Alienware Aurora R1 power button broken, bypass power button

Question

Hi all,

My old Alienware Aurora R1 (late 2009 I believe) has broken power button, and the power "click" on top I/O board is broken as well. As a result, I cannot power up the machine. I studied the service manual, and there is no direct cable pin on either master I/O or motherboard indicating the "power on" function. I am wondering is there a way to bypass the power button and power on the machine from wall outlet?

I am trying to salvage this machine, as all other components work fine with no problem. Would a replacement of top I/O with power button fix the machine? Alternatively I am considering to get a new case and move all the components to it. But since I could not figure out where the power on connection on the motherboard is, I am afraid I dont know how it is possible to migrate the components to new case.

Could someone help please?

Thanks so much.

Mogle222 · Answer

Try buying a new power supply and powering everything externally using the psu. You can also try finding another triggering mechanism to turn the pc all the way on. You would remove the old button connection on the motherboard and replace it with a new one.

speedstep · Answer

The paperclip method works but its not recommended.  Your power supply is probably bad. Using a paperclip will NOT fix a bad power supply. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixcWCrYpw3Y

shesagordie · Answer

taoz

As you have an Alienware Aurora R1, you could also post this in the Alienware Owners Club Forum, here:

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/default.aspx

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19593213.aspx

Bev.

taoz · Answer

Hi folks,

Thank you very much for the assistance. However, I might not have expressed my situation clearly. I have no problems with any other hardware, nor PSU. It is the power button (plastic piece) that is broken for a while ago, and I used a ballpen to stick into the hole to push the trigger mechanism since. And this "brute force" power up operation has recently destroyed the power click button on the front/top I/O board. Now, what I want is a way to power on the PC before I search for replacement parts (and it seems not easy to find now). Like MOGLE222 said, I could "remove the old button connection on the motherboard". But how should I do that?

I attached the motherboard and master I/O board layout below. Can you please point out where is the power on cable connection?

Also, I found this thread [View:en.community.dell.com/.../19509348:550:0] which is directly related to my case. And he did not find the solution to bypass power button either.

Please advice. Thanks a lot.

taoz · Answer

Thanks a lot SHESAGORDIE. I have posted the question at the alienware owners-club. Hope I might get answers there as well. regards

shesagordie · Answer

taoz Good luck, hope it works out for you Bev.

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Alienware Aurora R1 power button broken, bypass power button

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