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Alienware M17X R3 Faulty Motherboard help
Hello,
Recently, my computer has been telling my "Plugged in, not charging" at all battery percentage levels. Last week I spoke with the out of warranty department, and they very quickly told me it was because my battery died, that I needed to order a new one, and then pretty much stopped talking until I hung up. So, I ordered a new $150 battery and it came yesterday. After replacing the battery, I found that the problem had NOT been solved.
Once again I contacted the out of warranty department and told them the situation. After my 3 minute explanation, I was given a 30 second response that my motherboard was faulty, Dell does not carry the part anymore, and that I would need to order from a third party. Que the beginning of my frustration.
First, when my computer was under warranty, I had to have the motherboard replaced by a technician. From what I understand motherboards should not be burned through in about year and a half intervals. However, nobody from dell has been able to explain why I do. Second, after about 10 minutes of searching, I realize that finding the correct replacement for the motherboard, and then replacing myself is not the quick 30 second "you'll have to do it on your own" project that the customer service rep led me to believe. My experience with this customer service has been awful so far, and I am going to have a trouble convincing myself to interact with anything dell in the future if this does not get resolved soon.
So, why are my motherboards burning out quickly? (I don't do anything out of the ordinary with my laptop and have never altered the inside of my machine myself, other than replacing a crashed hard drive). Where should I buy a reliable replacement? And could I get some real assistance on how to start understanding how to replace this?
Thank you.
Alienware-Naomi
1.8K Posts
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July 25th, 2014 17:00
Hi!
This issue can be caused by a bad AC adapter, so just to be sure, please check:
Unfortunately, if it is a Motherboard problem, there's no way to tell for sure what can caused it to fail. You should check ztronics.com or parts-people.com for replacement parts.
blundin94
2 Posts
0
July 27th, 2014 13:00
Hi,
First, thanks for your response.
I believe the issue is a motherboard one because the AC adapter light has always turned off after being plugged into the computer, even after the under warranty replacement. However, I mentioned this to a support rep soon after the replacement and they said there was nothing that could be done to solve the issue and that it was just a minor one. To me it sounds like the problem was never solved.......
I check the websites you suggested and found that the ztronics only has a motherboard for an M17x R1, while mine is an R3, are they compatible? The people parts people website had an R3 version however it was about $400 more. Any idea why there is such a price difference?
Thank you again.
Alienware-Naomi
1.8K Posts
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July 29th, 2014 11:00
Parts are specific to each system, so unfortunately the M17X R1 Motherboard won't work in your M17X R3.
Nickolaughagus
3 Posts
1
August 12th, 2014 14:00
Hello,
I have recently run into a similar problem and feel your pain. I am a poor college student who has no money, and every Dell rep since I had this issue has basically told me to screw off. It's incredibly upsetting to have spent $3200 on "the best built laptop out there" to have it shut off on me one day for no reason at all due to a fried motherboard.
You need to keep contacting Dell and get a hold of managers as soon as possible. You actually had reported to them that there was an issue with charging it immediately after the replacement, which definitely indicates that they gave you a lemon laptop.
Dell's terrible customer service cannot be forgiven. I wonder how many people have been ripped off by this company.
zacharytarita
1 Message
1
October 13th, 2014 11:00
I have just had the same problem. I was also told to basically "screw off" by a guy named Mauicio in the after warranty department in Costa Rica.
I will never get another alienware laptop because of this terribly customer service but I think that it will be cheaper to fix this one instead of get a new one.
Were you able to get the motherboard that you needed? And how much did you pay?
How or where did you get it installed?
Hope to hear back from you soon.
Thanks
Pissed off gamer.