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June 11th, 2020 03:00
17 R1, power issues
So this happened quite suddenly. My 2014 17 R1 turned off and I noticed that the charger wasn't glowing while it was plugged in. It is glowing when it wasn't plugged in. I thought the problem could be with the battery so I removed it, which did nothing. I then ordered and replaced the cable connecting the battery to the laptop itself and that didn't work either. I'm guessing the problem may be with the motherboard or mainboard but I'm not sure. Looking at prices a mainboard is £750 and I can not afford that. Does anyone know if this is the right problem or a different one that's within £200? I don't have much money and if this isn't affordable I will just get a cheap laptop as I need it for work.
Thank you
mattyb3
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June 12th, 2020 14:00
Bummer. You can try removing other components like the RAM and CPU to see what happens. There is something telling the board that’s there’s a problem. Usually you get a beep code but not always with these machines.
I have 3 burnt out 17 R1 motherboards here. They are great machines but had crappy boards.
if your GPU is still good it is still worth a few hundred bucks.
LSUFAN51
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June 11th, 2020 12:00
The LED indicator on AC adapter should be on or glowing, therefore I do suspect this is a problem with the motherboard as well. Replacing the motherboard should fix your computer.
Now, you could contact Dell Out Of Warranty dept in link below and request a quote to repair your computer.
Fix Your PC or Tablet | Dell USA
mattyb3
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June 11th, 2020 14:00
I am pretty sure you have a faulty GPU that is causing a short on the board. Easy to fix if this is the case and a good chance to upgrade your GPU.
Do you have the 120Hz 3D display or the standard 60Hz? You should have a Nvidia 3D sticker on the bottom of your laptop. The 120Hz is also a glossy display compared to the matte display on the 60Hz.
If you remove the GPU you will soon find out. The 120Hz display requires a dedicated Nvidia card to get a display but the 60Hz will still run off the integrated graphics if you pull the card. You can still test my theory if you pull the card with the 120Hz display but you will get an 8 beep code as the display won't be able to find the GPU. The blue light shouldn't go out though.
It could be another component that's shorting the board but it's usually the GPU. If it is the board then you can usually pick them up on ebay for around $200USD
Hulanita
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June 11th, 2020 15:00
I dont have any stickers but on the bottom it says "NVIDIA Geforce GTX 880m with 8gb gddrs, i dont have much more info as the laptop wont turn on so im not sure, im not really good with this stuff so im sorry for lacking info. But thank you a lot for the help i really appreciate it.
mattyb3
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June 11th, 2020 15:00
You've probably got the 60Hz display then, unless the sticker has come off. You can do the following to remove your GPU. Do at your own risk though. Do not attempt this while standing on carpet or in socks as you can create static and fry a component. Bare feet on tiles is best, if you don't have an anti-static wristband.
- Unplug the power adapter
- Remove the two screws on the bottom cover (not the two that hold the name plate on)
- Unplug the battery connector
- Loosen the GPU fan (3 screws) and remove the connector. These screws stay in the fan
- Loosen the GPU heatsink (4 screws, the longer of the two heatsinks) and pull off the GPU. These screws also stay in the heatsink
Note: Even after loosening the 4 heatsink screws (numbered in order of removal) the heatsink will still seem attached to the GPU as the thermal pads have stuck to it over time. You need to carefully pry it away with your fingers or a plastic pry tool (not metal).
- Remove the GPU (2 screws)
- Turn the laptop over and plug in the adapter. See if the blue light goes out.
- If it stays on then the GPU is dead and will need to be replaced if you want to run games. If it still goes out then another component has failed. 90% of the time it's the GPU but the 17 R1 motherboard is frail and they fail often.
Hulanita
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June 12th, 2020 11:00