Dell - Intermittent boot failure (Error 155)

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!

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Dell - Intermittent boot failure (Error 155)