Black Screen, Fan and Keyboard Lights Operational

[01224121a]

Black Screen, Fan and Keyboard Lights Operational

Tried reboot, power drain, disconnecting battery + holding power button 2 minutes, moved RAM sticks (did not replace), external monitor (black screen as well). From what I’ve been reading, it appears to be an issue with my motherboard. Laptop came with Windows 10. Please help, specs are below.

Alienware 17
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
Windows 10 Home-HE (64bit) English
128GB M.2 SATA 6Gb/s SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
32GB Dual Channel DDR4 2133Mhz (16GBx2)
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 980M with 8GB GDDR5

 

[prince_xaine]

Is this black screen present as soon as you boot the computer? Does it show your BIOS?

 

[01224121a]

Is this black screen present as soon as you boot the computer? Does it show your BIOS?

Yes, completely black as soon as I press the power button.

 

[prince_xaine]

How long have you had this computer?

 

[01224121a]

How long have you had this computer?

Coming up on 2 years now. It’s been like this for the past half year, haven’t gotten around to getting it fixed. Taking it in tomorrow, just hoping to get a good idea of what the issue might be before I go in.

 

[prince_xaine]

Yep. Sounds like the motherboard can't reach BIOS. The BIOS may have been corrupted, OR the motherboard is damaged in some way.

 

[01224121a]

Yep. Sounds like the motherboard can't reach BIOS. The BIOS may have been corrupted, OR the motherboard is damaged in some way.

I had a feeling about that. The fan had been acting weird a month up until it black screened, and I suspected I had some sort of damage from overheating.

 

[prince_xaine]

Technically it could be the CPU or the RAM too. The computer won't boot if these are faulty in any way. Try taking out a RAM stick, repeat in both slots.

 

[01224121a]

Yep. Sounds like the motherboard can't reach BIOS. The BIOS may have been corrupted, OR the motherboard is damaged in some way.

I just remembered it would randomly black screen sometimes, and a reboot would normally fix it. Anyways, thanks a lot.

 

[01224121a]

Technically it could be the CPU or the RAM too. The computer won't boot if these are faulty in any way. Try taking out a RAM stick, repeat in both slots.

Ok, I’m getting a beeping noise after testing one of them. 4 beeps.

 

[prince_xaine]

RAM is bad. Try the same stick in another slot, then try the other stick in the 1st slot, then the second slot.

 

[01224121a]

RAM is bad.

Thanks!

 

[prince_xaine]

RAM is bad.

Thanks!

Did your computer boot?

 

[01224121a]

RAM is bad.

Thanks!

Did your computer boot?

Testing, sec

 

[01224121a]

RAM is bad.

Thanks!

Did your computer boot?

Nothing, I’ve been rebooting after every change.

 

[prince_xaine]

Well was worth a shot. Hopefully the repair doesn't cost you too much. Best of luck!

 

[01224121a]

Well was worth a shot. Hopefully the repair doesn't cost you too much. Best of luck!

Cheers, thanks a ton!

 

[01224121a]

Well was worth a shot. Hopefully the repair doesn't cost you too much. Best of luck!

So this means both RAM sticks are faulty?

 

[prince_xaine]

Well was worth a shot. Hopefully the repair doesn't cost you too much. Best of luck!

So this means both RAM sticks are faulty?

It's possible. But more than likely, its an issue with the motherboard.
You could try this:
http/www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln301863/alienware-13-r2-15-r2-and-17-r3-2-or-4-beeps-after-upgrading-or-replacing-the-system-memory?lang=en

 

[01224121a]

Well was worth a shot. Hopefully the repair doesn't cost you too much. Best of luck!

So this means both RAM sticks are faulty?

It's possible. But more than likely, its an issue with the motherboard.
You could try this:
http/www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln301863/alienware-13-r2-15-r2-and-17-r3-2-or-4-beeps-after-upgrading-or-replacing-the-system-memory?lang=en

I located the CLRP1 pins and used a flathead to touch both at the same time. Nothing afterwards.