Thank you

Hi again Dan.

I think I figured out how to post the pictures, I could not do it on iPhone no option to import pictures was available however, using a laptop it was easy.

Initially only 1 broke off however, the second one broke off too so both are stuck in the antenna connectors.

in reading I saw that the problem was common on the Killer WiFi cards.

Any help and suggestions to remove the piece now stuck in each connector will be appreciated.

Thank you all

Picture 1 shows the antenna wires with the ring/collar that pulled off the WiFi card stuck inside of the connectors.

Picture 2 shows the WiFi board with the securing ring/collar pulled off it.

Picture 3 is an example of an undamaged WiFi card with both securing rings/collars in place.

⟐ Commented 8月 19, 2026 at 4:06 GMT-7

The issue affects multiple keys, while the number keys seem to work normally.

I tested with an external USB keyboard, and it works perfectly with no extra letters or typing issues.

Since the issue is with the built-in keyboard, I want to try fixing it myself before replacing the entire keyboard, since a replacement is quite expensive.

What could be causing this type of hardware failure, and what can I try to repair or clean first? Is there a way to fix the affected keyboard circuits/membrane or ribbon connection without replacing the whole keyboard? Thank you

⟐ Answered 8月 16, 2026 at 17:35 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 8月 16, 2026 at 14:06 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 8月 14, 2026 at 7:36 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 8月 13, 2026 at 18:33 GMT-7

Front

EDP Area

Board Info

Back

FZ2 blown, FZ3 ok, the other [H] is also blown. I have confirmed this with continuity mode.

⟐ Commented 8月 13, 2026 at 13:17 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 8月 13, 2026 at 10:41 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 8月 11, 2026 at 20:08 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 8月 11, 2026 at 17:54 GMT-7

The main problem is:

The BIOS detects the internal SSD correctly, but when I try to boot from it, I get:

> Operating System Not Found

The most important detail is that this problem existed before installing Linux. The laptop originally had Windows 7 installed, and it already showed exactly the same error. Therefore, I don't think Linux is the original cause of the problem.

Hardware

• Dell XPS 13 L321X

• BIOS: A08

• SSD: Samsung PM85, approximately 256 GB

• Phoenix SecureCore Tiano BIOS

• Motherboard: Quanta D13 / DA0D13MBCD1

What we have verified

The BIOS detects the SSD correctly.

The F12 boot menu shows:

• Removable Drive

• Hard Drive

• CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive

• Diagnostics

• Setup

If I select **Hard Drive**, the laptop attempts to boot but immediately ends up with:

> Operating System Not Found

The SSD is also visible and accessible from a Linux Mint Live USB environment.

Linux Mint

We installed Linux Mint from a USB drive.

The SSD was partitioned using GPT and contains an EFI System Partition as well as the main Linux partition.

We also previously verified that the Linux Mint USB environment was booting in UEFI mode.

However, after installation, removing the USB drive results in:

> Operating System Not Found

We previously attempted to repair GRUB, and one of the repair attempts reported:

> Installing for i386-pc platform.

> Installation finished. No error reported.

This made us suspect a Legacy/BIOS vs UEFI mismatch. However, the strange part is that **Windows 7 had already produced the exact same error before Linux was ever installed**.

BIOS password

The BIOS originally had an administrator password:

• Admin Password: Set

• System Password: Cleared

• HDD Password: Cleared

The administrator password prevented us from changing some BIOS settings, particularly settings related to boot configuration.

After researching the issue and following a physical reset procedure, I completely discharged the laptop and performed a bridge/reset procedure at the RTCR2 area of the motherboard. Afterward, a new status appeared:

• HDD Password State: Cleared

However, the administrator password still appears as Set, and the boot problem remains.

I don't want to continue bridging motherboard contacts or modifying the BIOS blindly.

What I am trying to find out

Has anyone experienced this specifically on a **Dell XPS 13 L321X**?

In particular:

1. Is there a known issue with BIOS A08 and booting from the internal SSD?

2. Does this BIOS require a specific bootloader or a specific EFI file/path?

3. Is there something unusual about this Phoenix BIOS that makes it detect the SSD but fail to find the operating system?

4. Should GRUB be installed in Legacy/BIOS mode on this model, or should it use UEFI?

5. Is there a specific BIOS configuration required to boot Linux from the internal SSD?

6. Has anyone successfully installed Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or another modern Linux distribution on an L321X and booted it directly from the internal SSD?

We have verified that the SSD is detected and that the operating system can be installed successfully from USB. The failure happens specifically **when the laptop tries to boot from the internal SSD**.

Any expe

rience, procedure, or model-specific information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

⟐ Commented 8月 11, 2026 at 16:38 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 8月 10, 2026 at 23:03 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 8月 10, 2026 at 4:11 GMT-7

Dear Dell Support,

I recently purchased a used Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop. Unfortunately, it is protected by a BIOS password, and I do not know the password.

The details are:

- Model: Dell Inspiron 1525

- Service Tag: HL5564J

- BIOS Challenge Code: HL5564J-595B

I understand that you may need to verify ownership before providing any assistance. Please let me know if this Service Tag is still supported and whether you can help me remove or reset the BIOS password.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Kind regards.

⟐ Answer edited 8月 07, 2026 at 20:37 GMT-7

almost an entire year ago now, i spilled a bit of smoothie on my laptop (dell inspiron 14 7445 2-in-1 is what it said when i checked the qr code) it wasnt much i dont think, and was on the top left corner of the keyboard. i turned it off almost immediately. at the time, i was at my grandparents, and nothing could be done until i got home a few weeks later. i told my dad about the issue, and he agreed to take it to get repaired

the spill happened in around october of 2025. it took him until late january 2026 to take it to bestbuy to get it looked at. due to a lot of personal family issues, there was nothing i couldve done to have gotten it looked at any sooner. however, the worker at best buy did not even look at it before saying that the motherboard was probably shot, and that it would cost over $700 to repair. so we left.

afterwards, my dad ended up opening it up and agreed that the motherboard looked dirty and likely couldnt be fixed. he was stingy about me looking at it myself, as ive never done a tech repair before.

fast forward many many months to today, where i finally was able to look inside the laptop myself. i noticed that the keys around where the spill was are no longer sticky, which they were INCREDIBLY sticky initially, which i cant tell if this is a good sign or not. i took the back off, and from what little bit of the motherboard i can see, it genuinely doesnt look dirty at all to me. i wanted to try to remove some more pieces so i could get a better look and see what all might need cleaning or if it just needed to be replaced, but couldnt get the battery out because of how hard the screws were to remove. im going to try again tomorrow morning with some help

the computer still hasnt been turned on since the initial spill, it was briefly charged before being taken in to bestbuy (legitimately for maybe like 10 minutes at the absolute most) but aside from that, nothing has been done

all this to say and with pictures provided, can this laptop be saved?

any help at all will be appreciated, thank you! :)

⟐ Answer edited 8月 07, 2026 at 10:05 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 8月 06, 2026 at 17:52 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 8月 04, 2026 at 18:04 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 8月 02, 2026 at 22:30 GMT-7