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XPS 17 L701X - Power Issues
I recently decided to clean up my Dell XPS 17 L701X since the fan was running constantly regardless of what I was doing. I figured it was from dust collection over the years since the computer was running fine with no spikes or large CPU or memory usage, so I opened her up and confirmed my theory. I removed the heat sink and fan and did a clean up of all the dust buildup on and in the fan intake and on the fan blades. Before reinstalling, I cleaned up all the old thermal paste on the processor and VGA card and added new. I reassembled and started up and all seemed to be working for a few minutes. After a little light use, my screen started to flicker and then computer powered off. I've had zero luck powering her back up. For a day or so, the battery charging indicator was illuminated and now I don't even see that. Zero indications of power to the computer (LED lights, fan startup, sounds)
I've tried the following fixes:
- Checking of all connector ribbons removed during disassembly/reassembly (keyboard, power button, palmrest, monitor)
- Replacement of both main battery and tested with 2x different new BIOS batteries.
- Tried discharging residual power by removing all power sources and holding power button for over 1 min. Tried this numerous times with combinations of battery only, AC adaptor only, both, and nothing
- Removal and testing power startup with each (2x) RAM Stick in each port (2x).
- AC Adapter has power
- Rechargeable battery has power
- Removed heatsink and checked on my thermal paste installation and all looks good
Scratching my head on this one and would appreciate any advice.
ejn63
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23.3K Posts
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March 14th, 2024 20:15
If the system won't power up with only an AC adapter and RAM connected (no battery), with no signs of life, the mainboard is toast. There's no way to know whether something happened in the cleanup attempt, or the board expired of old age -- such is the possibility with a 14 year old system.
Keydet12
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March 15th, 2024 16:01
@ejn63 Thanks for the comment! If this is the case, would it likely just need a replacement of the CPU or the whole mother board? If so, how hard is it to find replacements? Seems like this would be a simpler/economical fix versus buying a new laptop. Again, it worked fine up until my engineering brain convinced me to take it apart and fix it, haha. I don't use it often but it is my only personal use computer that I own and she has treated me well for her 14 years of life. .
ejn63
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23.3K Posts
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March 15th, 2024 16:18
No sign of any power means it's probably the mainboard rather than the CPU. The thing to bear in mind is that while replacement boards are available, they're not exactly inexpensive relative to the value of the system at this point, and they'll all be in their teen age years, meaning you really have no way to know what you're getting in terms of longevity.
It may be better to consider a new or at least newer system at this point, but it's a call only you can make.
Bear in mind there are multiple different boards for this system -- some have two memory slots, others four and there were multiple video options (the boards that have discrete GPUs need different heatsink assemblies from those with integrated video -- and I vaguely remember the heatsinks being different depending on the type of board you have as well). There were also boards that had 3D video, which use a different type of LCD connector and wiring harness, so if shopping, choose carefully.