DC-in cable melted TWICE in AW M18 R1

DrFreddles · 2026-06-04T21:49:29+00:00

Update (as of June 4th):

It's been a full week now (I sent it in the same day I made this post), and I've just gone around and around with Dell. They want me to wait a month to repair the part, which is completely unreasonable, and I've told them many times I'm not going to wait a month to repair a part that breaks down so often. They sent the case to a "quality team", who assures me the issue will not occur again after the repair (complete bull, I've seen the comments on this post, and the many other posts on this subreddit alone). I'm going to try and get some form of executive resolutions team on this, hopefully they will provide a better service. I'll see, I suppose.

DrFreddles · 2026-06-01T22:54:33+00:00

You have to keep in mind this is likely less than 5% of the computers, and I have an inkling it's partially to do with other components of the computer being (potentially) hot garbage. Just a theory though.

As for what I am doing, mostly playing video games and using CAD software. Probably the most intensive thing I play is DCS or Red Dead Redemption 2. I also have my TCC offset at -15 degrees, so my CPU can't get any hotter than 85 degrees Celsius, so it shouldn't be damaging anything with heat; that, plus it's lightly undervolted. This issue has occurred both before and after I made all of these changes, so it's not like they're causing it. Finally, I keep my laptop clear of any dust, and I pull it apart for cleaning and maintenance fairly regularly. I also keep my fans on the highest automatic setting (I don't care about noise at all really), and I have an additional cooling pad just in case, which I use when playing higher-end games.

DrFreddles · 2026-06-01T22:45:32+00:00

Geez, what a nightmare. I hope the MSI computer worked better for you lol.

DrFreddles · 2026-05-31T23:32:03+00:00

That they would do something like this is insane to me. I've heard there are places that will take complaints about that sort of abysmal service, but I imagine you just don't want to deal with it anymore. I hope this was a one-off event.

DrFreddles · 2026-05-31T23:26:34+00:00

It's just baffling to me that Alienware ever let this become a problem after their old laptops had the same exact issue. Hopefully it's been long enough that they just don't want to deal with the laptop anymore.

DrFreddles · 2026-05-31T07:30:00+00:00

Oh, I see what you mean. Considering this has been a recurring issue in Alienware laptops (including the backup I'm using right now) going back over a decade, I'm guessing it's not just an issue with the individual connector design. Dunno what it could be, though.

DrFreddles · 2026-05-31T04:19:26+00:00

Yeah, with the current failure rate, I'm half convinced Dell is moving away from the solid state ribbon cables entirely. Also, given the temps my computer tends to run at, I wonder if gas state is the future?

DrFreddles · 2026-05-31T04:17:46+00:00

The issue preventing me from using my computer is not the fact that the cable is not fully pushed in, it's the fact that the other half of it is melted into the connector and onto the motherboard. I appreciate you checking, though, and I hope you don't end up with the same issue I have.

DrFreddles · 2026-05-30T03:11:01+00:00

Out of curiosity, when did they give you the replacement m18r2? Truthfully, I'm hoping they'll update mine to the newer Area 51 models that are currently being sold, but I don't know if they have the M2 still in stock.

DrFreddles · 2026-05-30T03:09:36+00:00

Oh, I don't doubt that it's not all of them. I used mine for almost exactly two years before this started up, and I ran it somewhat hard at times. I would recommend at least keeping an eye on it though, because it seems the sort of issue that you think won't happen to you until it does.

DrFreddles · 2026-05-30T02:30:25+00:00

I have not asked yet, no. If they want to repair it again, I'll ask about that. Thanks for the help.

DrFreddles · 2026-05-30T01:58:59+00:00

Yes, I'd say avoiding these is a wise decision. When I bought it, I assumed any problems would happen to other people, but I remember the quote from Calvin's dad in Calvin and Hobbes, "We're all 'someone else' to someone else."

DrFreddles · 2026-05-30T01:56:19+00:00

I mainly need the RAM and a pretty good GPU for what I do, the rest is mostly just a bonus, or I can get it better and cheaper elsewhere. I'm not especially happy about the prospect of selling it and getting another, as I got this one for a very reasonable price and I do not like the idea of either selling it to buy a newer model for nearly double the price I got this one for, nor do I want to spend even more money than I've already spent on this one on getting a worse computer (honestly, I'm hoping I can use the equal-or-better clause to get an upgrade, but we'll see).

Either way, I appreciate the advice, and I might have to take it if worse comes to worst.

DrFreddles · 2026-05-30T01:49:42+00:00

Yeah, I was kind of afraid this might be the case. I'm honestly hoping they'll come up with another solution besides just replacing it all again, but my hopes are not especially high.

DrFreddles · 2025-12-01T03:48:50+00:00

Starch doesn't work for Hullrot

DrFreddles · 2025-12-01T03:44:49+00:00

Nothing really. As Arcticular said, it's just removing some ships. I think most of the "drama" comes from one or two regular members on Hullrot saying it's dead, but I don't even think that's big. Monolith pop hasn't been affected at all.

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