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August 2nd, 2018 05:00

XPS 15 9550 unexpectedly shutdown - flame & smoke

 Hi,


My Dell XPS 15 randomly shutdown while I was using it. Immediately after, a small flame/light popped up from the cooling vent followed by some smoke (note: the light on the adapter also turned off).

After unplugging the adapter and the peripherals, I turned on the laptop and it seemed to work fine except the fact that the nVdia GPU is no longer detected.

I would like to mention that I received a message from Dell a couple of weeks prior notifying me that the battery on my model is faulty and I should order a new one free of charge. I did just that and, after a short delay due to the battery being out of stock, my battery finally arrived 2 days after the laptop short-circuited (or whatever happened to it that caused it to produce a flame and smoke like that).


I ran all of the possible diagnostic scans and nothing else seems to be broken except the fact that it seems that the nVidia GPU is no longer connected at the hardware level properly. The video card does not show up in either the Windows device manager or in BIOS. I assume the nVidia GPU is dead.

I am writing this because, first of all I need assistance with my device, but also these sorts of accidents could indeed harm somebody, especially if their Dell notebook catches fire while they are not nearby the device.

I would be grateful for any kind of advice on what I should do next.

10 Elder

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23.1K Posts

August 2nd, 2018 06:00

If under warranty, call Dell;  if not, you're likely going to need to replace the mainboard.

You can get a repair estimate from Dell, or take the system to the repair shop of your choice - or order a board from Dell, parts-people, etc.  The GPU is not a separate part -- if it has failed, the mainboard needs replacement.

 

August 2nd, 2018 08:00

As I am out of warranty, I'm trying to get in contact with someone from a reputable repair shop who will be able to hopefully replace my motherboard.

August 2nd, 2018 08:00

5 Posts

February 21st, 2019 15:00

Hi, I’ve just had exactly the same thing happen to mine, did you manage to fix yours and did dell fix it or did you have to pay yourself. Thanks Jori

4 Operator

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3.4K Posts

February 22nd, 2019 13:00

Hi Jori507,

I will be glad to investigate this & assist you further.

Did you observe any flame or smoke?

Do you have any issue with the touchpad or battery swelling?

For my reference, please click on the message tab next to your avatar– click “New Message” & search for my Dell username (Sreejith R) & send a private message with the service tag, registered name & email address.

How to locate the service tag

 

5 Posts

March 4th, 2019 05:00

Thamks

 

1 Message

July 13th, 2021 03:00

I had the same issue. Something was clicking for few minutes, then suddenly short blasting noise and smoke. It was still running. I turned it off. Then I turned it again and on the back cover was burned place and soot. It is still running, Support assist software didn't detect any issues. What now. Mine is out warranty.

 

Leslaw

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