All information is provided as INFORMATION only. This is NOT advice.
You use this information AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I've now replaced the video card four or five times in my Dell M2010 XPS laptop when it would not boot... and strangely enough, typically after it refused to come out of sleep mode or hybernation. I'm really glad I bought the extended warrentee. The video card has proven to be the problem every time my dell M2010 won't boot. Never have I actually needed the motherboard. I finally started refusing to allow techs to come out, as this is CSR part... (Dell Customer Self Replaceable Parts). I had to ask them repeatedly to ship it to me CSR and then they had to get manager approval which required a few minutes on hold. They don't like to do it, but I'd seen the repair made several times, and I'm pretty handy myself. There are some PDF manuals around that I found to show me how to take this machine down.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm2010/en/SM_en/index.htm

With only a few months left on my warrentee, I decided I needed a long term solution... I installed a program called I8kFanGUI and set it to MAXIMUM all the time. Yes, the fans run louder, but it keeps the machine cool, except while rendering video edits and then I put a 6" desk clip fan shooting across the machine to help. Praise God, I haven't had any issues since installing the fan monitor. Dell's / Window's settings allow the system to run REALLY hot in comparison to where I can keep it when I leave the fans on all the time. I don't want to have to start dropping $100 a pop for video cards on ebay, so I'm gonna find creative ways to force my system to run cooler.

The following is my one hour and sixteen minute (1:16) chat conversation the first or second time this happened and all the non-sense trouble shooting steps they made me do. They are just following a flow chart with no real knowledge of my system. It is a clear demonstration to me that Dell has not provided their phone support folks with good specs or instructions on the m2010. And my experience with the techs they send to make the repairs is that most have been pretty clueless and I've had to show them how to do the repair. One couldn't figure out how to remove the covers to get at the screws, which means dell didn't show her the manual, or she didn't read it, but she was gracious enough to let me "help" and I'd prefer a tech who admits what she doesn't know over a guy who is going to muscle his way through a repair rather than admit that he doesn't know something.



 12:56:46 PM         System 
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 12:56:46 PM         System 
Connected with LIBx_Cherielyn_162378
 12:57:12 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Thank you for using Dell XPS Premium Chat Support, my name is Cherie. How may I help you?
 12:59:02 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
I have an m2010. I powered it back on from standby this morning, with a battery in, and plugged into my AC adaptor at the office. I logged in and checked e-mail and then walked away. It went to screen saver. The screen saver froze. I came back and found it frozen. The computer would not respond. I pressed the power button for 8 seconds to shut it down. I tried to boot back up. The hard drive seemed to spin, and the lights came on... then the hard drive stopped.... the Power, Battery and Blue tooth lights remained lit. NOTHING appeared on the screen. No Bios window, no Dell logo... nothing. The dell LED on the back of the screen is on. Machine will not boot up
 12:59:27 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
I've pulled the the battery and tried to boot of the AC... I've removed the AC and tried to boot off the battery. Neither work.
 12:59:37 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
please advise
 1:00:22 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Let me help you with your issue.
 1:00:27 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Can i have the service tag number of the computer. As well as your email address and phone number so that i can update our records.
 1:00:43 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
Email ###### / Phone #########
 1:01:00 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Thank you for the information you provided. One moment please...
 1:01:24 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
Tag ##### - Express Service Code ##########
 1:03:43 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Are there any other devices connected to the computer?
 1:03:47 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
no
 1:04:58 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
ok.. Can you turn on the computer. Press the power button and the FN key at the same time. Can you check the lights of the speaker icons and tell me what icons are lit?
 1:06:38 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
using the bluetooth keyboard (which may or may not be connecting fast enough for the m2010 to recognize that the function key has been pressed... the lights do their normal cycle starting at the eject button - working down to the speakers, and the back to the eject buttom and then everything is blank... No light slight on the cd controls or speaker icons... and they buttons do not respond to touch
 1:09:04 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
correction - the volumn control and play controls will respond to touch for roughly 2 seconds after the led's scroll across and back, and they they stop responding and all lights are out... the eject button does not respond ever
 1:09:54 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Can you press the home button beside the power button.
 1:10:05 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
for dell media direct? sure...
 1:10:26 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
ok..
 1:10:40 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
the boot sequence appears the same in that hte lights flash across the play and volumn controls, the hard drive spins the same, and still no image on the screen... no dell logo, no bios info at all
 1:10:59 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
and it just sits there with teh Power and bluetooth LED's lit up.
 1:11:14 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Do you have an external monitor that we can connect to the computer?
 1:11:15 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
a single quick touch of the power button sends it back to the off mode
 1:11:35 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
I have tried connecting this to an external monitor... while the external monitor
 1:12:00 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
while the external monitors "no signal" message disappears.... nothing shows up on the screen and the screen returns to "standby" mode
 1:12:19 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Did you press FN and F8 to toggle video?
 1:12:52 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
i can try that... but again... I'm not convinced that the BlueTooth module is connecting, in order for that command to get processed
 1:13:19 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Please try that...
 1:18:00 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
okay - did that, nothign appeared on the screen... my three LED's lit up on the keyboard during the initial boot like normal, but then they went out... Num Lock would not toggle an LED back on.... I tried Fn F8 at various points in the boot cycle and tried timing it with a time frame when the LED's were lit on the keyboard but could not initiate a response.... Either because the keyboard was not connecting to the blueTooth, or because there is a deeper problem. What do we try next?
 1:19:40 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Is the keyboard connected to the system?
 1:21:22 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
this is the M2010... it is a bluetooth keyboard... there is no hard link... yes it is docked... but as far as I know... the docking only provides power to recharge the battery... there is no Physical link that communicates commands from the keyboard to the laptop to the best of my knowledge... but YES... it is docked
 1:23:55 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Can you press the resetbutton at the left side of the computer. are the lights on the keyboard blinking?
 1:25:16 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
when you press the button on the left side of the computer... the bluetooth light on the computer blinks.... the only way you get the lights on the keyboard to blink is if you press the button on the back of they keyboard... and yes... I can get both sets of lights to blink... but the link does not remain active... in that I can't press the numlock key and toggle the numlock led... which is the only indication you can use to determine if the keyboard is connected
 1:26:03 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
so No- when you press the reset button on the left side... the keyboard lights don't blink... only the light on the computer itself
 1:28:11 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Can you try attaching an external keyboard instead and press power + FN key.
 1:28:31 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
well... an external keyboard will not have a FN key on it
 1:28:47 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
it will have a control, alt, delete, and a windows key.... but no FN key
 1:29:06 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
yeah sorry, forgot about that..
 1:29:41 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Arent there any lights on the speaker icons?
 1:29:53 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
yeah - a little design flaw with this whole Wireless BlueTooth Keyboard idea... I love the concept, but the execution sucks...
 1:30:34 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
No the speaker lights that would indicate that a Memory dimm is bad are not lit... they cycle on and back off again as part of the normal power on LED test sequence, but they do not remain lit, and they do not blink
 1:31:21 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
it'd be so easy if it was a memory dimm issue
 1:31:29 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
but that does not appear to be indicated
 1:31:52 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
I'll request for service on this computer and have the motherboard replaced.
 1:32:13 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
okay... how soon will I see a technitian?
 1:32:52 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
I will create it today. You have to wait for the call of the onsite technician for appointment in 2-3 bsuiness days.
 1:34:59 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
when I googled "My M2010 won't boot", I found a number of users who replaced mother boards, video cards, etc... and still seemed to experience issues, and I never found a user to had a resolution... Has dell tech support found an solution to this problem which seems to affect more than just one person? I'm up a creek without my laptop... All of my work files are on here, and I am useless to my company without this material... I'm afraid a 2 week resoltuiton period where we replace one part, that doesn't fix it... and then we wait 4 days for you to ship us another part.... So bottom line question... Is the motherboard simply a "guess" and a "first step" or is there some technical bulletin that says that this will fix it. I need to be back on line as soon as possible... waiting 4 or 5 days simply is not an option
 1:38:03 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
The motherboard replacement is one way to isolate the issue. If you like we can send the computer to the depot to have a thorough check on all parts that may cause the issue.
 1:38:12 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
no
 1:38:50 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
I've got artwork that on here that I need to print off for the T-shirt printing operation... and it's going to keep paying clients waiting.... please try to rush that part the repair tech
 1:38:53 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
I'll set the service for the computer then.
 1:38:56 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
Second peice... since you are ordering parts and the guy is going to have to tear my computer down the bare bones... please also ship out a new hinge assembly. This computer arrived with one of the arms bent. I was hesistant to have that fixed as the last guy you sent out treated my expensive laptop like a fisher price toy throwing it all around... but since someones got to disassemble this anyway, it'd would be nice to get the hinge assembly replaced as well so that it actually closes properly. That hasn't been right since this thing arrived.
 1:40:16 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
ok..noted. Can I have the address where you would like to thave the service done.
 1:41:25 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
Are there some other "Likely Culprits" like the video card, etc... that you can also ship to the technition so that he has some options should the replacement mother board turn out to not fix the problem? Based on what I read online, it looks like Dell Support as been contacted regarding similar issues. My prefernce would be to handle this in one visit... rather than have the tech have to call back, order more parts, and then have to wait 4 more days....
 1:41:37 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
BUSINESS ##### ADDRESS ##### CITY STATE ZIP
 1:41:51 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
huge building... they can't miss it
 1:42:52 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Primary and alternate number please..
 1:43:33 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
office ###-###-#### tuesday to friday 10-5 EST
 1:43:41 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
Cell ###-###-#### outside of those hours
 1:44:17 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Would you like to wait for the case/dispatch number or would you like me to just send it to your email?
 1:44:36 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
I'll wait, and I'd like you to send it to my e-mail
 1:44:57 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
One moment please...
 1:46:52 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
any thoughts on my idea about having you guys "Send the other likely culprit parts" out as well... video card... sound card... or some other peice that would prevent us from getting to the bios self test screen?
 1:48:13 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
we can only send out the most likely that can cause the issue since we werent able to really isolate tehe part. Unless yuo would want to remove some parts now on the computer may be I can add some..
 1:49:07 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
I have no problem pulling parts if you tell me it wont void my warrentee
 1:49:28 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
I watched the guy take it apart last time you were out to fix something...
 1:49:35 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
where do you want to start?
 1:50:29 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Please remove the memory cards and the network card. The door is found at the bottom middle.
 1:51:14 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Reseat the bluetooth card as well. Door is found just beside the battery location.
 1:51:19 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
pullin g the screw
 1:53:44 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
memory cards out.... Wireless card unseated... the antenna leads are still attached... -working on the bluetooth door - I assume that is behind the Sub Woofer speaker - and the cover slides towards the battery compartment after I pull the screws?
 1:54:05 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
yes..
 1:54:25 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
please remove the antenna leads for the wireless card.
 1:55:54 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
blue tooth module is the at the very outside edge with a white quick connect jumper?
 1:56:01 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
pull the white quick connect?
 1:56:15 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
yes
 1:57:09 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
done
 1:58:06 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Please connec the ac adapter and turn on the computer by pressing the power button and the FN key.
 1:58:21 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
please observe the lights for the speaker icons.
 2:00:16 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
battery is out... AC addaptor is plugged in (and I suspect that pressing the function key will do nothing since we just unplugged the bluetooth module... but okay - here goes).... Okay ... SO we get the Power LED... but this time, the Blue Tooth LED does not light (for obvious reasons). The mute button is lit up SOLID... and the Volumn Up and Volumn Down touch keys blink in unison
 2:00:35 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
WLan, BlueTooth, and Memory Dimms are all disconnected
 2:00:58 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
laptop shut itself off
 2:01:50 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
I'd suspect that the Mute and volumn controls indicate the absence of the memory... does that either confirm or deny anything about the fuctioning state of the mother board?
 2:02:21 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
the increase volume and decrease volume speaker icons doesnt have light right?
 2:02:37 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
they blink on and off in unison, while the mute button stays on solid
 2:03:51 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
can you connect the bluetooth card and let us power on the computer. as well as the memory cards please return it.
 2:04:10 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
but NOT the WLan Card?
 2:04:12 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
right?
 2:04:21 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
yes
 2:04:48 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
this is cool - what does the "Crisis BTN" do?
 2:05:32 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
what do you mean?
 2:05:57 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
The Crisis Btn is a button behind the slot where the WLAN card plugs in... Its labled sw2 and there is some other writing nearby that says CMOS.... anyway... okay memory and BlueTooth are back in
 2:06:27 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Please connect the ac adapter and turn on the computer by pressing the power button and the FN key.
 2:07:54 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
Power LED is on as before... Blue Tooth LED blinks on the CPU as if searching for a device... Keyboard does not appear to respond to keystrokes... No change with the display... other hard drive sounds, etc as before - no change
 2:08:03 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
no blinking lights on the volumn stuff
 2:08:11 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
no blinking lights on the play controls
 2:09:27 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
you should be getting blinking lights since we do no thave the wireless card conneced.
 2:09:32 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Its the motherbaord.
 2:09:39 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
okay
 2:09:41 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
sounds good
 2:10:39 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
thank you for working with me to verify. So next step is you create a ticket and case number... ship the new hinge assembly and mother board to a tech... the tech calls me and scheduled a time to come fix it. Sound about right?
 2:10:47 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
I'll also replace the ac adapter just to make sure. the case number for the issue is #############
 2:10:59 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
thank you
 2:11:02 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
I'll still be sending the setails thru your email.
 2:11:07 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
Anything else?
 2:11:19 PM         Drew_DelaWhere? 
no I don't think so - thank you for your help today
 2:11:37 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
you're welcome.
 2:11:43 PM         LIBx_Cherielyn_162378 
so once again, thank you for contacting Dell XPS Premium Chat Support, have a great day!