Been given an Alienware m9700 w/ boot problem... suggestions welcome please :)

mattbill

mattbill

mattbill

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My mate has given me his old Alienware m9700 laptop as it doesn't work. The initial problem he had with it a while ago was that the laptop fired up, but didn't display anything. I researched that and it appears to be common with Alienware's/Dell XPS laptops as they get too hot and burn out.

He put the laptop to the side and didn't touch it for a long while until I asked about it recently. We connected the mains adaptor and attempted to boot, but it doesn't turn on at all. Power is getting to it as the power lights are on. I thought the battery may just be uber empty, so I charged it for a few hours, but still no boot.

I am thinking the best place to start would be to strip the components (CMOS battery etc) out and reseat them then attempt boot. If no luck with that my guess is a potential dead mobo?

Just wondered if anyone else has had similar problems and wondered what you've done to resolve it? or any suggestions as to what could be the problem?

Thanks folks :)
 
What GPU does the laptop have, as there were a few Nvidia ranges that had a defective solder joint, causing high failure rates. If it's one of the models affected, I'd be looking at that first, but if that is the cause then it's probably not worth trying to salvage the laptop.
 
It has a 7900GS... I've heard putting the graphics card in the oven can sort the graphics card out and get it working again. That was my initial plan until I discovered it wasn't booting at all.

Thanks!!
 
As far as I know, it was only some 8xxx series cards that had the solder issue, but I've never read into it that much really. Although if it was a graphics card issue, I'd expect it to boot, but show signs of a dead GPU (graphics corruption etc); but who knows.

Good luck getting it fixed! I'm not sure there's much help I can offer sorry.
 
Ive got my clevo D900k knocking about not used it for 12months but GPU was 7800gtx , still has the ram and 2x HDD in raid 0 , plus could also get the screen inverter out coz there a pain for blowing as well . Im sure your lappy was built on a clevo chassie as well . Let me know if you need any parts and i see what i can rip out mine .
 
^^ Awesome thanks a lot!

I stripped the lap top completely down last night and rebuilt it all (managed to have 3 screws remaining after lol, always the way!), but still no boot.

I think the motherboard is dead. Now on the hunt for a new mobo for the m9700.

bhindi - I wonder if the motherboard from your old laptop would fit the m9700? Thanks mate!

EDIT: bhindi - motherboard from this m9700 looks like beneath. Does your one look similar? Thanks again :)

m9700mobo.jpg
 
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hello
just seen your last post. I will strip down old lappy later and see if they match. I know the cpu was amd x2 4800 . I will post back later and let you know
 
Sorry dude there not the same . But had a browse of google and there is a few places out there that sell parts for m9700 . Shame because im just gonna throw all this in the bin now and put the gpu on ebay
 
It's possible it's working fine and the only problem is that the inverter is broken. That would be the most convenient solution to the problem, next to getting a new motherboard.

If you look closely, can you see anything? It'd be very dim.

Putting it in the oven is risky, as it's extremely hit and miss. Works for some, bricks the motherboard for others. It's be better to cover the motherboard with tinfoil, and use a heatgun on the GPU to provide concentrated heat. This method is more difficult, but if done properly is safer than putting it in an oven.
 
bhindi - no problem, thanks anyway! Does that old laptop not work at all?

Could well be the inverter... when/if I can get the motherboard sorted, I will have a look at that before cooking the card.

The graphics card is removable in the m9700 so I am able to just put that in the oven if need be. I don't think the potential motherboard issue would be resolved by this?

The laptop is probably not worth more than £500 now. If it is going to cost more than £100 to sort this out I think I will split it for parts.

Thanks for the help so far guys!
 
Well... if the GPU on the graphics card PCB is connected by a solder and that's come undone, then it might help. But that would mean you've got a graphics card problem, not a motherboard problem.

I wonder, does the laptop have integrated graphics that can take over if the graphics card is removed?

The proper way to solve this would be to get another 7900GS from somewhere and put that in place of the existing one. Then you can determine if it's a motherboard or graphics card problem.
 
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