13 R3, LCD failure, will not boot

Question

Hello There, This seems to be a pretty common issue with this model as I am able to see via the Dell community forums here. Hopefully someone knows how to fix this and this doesn't just become an expensive paper weight for our business. Essentially, when we boot the Alienware 13 R3 up, it tries to power up and then stops; blinking two red lights followed by 7 blue ones. This indicates an 'LCD Failure' according to the manual for this model. Some forums similar to this one have suggested to reset the CMOS battery after fully draining the device, disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it, and trying to boot the system up with one RAM stick inserted. None of these solutions resolved this issue. The same issue remains. Here's my question: This system lives the life of a desktop. It wasn't recently jostled, jolted, or dropped. However, there was a Windows/Dell Driver update recently which makes me think Dell's BIOS probably killed this one. That withstanding, I'm holding out hope that there may be some solution or keyboard combination on boot-up that will let me get to my system - otherwise I will have to begin the arduous process of data transfer. Please any help would be great. I love this system, and I want to keep using it.

ejn63 · Answer

Will a screen diagnostic run correctly (hold D through powerup; you should see a series of self-tests run)?

If yes, the screen is OK, meaning it's a mainboard or video cable issue. If not, the screen is bad and will need to be replaced.

There is no workaround - the system will not POST without a working screen.

Is there any image at all on the screen - even a very faint one when looked at using a bright flashlight?

Alienware

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