*OFFICIAL* Alienware Area-51M R1 Owner's Lounge

Got it locally from the mall here from a big electronics store named Sharaf DG

@Vasudev

 

Yes sir, thread will be updated soon

 

How are you liking it so far?

 

Now restoring the image onto a new RAID 0 array i created out of my 2x2TB 960 Pro's but since the factory SSD was only 1 TB that's even better since I have the remaining if the disk partitioned so I can partition it I to a D partition

 

Holy moly! The quality is insane and the key board is like nothing I've typed on before, love it man

 

@ssj92 they only had the grey color though at the mall

 

@ssj92

Cortana just started speaking, whoa the speakers are insane man! So rich and deep

 

Just got my Alienware 51M today. I ordered from Dell last month & had the estimated ship date of the 29th of April, but it came much quicker. So anyone who has the estimated ship date of the 29th, should be getting theirs soon.

This is my first laptop & I have the i9 & RTX 2080 (with Windows Home) version, as I want to get the most out gaming performance (4k/60fps).

I haven't even opened the delivery box, reading the last few dozen pages makes it seem daunting to just start it up!

I'm not very computer literate, but what should I do when I first turn it on? Will it automatically download all the latest drivers needed for the CPU/GPU or will I have to manually uninstalled & then download newer ones myself?

How would I go on to updating the bios to the max wattage (200watts)? Do I do this before updating the drivers or after at the very first boot up? Any video tutorials on this?

Is that all I needed to just turn it on, for the first time, for the maximum performance before undervolting & overclocking?

 

Update on the Black Screen issue.

So I ran a WhoCrashed after the screen crashed and went black, the results were related to a Nvidia driver, so I ran a clean install via DDU and it didnt fix anything..

Guess I'll try a different driver. I didnt boot into safe mode for the clean install though so maybe that was the issue, doubt it though.

The error I received when I checked WhoCrashed was nvldddmkm.sys (Nvidia Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 425.31)

Edit: Welp no surprise here, got stuck in safe mode. So reinstall here I come. Let's hope this fixes the issue.

Edit: Reinstall did nothing. Gotta be the GPU or something. GG

 

I'm trying to create a backup img from the 1TB RAID (2x512) that comes pre-installed by using a Macrium rescue USB with WinPE, but when WinPE boots up it does not recognize the RAID volume. I guess I will have to sideload the RAID drivers into the WinPE USB, but don't know where to obtain the appropriate RAID drivers for it and how to sideload them into the macrium rescue USB. It's my first time with macrium so I'm a bit lost. Can anyone help me on this?
Thanks in advance

 

@ssj92

Just checked AIDA64, the screen that I got is the LG 173WFG 17.3" FHD 144Hz Anti-Glare IPS Display w/ nVID IA G-SYNC + Tobii eyetracking technology not the AUO screen

0 backlight bleeding BTW, that's a first for Dell! an Alienware with no backlight bleeding!

 

You need the RAID Enabled Macrium Reflect Rescue Disk. If you had created that Rescue Disk on a non RAID system, then you would not have the RAID Drivers injected.

Here you go, use RUFUS to create the USB: Download Macrium Reflect RAID Enabled ISO

Here is how I restored mine, the RAID Array was 2x512 GB but my new SSDs were 2x2TB so it's even better, that way I have the image which contains Windows and the recovery partition then a lot of unallocated space after that so I can create a D: Partition after that for installing games/copying my data:

 

Thank you so much! I will try it tomorrow. Yes, I created the rescue USB from another laptop with no Raid volumes. I haven't even booted windows on this machine, I want an inmaculate image so if something goes wrong or start malfunctioning or having glitches I can always restore the original image and find out if it's a hardware or a software issue.
By the way I don't plan to clone the drives because I'm not switching the ssd drives as you have done, I will just create a backup img file that I could restore in the same factory drives if needed.
I'm reading a lot of stories about screens switching off or going blank after some time but as they don't have the original image with the factory drivers it's hard to know if those problems are hardware related or are more on the software side (drivers...)

@Ultra Male, I have seen you are replacing the original ssd drives that come from factory with samsum 970 pro, maybe I will do that in the near future if they are not good enough. Is there a big difference between the stock nvme that comes from Dell and the Samsung 970 pro/evo plus?

 

I'm unable to change my key colours, cannot see it in AWCC but I can change other colours

 

Alienware gave me the go ahead to swap the GPU from my old system into my replacement system, long say ahead of me...

I just feel like this is a driver issue though due to the (display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding error), but I'll try anything at this point. Wish me luck.

 

Nvm, reinstalling AWCC worked

 

Anyone know how I can reflash the BIOS with the same version? Going to try this before I swap GPUs.

 

That sucks bro, you even got your order after they delayed everything to fix those GPU blowouts right?

 

Yupp. But it's a 2070, not 2080. I'm going to do a couple more things.

First I'm going to swap my boot drive into the old machine to see if the issue persists so I can rule out software, then I'm going to swap the GPU from the old machine to the new machine. Waited nearly a month for this replacement...

 

Even with that driver error you pulled from bluescreen analyzer it could very well be a bad GPU that is causing that driver to die.... Good luck with the swap, might want to snap some pics as you go along, hopefully you got some Kuronaut?

The drive swap will be a good indication it's not software and quick and easy to do first, althoufh I'm willing to bet it's the GPU.

 

Bro I told you! Should have gone with the Area-51m from the start! The Dark side of the moon looks really nice too. White is just special but you'll need to maintain it a lot more to keep it fresh.

Post some RAID0 benchmarks later. I'm thinking of adding a second 970 Evo Plus for RAID0

 

Yeah ive got plenty of kryonaut.

Yup, exactly why I'm doing that first. Such a huge bummer though, this new GPU overclocked so damn well..

 

You're exactly like me man.

so when I was at the store today buying the laptop, the salesman told me that after I pay, they will open up the box and verify that it is working 100%. I'm like no way! No one is touching this machine but me while at home because I want to create a proper factory image before I touch anything or even start the Windows Welcome Wizard.

so the moment I turned on the laptop, I had my Macrium Reflect Rescue Disk, immediately booted off it and created the backup then turned the system off. Swapped the drives, then restore the image onto the new SSD after having had created their RAID 0 Array in the BIOS!

I don't know about the performance of the stock SSDs as I didn't use them but it should be lower than a Samsung 960 Pro definitaley. Will you notice? No way! As a regular or even power user, all SSDs (let alone NVMe SSDs) are super fast for day to day operations and you will not notice a difference other than in synthetic benchmarks.

The only reason I upgraded them is because I already had them and they are larger in capacity than what came with the machine.

 

It will be exciting to see the ssd bench results vs. what you got from your MSI

 

Yeah unfortunately it is the GPU.. Swapped the drive to the old machine and no issues as of yet.

Edit: Going to see if AW can send out a new GPU so I can swap it out myself.

 

I figured this video from Gamers Nexus will help out a lot of people here going through different problems related to hardware failure. Keep these things in mind folks as they are important. I didn't feel like writing a huge comment to bore everyone out of their minds lol.

 

@ssj92 What the heck man, I was lightly typing on the keyboard and the U Key just flew off. I keep trying to put it back in place but if I touch it again it pops out

any way to fix this or do I need to call Dell to replace the keyboard?

 

Time to cut your nails I guess. xD

 

I do not think they snap on. I they hook on underneath. Just pressing them down will not put it back on.

 

Your laptop has next day support? I recommend getting the keyboard replaced. There was another member here that had that problem too or I think it was on reddit.

New KB will probably not have that issue. You can try carefully putting it back on but if you can get a new keyboard through support I'd do that.

I spent a good hour putting my spacebar back onto my 2013 macbook pro LOL

 

G

Generally speaking, the alienware M series keys are always PRESS-ON kind of mechanisms with 2 plastic pieces making a tiny butterfly and the key gets pressed into them. Although it's a completely different story if you rage stomp on it after losing a game episode and break the mechanism.

 

yeah I hope they have the keyboard in stock man.

 

My 1 year old daughter learned to type on my MSI GT75 Titan keyboard by literally typing with her feet lol and not even one single key came off! The steel series keyboards are some of the best keyboards that I've used and feel that more manufacturers including Dell should use them. But that's just me.

 

would replacing the keyboard require dismantling the entire laptop?

 

Could you share a zoomed in picture of your broken key's backside and the place on keyboard where it is supposed to go? May be somebody (myself included) could help you out better that way. I'll be getting my machine on Monday so can't do a hands on experiment yet.

 

The service manual should help you with that. It has all disassembly steps detailed in a step wise manner. Really handy resource.

 

You are the second one with same problem within 24 hours. Not U but the C Key

Yees.

Edit. Alienware Area-51m Service Manual PDF

 

I havent had a laptop or gaming KB that is in any way better than the cherry brown mech kb on my old gt80s or (though not quite as good) the mx silver speed switches on the 83vr.
I am looking forward to trying the AW KB.

 

if it's the same keyboard as R4/R5, you can put it back again. but it's not easy. i previously pulled off one of my keys while wiping the keyboard and the edge got snagged on the cloth and got ripped off. took me half and hour to put it back again. it's hooked on four corners and u need to get the sequence right. extremely difficult but doable.

 

I quite like Cherry switches but they are kind of big for laptops. Steel Series switches are kind of smaller but still retain that tactile clickiness that makes the key strokes feel nice and enjoyable. I've tried a lot of laptops in the past and as much as I don't like the GT75 Titan (bad thermals, cheap internals etc), I think MSI did get the keyboard right on that thing. I could type on that thing all day and still enjoy it lol.

 

Hey that's typical alienware M series key! And guess what? I think you can fix it. Take a look at this video. It's very similar, athough the hooks of the metal retainer are a little different, but still you can pry them back on with a tiny screw driver or something.

 

I've tried the steel series keyboard on the MSI 16L3 and prefer the Area-51m keyboard as best thus far on a laptop with M18x being 2nd.

Doesn't look broken, just popped out. Take your time and look on videos on youtube on how to put it back. If it doesn't work out call Dell support.

I would look at the AW 17 R4/R5 keyboard videos on youtube as the keyboards are very similar.

 

yup. that's the same keyboard switch as R4. good luck putting it back. really need a lot of patience, and trial and error. it will never just snap back by pushing it down. hook one side of the hinges first. i cant remember if it's the wider hinge first or the shorter one. if it's not put in right, the key will be angled, not sit flushed with other keys and one side can be lifted.

 

but how to remove that white plastic he is playing around with? Mine's like stuck to the key itself

 

Ask for a new keyboard. Why fiddle with this? Damn... Its a brand new machine.

Attempting to fix a keyboard key that came off, should these be attached? If not, how can i reattach them? Its a 17 R4


Edit. The steps..

 

Hey man, how did it run you for? I've ordered through xotic but if Sharafdg is might be more convenient. I'm glad you have this system, which means free support for us.
Keep us updated mate.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

It must be clicked into some plastic clamp of some sort that you'll have to carefully pop to make it go free. Those white clamps are relatively soft plastic so as long as you are prying at a place far from the corners that have those tiny little hinges, it should bend enough to come out nicely. I'd use a small plastic pry tool and a magnifying glass to make sure i'm not breaking anything.

 

May be ask for a new keyboard and keep this one as a replacement backup.

 

got it out