Stuck in Asia. Need advice from English speakers on my broken Dell XPS 15 L502x for both how and where to fix it.

morethandork

Honorable
Sep 20, 2013
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10,510
My Dell laptop XPS 15 L502x got damaged. It won't turn on or even respond to pressing the power button. I've taken it to two different computer repair stores here in Laos (in southeast asia).

The first shop told me the motherboard needed to be replaced and that only Dell could do that. I contacted Dell who told me that since it's out of warranty, I should take it anywhere and anyone can replace the "main board". I've assumed this means the motherboard.

The second shop said they could fix it. They replaced one part, I couldn't quite understand what it was. They called it the IC something. I don't know. They were able to get the computer to respond to the power button. It seems to boot up. But the screen is blank. No response. They told me "VGA chipset was failure" and that they can't fix it. (I don't know what that means.) I asked if I got that part replaced, would the computer work. They said, maybe. I asked if they could order it and try, they said no. They said they don't have such high quality parts in their shop and neither does Vietnam (where they ordered the first part from).

So, I'm in Vientiane, Laos, near the border. I can get to Bangkok, Thailand within a day. How can I get this fixed? Is it just a matter of getting the right part and someone who can install it? Why would the shop tell me they can't get the part? Are certain parts not available to certain countries? Is this part rare? I don't get it!

Will I have better luck if I go to Thailand? They are a more modern country and Bangkok is a hub. And how much should I expect the parts to cost?

The specs I can remember:
Processor: i7 Intel Quad-Core
Memory: 8GB
Hard Drive:640 GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home 64-bit
Display Type:15.6 in
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce

How can I figure out my exact specs without my computer?

Thanks so much for your help. Any questions you can answer would be extremely helpful. Thanks!