Orange Light in Dell XPS 17 9730

First:  No Dell warranty covers onsite troubleshooting or diagnosis.  Onsite service covers parts replacement after remote diagnosis (phone, internet, chat).  That's the place to start.

Maintenance such as internal cleaning is also not covered by warranty.  If you want that done, you will need to decide between doing it yourself or paying a local repair shop to do that job.

Start the process by calling Dell.  If you're comfortable removing the base cover, you can also try disconnecting the battery from the system board and holding the power button for 30 sec.  See if the system will power up correctly with the battery disconnected.  If it will, the mainboard is almost certainly find and the battery the part that needs to be replaced.

If you would like more thorough troubleshooting to be performed, then work with your Dell Support agent to mail the unit to the repair center. This would be the only in-warranty option for further assessment on an issue should troubleshooting be limited. As @ejn63 said, Dell does not offer onsite troubleshooting. The depot team can verify the failure and replace in-warranty parts as needed. Should they determine that just the battery is the issue, then a quote to replace it can be created at that time. The hard drive is not soldered for this model. You can also inform the Dell agent to not have Windows reinstalled should it even come to that. That said, I would expect data loss to be unlikely here. 

Thank you, ejn63. Reading about your advice about the local repair shop was a huge relief to me. It made my day :)

I called the repair technician at my local area and they were very nice and professional to me onsite.

He cleaned dusty fans with brush (the most significant dirt/dust inside), after he unscrewed screws of computer and pried it open with prying tool (with it unplugged from power) : bendy yellow rubber tool and iFixit grey metal tool. I said to be careful, and I worrying it being pried open at any parting.

He had a tool that blew wind from machine to brush it away.

He, then at my asking, then flipped computer over to front as it was open, and balancing it in his hands, let dust/dirt fall out naturally : saying one shouldn’t do that, yet then saw nothing was stuck on speakers. It was logical to do that, I said, as random dirt dislodged will get stuck otherwise and trapped in closed panel again.

I showed him the adhesive bumpers to raise the computer from desk, and that I usually put on flat surface of desk, not mat. < - my response to environment where computer is in, resulting in dusty fans.

He removed battery, put to side. Battery was not swollen.

Then he pressed power button, and there was a soft sound with orange light. Then I put power on, and gave him charger to place in (the charger was white, it coursing through the power outlet to the black cord and power brick through the AC). However, the power did not connect straight to laptop without battery. It made that same coil whine, with the orange light, only when the power button is pressed.

There was a random dust string which I took out. (Dust/dirt unrelated to computer)

He saw and touched the computer screen, referencing what I already knew about Noki screen spray and microfiber bamboo cloth, also brushing the staging area / keyboard.

He said hard drive, the copper gold things, was not soldered to motherboard.

Can I keep old motherboard? I don’t want the technician to take any of the parts, or hurt my computer, or any of my data. I would just keep the motherboard around, but I would not put it in anything, nor throw it away.

Brand new motherboard is needed to be put inside the computer.

I am continuing to talk to Dell agent and am asking for a technician from Dell to come to my house and provide onsite replacement service for me soon. I am linking this conversation to them right now, so they understand me to relay to technician.

They would need to see if the new motherboard works, before leaving, and if everything goes well or wrong.

Thank you for alerting me about Windows, Daniel.

Do not reinstall Windows, I have said to agent/technician later (they would likely call me later) : I already have my Bitlocker key for Dell 17 local drive and Microsoft account password that I use for it on my phone ready, when motherboard is in and its time to begin starting the computer. I also had my hard drive data backed up beforehand in a Seagate external hard drive, not my OneDrive. I, however, had only backed up all of File Explorer (Documents/Pictures/Desktop/…).

The technician would need to see the initial essential testing of internal booting and recognition of the computer having a new motherboard hardware in it.

Should I need more assistance afterwards, I can either call the Dell person again, or the local repairman.

I need to sometimes say what is happening here with my ongoing case with the computer, so my brain understands what is going on, as I have complex post traumatic stress disorder, yet would not say any private information here in public.

The motherboard that the Dell technician will carry with them to be replaced will generally be a refurbished one, the agent advised me.

I really wanted a new one. Yet she assured me that it will be still good as new and tested for safety and reliability.

Additionally, if I were to buy a new motherboard myself, it would be through the offical Dell site only, yet I could not find it in the shopping area.

Payment for motherboard is not an issue for me, if I am pointed in the right direction.

Is it usually better to have refurbished, since even a new one like the one originally on my Dell 17, could fail at any time?

If you really want new parts, it's time for a new system - you won't find them available for a system nearing three years old.

I also did something with the registry editor on my Dell 17. I typed in a manual entry of WindowsUpdate to prevent feature windows updates, (which didn’t work), which I’m worried will affect what a replacement motherboard will do in terms of license.

However, when I get inside the computer, I would delete that entry straight away, and install In Control instead.

A new computer would be 5 - 6k dollars. I don’t have that much any more, as it feels like I bought this one so recently in December 2023.

Does a motherboard contain any data, would anyone get anything off my original motherboard if it got fixed and refurbished to someone else?

No.  All of your data is stored on the solid state drive -- which can easily be removed from the board.

You have decisions to make.  

Since the system is under warranty, Dell will repair it if that's needed.  If replacement parts are needed, they will be refurbished.

If you want new parts, they're going to be hard to come by (just about all repair parts are somehow refurbished, which may mean brand-new but they cannot legally be sold as such) and you will be paying for the repair.

I would suggest the path forward is to have a reliable shop examine the system and determine exactly what is needed.  Then go from there.

This may not need a system board -- it may simply need a battery, which you'll be paying for no matter what else is wrong.

It is likely the warranty on the system is nearly over at this point, and likely can't be extended on a system that is now about three years old, so if you must have a warranty, it is time for a new system.  You won't find 17" systems in the XPS line from Dell, and they're vanishing from other manufacturer lineups as well.  17" panel production is winding down, so you will need to either step down to 16" or up to 18".

Please let me know if a Repair for motherboard is possible, it does not have to be onsite, as I would just take off my SSD, and can take however long, as long as they do remember to contact me  @ejn63 @DELL-Daniel V 

I am talking to my agent on live chat, and already have the Replacement service arriving soon. I need to know if I want to cancel or not.

I contacted my local repairman too, I talking to him for guidance.

I live in Australia, not United States.

I was informed there is no repair centre in Australia.

Actually, I would need to guide the technician onsite for repair, if it was the whole computer. Mail-in is only if it was the motherboard, which my local repairman may be able to help me remove from laptop, as well as SSD.

I was thinking if I did get a refurbished motherboard, which I said to the agent,  I am worried about broken pins, BIOS, etc (and you know, the previous customer who had the refurbished, had their own issues and figuring out too).

Also shortly before the computer stopped working, thumbnails started flickering and loading a lot, so maybe it’s RAM.

I had also undergone a lot with battling many issues with the computer since I got it, although I also tried to be happy and think what else I care about and love. (Which helped). 

Alternatively, since I already achieved a big step in having a local repairman actually open and troubleshoot my computer in person for the first time (which is described here), after the Dell technician puts the refurbished motherboard in and checks a very basic system boot / POST (most likely), I can just talk to the local repairman for any following issues onwards.

@Jessica the Writer​ 

Hmm, the agent may have been mistaken or not aware of the option, but Australia does indeed have a Dell Mail-In Center. The service option is listed in both the Basic and Premium warranty options for Australia. I also see other documentation supporting that service.

In any case, I would continue working with tech support to get the motherboard replaced under warranty. While yes the part will be classified as refurbished, it should be a fully functional part. They should be verified to be in working order and fully intact before being mailed out for a repair. I have seen my fair share of DOA components, so I understand the concern of possible broken parts, but the vast majority of repairs are successful the first time around. If a component was DOA, then Dell would continue to repair the unit under warranty until the issue has been resolved. The Dell onsite tech should indeed verify that the unit is passing its diagnostic and is able to boot to Windows as well. If you do have any further issues not covered by the warranties scope of support, then by all means feel free to work with your local repair tech for additional guidance. 

Hello, I need to say what happened on March 30 to now. I am really worried at the moment, so.. I may feel better after I say this in the community.

I got my motherboard replaced by a Dell technician. He was very friendly and kind. He had the board with him that he got given from by Dell. I looked carefully at what he was doing, as he worked on the computer onsite. I also double checked if the standard part matched my original configuration (easily can see when they looked at my service tag with its full order invoice information, and then they searched and found the part. I do not know if they got a board with a boxed or used processor).

I may get my old motherboard back, if Support and Management find it. I called and emailed on March 31 and April 1, and I supplied my PPID, I saying I could pay for it for its current value and still retain or restore my warranty. 'I will worry about if someone is tampering with my board and life' -- reason. My PPID picture is now attached to the work order / service request status.

I am not comfortable to give my parts to Dell at all. I can see any service request I ever made, so I remember and speak out about that.

I am worried if this was a refurbished board or not. I think I need to find the batch and serial number of CPU and GPU. Looked new at eye glance, yet slight discolouration in CPU in phone picture, not sure if it was lighting from phone capture. Does not look like CPU and GPU was mounted.

Pictures [specific image heavy folders] still work in my current new board, from it previously glitching in my original board in December 2023 / January 2024 and then me downloading Western Digital [SN810] Solid State Drive Firmware from SupportAssist while on the same original board in that time.

BIOS reset or update or reseating CMOS battery : don't know if that'll solve a mentioned issue. < -  I read that updating BIOS may be bad if new hardware.

Bitlocker / Windows did not work a few times, I really scared, and then it worked.

SSD health very good (94%) and below average (good) host writes and power on hours. (Can be aware of still always retaining my original SSD on Dell 17 and 15 through CrystalDisk, or any service request I ever made through email, so I remember if I lost consciousness / what I said or did in the past or present or future // as well as reading the surrounding community).

Local repairman advised me on March 23, to remember to shut down computer.

Intel CPU was slower than average in L1, in task manager. I was really panicking about the busy usage time : threads, handles, up time, to determine if someone else used it other than Dell testing it. It says I have lower Ghz, from my original invoice, yet don't know if that was just the base speed.

Hair particle caught in the SSD teeth, that he took out (i don't know how my hair got there).

Pushed in one RAM memory module rather hard to click in place.

Update or reinstall a driver if not working. SupportAssist specific select / run in background / do not automatically install. I noticed some drivers said Critical, so may download one of them.

NVIDIA GPU can't connect to display.

Any replacement board you received will have been refurbished, period.  There are no new notebook mainboards from Dell.  

If you paid for the repair, the tech should have left the parts.  If it was a warranty repair, the replaced board belongs to Dell.

There are no "boxed" or "used" processors.  They're soldered onto the board when it is manufactured at the ODM plant in China.

As for the nVidia GPU, it will have a direct connecto to the display only if it's one of the high end chips -- 4080, etc.  The other GPU options are not true discrete GPUs -- they operate with software control, and all video processed is sent through the Intel GPU on its way to the display.