17 R4, won't turn on

Question

Looking for a little diagnostic direction.

The issues started after my battery failed in November. I ordered a new battery and replaced it. Everything worked great for about 2 months and then the laptop got super loud, I heard a pop, and it shut down.

Upon removing the battery, I noted there was now a hole in it. So I sent it back and tried to run the system without the battery until the new one arrived. But every time I plugged it in, the cord would short out. So I ordered a new cord, had the same problem.

I still have 8 months of payments on this thing and the extended warranty has "conveniently" run out (3 year warranty expired January 2021).

Any ideas? Or ideas how to locate the issue to repair it, myself?

Thank you!

A51-06 · Answer

Could you please take a picture of the motherboard on the front and back side to see if a capacitor blew out on the board? I know that since your warranty ran out that means you will pay full price for a motherboard replacement. I highly recommend buying a brand new Alienware from Dell or looking for a decent quality used laptop on Facebook marketplace.

PonderousPanda · Answer

I'm pretty amateur, but I'm giving it a try. Hopefully this isn't the case... I've already had about $30k of bad luck in the last 2 weeks, so a replacement is going to take a few months

PonderousPanda · Answer

Took everything apart!! (And managed to put it back together without breaking anything - so yay, me)

So, I see no visible indication that anything is wrong, that I can tell. Everything looks practically brand new.

I also don't known what I'm looking for. This is super stressful for someone that doesn't know what they're doing without a YouTube tutorial

A51-06 · Answer

I would try a power drain. Unplug the battery from the laptop when its off and then hold the power button for 30 seconds. Plug the battery back in and the charger too. then try seeing what happens.

Alienware

17 R4, won't turn on

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