M17x R1 won't boot - black screen - fan turns on, keyboard lights up, nothing on screen.

Solved mine last night by baking the gpu

Hello Pretty1458!

Have you tried connecting an external monitor just to confirm if it’s the screen or a video card issue?   

I was afraid of turning mine off as well. I am still searching for the solution to fix my one.

I am assuming you are not talking about the embedded GPU which is not so easy to remove. 

I have the Alienware M17x R2 so my computer has two GPU cards, how would I know which one needs baking? 

Either way, the fact you had to bake your GPU a second time to fix the exact same problem concerns me. There is only so much baking you can do before your GPU is all baked-out. 

Here is some information on my situation.

I am having the same issue everyone else described above:

-Press power button

-Fans fire up for a few seconds to test functionality then stop. 

-A second later they fire back up to start booting the system only nothing happens.

-Black screen stays black, no logo or sound

-When powering up and holding "D" to do LCD check, fans power up but never stop and start again, still nothing on the screen. 

Where it started:

My issue started when I noticed that if I close the lid to put the computer to sleep and when i try to wake it back up, the computer boots, but the screen is black with only my mouse pointer moving around. I have to guess where my Login icon is and press it for anything to come up. 

After a while of having to go through this, my mouse pointer never came up. Occasionally it would boot up, but lately it stopped booting altogether. 

More details:

After taking the computer apart and putting it back together, it fixed the problem for a while but it started again. 

I also replaced the Motherboard and after a while the same thing starts happening again to the second motherboard. 

When pressing power, i notice the CPU fan fires up normally along with the GPU fan from GPU card slot #1, however, the GPU fan from GPU card slot #2 attempts to fire up but never gets to full speed. It sounds like it attempts to fire up 3-4 times, each time spinning less and less until it gives up. After that happens, all fans turn off than back on  simultaneously to indicate that the system is ready to boot, only nothing boots, it stays on the black screen. 

I am tempted to buy a new AC adapter and a new battery to see if either of those are the problem and no longer provide enough power to the motherboard. 

From reading the forums, it seems this issue is over 2 years old, but still no resolution.... Very disappointing. 

Additional Information:

I upgraded my CPU from the standard cpu to the Extreme i7-940xm. I checked around and it sounded like the original power supply should be able to support the new CPU. Could I be wrong and this is causing a power drain which prevents enough power to boot up the system?

I also upgraded my RAM from 1333MHz to 1600MHz, (4Gigs to 8 Gigs).

No, I do not have warranty on the laptop. 

Has this ever been resolved? I am having the exact same problem

Has this ever been resolved? I am having the exact same problem

Hi!

Can you try the troubleshooting steps in this article and let me know the results?

Hi,

I am having the same problem, have tried the troubleshooting (with the exception of baking gpu, I am concerned about putting a computer component in the oven...)

My keys light up and alien power button lights up, fans turn on but nothing on screen. After I try to power up it stays on for a second or two, turns off, then everything begins flashing on and off. Can't get the computer to properly boot.

Somebody please help! All of my school assignments and notes are on this computer!

I'm also having the blank screen/won't turn on problem with my M17X. Turned it on this morning and loud rrrrrrrr noise with no screen. Did all the remove battery then try to turn on, still nothing and no sOund... I am NOT going to bake the gpu as I'm just not adept enough. Has anyone solved this? Please post and help.

Hello, I seem to be having a similar problem and these other people, however, for me, the OS turns on, the backlighting on the keyboard and monitor comes on, but the monitor does not show anything. Sometimes when I turn it on, the monitor works, but the picture is very glitchy, and eventually flat out fails. I have been unable to conact support and am having trouble getting to the part of the website that has the warranty, and think that this is a broken screen issue. No idea how it broke, it was fine yesterday.

Okaaaay Folks , cannot guarantee that you have other problems - BUT - for me it comes down to HEAT ISSUES -- and if your problem is with the GRAPHICS - Then TRY THIS !

I'm having the same problems as posted in this thread. Machine works ok after couple of hours downtine. Works all day long but when you reboot it just stops displaying anything.

Created a new thread couple of days ago: en.community.dell.com/.../19660833

Anyone who has/had this problem fixed it in the meanwhile or still the same issues?

Same thing has happened to my laptop

Hey L.Smith I have the exact same issue you are experiencing. Did you find a fix for this problem or has anyone actually resolved this issue by baking the GPU?

There are countless of problems causing that issue, but as a computer repair tech for the last 7 years I can tell you the your having 3 issues that are causeing the black screen issue. One remove and re-seat the RAM ( memory sticks ) next disconnect and reconnect the graphics cards to make sure it is connected properly and nothing is shorting out the board, finally check the wired connections to the screen unplug and replug them with everything else on the computer, finally turn it back on, 5that should fix it if not then it is a graphic card issue or your motherboard is shorting somewhere. Hope this helps good luck :)