M3800 Power On Sometimes Works

I have the exact same problem with my M3800 as well.  The power up down sequence with the power key is somewhat unpredictable.  About a third of the time I end up with the "Windows did not shut down normally" and end up doing a re-boot.  Great machine but this is a very annoying problem.

Update:  My problem morphed into something else this Monday.  Probably as much as 95% of the time, when I pressed the power button the keys were back lit and the power button lit, but the screen did nothing.  Dell support was out in 2 days and replaced the motherboard.  So far it's 100% booting up now.

I am also experiencing issues.  Started late December.  After some testing I realized that it is related to the sleep/hibernate function.  If I power down using "Shutdown" Windows then I can reboot it fine.  if I close the lid, or use the "Sleep" mode then the power does not come back upon reopening the lid, or pressing the power button like you would normally.  I have to actually hold down the power button for at least 10 seconds, then release and press it again and then the keyboard lights up and it comes back to life, but not without the message "Windows did not shutdown properly".

I really like this laptop and had performance similar to my MacBook Air up until this started happening.  Any advice on things to check or try?

If you are experiencing hibernate issues, check support.dell.com for a BIOS update. BIOS updates usually fix things such as hibernate issues. Hope this helps!

-Brandon

Thanks for your input balong48.  I downloaded the BIOS version on the Dell site (which seemed to be an older version than factory installed) but still no luck in fixing the problem.  I have searched online but there doesn't seem to be any/many posts about this issue.

Any other ideas?

Cheers,

Andrew

If your laptop is under warranty, I would contact Dell to get the motherboard replaced. According to the post above, it fixed his issues. If it is not under warranty, see if you can find a motherboard online to replace yours.

-Brandon

Here is a bit more information in case anyone else is having a similar problem.  The problem is not hibernate, as it seems to work as expected.  The problem is the Sleep mode.  When I select this mode, it powers down as I would expect but it does not power back up as it should.  this is when a hard reboot needs to be forced (holding down the power button for a 10 count, releasing, and then press the power button again).

I will be chasing this up officially with them now.

Cheers,

A

So we went through the official support channels and it turns out that the motherboard needs to be replaced.  It is on backorder but should be in soon.

Thanks again for your help.

A

I would suggest going into your power options and then click into Change advanced power settings link. In there find "Sleep" and adjust those settings to what you would like. 

my settings under "sleep" are as follows:

• Sleep After - Never
• Allow Hybrid Sleep - Off
• Hibernate After - Never
• Allow Wake Timers - Disabled 

Also, I would go under the "power buttons and lid" and double check those as well. 

My settings for "power buttons and lid" are as follows:

Lid Close Action, Power Button Action and Sleep Button Action are all set to "Do Nothing"

Keep in mind, these are my preferences and are set this way due to the way I use my laptop. Your use case may be different therefore these may not make sense for your needs. 

Either way, I hope this helps. I made these changes and I never ran into that issue moving forward. Just to be sure, when you power down your laptop, make sure its fully shut down before you close the lid. This is just as backup. Technology sometimes has a mind of its own lol. 

Let me know if this helps any of you out. :)

My computer has the same problem. And it finally stopped running this morning.

Until yesterday I had to unplug everything to turn the computer back on, I mean, the wireless mouse USB and even the power adopter. Without unplugging those, it didnt turn on. So I did the same this morning, the power light and keyboard light was on for a couple seconds, then it died again.

I am not able to turn the coputer back on anyhow afterward.

I spent over 2K for this computer and it doesnt even power on.

Can I return this computer?

So has there ever been a resolution to this issue, I'm running into the same problem. 90% of the time when my computer goes to sleep it crashes. I don't think disabling sleep is a reasonable solution for an Ultrabook.

Holy cr@p.  Over year ago and still not fixed. Month old M3800 and same problems. Full coin+battery removal not even enough. Started with occasional power on issues. Completely dead now.

I have the same issue. Bought mine about a month ago, had the problem from day one. From what I read, even sending it in and having it "fixed" does not solve the problem? - Anyone had experience with that?