Lowyat.NET: Latest topics in Technical Support

Dell - Intermittent boot failure (Error 155), Worth repairing?

Izumi.zyzm — Sat, 07 Nov 2026 06:42:51 +0800

Title: Dell Inspiron 15 3511 – Intermittent boot failure (Error 155), previous liquid damage and possible corrosion. Is it worth repairing?

Hi everyone,

I'd appreciate some technical advice on my laptop. I'm trying to determine whether it is worth getting it inspected and repaired, or whether I should replace it altogether.

### 1. Laptop specifications

- Model: Dell Inspiron 15 3511
- Purchase date: December 2021
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce MX350 2GB
- Display: 15.6" FHD

### 2. Previous liquid damage (December 2023)

In December 2023, I accidentally spilled liquid (coffee) on the laptop and took it to a repair shop.

Following the incident, the technician disabled the built-in keyboard and touchpad, so I've been using an external keyboard and mouse ever since.

I also remember the technician mentioning corrosion or liquid-related hardware damage. My understanding at the time was that there was corrosion affecting the storage drive or related components, but I can no longer recall exactly which component was affected.

**I'm not certain whether the motherboard itself was damaged, whether the corrosion was around the SSD or its connection, or whether both were involved.** This is something I would particularly like to clarify through a proper inspection.

The technician warned me that the laptop might not last another year. Surprisingly, it continued working for almost three more years after the incident.

### 3. Current problem – intermittent boot failure

Recently, the laptop started failing to boot intermittently.

Here is the timeline:

- Day 1: Tried booting at around 5 AM, but it failed.
- Day 1: Tried again at around 2 PM, still unsuccessful.
- Day 1: Tried again at around 4 PM, and surprisingly, it booted successfully.
- Day 2: I waited until around 5:30–6 PM before turning it on. It booted successfully on the first attempt.
- Day 3: Tried booting again at around 6 AM, but it failed.

When troubleshooting, I ran Dell's built-in diagnostics and received:

**Error Code: 155 – Hard Drive self-test unsuccessful, terminated.**

I also noticed that the BIOS did not seem to display the storage device information when the laptop failed to boot.

However, when Windows successfully starts, the laptop appears to function normally. I was even able to play games without noticing any obvious performance issues.

### 4. Other relevant details

- The battery has degraded, so I normally keep the laptop connected to its charger.
- I perform a normal Windows shutdown every night and switch off the power socket. I turn the socket back on the following morning before starting the laptop.
- Recently, there has been frequent rain and relatively humid weather, with cooler temperatures in the early mornings. I'm unsure whether environmental conditions could be contributing to the intermittent issue.
- The laptop has not had any major upgrades or component replacements that I'm aware of since the liquid damage incident.

### 5. Questions I'd appreciate advice on

1. Does Dell Error Code 155 indicate that the SSD itself is failing, or could it also be caused by the M.2 slot, motherboard, or power delivery?
2. Given the previous liquid damage and possible corrosion, could the motherboard or other components have deteriorated over time?
3. Could humidity or temperature changes potentially aggravate existing corrosion or hardware issues?
4. What should a technician inspect to distinguish between SSD failure, M.2 connection issues and motherboard damage?
5. Is it worth paying for a proper hardware inspection before deciding to replace the laptop?
6. Considering its age and history, what would be a reasonable repair cost in Malaysia (RM)?
7. At what repair cost would you personally consider it no longer worthwhile to repair?

I'm not particularly keen on spending money on a repair if the laptop is likely to develop another hardware issue shortly afterwards.

At the same time, I'd rather not replace it unnecessarily if the current problem is something relatively inexpensive and reliable to fix.

I'd appreciate opinions from people with experience in laptop motherboard repair, liquid damage and intermittent SSD detection issues.

Thanks!

Transfer retail windows license and office license,

pandah — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:37:47 +0800

Hi everyone, so i have 2 computers, one is older and to be replaced by the slightly newer ones.

Computer A has retail windows 10 pro license. It shows digital license linked to Microsoft account and the slmgr dli in cmd commands did return retail channel.

I want to move the windows license to computer B, i did clean install and login to Microsoft account, went to activation settings and press troubleshoot, select the changed hardware recently option, but it returns we can't find any device linked to your Microsoft account that can be used for reactivating.

If login from website can see both computer in the account.

https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/transfe...cense-to-new-pc
based on this explanation it should show the device for me to choose which one to activate, but my troubleshooter doesn't show any selection.

Is there some retail license that can't be transfer or limited how many times can be activated?

For the office, it was uninstalled in the computer A and installed to computer B, but the activation just display this is not a key for office please see example... I googled that 2010 version might be too old that it can't be reactivated anymore. Not sure if it was limited install, but it was not oem or students version.

(Help) Ideapad 5i Fans Just Keep On, Laptop fan

iamfromipoh — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:07:59 +0800

Hello everyone, I need some help here.

Laptop model: IdeaPad Slim 5 16IAH8 – Type 83BG

Recently, my laptop's fans have been running continuously, even when I'm doing very little. They just keep running and never seem to stop.

I ran the Troubleshoot & Diagnose tool, but the fan test showed “Not supported on this device.”

I also ran Lenovo Vantage, and everything seems fine.

What should I do next? My laptop is about two years old.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Recording apps for PC, what you play... u record down.

Irresistible — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 01:48:30 +0800

like i play video.... i wan to record while playing?

any apps? like can record 35min -40min?

Laptop is slow when using chatgpt/gemini,

Sunshape — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:54:06 +0800

How to resolve this issue? The computer/laptop/ turns into slow mode when using chatgpt/gemini.

I know it takes a lot of resources because many text.

Can recommend a powerful and cheap PC?

[WT] Anyone familiar with this sound?, SOLVED

bansheelipsx — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 22:08:28 +0800

PSU dying ? haih

whenever i hear this sound pc will crash reboot.

previously only happened during boot, now happens during high load while gaming

corsair RM850

5700x
msi 3050 on pci-e power no cable

https://files.catbox.moe/dknwca.mp4

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dY0QeA5ZHq...iew?usp=sharing

UPS hot air/heat,

Sunshape — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:02:21 +0800

First time bought a UPS. I thought UPS is like normal extension but just with batteries installed.

The hot air/heat near the ventilation area/plastic is hot when touch. Temp is about 40-42C

Is that normal or it should be in warm or room temperature?

archer BE400 VS AX73,

deejay_krish — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:49:54 +0800

Hi all, ive been using ax73 router for nearly a year till it recently failing on 2.4ghz but 5g is perfect, since it has 3 years warranty, tplink offering me a new replacement of BE400. do u think i should take it? please advise

Colorful iGame 3060 12gb keeps crashing in a game,

NitRaTe — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:38:14 +0800

Hello, I recently changed the thermal paste for this 3060 12gb gpu but the thermal pads are dried and i didn't change them.

The gpu is 4.5 years old. Now when i load up battlefield 6 it crashes as soon as I have loaded the game, around 5 seconds into the game.

What do I do to fix this issue?

[WTA]Fried GPU, Suddenly smoke and spark

viqq — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:17:32 +0800

Hi sifus, it's been awhile! Feels good to be back!

My PC shutdown by itself one day and I wasn't able to boot up with the GPU anymore .

After swapping out the GPU , can confirm the GPU is faulty. But little did i know after i put it back in, there was smoke and spark coming out from the GPU but it happened too fast I can't confirm that its from the GPU or the PCIe slot.

But the GPU has burnt smell.

I took out the RAM , threw away the GPU and PSU after that.

Since I do not have another PSU to try the motherboard, anyone had similiar issues before? Is it worth fixing?

Don't really need that PC anyways , it was my print server.

[HELP] UFS/EDL data recover (Black Shark 5), Mobile Phones Repair/Service

dosebooster — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 23:41:03 +0800

[HELP] Need UFS/EDL data recovery specialist (Black Shark 5, water damage, stuck in Fastboot)

Hi all, hoping someone here has dealt with this before or can point me to a real board level tech.

Phone: Xiaomi Black Shark 5 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 870)
Background: Water damage from a waterproof bag leak during water rafting. Phone worked intermittently for a bit, then stopped booting entirely. Took it to a repair shop they found and chemically cleaned oxidation on the board, and I had the LCD/flex replaced (screen was suspected but turned out not to be the actual issue).

Current state:
- Boots only into Fastboot, every time, regardless of button combo (Power+VolDown or Power alone, both land in Fastboot)
- Fastboot USB communication works fine (VID_18D1:PID_D00D detected)
- Bootloader locked, critical bootloader locked, AVB/dm-verity enabled
- A/B boot slot metadata is readable and both slots report successful
- fastboot getvar all shows the full UFS partition table (userdata, super, boot_a/b, vbmeta etc. all listed)
- EDL mode (05C6:9008) is NOT currently detected when I try to trigger it
- fastboot oem commands return "unknown command"
- Android does not boot
- No bootloader unlock, no userdata erase, no flashing has been done, phone is untouched software wise

What I need: Someone who can do actual Qualcomm EDL extraction (with an authenticated Firehose loader for Penrose/Black Shark 5) or, if that's not reachable, proper UFS chip-off/ISP recovery not just a screen/motherboard repair shop. Main priority is recovering photos, videos, and WhatsApp data, not fixing the phone to be usable again.

Located in Johor Bahru but happy to courier the phone to KL or Penang if that's where the real specialists are. Would appreciate direct recommendations from people who've actually used a shop for this and if you can share roughly what it cost and how long it took, even better.

Thanks in advance!

https://pictr.com/images/2026/08/25/xqDntI.md.jpg

'Enter' key does not work, Ctrl-M does not work also

Chastain — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:52:39 +0800

Hi.
Lenovo S110
Bought it from Carousell

Btw, the OS is Windows 7 Starter
There's also no 'Save As' option when I try to download files

Thank you

PC freezes (SOLVED),

getalong6165 — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 21:58:55 +0800

My moms old pc is an i5 3340.

Recently it start acting up freezes.

Took my own pc's ddr3 ram ,install in her pc it runs just fine.

Went shopee bought some 2nd hand ram. Pc starts and run fine for an hour 2 with the new 2nd hand ram, then it acts up again which the monitor and pc freezes. Able to run in safe mode without any issue.

Possible motherboard issue ?

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Windows 11 update installation fail, Install error - 0x80070306

wassap — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 23:51:40 +0800

Recenlty I found out that my laptop is having problem installing this windows update

2026-06 Security Update (KB5094126) (26200.8655)
Install error - 0x80070306

I've tried sfc, dism, chkdsk and even tried repairing windows from the iso file but I am still unable to get the installation done. Hopefully someone can help

Acer predator helios neo 16

Processor Intel® Core™ i9-14900HX (2.20 GHz)
Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.7 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display

Edition Windows 11 Home Single Language
Version 25H2
Installed on ‎4/‎11/‎2025
OS build 26200.6899
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.253.0

Display Port to HDMI Questions,

SlaJaZz — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:31:13 +0800

I just recently found out that if i need to get higher freshrate from my GPU 4060 to my hdmi port monitor i need to use display port insert at my gpu. ive been using hdmi cables to game so many many years! i cant understand the version of dp and hdmi i need to buy from shopee. wanna know which version to get if im using 4060 and minitor up to 120hz. thank you

https://shopee.com.my/UGREEN-DisplayPort-DP...19-566ba744857a

is this enough?

AMD Driver issue, reinstall doesnt work

Tealifos — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 01:20:55 +0800

hi guys
im using a pc with gpu rtx rx 7800 xt

was working well so far until today where i suddenly feel the game was laggy/choppy on intros and menus (used to be fast) and its just dota not a high graphics game
tried looking in monitor setting for screen HZ, it says 1.000hz and tried to change but only have 64hz options (using a monitor that support 240hz)

then i try see device manager, display adapter, on the rtx rx 7800 xt it have this ! mark which usually indicate an error
i tried open amd adrenalin software - cannot be open, it says something with the driver not compatible

next i tried go to amd website and download amd cleanup, and amd adrenalin software
after so many installation and countless reboot, it is still same nothing was fixed. amd software still cannot be open, and becoming worst as now my sound driver also got issue because now cannot use speaker from monitor
as for normal use of pc like browsing,youtube all seems to be fine but no sound

please guide me to fix this issue

Question about DDR5 Ram upgrade.,

netmatrix — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 12:50:44 +0800

The PC spec is ASUS PRIME B760M-A WIFI with Core i4 14400 processor and 32GB (16GB x2) DDR5 CL30 6000 ram kit.

Want to add more ram 64GB (32GB x 2) DDR5 CL40 5600 ram to it.

(Ignore dual channel and validated kit. Ignore CL timing and mhz speed.)

Just purely want to add the current 32GB with another 64GB for a total of 96GB.

Would there be any problem? I googled and got very vague answers like it will clock to lowest speed (Which is ok).

But why i asked? Below is ASUS same board memory description (But for validated kits to get max speed.) I do not need max speed. Just want capacity. It does not say anything about mixing different speeds.

QUOTE

*Results may vary according to the capabilities of your CPU and memory modules.

**The comparison chart is based on a test with an Intel® i9-13900K processor and 2x16 GB SK Hynix DDR5-4800 non-ECC UDIMMs, model HMCG78MEBUA081N.

***Please ensure all memory modules are from a single validated kit. Do not combine DIMMs from multiple kits—even if they are the same make and model. Mixing and matching DIMMs can result in failure to boot, and compatibility cannot be guaranteed.

****Always install DIMMs with the same CAS latency. For optimal compatibility, we recommend that you install memory modules of the same version or date code (D/C) from the same vendor. Check with your retailer to get the correct memory modules.

So wanna know if anyone upgraded their DDR5 with different brand and speed with or without validated kits. Getting lower CL ram is purely out of costs savings.

using laptop as second monitor,

FLampard — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:43:58 +0800

i have 2 laptops running at the same time.

i prefer to have 1 laptop output its display to the other laptop monitor, without using software solution like anydesk, teamviewer etc due to latency.

are there any cable/hardware solution for that to happen? i have 2 laptop but only 1 laptop's display needs to be running and i can swap in between both.... like a kvm, except kvm is only useful in this case if you have an external monitor.

WhatsApp linked device can't open older file.,

Irresistible — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 10:51:19 +0800

I link my Samsung tab to my primary phone.

But some of the files (just 2 weeks ago) i fail to download from my Samsung Tab. Why like that?

Any solution?

Xbox cause windows keep create folder,

PJng — Thu, 28 May 2026 19:51:38 +0800

https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...ost&p=113022734

I already out of idea yet everytime boot pc it auto come back
Do not simply reply format la, why windows xbox need do like that
Already try reset xbox app, store app, yet it keep on come back every time windows boot