The Area 51 m15x hinge

Hello everyone, I have been an owner of an m15x for over a year now. I even had it wrapped in G-mask to prevent the dreaded hinge issue, as can be seen here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=316976&highlight=m15x+black

Well, a few weeks ago, even with the extra protection, bits of plastic fell out of the lower left part of the screen. Since I no longer have warranty, I decided to try and find a laptop repair center here in Manila. Fortunately, I was able to find these guys.

http://www.hrlaptoprepair.com/index.html

Upon showing them the problem, we opened the up the damaged part. These guys are experts in repairing broken hinges. Upon further examination, they told me that the hinge was NOT the problem. I don't really know how to explain it in English, but they said that the part that supports the hinge ( the gold colored part ) was the biggest problem. The plastic that it is wrapped in is too weak and flimsy.

I asked them about replacing the entire lid, since E-bay does sell some. They told me that I could buy one from E-bay and replace it, but the problem would simply resurface.

These guys then decided to fabricate a stronger reinforcement to replace the said flimsy support. I left my laptop in their shop for about a day, and when I came back to pick it up yesterday, I was AMAZED with the quality of work they did.

The screen NO longer creaks, and feels really sturdy. My laptop lid has never felt sturdier, even better than the aforementioned G-mask treatment I did before.

I just wanted to share this with you guys, and maybe there are similar alternatives in your respective countries for people who do not want to send it in to Alienware for repairs. I do believe that this is a permanent solution to this hinge issue.

 

Now if only these guys were in Canada..

 

sir, how much did the repair and fabrication cost you?

 

Thank you for this thread cha!

When I read your post, I immediately contacted them to have more informations about their services.

I knew that they were able to receive and repair computers from any country in the world. And you can send it the way you want (DHL for example).

That seems to be a great service.

I have a broken Alienware Area-51 7700m. I sent it to Ztronics in the USA because I didn't know Highroad Laptop Repair Shop in Philippines. If I knew before, I would send it to them because of your review and advice, cha.

@ mj_four

Yes, me too, I would like to know how much did it cost.

 

Cha, you really deserve rep for this great find! +1

 

give us some pics of there work.

 

my m15x will arrive on oct 16 from the US, i sent it there because of the hinge problem and the turning on problem...i already talked with cha and i will have my hinge fabricated also, i will take photos of the before and after work of these guys, take a video of the creaking hinge...

 

The fact remainds, we shouldn't have to do this, we paid for the brand because it's high performance and quality, a bit like a bentley. Yeah right. I've had my laptop back for a month now and the new hinge is already going (for the 2nd time).

 

Apologies for the late reply, as our house doesn't have a good internet connection as of late because of the recent typhoons.

The cost of the hinge fabrication was 3,000 pesos, which is more or less equivalent to 60 USD. The only disadvantage I can see is that the laptop does seem a little bit heavier compared to before, nothing to really worry about.

As for shipping via DHL, I would say that it would be a very costly alternative to ship it all the way here in Manila. I would recommend that you guys find a local store, if possible, and try to explain the situation to them.

I will try my best to post pics after work. I don't have any pictures of the damaged hinge, but I believe you can find them in abundance across all the different threads re hinge breakage in these forums.

Yes, mjfour has already contacted me. We might be able to meet up one of these days. Maybe then he can post a video to compare the difference.

 

quality is not expensive it's price less!!!
so let us help you guys!!!

thanks sir cha!!!

I apologize for the small change in your laptop.As our knowledge we did our best to repair the laptop.However I appreciate your opinion,can help to improve our service. I will assure to you we will do our best to offer the best service to you and to all of you guys

 

As promised, here are some pictures of the repaired area, and the laptop.

 

Thanks Cha, but I think people are asking for pictures of the hinge and the modifications that they did if you are able to post for us to see. God Bless

 

Hey Cha, from far away I can mistake your m15x for the M15x! By the way, how much was the total cost for the repairs?

 

He said how much it costs here....

 

Thanks Marvie, I didn't see that in the first post +rep

 

he can't show you the picture of modification because the modification is in the internal lcd casing not on the external.. if he try to open it may be the warrnty will be void...

 

And I wonder Alienware was never able to figure out this solution the entire 1.5 yr since the laptop released? I am worried about the hinge since I am becoming a new m15x owner (possibly the last 'new' owner) this month end.

Anyway, i am glad to hear that a solution exists indeed! Thanks for sharing the information, Cha!

 

I was not able to take pictures of the repair process, but mj_four is planning to get his laptop hinge done when it arrives here in Manila on October 16.

I will try and coordinate with the shop to try and get pictures of the process, and maybe get some before and after pictures

 

Wow cha, I thought ever since you got that gmask, you would not have problems. Sorry to hear about that, but that repair job sure looks nice. Thanks for the pics!

 

Same here Bubbamel, apparently the issue is with the mechanism of the hinge. I hope that Alienware can take notice of this as well though. It would help a lot for the others who have problems with their hinge. Alienware would not have to keep replacing lids over and over again.

I am really happy with the end result. The only problem I have ever had with this laptop was the sub par build quality. Thankfully, this solution is the end of my only complaint

 

Got some bad news guys

I got in touch with HR Laptop Repair recently to request them to take pictures of the fabricated hinge when mj_four would get his laptop repaired. Unfortunately, they didn't agree to it.

I'll try and get in contact with mj_four when he gets his laptop back.

 

Are they afraid that they will lose business or something? I think that's kind of shady...

 

They should not be afraid to lose business; as 99% of us are not in the Philippines and it would cost us more to ship our laptops there and back to us. God Bless

 

you could try asking if they are willing to just produce more of the hinge and see if they are willing to just sell us the part. Im sure it would definitely be cheaper than shipping the entire laptop compared to shipping a small part overseas.

 

Received a skullcap m15x around April 20th. BOTH left and right hinge tolerances have increased steadily overtime and I recently noticed a crack on the black bezel around the screw. It keeps getting worse everyday. Creaking is at an all-time high. Still under warranty. However, I have 4gb of aftermarket memory that I have installed in it and I am currently in the Czech Republic studying. My factory RAM is at home. If I send it in will they take my good memory out, or refuse service??? How long does this take. I would LOVE to fix it the way Cha did, but I paid for a warranty so I better use it. Maybe we should all "Class Action" this issue and receive the fix that Cha did with his M15x at NO cost to us. We all paid dearly for our machines, but this issue seems to happen WITH EVERYONE, I'm sick of it. Thought they would have the problem solved by April 2009 when I ordered. The product had already been in the market for over a year. I feel cheated because now I have to give up my ONLY communication device in Europe for probably over 2 weeks. The only reason I bought this computer was because it cost too much to ship my AW desktop over here. Sorry for ranting, just had to get that off my chest.

-Firecat

 

The main reason they gave me was that it was company policy not to take pictures of the their fix for the hinge support.

Yeah, and I agree with you JDELUNA and dhoang. Majority of you guys are not from here, they wouldn't really be losing business.

Exiled, I will try and ask if they can do such a service. I doubt that they would agree though, seeing as they wouldn't even let me take a pic of their fabricated hinge support.

There must be a repair store or center in your respective countries guys. It would be much safer and cheaper to have it done locally.

 

No, they won't take your RAM. I've sent mines in for repairs with my own RAM installed and it came back to me. However, you really should play it safe and take your RAM out. You shouldn't do what I did.

I agree that it's bad that they never fixed the hinge issue, but now that the m15x is out of production, it will be really tough to get a Class Action suit going.

And you're right Cha, I will look for a local place to see if I can get it fixed there. It's much more reasonable. Besides I don't want to deal with those guys anyways after refusing to take pictures of their hinge work.

 

Well I just got the new, er used, parts I ordered off ebay. They are all good, except for the hinges, they are tight as the old ones, though they turn. The old one on the left side locked up. I know its gotta be snug, but not that snug.

Is there a way to loosen them up just a bit?

 

well theres the m15x repair thread showing why the hinge falls apart so easily. So basically if anything we can follow what that guy is doing to strengthen his hinge cause i finally see why it will snap apart so easily.

for loosening the hinge i guess you can try loosening the bottom left screw tho its not really recommend :/

 

the best thing that me and cha can do is after having our laptops repaired, hinge replaced with fabricated parts, maybe we can open it/have it opened by a professional, so we could see what they changed or what they did...

 

that would really help because by seeing what they did, we can just copy what they did to fix out hinges.

so far the only plan i have is to use epoxy steel to strengthen the plastic holding the nuts in place. since i think that is the main reason why the hinge will snap. The plastic holding the nuts in place is pretty weak and flimsy so by putting epoxy steel around the nuts and the frame it should be much much harder for the nuts to come out of place. If the hinge still comes apart with epoxy steel on it then its pretty hopeless since epoxy steel has 1500 lbs of bonding strength >.>

 

Hmmmm, berry interesting....

Well I spoke to the guys who sent me the replacement cover that was cracked, and he shipped out another one...I just got it today, and well, it still shows a little bit of cracking, like it will crack again if stressed too much, so going to go buy some gorilla glue, and fill up those pockets, and hope it strengthens it up a bit...I had the laptop owner come by and I showed him all his parts, and what needs to be done...so I got a couple more days to play...and more RAM to install....going to go check out that Epoxy at Home Depot and pour it on...lol

 

yea i basically saw ur picture



and basically also got the idea from you. Well amazon advertised that epoxy steel has 1500 lbs of bonding strength and i have used epoxy on alot of stuff but never knew it was that strong. Basically im spreading stuff all over the nuts in the picture and the area around it and probably the area around the other part of the frame too. Going to do both sides for reassurance. This should finally be a solution cause if it can break epoxy steel i dont think its fixable anymore unless someone can craft a frame out of metal


Once i open up the panel i should be able to plan out exactly what to do. Just have to wait for amazon to ship me that epoxy steel now.

 

Well here's a quick fill-in I did tonight on the first cover I bought as a replacement, the one that came chipped. the glue used was non name brand, just called Industrial Strength, something my father dug up, but he added baking soda to the pockets then the glue, so it hardened like resin. Its still messy but only did it as a test since I have the spare part. The only problem is that some of the glue spilled over onto the cover and burnt away the thin film it had, you can see it at the bottom.

Here's the original:

and the filled in one:


I bet this is how the repair guys must have done it, it looks like the only thing you can do to it, to strengthen it up. The hinge cannot be "loosened" the nut wont turn.

Gerry

 

that is actually the same thing i plan to do but with epoxy steel. I might be using a bit more since i ordered 4 packs of the stuff. Maybe 2 tubes one each side of the hinge.

 

ok i finally got the epoxy from the mailman. i should be able to put it in the hinge by the weekend. Theres actually quite alot in 1 tube so i think 1 pack per hinge would would be more than enough. I might also take a bit of sandpaper and create a more abrasive surface on the plastic so the epoxy can bond even stronger since a more abrasive surface is better than a smooth surface.

Ill post pics of what i did whenever i get to doing it.

 

Very interesting thread guys.. keep us informed with pics too. I just ordered the new M15x but i'd love to fix up my old one as well and keep it as a secondary system or something.

 

ok so i took a look at it and the hinge isnt actually rubbing against anything since thats what ppl previously thought i think. There is a big metal piece that connects to those 4 screws and that basically what holds the hinge together. The 4 metal nuts in the holes keeps the whole thing together. The only problem with those 4 nuts is that they are put into the plastic from the back lcd bezel which is extremely flimsy. So what i plan to do is put epoxy all around to support the hinges and put expoxy to stick the hinges to the nuts too.

This should work better since everytime u open the case the hinges pull on the nuts and eventually they get more and more loose until 1 day they just snap. So by sticking epoxy which is basically gluing the hell out of it, the nuts should get less strained.

EDIT: So i took a further look around and basically whats holding your alienware logo light up led is what is holding ur hinge togther to give u a better idea of why it breaks so easily

 

Exactly right, here are some photos of the metal side rail, it actually screws into the side of the LCD screen, and is part of the hinge...

Side Rail screwed into top cover, with hinge in place:


Side Rail on LCD Screen:


So if you remember the fill-in I did last week, with industrial glue and baking soda, I also bought some epoxy, Loctite Plastic Epoxy, and filled in the left side of hinge area, and it looks and feels nice and strong, and I liked how thick it was, so I could put it on the sections that didnt have walls. I let it harden overnight, though it says that it hardens in 7 minutes. So here are some photos of the Epoxy fill:


and a side view:


Since these were tests, I am going to try it on the replacement cover, though I am going to mix up the chemicals together (hardener and resin) and pour it in with a toothpick or something, that way it doesnt overflow....

Gerry

 

i finished applying a while ago but i had to go to school. So its basically at home right now waiting to dry. I also put some on the top of the nuts around the hole where the screws go in.

Ill post some pictures when i get home


EDIT: another thing i found out those was that the hinges are actually pretty stiff so i dunno why the lcd screen wobbles so much. In order to move them with the back panel and monitor off i actually needed pliers to move them.

 

yep, cant move by hand, actually you can but real tough to turn. I tried spraying wd40 but doesn't really help, maybe a little.

 

Well I got the parts all back together, it opens and closes without problems, heard a little creak though, but thats about it. Now if I can only get the touch pad to work!!!!!!

I see another tear down, crap!

Gerry

 

wow the pictures i have pretty awful so ill need to retake them later. I still need to let the epoxy dry a bit more. Its pretty hard now but not hard enough yet. Id say around 1 more day or so. Im pretty sure with this the plastic wont break off cause if it is going to break off the plastic will have quite a bit of trouble since this stuff is quite hard.

 

Hello again everyone. Keep everyone here updated on how your DIY repairs work out. Thanks for putting these pictures up. I really hope you guys can get this resolved

 

ok the pictures are not the best but they are significantly better than what i had

this is what is currently looks like



the epoxy turned a different color for the top since it was a second batch and i think i messed up a bit on the amount of resin and hardener but it still feels just as hard as the good batches which is pretty cool.

so with the hinge on its like



Its missing a screw in 1 of the holes cause i think that is where the screw to secure the front bezel to the hinge goes so ill put that back on later.

Im also planning to add epoxy steel to the hinge so it basically bonds with the rest of the epoxy forming basically 1 solid piece. More pictures to come.

 

Looks messy though good, but first time is always messy. I did the same thing, tried to pour it on with the tube, so on the second try I prepared, and got a piece of cardboard, toothpicks (to scoop) or wooden matchsticks. Then pour some equal amount of hardener and resin, and mix it with the matchstick, then slowly pour it in with matchstick, use the toothpick to remove any bubbles or spread it.

I don't think bonding to the hinge is a good idea, after all its not the hinge, or the screws at fault here, but the shoddy plastic around the studs, plus it would make it more difficult to remove it you have to do that later.

Update on the touch pad, the replacement touch pad I bought off ebay, is no good, have to exchange it, thats the second part to exchange from the same place.

Gerry

 

yea i mixed it in a plastic spoon and then i applied it using toothpicks. It doesnt look great but once dried its amazingly hard and i think it will work pretty well. Of course time will tell

That sucks about the touchpad.

 

Not sure but if you take the stress off the hinge, the stress is put somewhere else, but where?

 

I cannot believe that we all buy this bentley and wind up with a datsun lololol...So Sad...

Please keep updates on how this works, as my screen is hangin off at this point. if it does work, please post a step by step process? or something to make this more understanding on how to do...THANK YOU

 

Wanted to know how the diy's are holding up so far (exiled and bullfights)...

Also, wanted to know to do these procedures, do you have to remove the entire lcd and back cover? or can you just remove the black front frame?

Thanks!