(solved, kinda) Need help - XPS 15 9510 does not turn on

[serpro69]

So I have an XPS 15 9510 which does not power on.

A power button press results in a single amber blink , the keyboard lights up , display does turn on and after ~10-15 seconds the laptop shuts down.

I've checked the service manual and it does not mention anything related to a single amber blink (the "lowest code" is 1 amber 1 white)

Tried searching around the web - nada.

Anyone can help me troubleshoot this further? (Got it from Amazon. Dunno if they allow you to open it up w/o voiding warranty :/ Going to chat with them anyways, but making this thread just in case someone can give me any tips)

[Aaron44126]

Can't think of much to try, other than ...

• Reset the BIOS / NVRAM by holding the power button for a long time (30+ seconds).  When I have done this in the past, the power LED will blink white a few times to indicate success.  It might not work if your BIOS had an admin password set.
• .............Motherboard replacement.

[Aaron44126]

Poking around, I found a reference to single amber blink indicating failed BIOS update.  (This was in reference to a desktop XPS, though.)  Did you happen to update the BIOS before this happened?

[serpro69]

nope, not to my knowledge at least

[Aaron44126]

You can try this.  This is supposed to start a BIOS recovery tool where you can do things like reset the NVRAM or flash a different BIOS image.

(I've never actually tried using this before, but if it does happen to work then it might be the starting point to get somewhere else.)

 

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000132453/how-to-recover-the-bios-on-a-dell-computer-or-tablet

 

Under "How do I start the BIOS recovery on a Dell computer?":

The procedure on laptops appears to be, shut the system down and disconnect everything, including the AC adapter.  Then, hold "Ctrl" and "Esc" on the keyboard, and while doing that, connect the AC adapter.

[serpro69]

Weird thing is. When it's connected to power adapter - it takes very long time to "turn on" (the keyboard backlight), like I need to hold power button for half a minute or so.
When it's on battery it (keyboard) lights up almost immediately. 

 

The amber blink also seems random. Sometimes it blinks once, sometimes it doesn't.

 

Contacted Amazon and they're saying to send it back to them. Which is OK. But I need to find out if their warranty terms allow me to take out the ssd to back stuff up - that's the most important part here.

But I'll try the bios recovery thingy while I wait anyways. Thanks for the tips :)

[serpro69]

Same behavior trying to enter bios recovery - keyboard lights up, black screen, then the whole thing shuts down. 

I guess this means a motherboard replacement....

[serpro69]

Initiated a return with Amazon. Weird issue, but I can't solve it, so...