Ribbon cable replacement and clip lock for Alienware 18

As the title says: I need replacement for those as shown in the pics and I have no clue where to get them from, any help would be highly appreciated! Included a pic of where the clip and the cable go as well, it's right next to the blu ray/hdd bay.

P.S: This is my first time posting here, if I submitted my post in the wrong place please let me know and i'll repost wherever it should be done, thanks!!

http://prntscr.com/mrfo1d

http://prntscr.com/mrfo8e

https://prnt.sc/mrfoib

 

is it M18X R2 oe Alienware 18 ?

 

it's a 18 2014 model!

 

Maybe just buy a dead motherboard?

 

I have the same problem.
I replace the clips vvith strips of firm plastic liie the blue pull tags on the cables to press the cable in place in same ay as the clips do.
and hen the ends get bad and broen you can use sandpaper and glass paper to sand avvaty the plastic on one side at each end and then mae a clean straight cut avvay the bad ends .
its fiddly and tricy.
the tracvvays on the cable must match up to the pins in the main board connectors and be seated firmly . it taes some practice try not to cut aay too much.
I need to do mine again as i noticed the cable is damaged further dovn not just at the ends and that is hy i am missing too letters from my eyboard so sorry about that i no its hard to read.
I have same model too btvv

do you happen to novv vhat is the magic number for our alienare 18 laptops to put into the nvidia driver inf files for modding a graphics driver ?

from elsehere : An M18xR1 would be 048F
The M18xR2 is 0550 but i cant find the number for the alienare 18!

 

Hahahaha at first I was like "what's wrong with this guy" but now I feel for you man!

From what I could understand, I can use the blue pieces of plastic to keep the cable pressed like the clips do and sandpaper on the edges of the cable where the pins are broken so that it makes proper contact with the motherboard?

And I wish I could help you with that, but I have no idea since I just have a couple of crappy 860ms that never needed any inf files modifications, but I would be interested in knowing too in case I am ever able to afford an upgrade haha.

 

I've considered it but removing that clip without breaking it seems impossible

 

Then maybe the best scenario is just electrical tape? Then also maybe use some thermal pads to apply pressure from the keyboard or the chassis ( I dont know where the ribbons location is ).

 

I cut my cable back to where the pins are not broken, then sanded away the plastic from the contact side to reveal a new contact face of shiny pins, and yep with the blue plastic or the clip can;t grip the cable, although I cut new similar pieces from the packaging of the superglue. It's taken a few attempts but now I can type w's again. and the power button works, and most of the tron lights, but to get those working, I have finally sourced some generic cables and ordered them, because one of my ribbon cables turns out to also be damaged midway its length. they should arrive in a day or two. I ordered spares if you need some.

modding the driver inf files works to get the nvidia driver installed on a machine that the graphics card was not originally sold with, ie an 880m in a m18x. but i think it only works because alienware models are similar to each other, becuase it is basically copying the installation settings from a different model of laptop... perhaps someone can explain better how to choose or even edit the section data in the inf file? because the guides Ive read here are a bit of a blind hack

 

Thank you! I'll try doing that tomorrow and I hope to get it working again. Pressing that power button and it not powering up at all was one of the worst feelings ever. And I might, if I do I'll let you know

Why was your laptop getting so hot if I may ask? I can't imagine how bad it must have been if it melted away the end of a 105c resistant cable lol.

And yeah I've read about it but seemed like too much trouble for me to learn for something i'd probably never have to do, I would link you to a reddit thread that had a pretty good guide but I can't find it anymore, I hope someone else can help you out.