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Dell Inspiron 15 7537 powers off after exactly 30 minutes
Hi Dell fans, just hoping for a bit of direction with this issue:
I have an inspiron 7535 laptop that has started powering off after about 30 minutes of use. no warning, no graceful shutdown, just straight to power-off. I've cleaned and serviced it, the normal dell heatsink paste was dry as a nuns hip flask, so that's been renewed and and it's cooling just fine, but i dont think that is the problem. Mainly because you can turn it straight back on and continue working for another period of time without any need for a cool-down.
My gut instinct is saying BIOS issues. It's currently at versions A05 31/Oct/2013 and the latest from the support is A13 Release date 15 Jun 2015 (Last Updated 02 Aug 2015) however i cannot get this to install.
If I install within windows (10 x64) it runs the extractor and flashed up a command window too fast to read the error. and I cannot find any logs it might create. the command line options dont do anything. every version does the same thing back to A06. I seem to see something about intel in the message but cannot really read it in full.
i've also tried booting off a freedos disk and trying all versions too. this extracts okay and gives error 8743: unknown or unsupported platform, cannot locate hardware platform identification this program cannot be run on the current plaform BIOS version too old please use the latest BIOS to flash.
Any ideas? either on the random power-offs, or on the BIOS update?
All the best,
Al
afindlay
4 Posts
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August 13th, 2016 02:00
Hi All,
Slight update on this: I've now been successful in updating the BIOS. It was throwing up an error about Intel ME, but this was all installed correctly, so I extracted the BIOS files from the .exe and found the rom and flash.exe programs and these worked great stand-alone. It's now updated to the latest BIOS A13.
Sadly this hasn't fixed the power-off issue. I've timed it to exactly 30 minutes and this is consistent. It still does it no matter what the OS, either the installed Windows 10 OS or if booted from a linux USB or even just sat in the BIOS screen.... once it gets to 30 minutes it just turns off.
I fee this is a similar issue to dell workstations that have the wrong board for the CPU. there is lots of chatter about these issues and the oddly regular 30 minute shutdown. but that cannot be the case here because the CPU is soldered to the mainboard.
Does anyone have any ideas?
All the best,
Al
DELL-Rishi
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August 15th, 2016 12:00
Hi Al,
Based on your description, as you have tested on Windows and on Linux and that you have managed to test the system in BIOS and it still turns off after 30 minutes, I suppose the issue is hardware related.
Restart the system and press f12 key on startup - choose diagnostics. Let it run the diags and if you encounter any errors - make a note of the complete error and report the same to us. Also, run an extended test on the memory modules. This should take more than 40min to complete - see if the system turns off while running the memory modules.
Download the service manual - http://dell.to/2aWI5a8 - remove the memory modules and test with each module if possible.
If the system is under warranty, Please click my DELL-username and write me a private conversation with the service tag and your contact details(Name and Email). If there is no warranty, then you could contact our team to get a quote for a paid service call - http://dell.to/1vnT6CQ
Let us know if you have any other queries.
afindlay
4 Posts
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August 17th, 2016 08:00
Hi Rishi,
Thanks for your message and ideas. I've run through the diagnostics, all pass fine and it still turns off 30 minutes into the extended test. I've tried the same with one ram stick, both ram sticks, the other ram sticks and a total fresh brand new ram stick and the same happens.
I guess that means it's a new motherboard?
The service tag lookup on the support site says that warranty ended in November 2014 which is odd because i thought it came with a 3 year warranty, but I've just requested a quote for an extension so will have to wait and see.
All the best,
Al
DELL-Rishi
2K Posts
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August 18th, 2016 16:00
Hi Al,
Thank you for the update.
Yes, it seems the motherboard might have gone faulty and needs to be replaced.
You could try reseating the CMOS battery, disconnect the HDD and test the system in BIOS to check if it still powers off after 30 min. However, my suspicion would still be with the motherboard at this point.
Let us know if you have any other queries.
afindlay
4 Posts
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August 20th, 2016 08:00
Thanks for the extra suggestion Rishi,
I've removed the CMOS cell and left it overnight, then tried again but still got the same 30 minute shutdown I'm afraid. The cost of the extension warranty is too high to justify on such an unreliable machine so i think it's time for the skip for this one.
Thanks for your help. RIP another Inspiron 15
DELL-Rishi
2K Posts
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August 20th, 2016 15:00
Hi Al,
Thank you for the update.
A warranty is useful as it covers the hardware components subject to any technical failures.
The cost of a motherboard replacement would be expensive as well. My personal suggestion is that you invest your money in a new machine in case you choose not to extend the warranty.
Let us know if you have any other queries.