# [SOLVED] Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed



## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

Hi,

Bought My Sister A Dell XPS M1710 Laptop 6 Months Ago, And Of Course One Of Her Daughters Has Managed To Spill A Drink Into The Keyboard:


















I Asked Someone For Advice And Was Told To Clean Off The Board Lightly With A Toothbrush, Which I Did, But Of Course It's Still Not Working. So I Bough A New Motherboard For It And It's Still Not Working, On Powering Up It Just Flashes 3 Padlock Lights Between The Power Button And Home Button, Both Fan's Do Not Spin Plus No Screen. When I Get This Sort Of Symptom From A Desktop PC It's Normally Memory/CPU/Graphics Card.
Should I First Try Replacing The CPU Then Try The Memory And As A Last Resort Replace The Graphics Module And It's The Most Expensive Part, Would I Get These Symptoms From A Fried Graphics Module ?

Thank You In Advance.


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Hi,

did your new motherboard come with a CPU? any cards or devices you transferred from old mobo to new (ex. RAM, CPU, battery, wiFi mpci, etc.


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Hay fixmypc, Thanks For The Reply Yes All The Other Bit Are Transferred From The Old MOB, I Just Found Out That The Memory Was Not Pressed In Properly And I'm Now Getting A Post Screen :grin:, But The Two Internal Fans Are Not Spinning, Are They Temperature Controlled And Only Spin Up At A Certain Temp ?


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

usually you could hear the fan spinning just after you pressed power ON (during POST)... then it will somehow stop until needed.


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Yeah I Think I Can Hear The Fans Now, But I've Got Another Problem:upset: When Booting With The Power Supply Plugged In I Get A Boot Message Saying That The Power Supply Is Incompatible With The Laptop "Use A 130w Power Supply Or Try Resetting The Power Supply Press F1 To Shut Down".
Is It Possible That The Power Supply Got Damaged During The Spill ?
Or Is The MotherBoard A Newer Version And Needs A Newer Power Supply, I Say This Because I've Noticed That The Powers Supplies On EBay Quote That They Are V2 Versions.
The Laptop Boots Fine On Just The Battery BTW, It Won't Charge The Battery If You Plug The Power Supply In After Booting Though


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## abuser4lif3 (Mar 11, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

That would be because of the motherboard... Just try to get new power supply and that should do the trick... but make sure it is compatible with your motherboard or you might having the same problem again... Good luck!


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

hmmm quite strange... is the power supply you are using now a generic, after market, made somewhere in the world, no warranty, burn your house down type of brick? if yes, replace it and go for brand.

personally, i feel safer that way.

anyways, check with Dell for a 130w power supply. usually they already tell you if it is compatible with your laptop or not. if there is no info on compatibility, send them an email or chat them live if there is a facility for that.


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Nope It's An Original Dell 130w, But Like I Said, It May Be Faulty If It Was Used When The Liquid Was Spilt, I Suppose I've Got No Alternative But To Buy Another One And Try That, I Don't Buy 3rd Party Products As They Almost Always End Up With Problems.
Anways Heres The One I'll Be Getting:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=270218977448&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

Thanks Guys I'll Let You Know How I Get On.:icon_bigg


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

have you checked the output voltage? does it match the one on the label?

if it was somehow affected by the spill, you or your sister should have blown a fuse somewhere. anyway just check for correct voltage.


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Yes I Just Checked The Voltage With My Metre And It's Out Putting What It Should, I Just Put The Tag Number Into The Bios And It's Now Working As It Should Off The Power Supply :4-clap:
Don't Know If It Was The Tag Or If It Was Just A Bad Connection With The Power Supply Connector But It's Working Now:4-dontkno
Thanks For Your Input Again fixmypc:grin:


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

good job... can you share with us what you did (like about the 'tag' thing)? is the 'tag' somehow related to the power supply?


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## sjstays (Mar 9, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*



fixmypc said:


> good job... can you share with us what you did (like about the 'tag' thing)? is the 'tag' somehow related to the power supply?



will definitely gargoyale to give us the exact resolution but let me guess.. u had to put in the service tag for the computer in the new mobo otherwise it will not register he computer.. just let us know whther thats wat was wrong wot ur computer.
but it gud to se ur problem resolved.. :smile:


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Looks Like I Spoke Too Soon :upset: After Charging The Battery Up To 95% Then Unplugging The Power Supply And Re-Attaching, It's Doing The Usual Not Compatible Power Message, I've Ordered A New Power Supply And Hopefully This Will Fix It, I'll Let You Guys Know When I Get The Power Pack In The Middle Of The Week.


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## Texan (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Hi,
I just googled and found this thread.
I am in the process of replacing the motherboard for my XPS M1710. I've had graphics problems last week and called Dell support for help. I am able to boot the laptop in standard VGA only (through the Safe mode menu). But the normal resolution gives white dotted line at first, then black screen. The Dell techie I talked to at first advised that I should get a new graphic card and I ordered it through him. Just today I got the card and guess what, its a PCI card for desktop computers! I called Dell again and this time they told me there is no such thing for a laptop and I have to replace the motherboard as the Nvidia graphic chip is built into it. It just shows that some of their support people are so unskilled. So I ordered the new motherboard and will have a go at replacing the old board myself. 

Thanks Gargoyle for the pictures. Should be useful for me when I open the laptop. I hope to get the parts in few days.

Hope your power supply problem is solved.


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Hi Texan,
If Your Laptop Is The Same Model As Mine There Is A Daughter Board Graphics Module Add-on, If Yours Is A M1710 Heres A Good Service Manual:
http://support2.jp.dell.com/docs/systems/xpsM1710/en/SM/index.htm


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## Texan (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*



gargoyle67 said:


> Hi Texan,
> If Your Laptop Is The Same Model As Mine There Is A Daughter Board Graphics Module Add-on, If Yours Is A M1710 Heres A Good Service Manual:
> http://support2.jp.dell.com/docs/systems/xpsM1710/en/SM/index.htm


Thanks for the descriptive link. You could be right. I just emailed the Dell techie to check if I got the right part. Yesterday he advised I get a new motherboard, or as stated in the order:

"Service Kit, Planar, Printed Wiring Assy Notebook, M1710"

I am not so sure if this includes the daughterboard for the graphics as this could be the only faulty part. I do hope Dell haven't messed me up again.


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## Vash2000 (Nov 2, 2006)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Texan, it is always good to ask.


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

Well Got The Power Pack Today And All Is Working As It Should:grin:
So It Was A Faulty Power Supply As Well As The Motherboard Being Trashed, When I Phoned My Sister She Said Oh Yeah The Supply Was Doing The Incompatible Power Supply Message Intermittently Before The Spillage, Strange Fault As It Tested Ok On The Multi Metre.
@Texan, I Wouldn't Think The Daughter Board Comes With The Motherboard, And Unless Your Getting The Bits Under Warranty I'd Buy Them From Ebay As Thay Are A Lot Cheaper Than Buying Directly From Dell. I Bought My Motherboard From Ebay For £100.00 Plus £12.00 Shipping, From Dell Its £300.00 ! And The Graphics Daughter Board Is About The Same £300.00, Thankfully Only The Motherboard Was Screwed. If You Have Any Probs Just Post On Here, Good Luck Dude:grin:.


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*

that's great news!!!! i am happy to know you got it solved.


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

Thanks TriggerFinger So Am I:tongue:


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## Texan (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Dell XPS M1710 Liquid Damage New Parts Needed*



gargoyle67 said:


> @Texan, I Wouldn't Think The Daughter Board Comes With The Motherboard, And Unless Your Getting The Bits Under Warranty I'd Buy Them From Ebay As Thay Are A Lot Cheaper Than Buying Directly From Dell. I Bought My Motherboard From Ebay For £100.00 Plus £12.00 Shipping, From Dell Its £300.00 ! And The Graphics Daughter Board Is About The Same £300.00, Thankfully Only The Motherboard Was Screwed. If You Have Any Probs Just Post On Here, Good Luck Dude:grin:.



I emailed the Dell techie yesterday to let him know that the motherboard may not be faulty but didn't get a reply. I got the new motherboard yesterday from Dell (well actually its re-furbished) and decided to go ahead and install. Unfortunately, I still have the same graphics problem. I just found a graphic video card on ebay for the M1710 and ordered for $189. I think this should solve the problem. 
Just now I got an email from a Dell support guy. He said that the people I talk to on the phone only receive in-bound calls. But I don't understand why they state in their confirmation emails that I can email them back. Anyway this guy said I could return the motherboard to them if I think this is not the problem. Not so sure if they accept it after it has been installed. Well they advised me to buy it in the first place.
I might keep the old motherboard for now. I am not too concerned about the cost right now as I am desperate to get the computer up and running again.

By the way, do you guys know where to get that sticky material used to glue the cooling assembly to the CPU? I have overheating problem with the CPU and I think its to do with the cooling system not being firmly attached to it.

best regards


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

the thermal paste you mean? RadioShack has it... i use arctic silver 5 and it works wonders for me.

goodluck on your video card replacement... post back whatever the result, OK


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## Texan (Mar 17, 2008)

TriggerFinger said:


> the thermal paste you mean? RadioShack has it... i use arctic silver 5 and it works wonders for me.
> 
> goodluck on your video card replacement... post back whatever the result, OK


Thanks TriggerFinger :smile: I'll check for this arctic silver stuff.
If I could get my CPU temp to remain below 50 degrees, I'll be satisfied.


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## abuser4lif3 (Mar 11, 2008)

I think you will then... I use it too and it is cool! Had same problems like you Texan, but now it works fine...


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

@Texan, Don't Forget To Completely Remove The Old Heat Compound First, Also Make Sure That Your System Fans Are Both Working And The Heat pipe Grills Are Free Of Dust, If They Are Dusty Just Use Compressed Air To Clear Them Or At A Pinch Blow Hard Into Them.


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## Texan (Mar 17, 2008)

SOLVED TOO!

I've got my graphic video card from the eBay seller and installed it today. All seems fine, except that I seem to have a problem with the wireless modem. I've had intermittent problems with it before. Its a seperate less important issue as I often connect with an ethernet cable.

That arctic silver glue did wonders! It kept my CPU temp at around 100 F (around 30 Celsius) which is well below what it used to be in the past!

Here are some pics of the work:





































And finally, its up and running (top panel added later),


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

Welldone Congrats Texan:4-clap:


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## abuser4lif3 (Mar 11, 2008)

That took a lot of work, but in the end, it is nice to is it works... Good Job Texan.


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

:beerchug::beerchug::beerchug:


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

And A Spare MOB To Boot =)


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## _Asterix_ (May 27, 2008)

Hi all, I have a similar problem. White dots in a chequer format across both BIOS and WINXP boot up screens before M1710 hangs with blank screen.

Having googled, it looks like a MOBO/ graphics replacement as discussed here but I'm not a hardware engineer and it is out of warranty.

So, is this the best manual out there?

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsM1710/en/SM/index.htm

Thanks for help.


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## gargoyle67 (Mar 15, 2008)

Yep, That's The Official Dell Service Manual.


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