Dell XPS 15 stopped working, please help

Mumser

We invested in a Dell XPS 15 for our son under 3 years ago as he needed it for video and photo editing for his college course. After just over 2 years it stopped working. It would turn on for a few seconds and go dead. He tried all the various suggested options of removing the battery, holding power button on for x seconds, added thermal paste etc. Nothing has worked.

We were on to Dell. Of course there's only a one year warranty. It will cost €144 for diagnostics. They think it is likely the motherboard is gone which they estimate will be €1145. :eek

Now I know these items cannot be guaranteed to last but over 2 grand for something that failed just over 2 years later. If the quality is normally better (which I believe it is) then I'd expect the failure rate in this time frame to be low enough for them to at least have a reduced rate for solving the problem if you know what I mean.

Sorry, rant over!
Does anyone have any suggestions here? Are there alternative laptop repair options which are reliable but cheaper? I haven't a clue so any replies welcome.
Thanks in advance.

dowling06

Hi Mumser, sorry to hear about your situation that seems like extremely bad luck.

As they are guessing a motherboard I'm guessing there is no Dell logo or screen activity when you press the power button? Also is there any led activity at all?

One thing I would suggest is removing one of the RAM modules in slot 2 and try booting, if that fails swap the RAM module and try booting with the other module in slot 1(this is if the system has 2 sticks of removable RAM). One faulty stick of RAM can cause the system not to POST so it may cause the issue.

If that fails it may be the motherboard and this could be a bit expensive as the CPU and GPU are soldered onto the board on most new XPS models I believe. I would say you could get one second hand for 300-400 Id say.

Hopefully its just a dodgy stick of RAM as that would by far be the cheapest fix for you.

Mumser

Thanks for that Dowling06.

I know he tried 'something' with the RAMs but I'll check if he followed the sequence you suggest.

5rtytry56

Mumser wrote: »

Are there alternative laptop repair options which are reliable but cheaper?

Ignore the "DELL Authorized repair agent" badge on the door of establishments. Give these places a miss altogether really.



At the other end, give repair outlets a miss who have on their frontage



"dell - hp - lenovo - apple - vaio - asus - acer ..........."


So, yes there are cheaper laptop repair options. Literally verbally, ask around... a bit low tech but that's my take.

Apiarist

If it turns ON and then stops working, it may be due to overheating. I would get a can of compressed air and blow the dust out of any vents first, then if this does not fix it, disassemble the laptop and replace the thermal paste under both the CPU and the graphics card.

Alanstrainor

dowling06 wrote: »

If that fails it may be the motherboard and this could be a bit expensive as the CPU and GPU are soldered onto the board on most new XPS models I believe. I would say you could get one second hand for 300-400 Id say.

It all depends on the spec of the OP's board, (or if they won't the exact same). There's a chance you could find a second hand board on ebay for that price alright, but there's also a risk in going that route.

dowling06

Mumser wrote: »

Thanks for that Dowling06.

I know he tried 'something' with the RAMs but I'll check if he followed the sequence you suggest.

Perfect let us know how you get on with that. I worked on servers that caused a no POST due to faulty RAM modules before so hopefully its that.

Another option could be to find a motherboard repair shop to see if they could repair it should the motherboard be the issue. It would save you having to buy the motherboard, CPU and GPU bundle if they are able to repair it!

dowling06

Alanstrainor wrote: »

It all depends on the spec of the OP's board, (or if they won't the exact same). There's a chance you could find a second hand board on ebay for that price alright, but there's also a risk in going that route.

Im guessing its either a 9530 or 9550 if it was purchased in 2015 and I'm nearly positive that the CPU and GPU are both soldered on on those models unfortunately.

Definitely a risk buying a board off ebay as you're only covered for 30 days at best with Paypal. But will definitely be cheaper than forking out over a grand.

Alanstrainor

dowling06 wrote: »

Im guessing its either a 9530 or 9550 if it was purchased in 2015 and I'm nearly positive that the CPU and GPU are both soldered on on those models unfortunately.

Definitely a risk buying a board off ebay as you're only covered for 30 days at best with Paypal. But will definitely be cheaper than forking out over a grand.

Yes, when I say board I mean everything attached as well. Hence the price of these boards can be sky high. It's essentially the entire computer.

sugarman

sugarman wrote: »

Don't touch it, just go to the small claims court given that's it's only 2 years old. You're protected under the Sales of Goods act for up to 6 years.

it's nearly 3 years the op said.

isn't eu warranty 2 years?

Mumser

victor8600 wrote: »

If it turns ON and then stops working, it may be due to overheating. I would get a can of compressed air and blow the dust out of any vents first, then if this does not fix it, disassemble the laptop and replace the thermal paste under both the CPU and the graphics card.

Thanks. He's tried removing dust and the thermal paste route.

ZENER

If it's 3 years ago - 2015 - then it's likely a 9550. It has 2 DIMM slots and separate CPU and GPU. Board failure on these is common and I've seen quite a few in the last couple of years.

The price quoted of over 1,100 is about right and probably doesn't include the engineer to call out and replace it.

If he spoke with Dell support they probably tried everything to get the system to respond and 9/10 their diags are right.

There's no CMOS battery on those boards so removing the main battery and holding down the Power button is as much as you can do to try encourage it to work. A couple of other things to try (if he hasn't already) Can he borrow another charger from someone ? The charger can go faulty and not "announce" itself to the system, if the system can't identify the charger the battery won't charge and will eventually just run out. This might give the symptoms seen here. A broken charging port can also do this, has he checked it's ok ?

Also try holding down "D" and press the power on button. This should trigger the Display BIST if the system board is in any way responsive. May point to some other component being faulty, remove the DIMMs and the SSD if it doesn't work first time.

If you do go the route of buying a new board from eBay or the likes, it's likely it won't come with the audio sub-board, be sure to remove the one from your board. It's on the right hand side beside the battery connector. Some sellers will want your old board in part exchange and if you don't check this board is on their "new" board you won't have audio.

I hope this helps.

Ken

Mumser

dowling06 wrote: »

Im guessing its either a 9530 or 9550 if it was purchased in 2015 and I'm nearly positive that the CPU and GPU are both soldered on on those models unfortunately.

Definitely a risk buying a board off ebay as you're only covered for 30 days at best with Paypal. But will definitely be cheaper than forking out over a grand.

Yes it's a 9550

Mumser

glasso wrote: »

it's nearly 3 years the op said.

isn't eu warranty 2 years?

Yes, it's nearly 3 years but was out of use for 8 months of that.

Dell said only a 1 year warranty and we did put the argument to them that I posted above re quality and cost but they didn't budge.

Mumser

ZENER wrote: »

If it's 3 years ago - 2015 - then it's likely a 9550. It has 2 DIMM slots and separate CPU and GPU. Board failure on these is common and I've seen quite a few in the last couple of years.

The price quoted of over 1,100 is about right and probably doesn't include the engineer to call out and replace it.

If he spoke with Dell support they probably tried everything to get the system to respond and 9/10 their diags are right.

There's no CMOS battery on those boards so removing the main battery and holding down the Power button is as much as you can do to try encourage it to work. A couple of other things to try (if he hasn't already) Can he borrow another charger from someone ? The charger can go faulty and not "announce" itself to the system, if the system can't identify the charger the battery won't charge and will eventually just run out. This might give the symptoms seen here. A broken charging port can also do this, has he checked it's ok ?

Also try holding down "D" and press the power on button. This should trigger the Display BIST if the system board is in any way responsive. May point to some other component being faulty, remove the DIMMs and the SSD if it doesn't work first time.

If you do go the route of buying a new board from eBay or the likes, it's likely it won't come with the audio sub-board, be sure to remove the one from your board. It's on the right hand side beside the battery connector. Some sellers will want your old board in part exchange and if you don't check this board is on their "new" board you won't have audio.

I hope this helps.

Ken

Thanks Ken. That's all really helpful and worth trying. We did find the CMOS battery so maybe I don't have the exact model.

Yes, Dell support tried a few things with him. We will try the charger option.

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I will certainly post back if we get anywhere.

ZENER

Apologies my bad, was thinking of a different generation. CMOS battery is under the board beside the USB port and battery charge display, actually what happens when you press that button to display battery level? Still check out the other things though ?

Ken

Mumser

ZENER wrote: »

actually what happens when you press that button to display battery level? Still check out the other things though ?

The battery display indicates the battery is full.
Thanks

opus

sugarman wrote: »

Warranty is irrelevant here, a warranty is in addition to your consumer rights of which you are protected for up to 6 years in Ireland. Have a read up on it on citizens information and a quick search on here to see similar cases.

A small claims court application only costs €25 and can be submitted online, more often than the problem is resolved.

I was getting nowhere with Dell with an XPS 13 that was a little under three years old until I brought up the small claims court as well, then things started to happen! In the end they replaced the motherboard first & then the screen to bring it back to life.

Alanstrainor

opus wrote: »

I was getting nowhere with Dell with an XPS 13 that was a little under three years old until I brought up the small claims court as well, then things started to happen! In the end they replaced the motherboard first & then the screen to bring it back to life.

I've heard similar stories as well. I'd go this route, for the 25 euro cost of submitting to the small claims court is worth it. There's no way Dell will want to send representation for this, and it is ridiculous that such a high end machine would fail this quickly.

Captcha

Make sure to rub hands on a radiator before touching anything inside the laptop!

In these situations even if a pc wont post, try resetting the CMOS.

This is usually moving a cover from two pins to the other two pins for 30 seconds and then back again.

If you cannot find the pins, removing the CMOS battery for 30 seconds should also do it.

https://www.parts-people.com/blog/2016/04/19/dell-xps-15-9550-p56f001-cmos-battery-removal-and-installation/

Alanstrainor

Captcha wrote: »

Make sure to rub hands on a radiator before touching anything inside the laptop!

In these situations even if a pc wont post, try resetting the CMOS.

This is usually moving a cover from two pins to the other two pins for 30 seconds and then back again.

If you cannot find the pins, removing the CMOS battery for 30 seconds should also do it.

https://www.parts-people.com/blog/2016/04/19/dell-xps-15-9550-p56f001-cmos-battery-removal-and-installation/

I would be hesitant to go this route OP. There is plenty of information about this model Dell 9550 having motherboard failures, and no one has mentioned resetting the CMOS as a fix. This is most likely failed hardware. If you are going down the route of small claims then it is better to leave the machine as is imo.

This CMOS fix is something that rarely works. In all my years repairing laptops, it only ended up being the root cause of a couple of systems. Newer laptops aren't a susceptible to these issues, especially not one this new.

Mumser

Alanstrainor wrote: »

it is ridiculous that such a high end machine would fail this quickly.

This is exactly what I tried to tell Dell support. He has tried most of what was suggested above.

So he should lodge a complaint in the small claims court and then call Dell to tell them he is doing this and see what happens? Sorry, I am ignorant of the process.

Alanstrainor

Mumser wrote: »

This is exactly what I tried to tell Dell support. He has tried most of what was suggested above.

So he should lodge a complaint in the small claims court and then call Dell to tell them he is doing this and see what happens? Sorry, I am ignorant of the process.

There's lots of information on the process online:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/courts_system/small_claims_court.html

It's all easy though. Although I haven't gone through it myself. It seems you apply online and state the issue/history. And the court informs Dell that this process is underway and they have 15 days to respond.

opus

I didn't have to go that far as I sent a complaint letter to Dell detailing the case, quoting the info from the consumer protection page and giving them 10 days to respond. Also stated that in the email where I attached the letter that my next course of action would be the small claims court. Part of the letter is below if it's of any use:

According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s website www.ccpc.ie, goods purchased from a shop or retailer should be:

• Of acceptable quality
• As described
• Fit for its purpose
• Corresponding to sample

Under consumer law , my contract is with the seller of the goods and as such I am writing to you to seek a better outcome that just throwing away what was a top of the range product from Dell. One would assume that such a product would have a lifetime of more than three years.

Mumser

opus wrote: »

I didn't have to go that far as I sent a complaint letter to Dell detailing the case, quoting the info from the consumer protection page and giving them 10 days to respond. Also stated that in the email where I attached the letter that my next course of action would be the small claims court. Part of the letter is below if it's of any use:

Thank you so much Opus and everyone replying here.

He will send off a similar letter this weekend and suss out the small claims process as indicated by Alainstrainor.