Alienware Laptop Won't Charge

I am so freaking angry...

I've been waiting for five years to get an Alienware laptop. Finally got one today, and the laptop itself works perfectly fine, but the cord's connection is loose as hell. The slightest movement unplugs it, and even when it stays plugged in, it refuses to charge the battery. It will keep the laptop on for a while, but the battery won't charge at all, which is a big problem for me.

I googled it and it seems other people have had the same problem, though Dell is strangely silent and unhelpful with the issue. I've tried three other dell cords and none of them work whatsoever. I'm scared it might be a loose port, but the port doesn't seem loose at all.

Could it be the battery? I don't know.

All I know is this is the nicest and most expensive piece of technology I've ever owned, something I've wanted for a long time, and now that I finally have one, I can't fuxxing use it. I'm an indie author, manga artist, and an amateur youtuber - everything I do relies on a working computer with my writing and drawing programs on it, as well as the internet for self-marketing. I NEED this damn thing to work.

Anyone else have more experience with Alienware?

a reply to: XxKonspiracyxX

Sounds like you need a new battery.

a reply to: XxKonspiracyxX

Yep, got one myself and tying on it now.

Did you buy new or re-con? Either way surely you've got some kind of warranty?

Anyway, I've had a few Dell lappies over the years and have to say that Dell are really sh!t with jacks/port. This lappy that I have now has a sh!t speaker jack. It also does this weird power thing whereby, when I turn it on, it says it doesn't recognise the power source, seriously WTF is that all about.

Beyond that they are a pretty good lappy.

Yeah, I'm not sure if it's the battery or the port...

The guy who sold it to me said he hasn't charged it in a while, which can leave a battery to drain and become defective. Then again, I've been hearing that dell users have problems with loose ports often...

So it could be either one. I have to pay to fix two problems even though it probably only has a single problem affecting it. Ugh.

originally posted by: XxKonspiracyxX
I am so freaking angry...

I've been waiting for five years to get an Alienware laptop. Finally got one today, and the laptop itself works perfectly fine, but the cord's connection is loose as hell. The slightest movement unplugs it, and even when it stays plugged in, it refuses to charge the battery. It will keep the laptop on for a while, but the battery won't charge at all, which is a big problem for me.

I googled it and it seems other people have had the same problem, though Dell is strangely silent and unhelpful with the issue. I've tried three other dell cords and none of them work whatsoever. I'm scared it might be a loose port, but the port doesn't seem loose at all.

Could it be the battery? I don't know.

All I know is this is the nicest and most expensive piece of technology I've ever owned, something I've wanted for a long time, and now that I finally have one, I can't fuxxing use it. I'm an indie author, manga artist, and an amateur youtuber - everything I do relies on a working computer with my writing and drawing programs on it, as well as the internet for self-marketing. I NEED this damn thing to work.
Anyone else have more experience with Alienware?

First off why would you buy that expensive laptop? A: you can’t upgrade the components. B: building a rig is cheaper with better results.

It’s most likely your port. When I was in school a kid had the same problem as you with the same computer and he ended up throwing it away. Another kid in my class picked it up and asked the alienware owner if he could have it which resulted in a yes.

Now to be fair we had been in computer science and the kid that threw away the computer was there for making video games. It took all of ten seconds to fix the problem he simply pulled out some pliers and straitened the pin in the center of the port.

However that sounds like it won’t work for you. My guess is there is probably a ring or gasket that is on the plug which holds it in place. I would also resolder the port to the motherboard

Some troubleshooting steps to help:
Buy a replacement like this www.walmart.com...

Replace the actually battery www.laptopbatteryexpress.com... xrAjk5ecMVPsfTRJqE59d6eIaAqTlEALw_wcB&gdffi=749b3ccecb2d4bd882592d2b45187e4c&gdfms=953F377B7CE24243859D3756134FA354

Do a factory reboot in case it’s a software issue “highly doubt it”.

Have the port fixed.

Go to a college and ask a professor if for extra credit someone could diagnose the problem. Class should be A+ to hardware. It allows the students in the class to figure out a problem and allows the teacher to teach troubleshooting skills. The person who fixes it gets free lunch on you.

originally posted by: XxKonspiracyxX
I am so freaking angry...

I've been waiting for five years to get an Alienware laptop. Finally got one today, and the laptop itself works perfectly fine, but the cord's connection is loose as hell. The slightest movement unplugs it, and even when it stays plugged in, it refuses to charge the battery. It will keep the laptop on for a while, but the battery won't charge at all, which is a big problem for me.

I googled it and it seems other people have had the same problem, though Dell is strangely silent and unhelpful with the issue. I've tried three other dell cords and none of them work whatsoever. I'm scared it might be a loose port, but the port doesn't seem loose at all.

Could it be the battery? I don't know.

All I know is this is the nicest and most expensive piece of technology I've ever owned, something I've wanted for a long time, and now that I finally have one, I can't fuxxing use it. I'm an indie author, manga artist, and an amateur youtuber - everything I do relies on a working computer with my writing and drawing programs on it, as well as the internet for self-marketing. I NEED this damn thing to work.

Anyone else have more experience with Alienware?

I think that the Alienware branding is more hype than fact. Yes, they tend to pick from the higher end hardware, but they use the same base chipsets as their competitors.

Also evryone knows that plugs and sockets are a weak link in the chain. It makes no sense to hard wire them into the main board because a 3 cent connector plug can stuff up a $500 system board. It makes more sense to have a replaceable daughter board with all the ports on it and a flexible internal cable connecting it to the system board. Any less is just bad design.

Also, with some Alienware models, if you use it with the power plugged in, sometimes the scalable CPU and power-saving stuff brings the laptop to a crawl. It's counter intuitive, but to get the thing to work properly, you have to run it from battery! Again, it's just poor design, there's no need for it.

a reply to: XxKonspiracyxX

Probably just need a new battery if it hasn't been charged for a long time

Alienware are pretty, but thats what you're really payin for... the name

a reply to: XxKonspiracyxX

If the cord is loose, it’s the port, not the battery.
By dude saying he hasn’t charged it lately seems suspicious.
Ask him if that’s the reason why he sold it to you.
As well, if there’s any warranty left.

I’d ask for my money back if I was you.

A loose port sounds like dude was pulling the cord out with force.
My daughter went through two Iphones until I figured out wtf she was doing.
Yanking the cord out, pulling it out by the wire, rather than up close and tight.

Bring it back to him, tell him it’s effed an you want your money back.
Buy brand new.
Never trust 3rd party sellers.
People don’t sell their stuff off because it works TO good.

If the plug is loose in the back/side of the laptop the power socket is probably broken or came loose from the board. If it just came unsoldered from the system board that's usually an easy fix. If it's broken, you can often find replacements on line and just replace it. All of the power connectors I've seen in laptops are fairly easily replaced if you're decent with a soldering iron.

On a side note... I absolutely HATE Dell products. I used to be in charge of an IT department and ordered hundreds of machines a year. One year Dell got the bid. I struggled with their lousy tech support for four years and swore I would never ever buy another Dell product. Unfortunately where I work now changed from Lenovo to Dell. The new laptop I got earlier this year has quirks that no other brand I've ever used did. I prefer HP business class desktops and laptops myself, I have four of them at home (including the one I'm typing on) that are 7-8 years old and still work great. Even with Win10.

A short term workaround could be to put something small under the place where the cord plugs into the port, forcing the cable to be pressured upward a bit while inserted.

I have an old Dell with a bad port and on the rare occasion that I have a reason to use it this trick works. YMMV.

Charge card.
RMA.
Now.
The connector solder is loose either on a card or on the system board .
There may even be an ECA on it.
At least with Dell , it is not put on a slow boat to Taiwan .

It may be your cord or the rectifier circuit in your AC adapter module. But if your connection is loose at the port then it is probably a loose port with broken solder joints.


Luckily the ports are easy fixes.

If you're outside of your warranty you can always desolder the old one and solder in a new port with minimal instruction from YouTube and some basic tools or take it to an electronics technician for a small fee.

a reply to: XxKonspiracyxX

I'm assuming that this is a used laptop. And that the battery is probably old. Go on amazon and get a new battery because it's probably no good anymore.

Try the steps here. There's a program that will check your battery for you.

www.howtogeek.com...

www.nirsoft.net...

Also, pull the battery and reseat it. When it's pulled look at the contacts and make sure that all the connections are straight had have "spring" pressure so they make contact with the battery.

a reply to: XxKonspiracyxX

I've only experienced buyers remorse in going with the "highest end" of things (for the most part).

With computers, especially performance ones... I've found you're often paying for the case and the brand on it.

The beauty of the market is there are plenty of people fighting tooth and nail to make a name for themselves.

While a it's not comforting advice now, and I've been there. In the future, anytime you're dropping a bunch of coin, do research till you're sick of it. Many times I come with an established upcomer. There's no greater joy than feeling you got more than you paid for. Never less.

I've been burned before, and it's one of the worse feelings. Luckily you're dealing with something modular, and a few hours on some forums and finding good deals on parts should get you squared away.

This experience is only in vein if you don't learn from it though friend. You should be able to get up to snuff, and I hope you do as painless as possible.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
While a it's not comforting advice now, and I've been there. In the future, anytime you're dropping a bunch of coin, do research till you're sick of it. Many times I come with an established upcomer. There's no greater joy than feeling you got more than you paid for. Never less.

This. Never buy something without exhaustive research when it comes to electronics. Dells (and by extension, Alienware) are good under-the-hood workhorses, but corners are cut when it comes to ports. They SUCK. I have an absolutely ancient Dell laptop that still runs pretty damn good for as antiquated as it is, but it's ports are all shot. They were shot within a few years of buying it. It's not a new issue for them.

Lenovo has a reputation for the same crap, from what I understand. I eyeballed Lenovo products quite heavily when I bought my current laptop 6 years ago. Reviews and opinions really made me rethink whether I was buying quality, or just the branding.

I had an Acer laptop at one point, too. It ran fine, but had a penchant for running hot when pushed too much.

I settled on the HP laptop I have now for a reason. There's a fine balance to computer shopping, and you've GOT to remember to keep the Needs as a priority over the flashy Wants. They end up not being worth it in reverse.

The 2000 series (I told you she's old) I have has had wear & tear issues with it's keyboard and fan (both replaced just once in all these years) but that's it. It's a better workhorse than my Dell ever was, and doesn't overheat like the Acer did. Well worth every penny I paid, and then some. She's starting to show her age, though, and I'm thinking I'm going to have to start shopping around next year for something more up to date & able to handle what modern programs and games throw at it. Don't get me wrong, I can max games & play all day with Youtube running in the background just fine (and this is NOT a gaming laptop) but she's starting to show her age here in response times and resource use.

Go for damn good guts, and an overall good workhorse reputation. That will never steer your wrong. Any with sufficient guts can be a work computer by day, and a play computer by night. And it does not have to cost a fortune to do it.

Have you tried this? It resets some chip or not detecting the battery, if it doesn't charge after those 4 steps you can look into the other suggestions above. But this is the first thing you try with a battery that is not charging...

1) Power off your laptop.
2) Unplug the AC adapter and the battery from your laptop.
3) Press and hold the power button on your laptop for 20 seconds to release the residual power in you laptop.
4) Re-connect the battery and the AC adapter to your laptop.

But since you have a nice alienware is see you could also try to run diagnostics pressing F12.

Might just be the DC jack is fubar'd and is quite common due to all the ins and outs (ooh err matron) that goes on and on most laptops is a pretty simple job to replace just needing a couple of screwdrivers and a bit of patience and they're dirt cheap so might be worth getting a spare just in case you drop it right on the charger point.

Quite often on youtube theres teardown videos for nearly every laptop around showing how to strip it down and rebuild it so i'm sure there will be one for that model or one very similar

Usually the power jacks on dells connect via a molex type connector on the board.
If you really don’t have an option you can purchase a new jack and install it yourself.

Worked for the last Dell laptop that came my way with that issue.
Also - try removing the battery and see if it switches on (Power cord connected), if it does, it’s the battery.

Godspeed

alienware is the mac of pcs.