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

Sad news guys, I turned off the laptop, wanted to put in my 2.5" drive to copy my old files to the secondary m2, added extra 16GB Ram, put the drive in, turn on the laptop, nothing. No post, no fans ramping up, nothing. Just AlienFX light show and a dark screen. Have been trying to get it to boot for the last one hour, nothing. No luck. I think I've lost the Russian Roulette. If I keep the system on for 5 mins plus, it heats up like crazy. Even the RAM and the drives heats up. Sad.

Can anyone share Dell UAE Toll free number?

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

ohh it does hit 5 GHz on one core. In the Alienware Command Center it doesn't give you an option for sliders for each core individually like in XTU. Just one slider.

 

Brother, Dell UAE contact number if you have please. My laptop is dead!

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

When working on the system, did you ensure you were NOT wearing any socks? Because if you were, that would cause static electricity and will short it immediately if you touch anything. Same thing if you were wearing shoes with rubber sole, it will hold the static electricity in your body that's why I'm always bare footed when I work on the system and keep my feet on the ground.

Also did you disconnect the battery??

Don't worry just call them and they will get you sorted. Let me know how it goes. They won't open until Sunday though

 

Use XTU


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Doesn't it conflict with the Command Center though?

 

Disable that for this test , AWCC has Avx 3 offset that’s why u get 4.7


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nVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 VBIOS v1.0.0.5

Looks like another re-release? This is getting old really..

@Prema

 

Thanks for the contact brother. I'm in touch with Alienware Tech support on Twitter, have messaged Azor too. I can't wait till Sunday to speak to them so trying to find a resolution as soon as possible.

And no socks whatsoever. I was in Hawaiian floaters and shorts mode when I opened up the laptop. It just died man!

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

When I read this forum I have the impression that the failure rate on this laptop is like one third of the total units. I ordered mine and should receive it on the 24th and I'm mentally prepared to return it and really excited at the same time

 

Tried reset bios?

Stop using Dell's proprietary OC app. It's intended for all of Dell's notebooks http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-owners-lounge.826831/page-1261#post-10921721

 

How do I reset the BIOS, there's no POST what so ever...

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

If Dell does'n't offer reset key command or reset button. Then try remove AC power, main battery and the Cmos battery. Hold in Power button at least 30 sec afterwards.

And un-do your hardware changes.

 

U can open it up and check that all connections are tight


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https://www.dell.com/support/articl...r-clear-the-nvram-on-your-dell-system?lang=en

 

Same old:

 

Just tried. Works great!

 

@VoodooChild Hey man, I sent you my number as a rep. call me

 

No it's not. This can happen when you are upgrading RAM. This has happened to me as well. The fix is to remove ALL ram, install factory sticks in slot 1 and 3, and boot the system. It WILL boot. Once booted, let it go to windows and then shutdown. Once shutdown, add one of the additional sticks to slot 3 and boot again. It will boot but might take a while. Then repeat the same procedure to add the next ram to slot 4. Don't try to add multiple RAMs at the same time or it won't boot. Guess how I know!

To reset BIOS, pull the button cell plug from the motherboard. It's a 2 pin connector under NVMe slot number 2 which is located right next to the battery.

 

@Papusan @nkc

How does this look? Fans were on balanced, lemme set them to performance

 

I've tried everything you guys have suggested BEFORE I posted my initial post.

Trust me, I've tried resetting the BIOS, using default RAM, battery drain...everything. I've also opened up the entire back cover to check for faulty/loose cables. Heck, I even applied a brand new layer of Gelid Extreme.

One peculiar thing about this issue is if I leave the system ON for 5 mins, everything is getting HOT like its about to explode!

I'm speaking with Alienware Twitter support as we speak. Let's see what comes out of it.

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

Set ur cache to 4.7 for better score , 3480*

Looking good already however ur 95 is a bit high , use performance or full , never balanced


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Mine is the same way ... I just slightly tilt my head when using it... It's because the panels are glued in and not screwed in.... Unfortunately no way to fix other then request replacement.

 

@Mr. Fox @Papusan @nkc

I set the multipliers to 51X and fan profile to Performance (not full speed). -100mV Undervolt:

 

Tell me one thing guys, how do you remove the cmos battery of this laptop? It looks cellotaped onto the laptop...

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

Use 50x 47 cache and -100 forget 51 pointless cos the system can’t cool it properly


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I'd still say, take a while and remove the BIOS battery for 5 minutes. Then add factory RAM sticks in slot 1 and 3 only! Then it should boot. I have done it before so telling you based on first hand experience. I also freaked out for a while but a little patience goes a long way as it takes a little longer than usual to boot when it sees RAM changes lol.

 

@Mr. Fox @Papusan @nkc

Ok same settings but now cache at 4.7

 

Remove the battery. You'll see a little tiny plug connector right under the corner edge of the motherboard which you can pull out using your finger nail. Plugging it back in should also be easy.

 

Oh he changed his ram ? If so , I remember u waited a long while patiently


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Now that’s what am talking about


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Found it! Thanks for the tip. Sadly, no POST. Just heat!
I've removed the 2.5" drives and the extra RAM as well. Nothing.

This feels like a furnace now. It's too hot.

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

Return everything back to stock and start one at a time and see


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Are you installing the factory ram sticks in Dimm 1 and Dimm 3 slots? No other slots will work initially. Just so that you know, Dimm 1 and Dimm 3 slots are on opposite sides and not on the same side. It should be written next to each slot which number it is.

 

My bad ! the site where i read about the specs, mentioned it was still a pre-production product. I was fooled so the 51m definitely has the weight on it's side. It's not much, but enough to feel a difference !
I totally agree that this could be an experiment to touch waters to see where the market is at.

Totally agree on that with you ! seems like we weren't far off each other.

Although the 51m has it problems (every machine sadly does) it's still a very good product, a shame of the burning issues and it being locked down, but it has proven itself to bench some pretty freaking high score's in the right hands.
No doubt it would be the same with the MSI GT76. I'm looking forward to your review ! browsing the 51m forum, seems like you have the necessary knowledge to make an informed unbiased review of a product.

 

Ok, I have tired this too.

Nothing. She's dead me thinks...

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

One last check (based on experience as well ) make sure that the DGFF ribbon connector that goes into the motherboard is not half unplugged. I made that mistake the very first time I put it back together and had to take it apart all the way and repaste as well just because I pulled a little on the connector unknowingly and it wasn't plugged in enough for the display to work. I am talking about that black single connector with white connection points, not the 2 ribbon connectors that go in with screws.

 

Ok,let me check. I've tried running the laptop with one RAM too, nothing.

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

Glued? You kidding?
My problem is that this is a replacement unit of the original one i bought 3 months ago and has the same problem.

Did you see mi picture on Page 1273?

 

Nope. It's all quiet here.

Press F to pay your respects boys!

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

Any physical signs of damage? Any burning issues? I have never seen a laptop die just because it was shut down!

 

If you try to boot with no RAM installed does it beep?

Try this old trick that we used to have to use with Alienware 17 (Ranger) and Alienware 18 (Viking) when they would get "bricked" by CPU and RAM overclocking efforts.

Dell/Alienware sucks at firmware, and they always have. They're just not good at it... at all.

Alienware 17 (Ranger) /18 (Viking) Owners** - How to 'Un-Brick' Your Mobo

 

Can you hear beeping signals? Or see any lights signals? Try without ram.

 

Aaahhh i miss the old days (and my old account).

 

No beeping sounds. Nothing! Tried it without RAM too. Nothing! Its super quiet here.

I've tried everything I've learnt for over 10 years of using AW systems and nothing has worked. I'm fairly confident that this laptop has bricked or there was a short circuit somewhere because within 5 mins of keep the system ON, it gets so hot that it feels like its about to explode. I mean, the power button is getting unbearable to touch and the keyboard is burning hot.

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

Are the fans plugged in and spinning?

 

Does the fans run?

 

I'm sorry mate, just read your post. Sadly, I cannot see my reputation on my phone and the laptop is not turning on. I'm too lazy and tired to turn on my M17xR3 which I've packed up in my attic for sending it back to India for my little cousin. It looks like I'll be back to that system from tomorrow.

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

Fans run for 1-2 secs max before laptop shows no other signs.... only alienfx lights....

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

@VoodooChild - if that previous suggestion does not work, (and I think there is a good chance it will,) try the sledge hammer approach. Dell has some kind of weird control freak issue with customers having the ability to clear NVRAM. They don't want you to be able to do that, and that is probably why it is not booting. It is saving corrupt values and you need to be able to wipe them out so the machine can reset all defaults and function again.

For the sledge hammer approach, remove the CPU from the socket and all RAM and turn the machine on. Remove the main battery and use only the AC adapter for power. If it will turn on, let it freak out and beep or flash itself to pieces until it eventually shuts itself off, then immediately unplug the AC adapter. Put the CPU back in with one stick of stock RAM and see if it will boot normally.

 

Sometimes it can stay without showing anything on the screen with only alienware FX lights running across the keyboard for a good 1 minute or so (only during RAM upgrades). Have you waited that long so far?

 

Ok, I will wait for a while now, let's see ....

Sent from a Galaxy S9+