Old Alienware didn't power up

davide445

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May 29, 2016
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Discovered in my studio an old Alienware, didn't know the model here a photo
0WDrOFV.jpg

Mobo ASUS H81M-PLUS, CPU unknown is under the fan, GPU ASUS EAH5450 SILENT/DI/1GD2 1GB DDR2 (Radeon HD 5450), 16 GB RAM Kingston Hyper X 1600Mhz CL10 DDR3, SSD Kingston no idea the model.

Want to reactivate it for realtime graphics and eventually change the GPU if the CPU is not so bad, giving power the mobo led is green but no fan is working and no startup screen is shown.

Tried to reconnect cables and change disk but nothing change, asking to you experts if need maybe to change the mobo battery or something else.
 

davide445

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May 29, 2016
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In fact I already do it partially.
I detached and reconnected both RAM DIMM, unmounted and remounted the GPU, disconnected and connected on different SATA pin and power the SSD, connected SSD on different SATA port, replaced SSD with HDD, tried different molex for the 12V ATX power, disconnected and reconnected the EATX power connector.
The only part I didn't touch the PSU since I'm not able to disassemble the other part of the case.
Before further disassemble I wanted to know if mobo battery or RAM RTC can play some role.
 
Last edited:

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
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Did you try booting with a minimal setup? If your cpu supports onboard graphics, try booting with just the mb and one stick of ram no hdd. Make sure you've got the one stick in the correct slot for that configuration. You can replace the mini battery but, generally when it's bad it just won't keep bios settings, it will still boot.
 
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davide445

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May 29, 2016
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Good idea will try it.
Btw looking at the specs and Alienware models I think it's not a true Alienware but just the case with other components.
Considering I didn't know the last user want to know if there are any way to verify if the CPU is really there.
I didn't want to unmount the CPU fan to don't ruin the thermal paste, but in this way didn't know if is possible to check if the CPU is there.
 

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,135
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Good idea will try it.
Btw looking at the specs and Alienware models I think it's not a true Alienware but just the case with other components.
Considering I didn't know the last user want to know if there are any way to verify if the CPU is really there.
I didn't want to unmount the CPU fan to don't ruin the thermal paste, but in this way didn't know if is possible to check if the CPU is there.
With an older machine, it wont hurt to replace the thermal compound and it's pretty cheap. Obviously, without a cpu it's not going to post.
 

Ketchup

Elite Member
Sep 1, 2002
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When I was repairing PCs I saw several that would show a strong light on the motherboard LED but was pretty much dead everywhere else. A new power supply was almost always the answer.
 
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VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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You can replace the mini battery but, generally when it's bad it just won't keep bios settings, it will still boot.

It really depends... there are boards out there that if the CMOS battery is low/missing, that it won't boot.

And I agree with those also saying try a PSU replacement. I would do both. (CMOS battery and PSU replacement.)
 
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davide445

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May 29, 2016
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Afternoon tried another set of options: disconnected disk, removed GPU, so to leave only one RAM slot, tried also on both the slots, no result.
I finally remove also the CPU fan to discover the CPU is an i3-4160. Here the empty board
Knlfr9B.jpg

Wondering if the little connectors I did find in the lower part need to be connected horizontally
4i96buJ.jpg

or vertically
W3D0sPq.jpg

I tried both without any effect.
For the PSU appear to be pretty new, need to find some temporary replacement to test it.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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Well, those front-panel wires aren't correctly connected. If you look at the silk-screen underneath the header, they are connected horizonally.

You want to connect the two on the top right, labeled "PWR_BTN". Those shouldn't be polarized, you can connect them either way. Then, don't connect anything else, but have a CPU installed (with heatsink), and a stick of RAM installed, and see if it powers up, that the CPU fan spins and keeps spinning. (But make sure that the motherboard's ATX12V is connected, as well as the 24-pin ATX connector.
 
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XavierMace

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2013
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It's definitely not Dell/Alienware internals. That's not necessarily a bad thing. However, that means we have no idea if those parts were ever working in that case. I would remove the board and make sure all the standoffs line up. If a standoff is out of place, that will create a short and stop the system from booting up.
 
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Ketchup

Elite Member
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I don't see any screws in lower two holes on the motherboard. Are there standoffs there?
 

XavierMace

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There's definitely no standoffs there, which is why I said he should pull the board.
 

davide445

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May 29, 2016
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Want to try this test before searching for another PSU
But can't find a way to remove also the case right panel, does anyone know where to find a service manual for the Alienware Predator 2 case. Looking at various models I suppose this is the case I have.
Also considering the fact I removed the CPU fan just for some second of testing you think I can leave it without thermal paste. I didn't have it and want to do some other testing.
 

davide445

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May 29, 2016
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Didn't want to run it, just switch the power on and see if the fan spin, if the previous test show the PSU is still good, or after finding a test replacement if it's not. Will switch the power off just after few seconds.
Didn't want to purchase a thermal paste and spend the time in understanding how to use it if there is no way to make this system just power on.
Here my question is if the CPU will have problems in going on for just a few seconds without thermal paste.
 

XavierMace

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Will a couple of seconds hurt it? No. But thermal paste is like $5 and you're going to need some if you want to put it back together anyways and the whole point of the video you linked to is testing the power supply without it hooked up to the motherboard. So I'm not sure what you're trying to prove at this point by testing the system without a heatsink.
 

davide445

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May 29, 2016
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After more testing: the PSU appear to be working, at least using Corsair test the fan is spinning when the power is on.
Tried to clear CMOS RTC RAM using the jumpers, no effect. Substituted the CMOS battery, no effect.
Changed power cables, changing RAM slot didn't have any effect either.
Removed the board I repositioned the case standoff but there is no position on the case for the lower right so I didn't use it, all the other are on.
No result, I'm out of options, there are any other test I can do.
 

Ketchup

Elite Member
Sep 1, 2002
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That corsair test is just emulating what you saw on the board with it's green light. It is one thing to turn on a fan/turn on a light, and quite another to power an Intel Core processor and video card at full power. Get a power supply from a retailer in your area and see if that fixes your problem.
 
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davide445

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May 29, 2016
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To give a conclusion I was finally able to startup the pc today, with the help of a local expert was finally a wrong cabling of the system panel connectors (10-1 pin F-PANEL).

Now the system is up and running, my final concern is finding the specification of the Alienware Predator 2 case so to discover what GPU can fit inside (the current one is pretty basic, a looser match with the CPU that's also really slow). Does anyone have idea where to find this case or system service manual.
 
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