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    Freaking out. Burns?

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by Bele, Nov 16, 2016.

  1. Bele

    Bele Notebook Consultant

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    Hi!

    So officially freaking out. I don't know if I'm still 'safe' or not as far as complete laptop meltdown.

    1. tore my LED ribbon for tactx macro keys. Thinking it was "okay" I left it plugged to the motherboard. I was wrong as it showed all kinds of whacked up warnings on my machine such as blinking lights. I look under to see that the removable panel was bloated where the led ribbon was so I opened it and unplugged the ribbon. (Months back)

    2. Battery failure recently. for a while it was only charging up to 8x.xx%. Now it's just plugged in and needs to be replaced. is it safe to keep this plugged?

    3. I find out my DC jack cable where it connects to the motherboard is burnt. It IS working, I know because i'm typing from the machine with the burnt cable thing.


    4. No visible pin damage from the board.

    I have ordered a replacement battery from dell. Not sure what to do about my keyboard lights. Maybe get a full keyboard replacement? I tried turning off the macro LEDs but the alienware command center says I can't unless I turn off zone 2 as well. Zone 2 is the part of the keyboard where capslock etc are located.


    Inputs greatly truly appreciated.
     

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  2. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    There are some cases known regarded the burned dc-in cable problem. i encountered it too and got the cable replaced. i was told it was due to using an old bios. what bios are you using?
     
  3. Bele

    Bele Notebook Consultant

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    dxdiag puts me at 1.3.6 bios
     
  4. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    But what bios have you been using before that and for how long?
     
  5. Bele

    Bele Notebook Consultant

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    I'm not sure how long. probably some time september or just a little after it was released back in august.
     
  6. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    I mean the bios before that. WHat bios did you use and for how long.
     
  7. Bele

    Bele Notebook Consultant

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    oh. It was the bios from november 2015 I think. the one with the lesser "no not turning on with no reason without having to press the pins".

    This machine is just about a year old. warranty expired november 9.
     
  8. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    Similar to my case then. You can try to get it exchanged still. I recommend you contacting Alienware directly and they might get it sorted out. I also stayed for a longer time with bios 1.2.2 and has a less severe cable burn. I showed them my pictures and in the end they shipped me a new cable. After updating it and a new cable the spot on the chassis above that cable feels much more cool as well.
     
  9. Bele

    Bele Notebook Consultant

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    I'll try. trouble i'm sensing here is that they'll not be able to ship to me because I'm from the philippines. alienware/dell only ships to US =\

    But so tl;dr, since I need my battery and macro keys fixed anyway, is that I grab a cable, a battery, and a new macro key pad. Remove my old ones and apply the new ones, then update bios to 1.3.9? or am I fine with 1.3.6? Also since I'm overseas, chances are it'll take over a month before I can get a new unit. That being the case, am I "safe"? will it hold? or should I panic? My battery is still plugged. Should I remove it and leave the pin open?
     
  10. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    1.3.6 is fine indeed.

    YOu can try to order the cable from taobao or www.parts-people.com.
     
  11. Bele

    Bele Notebook Consultant

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    I placed the order from pchub because the macro keys are available there too. I got the battery off dell and had it sent to a forawrder. Now I'm waiting a month. I just don't know if It'll live. I seriously worry. Also not sure if I cshould leave the battery plugged to the board or not at all anymore.
     
  12. fiziks

    fiziks Notebook Evangelist

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    The most important thing is that you upgrade to a newer BIOS, which you've already done. I would disconnect the external power cable when the laptop is not in use. I would think leaving the battery plugged in is OK since it has probably been like that since before you installed BIOS 1.3.6. But you might want to check with Dell, to make sure it's OK.
     
  13. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    You can keep the cables connected. just disconnect the power adapter while not in use from the laptop until you got a new cable.