Hi There,

Apoligies about this being my first post I am new here and got a servious problem.

My son is out of town for a few days and his Alienware Laptop BIOS failed. They says it is under the keyboard and needs a trained engineer to do this as it will cost at least 70 bucks plus shipping.

I thought I could help him and offered to do this before he returns. I have tried looking under the keyboard, please see attached picture but I cannot find where this is?

I assume I am looking for a round battery???

Also, the keys are not clicking straight back into place - is there a method I should use to do this?

I apprichate any help here as he's not excatly going to be very happy with me and I only have a couple of days to get this sorted.

Thank you.

What exactly is the problem here?

And I think the tech support mean that the problem is under the keyboard as in under the key pads / inside the laptop casing (further "under" the keyboard than the pic shows).

Personally, I find laptops a scary prospect. Replacing hard drives and RAM is easy enough but anything else I would take it to a specialist. Maybe someone local could do it cheaper for you.

If you open it up, you could void the warranty and there's no guarantee that you could fix it and a high probability that you will make the problem worse or create a new problem.

You have learned a valuable lesson:

Laptops are expensive to buy and expensive to repair. Just one of the many, many reasons I don't like laptops.

From your limited description, it sounds like the problem is either:

The CMOS battery has run out (which usually gives a 'Time/Date not set' error

or

The keyboard connector has come loose (seems unlikely unless you dropped the laptop recently)

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Thank You
Skindred

Hi Hammer09 - Welcome to PCHF!!!

You need to try to reset the BIOS. Removing the battery for a minute or so will usually do this. However if it's corrupt that won't work. I know the technician said under they keyboard - he really should have been a little more specific and let you know that you have to open the whole laptop up to get to it. You're going to have fun putting all them keys back in the right place - if you're not sure where something goes let us know.

To do this you'll need to remove all the screws from the bottom of the laptop and remove the cover. This isn't always as easy as it sounds as Amtech has stated.

You may be able to find a guide on the internet with instructions for your particular notebook. I've never worked on a Alienware so I don't know exactly where the battery should be located once you have it apart or how difficult it could be, etc.

If you can post back with the model number of the notebook we may be able to help a little more.

Once you get to the battery, remove it for about 5mins then replace it. Put the notebook back together and fingers crossed it boots up without any problems.

If you're not sure of anything or need help with anything else please post back.

hi hammer
firstly does the laptop turn on at all?
but then fail to get into the operating system ?
does the screen come on at all?

before opening up the laptop is it still under warranty ?
what model of alienware is it please ?

hello hammer09

has the assistance provided ,helped resolve your issue for you ?
an update would be appeciated

fixit