[Solved] yet another M18X ... no backlight on the screen, just dark image...

so here I go again, one bad experience after the other, it becomes chronic lately

bought used M18X R1 from member on here, seemly in perfect condition with warranty but few things got me worrying now

it has arrived extra safely wrapped and packed so it was impossible something has happened during the post... but LCD screen produces no backlight, just dark image. I did manage switch to VGA port to external display and it shows image but, no way trough its own monitor.

I have got in to BIOS menu and found it has so many BIOS options as it seems it has unlocked A05 bios..

I was told it will have i7-2670QM but was never told it will not be OEM so its just an ES/QS sample chip here,

Also it came with different wlan card which those two are the most important parts for warranty compliance... it was sold to me with warranty till 2014-Jan, and I got the warranty transferred, but with those two aftermarket parts this warranty is as good as no warranty... I just wonder would unocked bios could cause screen produce no backlight?(it was pre-flashed with the laptop when I received it earlier today)

or it could be a common connector/cable/LCD fault?

I believe I would still have an option returning the machine back to seller bbut I rather get it fixed handy and keep it... so just want your opinions

 

If the CPU has been replaced and you do not have the orignal to swap back in Dell will not honor the warranty, I could be wrong though. Also, have you checked to make sure the LCD cable is properly seated? It is possible for it to have been jarred during shipping. The WLAN, if you do not have the original should be really easy, and really cheap to find and swap back in before warranty. However the CPU is a biggie. If it were me I would check the cable, flash the bios back to the DELL A05, and if that works try to find the orginal CPU and and WLAN card cheap before you have to have warranty work done. It might also be possible that the unlocked bios could be reading the CPU wrong as an ES instead of OEM. I have ahd happen before witha beta bios from Asus on one of their motherboards.

If the above doesn't fix the issue it might be best to try and return it to the seller, or contact him for the orignal parts for warranty work. That can be a hit and miss though. Good lucka nd keep us updated

 

Just flashed back the unmodified official A05 bios = no help

took of the bezel and replaced the cable = no help

removed LCD cable from the motherboard socket and inspected for any dust or dirt or damage and its clean and neat = no help

attempted cleaning to LCD cable socket and motherboard LCD socket with micro-fibre brush = no help

have tried resetting BIOS CMOS , did reset = no help

did try chose different GPU iGPU/MXM GPU = no help

after re-flashing to stock A05 bios CPU still shows QS version CPU ...

looking at the back of the screen I can see it has been tapped gently on the exterior of the hinges cover sort of speak .. see images:





how likely cable popped out of the back of the LCD inside of the LCD assembly and how difficult is to pry open the LCD so there are no visible trace of previous disassembly?

 

Anything is possible, and it stinks that nothing so far as helped. Getting the the LCD cable on the LCD is relativly easy. There is a little less than 20 screws if I remember correctly to get the LCD off the and back off the LCD. Once the LCD is detached there is only 4 screws to remove the back cover.

 

hmmm I wonder if thats really the case... I dont really wanna do that yet too, and the warranty I was supposed to get with it should be covering all this for me if you get what I mean... this now really sucks. Worst to worst what if its the LCD itself or the cable not the connectivity problems... oh I hate this already

seller insists it is all covered under warranty... what if I just chance my arm give it in to dell for warranty and see what they say or do and if they refuse I guess then I just return it to seller... I've so little options

 

You can try contacting Dell the worse they will tell you is no. I have a feeling though that it is something easy though. If the warranty is voided then the warranty does not cover this issue, but I get what you mean as you were under the impression you had warranty. As I have said anything is possible, it could be something simple, or it could be something like the LCD went bad. I would atleast test out the simple before handing over to Dell's depot. Good Luck and hopfully you can get the warranty coverage with easy

 

Was it sold to you with disclosure that the LCD was not working, or did that come as a surprise?

The warranty will not be voided by having a different CPU and WiFi card. If those two components did not come from Dell, the warranty may not cover issues relating directly to them... but the warranty on the machine as a whole is totally unaffected.

 

as a surprise to tell the truth... it was pictured with date on notepad in possibly this same laptop screen as the screen seemly has been working then and I can see the date on the computer on the bottom right taskbar on the photo as of few days before the sale commenced...

now when I move my fingers across the surface glass bezel left top corner has loose feeling and sharp edge, and pressing against the left mic of the webcam it has free play and squeaky sound out of that area, the rest of the bezel seem firm. also I can see some previous disassembly traces on the screen bottom corners too

 

Just call dell if u have warranty transferred
That's the best part about having a warranty

 

As Mr.Fox says, it shouldn't be much of a problem if the parts have nothing to do with the issue. If they blame it on the parts though it's a whole different story.

 

That would be exactly what I would be concerned with, but the only way to know for sure is to call. I have never had to deal with Alienware under you specific scenario so It hard to say what they will do, I guess it is up to the luck of the draw, but it is worth a shot. I would imagine though that what they would do is send out a replacement screen assembly and replace that to fix the problem. If there are still issues then problems might arise. Good Luck!

 

I am just too afraid do anything with it looking under the function keyboard module now I have noticed heavily modified - cut apart said GTX560m heatsink and thermal pads visible out of alignment, there is just too much wrong things with it from the moment I got it, I dont feel like Im even going to take any chances wasting my time or chancing my luck with warranty services after seeing so much of altering, this is very dodgy unit I got and I've just learned my lesson the hard way this time.

 

Sounds like you got ripped off. Hopefully you did not pay too much for it.

Give Alienware a call, though - you never know.

 

well no I didnt pay too much it was 1000$ incl delivery, see one in below my sig... but still, this sucks big time

 

Honestly for 1k you really didn't get hosed we just need to get you a replacement display which I think is on the component forum fs right now for like $80 and we can get the right cpu and wlan for you as well so your warranty still seems good to them. Honestly they just check to make sure it has the right parts. The parts themselves don't have serials on them

Nevermind I stand corrected the screen is no longer available. never the less you just need to get the parts and warranty shouldn't bug about it. 1 cpu and 1 wlan, your talking maybe a tops of $200 to make it right.

 

yea for ~1500$ total I'd been rather getting refurbed m18x R2 from ebay... thats what hurts my eye

 

Perhaps, but you could get it worst... If you want a pc without problems, or easy to solve problems go and buy a new one from Dell. You couldn't expect it to run like new for $1,000.

 

well I was expecting it to run at least as described

I didnt expected it to run like new, I knew I was buying it used but in good working condition.

If I go and buy new one - I will do when M18X R3 is out and you can follow my sig for that.

I have had 3 x R2's already, and its all same to me R1 or R2 for what I was intended to use it for, so I wanted basic m18x with "as long as it works" specs and I lost doing it all together

 

Ok, so good stuff lads and ladies!

took a good search on how to disassemble the LCD and just as you would expect least I have found this:



Reinstalled the cable, added extra bit of adhesive tape to lock it in place and VIOLA !!! Screen works!!!

MASSIVE THANKS goes to our master of knowledge and experience Mr.Fox

Very useful guide by Mr.Fox on how to take apart M18X LCD assembly easily:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-lcd-lid-replacing-lcd-cover.html#post8804694

Now I feel confident inspecting the rest of the machine and begin reinstalling!

Thanks everyone for everything, and especially thanks to our sensei - Mr.Fox



@ MODERATORS - PLEASE MARK THIS THREAD AS - Solved!

 

Gotta love this forum, great job! :thumbsup:

 

Sweet! Im so glad it was something simple, and that you were able to get it corrected. That actually makes me really excited. Now get to enjoying that bad boy!

 

That's great. Good luck with the system. You should buy some parts and upgrade those 500 series cards to 680Ms - twice the performance.

 

Awesome, buddy. So glad you were able to put the information to good use.

 

Is good to see other M18x coming back to live! Now go do some heavy gaming on that huge screen :thumbsup: