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Need Help:M9700 won't power up at all, LED on adapter flickers on\off when plugged in

post #1 of 10
5/12/09 at 5:45pm
Thread Starter 
Hey Everyone,
I have a 2.5yr old (that in itself is a problem ^^) Aurora m9700 and this is the first time I have had a real problem with it, other than system restores. Few days ago the laptop had been on\in use for quite some time and it was running very hot (common in the last yr or so), then it suddenly crashed and now it will not power up at all.
No LED lights (i.e. battery/ac) appear on the laptop at all. I have tried to power it up with just the battery and with just the adapter, but nothing. When the ac adapter is not plugged in to the laptop, the adapter LED is on as usual, but when it is plugged in the laptop the adapter LED flickers on and off.

These are the components:
Processor: AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile ML37 2.0GHz 800MHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
Chassis: 17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD with Clearview Technology
Motherboard: Alienware® NVIDIA® Mobile SLi Chipset
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR SO-DIMM at 400MHz - 2 x 1024MB
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 100GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Optical Drive: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW & 24X CD-RW Burner w/Software
Video/Graphics Card: Dual 256MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS - SLI Enabled
Sound Card: High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Wireless Network Card: Internal 802.11b/g WiFi Card
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth® Device
Primary Battery: Alienware® m9700 12-cell Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack

I have reseated both video cards, both ram sticks, HD, CMOS battery, TV tuner, wireless card, and keyboard. Still the notebook will not power up, nor does it show any sign of power. The LED on adapter still flickers when plugged in laptop.

Unless both video cards or both ram sticks are messed up, I don't think the above mentioned components are causing a short circuit. What does that leave, the motherboard?

Thanks for your time.
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post #2 of 10
5/12/09 at 10:55pm
Just for curiosity, have you tried with another battery and/or AC?

cheers ...
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post #3 of 10
5/13/09 at 3:47am
Hey, I think I saw that happen to another laptop. It was a Dell, an old one as well. The symptom is that, when you connect the AC power brick, the LED on the brick lights green, but when you connect to Laptop, the LED on the brick goes out and the laptop won't power up... probably a motherboard/powerport short - for that laptop, tried getting another power brick but the same thing happened. Ended up junking the laptop
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post #4 of 10
5/13/09 at 7:26pm
Thread Starter 
I haven't tried another adapter/battery because I'm fairly sure those are not causing the problem.

I don't know if it's worth spending $330 for a new motherboard or $100 for a diagnosis/possible motherboard repair. Assuming the motherboard is the problem of course...

I want to sell this laptop anyway. Not sure if selling the parts separate or fixing it then putting it up for sale is best?
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post #5 of 10
5/16/09 at 1:46pm
Try replacing the DC input jack first. Seems to be a common problem. There are tutorials on how to replace it and it isn't a real expensive part.
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post #6 of 10
5/16/09 at 4:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by romes View Post
Try replacing the DC input jack first. Seems to be a common problem. There are tutorials on how to replace it and it isn't a real expensive part.
That may be the case if the laptop was getting power from the battery and not the adapter, but it doesn't power up from either one. The battery was not dead when the laptop crashed.

That's why I am fairly sure it is not the input jack.
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post #7 of 10
5/16/09 at 5:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by whatsinaname? View Post
That may be the case if the laptop was getting power from the battery and not the adapter, but it doesn't power up from either one. The battery was not dead when the laptop crashed.

That's why I am fairly sure it is not the input jack.
You sure the battery has power? My m9700 battery has been toast for quite some time.
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post #8 of 10
5/16/09 at 5:06pm
By the way, where did you find a new motherboard for $330 if you don't mind me asking?

I've got a similar problem, but the cheapest new motherboard I could locate was listed at like $470.
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post #9 of 10
5/17/09 at 11:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by romes View Post
By the way, where did you find a new motherboard for $330 if you don't mind me asking?

I've got a similar problem, but the cheapest new motherboard I could locate was listed at like $470.
http://ztronics.com/en/motherboards/...ypage.tpl.html

Ztronics is actually recommended by AW. Apparently it says it is currently not available, but call them up anyway. They had it in stock when I called.

As far as the battery is concerned, a week or so before my laptop crashed I was getting 30-45min normal usage on that battery. I really don't see both the battery and the DC jack failing at exactly the same time. Plus the flickering LED on the adapter seems to be a sign of a short circuit somewhere, as I have read up from AW and m9700 owners. When I reseated all the parts there was no sign of an electrical problem (i.e. black soot) either.
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post #10 of 10
11/17/09 at 5:29pm
Did you ever get your m9700 working again?
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