Although I didn't often use the power button as if put the machine to sleep and then wake it with any key.
I picked up a identical genuine Dell charger which is rated at 19.5v and should be fine.
I've stripped the machine down to the chassis although the motherboard is still screwed in at the moment. It's clear that I need new plastics in certain areas as corners of the housing have been glued by the previous owner and easily broke away when I was disassembling the machine.
I've connected the charger to the DC port [charger LEDs light up], traced the cable to the motherboard and checked the voltage going into the connector which plugs into the motherboard at the red and black cables. I've getting a fairly steady 19.6-19.7v across the points which is just over the 19.5 from the charger so I'm 'guessing' that power to the DC port and to the board is ok?
If this is the case then I'm also guessing that the next course of action is going to be one of two areas:-
1) Check solder points underneath the plug to see if there is a cold solder joint - this is going to be painful as it's going to mean removing the entire board from the chassis. But, but needs must if I have to.
2) If nothing from point 1, I'm going to need to find some schematics of the board to find where to go next, possibly onto the board where the power button and LEDs live - P/N 08G20E1FA20 Q - Hotkey Board Rev 2.0.
I must admit I don't know how to check the board in point 2 to see if it is getting any power - does anyone have any ideas? When the machine was working, the power button did have to be pressed quite hard for the machine to startup. But at the moment when it's connected, none of the LEDs light up, not even the power LED. It's worth noting that the cable from this board to the motherboard isn't in great shape. It has 2 fairly significant creases in it. But I've also done a continuity test across each of the points on either side of the thin ribbon cable and they all test fine and make the multimeter 'beep'.
I'm leaning towards an issue with the Hotkey board based on the power button alwys having to be pressed hard to switch the machine on. Perhaps the board has always had a fault and has just suddenly died. There are a ton of micro components on this board but no capacitors [that I can see or recognise]. I have no idea how I would start troubleshooting it. Or how I can troubleshoot the motherboard any further. I'd prefer to isolate a particular fault so I can either fix it, or weigh up how much it will cost to buy a replacement part.
I'd hate to have to break this machine for spares as it looks beautiful lit up, it has a backlit LED keyboard and gorgeous 17" 1920x1200 display. Does anyone have any ideas please?
However, it no longer powers on. The alien head power on button wasn't lighting up to acknowledge that the charger was connected. I tested another charged which highlighted it wasn't related to that and made me lean more towards the machine itself.
I've stripped the machine and given it a gentle but decent clean so its free from dust and I've started by looking at the DC in jack. On previous machines I've seen these soldered onto the motherboard but in this machine the DC port has a number of cables coming off of the back of it which goes down the left hand side and towards the middle at the bottom where it connects to the board.
The cables coming out of the back of it don't look damaged which I suspected might be the problem due to a crack on the underside of the machine just below where the DC in jack lives. The crack has been there since I bought it but due to that being the only issue with the plastic I never saw the need to replace it.
The board underneath the power button that has LEDs for Capslock, Numlock, Scrollock, Power, Bluetooth, Wireless, Alienware and Low Power - none of which are lighting up. I have to admit that since I got it the power button was stiff and had to be pressed fairly hard to switch the machine on. Although I didn't often use the power button as if put the machine to sleep and then wake it with any key.
I picked up a identical genuine Dell charger which is rated at 19.5v and should be fine.
I've stripped the machine down to the chassis although the motherboard is still screwed in at the moment. It's clear that I need new plastics in certain areas as corners of the housing have been glued by the previous owner and easily broke away when I was disassembling the machine.
I've connected the charger to the DC port [charger LEDs light up], traced the cable to the motherboard and checked the voltage going into the connector which plugs into the motherboard at the red and black cables. I've getting a fairly steady 19.6-19.7v across the points which is just over the 19.5 from the charger so I'm 'guessing' that power to the DC port and to the board is ok?
If this is the case then I'm also guessing that the next course of action is going to be one of two areas:-
1) Check solder points underneath the plug to see if there is a cold solder joint - this is going to be painful as it's going to mean removing the entire board from the chassis. But, but needs must if I have to.
2) If nothing from point 1, I'm going to need to find some schematics of the board to find where to go next, possibly onto the board where the power button and LEDs live - P/N 08G20E1FA20 Q - Hotkey Board Rev 2.0.
I must admit I don't know how to check the board in point 2 to see if it is getting any power - does anyone have any ideas? When the machine was working, the power button did have to be pressed quite hard for the machine to startup. But at the moment when it's connected, none of the LEDs light up, not even the power LED. It's worth noting that the cable from this board to the motherboard isn't in great shape. It has 2 fairly significant creases in it. But I've also done a continuity test across each of the points on either side of the thin ribbon cable and they all test fine and make the multimeter 'beep'.
I'm leaning towards an issue with the Hotkey board based on the power button alwys having to be pressed hard to switch the machine on. Perhaps the board has always had a fault and has just suddenly died. There are a ton of micro components on this board but no capacitors [that I can see or recognise]. I have no idea how I would start troubleshooting it. Or how I can troubleshoot the motherboard any further. I'd prefer to isolate a particular fault so I can either fix it, or weigh up how much it will cost to buy a replacement part.
I'd hate to have to break this machine for spares as it looks beautiful lit up, it has a backlit LED keyboard and gorgeous 17" 1920x1200 display. Does anyone have any ideas please?
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