I've got a XPS 13 7390 (2-in-1 variant) that I've used every day without issue for 2.5 to 3 years now. Specs and failure info are below. This model has an SSD that's soldered to the board with some very important information on it that I need back. I have a bit of experience in electronics repair from years ago (my dad was one of the first-gen computer repairmen, but most of my knowledge is from desktop motherboards with interchangeable components-- not netbooks with microsoldering. Pointers would be very much appreciated.
It should go without saying that I did only cursory research when I got and mixed up the two versions of the XPS 13. I thought I had a separate SSD or I would've backed up my data when I was literally doing data backups of the family PCs about 2 days before this happened. But I didn't, painful lesson learned. What I've heard from Reddit and Dell forum posts is that, since the SSD is soldered to the motherboard, recovery is unlikely/impossible. If it were in warranty, Dell would replace the whole motherboard and all data would be lost for any error on an integrated component-- processor/graphics/hdd/memory/etc.
I had initially wondered whether the drive could be disconnected from the board and re-soldered to a standard NVMe pinout, but given the mechanism of failure and symptoms, I suspect the error is in the board and it can be repaired/rigged to work for long enough to boot and copy the data off-- which would be easier.
Model Info:
Dell XPS 13 7390 (2-in-1).
Processor: Core i7-1065G7
RAM: 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4x Memory (Onboard)
HDD: 512GB PCIe NVMe x4 Solid State Drive (Onboard). Benchmarking pre-crash let me know this was the Kioxia BG4 series, I believe the KBG40ZPZ512G. https://business.kioxia.com/en-emea/...t-ssd/bg4.html
GPU: Intel(R) Iris Plus Graphics
Motherboard Info:
Manufacturer: Compal
Model: Centenario (DDP31)
PCB: LA-G172P
Failure Background:
Last Sunday, the computer was working fine with no issues or indications of a problem. I put it into standby Sunday night (normally I shut it down or leave it on) and left it unplugged. Monday morning I go to turn it on and when I push the power button, I hear a fan spin up and the front indicator light lights up all amber but that's it. Releasing the button stops both. I think, OK, so it's dead. That sucks. And plug it in.
When plugging into the left USB-C, nothing happens. Same behavior as unplugged. When I plug it into the right USB-C, a fan stays on continuously. The screen doesn't so much as flicker. The front light stays lit all amber for as long as I have the power button depressed but at no other time.
I took off the bottom panel and totally removed the battery. Attached is is what I'm looking at.
For reference, because the board is flipped and upside down here, when I plug into port 2, nothing happens. When I plug into port 1, Fan A spins at 100% until unplugged. Also, and interestingly, component X gets VERY hot.
I initially tried letting it charge for a bit, but smelled one of those close-to-burning-electronics smells so I unplugged it. To test where it was coming from, I plugged in the power and left it on for around 30 seconds. Component X heated up to over 100 degrees F in less than 5 seconds and after 20 or so, it was at ~236 as measured with a laser thermometer. The same happens when the battery is connected and the power button is depressed. So clearly power is shunted through component X early in the process. The temperature also dropped off quickly when unplugged, so I assume that's where the fault lies as no designer would put a part that gets that hot outside of the air channels and leave it to passive ventilation. Above component X are a Micro-SD slot and the non-functional USB-C, which formerly had a hub with power delivery plugged into it. I suspect the hub somehow shorted out a control circuit and that is component X. Since USB-C serves as both the charging port and a data port on this PC, it has to be wired into the charging circuit so my suspicion is that the component that failed at X is now drawing all of the power and preventing boot.
I've got a schematic request in so I can better start diagnosing what's on the PCB (specifically what is component X) and trace out power flow, but until I can move forward there any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
It should go without saying that I did only cursory research when I got and mixed up the two versions of the XPS 13. I thought I had a separate SSD or I would've backed up my data when I was literally doing data backups of the family PCs about 2 days before this happened. But I didn't, painful lesson learned. What I've heard from Reddit and Dell forum posts is that, since the SSD is soldered to the motherboard, recovery is unlikely/impossible. If it were in warranty, Dell would replace the whole motherboard and all data would be lost for any error on an integrated component-- processor/graphics/hdd/memory/etc.
I had initially wondered whether the drive could be disconnected from the board and re-soldered to a standard NVMe pinout, but given the mechanism of failure and symptoms, I suspect the error is in the board and it can be repaired/rigged to work for long enough to boot and copy the data off-- which would be easier.
Model Info:
Dell XPS 13 7390 (2-in-1).
Processor: Core i7-1065G7
RAM: 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4x Memory (Onboard)
HDD: 512GB PCIe NVMe x4 Solid State Drive (Onboard). Benchmarking pre-crash let me know this was the Kioxia BG4 series, I believe the KBG40ZPZ512G. https://business.kioxia.com/en-emea/...t-ssd/bg4.html
GPU: Intel(R) Iris Plus Graphics
Motherboard Info:
Manufacturer: Compal
Model: Centenario (DDP31)
PCB: LA-G172P
Failure Background:
Last Sunday, the computer was working fine with no issues or indications of a problem. I put it into standby Sunday night (normally I shut it down or leave it on) and left it unplugged. Monday morning I go to turn it on and when I push the power button, I hear a fan spin up and the front indicator light lights up all amber but that's it. Releasing the button stops both. I think, OK, so it's dead. That sucks. And plug it in.
When plugging into the left USB-C, nothing happens. Same behavior as unplugged. When I plug it into the right USB-C, a fan stays on continuously. The screen doesn't so much as flicker. The front light stays lit all amber for as long as I have the power button depressed but at no other time.
I took off the bottom panel and totally removed the battery. Attached is is what I'm looking at.
For reference, because the board is flipped and upside down here, when I plug into port 2, nothing happens. When I plug into port 1, Fan A spins at 100% until unplugged. Also, and interestingly, component X gets VERY hot.
I initially tried letting it charge for a bit, but smelled one of those close-to-burning-electronics smells so I unplugged it. To test where it was coming from, I plugged in the power and left it on for around 30 seconds. Component X heated up to over 100 degrees F in less than 5 seconds and after 20 or so, it was at ~236 as measured with a laser thermometer. The same happens when the battery is connected and the power button is depressed. So clearly power is shunted through component X early in the process. The temperature also dropped off quickly when unplugged, so I assume that's where the fault lies as no designer would put a part that gets that hot outside of the air channels and leave it to passive ventilation. Above component X are a Micro-SD slot and the non-functional USB-C, which formerly had a hub with power delivery plugged into it. I suspect the hub somehow shorted out a control circuit and that is component X. Since USB-C serves as both the charging port and a data port on this PC, it has to be wired into the charging circuit so my suspicion is that the component that failed at X is now drawing all of the power and preventing boot.
I've got a schematic request in so I can better start diagnosing what's on the PCB (specifically what is component X) and trace out power flow, but until I can move forward there any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
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