XPS 18 1810 will not turn on

Question

I have an XPS 18 1810 that won't turn on. The fan runs and the power button blinks 7 times, pauses, blinks 7 times, pauses, continually. The solution found in other posts doesn't work. I have removed the back and tried the method of unplugging the battery and the CMOS battery, and replugging them, but no results.

The only thing that will show up on the screen is by holding power and volume down. It shows something that looks like a screen test. The other special power/volume combos don't do anything.

I have used multimeter to test the CMOS battery - it says 3.2v. The main battery tests at 16.25v which is a bit high, but I assume that means it's not going bad.

I have fully charged the battery with the PC off. The orange power button light was on while it was charging and then eventually went off on it's own, so that seems ok.

I've read all the other posts about this issue and haven't seen that anyone has confirmed whether this PC will boot just from the power supply (i.e without the battery plugged in). There are some who indicated maybe it wouldn't.

I would try purchasing a new battery, but it just doesn't seem that likely. It seems more like the bios is corrupt.

Other info: If I start it with only the external power supply, the power switch light doesn't light up at all (which is what makes me think it needs the internal battery). If I start it without the CMOS battery connected, it gives 5 beeps which it should.

So:
1. buy a new battery
2. or pull out the hard drive and give up
3. Any other ideas?

pro450 · Answer

Bumping to hope someone sees this. Summary:

1. Anyone know if this all-in-one should be able to boot with just the external power supply, or if the battery is required to boot?

2. Would a bad battery test at a higher voltage (i.e. I'm reading 16.25v on what should be a 14.4v battery)?

3. Is it worth $50 to try buying a new battery?

Golly · Answer

I am having the same problem with my Dell XPS 18 1810 system, it will not power on at all, i have tried the same things you have tried with the same results. Have you ever gotten your to start working? if so can you tell me what you did to fix it.

Thanks

Jim

pro450 · Answer

I ended up replacing the motherboard.  You can find them with the i3-3227U for about $80.

DanielMcCullough · Answer

I have a Dell XPS 18 (1810) i5. The CMOS battery died. It is a CR2016 3v Battery, I ordered 4 new CR2016 3v Batteries off the internet, but they simply will not work. It will start up on power cable and I can eventually get into Windows with F1. But, even after leaving it on power for a whole day, the CMOS does not seem to retain the settings (ie. because the CMOS battery is not working). I have another XPS 18 (an i7) with an original CMOS Battery. When I put that into the XPS 18 (i5) all is ok. But when I put one of the new CR2016 3v Batteries that I ordered off the internet back into the XPS 18 (i5) and F1 in to the operating system and leave it on all day, as soon as I remove the power cord, replace the power cord and start it up, it goes into the CMOS message where I then have to press F1 to start up the OS. This means, of course, that the CMOS is empty and has not stored the settings. ie. non of the 4 new CR2016 3v CMOS batteries I bought seem to work.

What can I do? I do not seem to be able to contact and get help from Dell? I cannot seem to find "original" XPS 18 CMOS batteries in Ebay. Has anybody in the Dell community had this problem and found a solution? If so, I would be very grateful.

bernard0 · Answer

@pro450 - Do you have any details on what you did? Is it a straight swap?

pro450 · Answer

I don't remember.  It was 3 years ago.  I don't recall it being super difficult though.  Having said that, I don't think I'd do it today.  Prices are quite a bit higher and it might not be worth it since this PC won't be allowed to run Win 11.

bernard0 · Answer

Thanks for the reply. It does seem straightforward but, as you say, the prices are soaring and I don't want to invest £100 in something that isn't going to work or may be easy to damage. It's a shame that nobody makes this large format Windows tablet anymore because we find it great as a kitchen PC - so easy to move around and use at different spots or just plop down in a lounge chair with it on one's lap.

Oh well looks like one last ditch attempt to fix it. Thanks again.

Tablets & Mobile Devices

XPS 18 1810 will not turn on

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