Student-Contributed Wiki
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The laptop will not connect/stay connected to Wi-Fi.
If your computer is having trouble connecting or staying connected to Wi-Fi, it is important to ensure whether or not the drivers were installed in the correct order. Drivers should be downloaded and installed directed from the Dell website, rather than being found from a third party. Here is a link on how to install the drivers in the correct order as well as the exact order of installation. Your computer’s Dell Warranty Status will state the wireless adapter driver to install by inputting your operating system and selecting a network.
If none of these fix what is going on than your Wi-fi module may need to be replaced, here is a link to the guide on replacing the Wi-fi module.
The laptop won’t charge or hold a charge.
The first thing to check on your computer is the charging port and cable themselves. Sometimes debris can get stuck in the ports and prevent a proper connection to charge your computer. The easiest way to fix this issue is to use a can of compressed air and blow out any debris in the charging port and the end of your charging cable that plugs into your computer.
Another likely possibility is an issue with the charging cable. A way to rule this out is by plugging your cable into another computer that uses the same spec charger. This will tell you whether its a charger issue or a computer issue. If it is a charger issue than the best course of action is to purchase a new charger for your computer with the same specs.
If all else fails then what could be causing the issue is a bad DC jack. This could simply be due to water damage or possibly a cable disconnected internally that powers the DC jack, here is a link to get to the DC jack and replace it with a new one.
Games won’t load or play poorly on my computer.
A common assumption with the Dell Inspiron 15R 5537 is that it comes with AMD Radeon HD 8670M integrated graphics but this feature is an add on when originally purchased. So if you can not find the AMD graphics software in the control panel then it is likely that your computer only has Intel integrated graphics. But a solution to this is to upgrade to the AMD graphics by changing your motherboard to the one with AMD graphics, here is a link to get to the motherboard.
Power button does not respond/turn on the computer when being pressed
If the power button LED doesn’t light up and the computer doesn’t turn on when pressing and holding the power button, make sure the computer is charged. This can be done by plugging the proper charger into your computer.
If the computer is charged and the power button still doesn’t respond when being pressed, the power button circuit board may need to be replaced.
The display has no video.
A possible issue is that your screen may be damaged or broken. First check the screen for any cracks, dents, or liquid damage. If there is any of these found, the best course of action is to replace the screen. To replace the display screen, follow steps 1 to 27 of the motherboard replacement guide here.
Immediately after starting up your computer press and hold the f12 key to boot into the Boot menu to run a diagnostics check. The diagnostics should be checked on all of the hardware and once that is complete run a test for the hard drive. The test will show you what has failed and may need to be replaced.
