Dell XPS M170 Display probeelms (black screen)

Hi guys....

Need some advice if possible... ** sigh

I have a dell xps m170 (2 and a half years old) and last 2 days im getting "funky" display problems...

Initially i got a black screen while in windows...nothing to do but reboot. That worked a couple of times...then after rebooting i get a "whiteish" screen that gradually got blacker from outside in..id say it looked like dark storm clouds

I also noticed that the laptop had gotten a lot hotter than normal...this had been gradually happening over time...so much so that i invested in a laptop case / pad to rest it on while working on it..anyways..after reading some threads here i grabbed some monitoring software and logged GPU temps of 70 spiking to 90ish...CPU from 55 to 90's...

Then the funniest thing happened, in order to boot up and avoid the "whiteish" screen and boot into windows i noticed if i attached an external monitor it worked more than if i didnt !! (no idea if this is relevant).

When i did get into windows...it'd look normal for a while, 10 mins or so..then go black (flicker) and id get a diff display res appear (bigger icons n such)..then what i can only describe as red..sometims yello dots, maybe 4 across (width ways ..like bars of them) running the full length of the screen...

Again after reading some threads decided to run the dell diag...That showed me some errors when it did the video test(i think)

he above error message was repeated quite a lot with different references to numbers...

Am i screwed ?? Do i have any options at all...Must point out im NOT a gamer at all...so graffix card isnt an issue, if indeed i can replace it ??

Thanks for reading this and for anyone offering any advice i truly appreciate it..

tones

Hi there...

nope...not tried opening and cleaning...have to say...terrified at the prospect....do u think doing that i have a chance? I ask, cos i priced a shop to do that here and he quoted me 90 bucks for cleaning..lil more with paste...if im cleaning do u recommend the xtra step and do the paste


If the card is dead...is it replaceable?..if so...can it be replaced with a simple card just to get the display to work? gain if so..can u recommend one that would work with my setup ?..as i mentioned i'm not a gamer...so cheapest one just to get the laptop to fire up

Hi

Both fans ARE spinning...though i must admit the air flow is very low....

and yep...i have looked through and read the tear down manual...even with that im still terrified....u know wat they say.. "A lobotomy is easy if ure a Brain surgeon"..lol

And yea "IF" could get a low end card that would fit id be over the moon...just dont wanna go spending a lot of money on a laptop thats as dated...Ill try see if i can research wat cards woud fit, and see wat happens....

Thanks for relying bud..appreciated. If u come across anything els u feel i could try please let e know....

**Dohh

im a dumb ass..lol

It seems i got extended warrenty when i bought it...completely forgot !

my prob is, i bought it in ireland and now live in uSA..anyone abe to tell me how i'd go about getting it fixed in USA ??

Can anyone confirm..i have the following warrenty
3 Years Next Business Day On-site service
does this man they come to my place ??? sorry if its a stupid question...

Thank u so much for the offer of assistance..i have PM'd you

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to give an update regards my "sick" laptop....

As noted, Richard stepped in to help....while we were pm'ing each other with info, i had gone ahead and used the online "change warranty" details to see if i could get the laptop fixed here in USA...i was not aware how long this would take to change over...received no email confirmation (as of yet) so i can only assume its ongoing.

In the meantime, Richard went ahead and started the return process for me (even though the warranty hadn't changed...thanks a lot ) and sent me a packing slip to print off and use. Unfortunately i live in a small town and don't have access to DHL, so i had to mail it myself...not a huge prob..just soo happy i have someone willing to help.

The laptop as sent to Richard yesterday lunch time...as soon as i hear aything back from Richard i will update the thread.

Id like to take this opportunity to say a huge thanks to Richard for stepping in to assist me when i was going in circles ringing different departments to try fix this.

Regards

tones

Just thought id give an update to my laptop problem.

Well...as mentioned above, Richard took charge of the problem personally and replaced the Graphics card, Palm Rest and Cooling Fans....I received the laptop back today (due to the fact i live in a small out of the way town that DHL don't deliver to)

The Temps have dropped considerably....!!! im guessing he removed a lot of dust bunnies

So far so good...im about to reimage the drive and reoad all my software on....

Just want to say a huge thanks (again) to Richard for personally taking the time to help me out...i truly don't know what id have done without him.

My very best to you and your family....

Jut notices a few diff numbers on system properties...


Used to say Dell XPS M170 2.13 GHz 533 MHz 2Gb Ram
Now says Dell MXG051 2.13 GHz 295 MHz 2GB Ram

wats the diff numbers / letters mean...if anything....anyone??