Alienware M18X R2 Questions (Screen, Keyboard, Service tag # and Spec)

Hi everyone, first time posting, but i have a couple questions regarding my Alienware M18X R2 laptop. Sorry if this is the wrong place. This might get a little messy..

1: My "G" and "H" Keys do not work on keyboard, any tips or tricks to get it to work besides replacing the whole keyboard? I did reset the cable, and no change, this is also a new install of Windows 10 Home 1909 18363.628 on a internal 500GB SSD.

2: I have what looks like pressure spots on screen
Any way to fix this without having to replace the screen? The picture makes it look pretty bad, but its only visual on white backgrounds.

Im getting the feeling that this laptop lived a hardish life before i picked it up off Craigslist.

So far i reinstalled and activated the correct OS (10 Home 1909 18363.628), it had a unactivated W10 Pro installed
Upgraded to a 500GB SSD
Upgraded to 16GB ram
Cleaned all 3 fans and grills. They were spotless to begin with.
Tighten the screen hinges


Anything else i should do with it besides the obvious issues that i posted?

The I7 2920XM Runs over 4.2 Ghz with level 3 OC enabled in BIOS and high performance mode selected, and no throttling even under moderate load.
The ATI AMD HD8970 4GB Graphics is also pretty nice.
Good battery
Super fast
Looks the part

One last thing to give background, i ran the service tag that's on bottom of case, and nothing lined up.

The Service tag on bottom of case puts this laptop as a R1, with a lesser CPU, higher RAM amount, larger HDD, and lesser graphics card and a 240 watts power adapter... okay.....

So i then ran a cmd command to get the current board serial #, rechecked that service tag, and this current board comes up as a R2, (also CPU-Z puts this as a M18X R2) but again with completely different specs for a lesser CPU, larger HDD, lesser graphics, more ram and 240 watts power adapter

To be clear this has the OEM Dell 330 watt power adapter, had 8GB Ram, had 250GB spinning HDD, ATI HD8970M 4GB and i7 2920XM Cpu.

Thanks all!

I would just get a new screenand keyboard

GoldenDog said:

I would just get a new screenand keyboard

That's going to be the plan. Parts are getting hard to find lol but ebay seems to be the best bet.

Dell OEM Alienware 18.4 inch screen $120 Dell ALIENWARE M18X Series 18.4" LCD Screen Display Assembly Genuine | eBay

And keyboard $89 NEW Original for Dell Alienware M18x M18x-R1 M18x-R2 Backlit keyboard | eBay
I figure with the keyboard, i can just transfer over the keys, would that work you think?

Otherwise she seems to be doing well..... :)

Thanks!

Porthos said:

No, That will NOT work. It is the keyboard itself that has gone bad.
US Black Backlit Dell Alienware M18XR2 M18X-R2 Keyboard - PK130MK1A00
http://www.us-keyboard.com/laptop-us...18x-p-233.html

Awesome thanks so much, placing the order as we speak. I looked on a google and did not find a thing, you are good!

Here is a 3rd party seller that we refer people to on the Dell forums. (There are others, this is just one).
Dell Laptop Parts | Dell Parts | Dell Laptop Repair | Dell Repair

Okay so i went with US-Keyboard, as they are listed new and with a 6 month warranty. The price was reasonable so thank you again for the link. It's being shipped from china so i should receive it in around 10-14 days.

Dell laptop parts seems like a good site, its just they seem to be out of stock for the items that i need at this point, but i will keep them in mind for future purchases.

Now for the screen!

Thanks!

That Dell parts site I linked is in Austin Texas and locally to Dell (Round Rock is a northern Austin suburb) so probably buys up surplus from Dell.