*OFFICIAL* Alienware m15 Owner's Lounge

Hi all,I need an help.
My Alienware m15 come with only one ssd of 256gb,so I installed the OS on a larger ssd.
But I forgot to create a recovery support so now all the OEM partition are deleted and(maybe) for this I get randomly a BSOD with error code BAD POOL CALLER(that probably is caused by driver corruption).
So now I kindly ask if someone can upload a stock recovery image of this laptop.
Is the RTX 2060 one but I imagine that any Alienware m15 recovery image is fine.
Thanks so much

 

If no one helps you, you can do this yourself:

1) Backup ALL your data to an external HDD
2) Download the Dell USB Recovery Tool
3) Download all the drivers for your laptop and keep them ready on a separate driver for installation later
4) Install the Dell USB Recovery Tool and run it
5) Let it create the Dell SupportAssist Recovery USB Flash Disk for you (don't choose to download Windows 10 which is the 2nd option, just the Dell SupportAssist)
6) You will need a 16GB or larger USB Flash Disk for this
7) After you have created the Dell SupportAssist USB Flash Disk, reboot your computer and keep hitting the F12 key and boot from it
8) Once SupportAssist loads, it will give you an option to recover your system from the cloud, choose that and go through the prompts, it will restore the factory image and partitions for you

Lemme know if you need more help

 

Thanks for the exaustive answer but I already tried the restore via OS Recovery Tool but unfortunately when the cloud restore is loaded the download stuck at 1% and then an errer,that say something like “cannot download ...” occur.
I also run an hardware check at the boot but everything is okay.

 

Well if no one uploads the image for you, I can hook you up with the Alienware Area-51m image, should't be that different other than installing a few drivers perhaps.

In any case, when I use that image, I uninstall ALL the drivers anyway and then update them with the latest ones but that way, I have the recovery partition and SupportAssist option in the boot menu for easy recovery and have the DELL OEM stuff that make some stuff magically work which don't work on a clean install such as the Alienware Audio controls.

Alienware Area-51m Factory Image (Windows 10 Build 1809)

You will need to create a bootable Flash disk using Rufus with this Macrium Reflect Rescue Disk ISO

Other tools you will also need:

McAfee Products Removal Tool
Killer Uninstaller
Display Driver Uninstaller

Tips:

1- Ensure you have your LAN cable disconnected
2- When prompted to connect to the wireless network during the initial setup wizard, hit SKIP otherwise Windows will just start installing driver updates left and right. Only connect to the internet after you have uninstalled all what you want and installed the latest drivers offline
3- Display Driver Uninstaller has an option to also remove Audio Drivers, DO NOT use that otherwise it will wipe the Nahimic stuff. Only use it to get rid of the Intel and nVIDIA Graphics Drivers
=========================================================================================================================================
Download this and use the driver installation order as a reference and fill it up with your own laptop drivers, the Intel Chispet Drivers, Intel Management Engine, etc, can be used from this folder as they're the same across all laptops:

Alienware Area-51m Drivers (21-Jun)

Download = https://drive.google.com/open?id=19Er1MWvcck_83WzvJBwrMmFxbPi8oqdN

- New Thunderbolt Driver
- New Intel Integrated Solutions Sensor Driver
- New Intel Management Engine Interface Engine Driver
- New Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver

Don't forget to unblock the ZIP file before you extract it otherwise all the files within will have a BLOCKED Status.

See: "Are you sure you want to run this file?" [Yes or No]

 

I’m very grateful for the amazing support,I try do all steps you wrote and I’ll let you know.

Meanwhile if any in this thread can upload the specific Alienware m15 recovery image is very appreciated.

 

mmmm am i the only one here that got rid of alienware/dell support assist? didn't find it useful and everything seems to work as intended without it.

 

Have you confirmed Chrome as the culprit on the m15, i.e. is the power draw down after you turn it off? If so, try a different browser. I found Chrome to be a general CPU and resource hog and switched to Opera - much less resource intensive despite using Chromium underneath. Can also try turning hardware acceleration off in Chrome, or forcing integrated graphics use in Chrome through Nvidia control panel (although switching HW acceleration off in Opera was counterproductive for me).
Which Windows version are you on? I heard versions after 1809 are problematic, AFAIR one causes Optimus issues. Any insights from the Task Manager as to which processes could be hogging power?

I still keep it on, although this proactive support thing is invasive. On one occasion I booted with disconnected battery on purpose and the next day I got an email from Dell asking what's up with that ePSA battery alert.

Have you tried running the Dell Recovery Tool? Just have it create a factory image for your m15, then boot from the USB stick and select recovery from the media (or cloud, I imagine they are equivalent). The image is quite clean, has barely any Dell drivers, no 3rd party software etc. It's not the same as the factory image. Then just install all the drivers as required, and Dell software as per your preference. I installed everything from the support page + latest NVIDIA drivers and all is fine, you won't be missing anything of value from the factory image.

Update: sorry, missed the fact that you did a clean install in the first place. If you installed all the drivers from Dell support page, any BSODs are suspect. Do you know which driver was involved?

 

Yeah, none should install this or similar tools from the ODMs on their computers... Dell Discovers Yet Another SupportAssist Security Flaw @Ultra Male

 

Great, should probably uninstall unless someone can see any advantage. Even when I contacted Support through SupportAssist with my faulty mobo/GPU, they still asked me for details which I was hoping would already be provided by SupportAssist such as BIOS version or BSOD details.

 

@hawk1410

In Chrome there is an option under Advanced Settings to tell it not to run in the background, did you ensure you turned that off?

 

Also does anyone know if its possible to downgrade the bios even though mine shipped with 1.6.1, I believe 1.4.1 was the last Bios where the custom fan profiles worked right?

 

You should be able to, I upgrade to 1.6.1 and was able to downgrade

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

Hello,

I asked the support and they told me to install the 1.4.1 Bios. So it is possible and the support also told me to do it.

 

Nobody can help me giving me the stock m15 recovery image?
I really need it because I’m getting BSOD,and I want to verify that is a software/driver problem and not an hardware one.
Thank you in advance

 

Shouldn't you be able to download one straight from Dell?
https://www.dell.com/support/articl...s-recovery-image-in-microsoft-windows?lang=en

 

I thought you mentioned you re-installed the OS on the other drive, that means you still have the original 256GB drive with the factory image. Like I said before, if you are experiencing BSODs after clean install, something else is wrong and factory image won't help (it will likely make things worse, at least in my experience with a faulty mobo). What is the kernel driver involved the BSODs?

 

Hi, I have a m15 r1 and I updated the bios to 2.0.4 before reading the latest pages of this thread. Am I missing something? Should/Can I revert back?

 

I also formatted the 256gb drive,thinking it was useless.
Maybe the BSODs are caused by some inappropriate driver installed by default by Windows ( I don’t know what driver/s is involved ) .
Can I try again a clean install and ( like other user suggest ) not configure wifi in the initial setup,then download all the drivers in another drive and install all of it manually.

I try also this but the image created from the tool not recreate the stock partition.

 

The 2.0.4 is a minor update to support some now 9th CPUs, so you should be able to. Bear in mind a bunch of security fixes went in in 1.5.2, not sure if the microcode changes would get rolled back or not.

The 256GB SSD is kind of useless, which is why you might have kept it in case you need to return the laptop to Dell.

You can def do another offline reinstall, however, you are shooting in the dark since you seem to have no idea which component is causing the BSODs. Download WinDbg and load the dump to see which driver is involved if it wasn't clear from the BSOD itself.

Don't worry about the hidden partition, it's just a recovery image.

 

Which was the latest bios version where custom fan profiles were working? Would i be ok with 1.5.2 or should I go for 1.5.1

 

1.4.1 I believe

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

@etern4l

Hi mate, since i'm going to upgrade ram on my m15, can you confirm me it this is the model that you are using on yours? HX426S15IB2K2/32 (hyperX impact 32gb kit 2x16Gb module) i'm purchasing them through Amazon and it doesn't state if the are CL15 modules.

Thanks a bunch

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-HX426S15IB2K2-32-Impact-SODIMM/dp/B01NAL3TYY

That's the one, can't believe the price!

 

Thanks!

Yeah price looks good, found them in amazon.mx (i'm italian but i live in Mexico), at current change i'll be looking at around 150 €. Nice price for a 32gb kit.

 

Outstanding deal, we are getting overcharged for electronics in the UK as usual.

 

Wow, Azor is out: https://twitter.com/AzorFrank

I hope the guy who designed m15 R2 doesn't take over lol

 

Hahaha cracked me up
They better come back to their senses and stop with this "thin and light" gaming talk.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

 

Yeah I dunno who's stupid idea was it to think that ALL people want thin and light! Everything is thin and light now from phones to laptops. Give me a thick phone with a big 5000 mAH battery and I'm a happy man. Give me a thick 15 or 17 inch laptop that doesn't require me to re-paste and do cooling mods on a brand new laptop to make it run half decently and I'm a happy man. This thin and light BS ought to STOP!

 

Do you guys know what poeple with powerful desktop towers saying about gaming laptop?

 

I could only imagine...

 

Do you know that there are people with powerful desktop towers that, for several reasons, ex. work, do travel a lot and need something portable to game around when away from home? I do that for example. At home? i just use my desktop, i switch on my gaming laptop only for updates, re-paste if needed, download the games that i will be using when i will be >2 month away from home and then i stop using it until back for travel & work. That's my personal case of course, i take 8 planes each 2 months to go back and forth from home to work. I need something lightweight and thin, well knowing the downside and without high expectation for how they perform, but overall happy, because at the end of the day, they serve their purpose. Gaming and making me relax after an hard day at work, unfortunately really far away from my wife and daughter at home

 

My friends always ask how do you manage to carry bigger gaming laptop when we're happy with Thin 'n' Light gaming laptops? I could only laugh after showing their thermals versus mine which are above 80C on older games thanks to best applied thermal paste by OEMs.

 

Ignore list is bliss

 

I would just ignore attempts at derailing the discussion into the desktop vs laptop flame war (which is pointless for the reasons you mentioned alone), however, there is def a use case for a portable gaming laptop with a good battery life. The thing is it needn't be thin at all costs. They are not in competition with Lenovo Yoga or Macbook Air!

The design should prioritise battery life, cooling (lo and behold the AW 15 didn't need to have CPU fan running all the time!), storage capacity and performance, while keeping it all within reasonably portable chassis. I don't know why they killed off AW15, and this happened on Azor's watch. While I'm happy with my m15 after tuning, I'd take an AW 15 with a larger battery, better cooling, and even more storage space any day.

 

I’m thin light gaming laptops fan, and I make that as well. I travel for work EU Asia, probably will stay in Japan again. Don’t have time building laptop tower, repasting, delidding etc, I buy expensive one and use as it’s, 5 minutes software tweak Okay.
PC owners mostly say build powerful desktop buy cheap laptop and for gaming on go buy switch. I did short course by buying good portable gaming laptop, personally I only see laptop if it’s weight max 2,5kg more compact is preferred over that i translates it a desktop replacement

 

No point arguing really, different people have different needs and wants, there isn’t really a right or wrong in preferences. Some want thin and light that’s very portable that’s just good enough to play their games at respectable FPS and others want every ounce of performance and don’t mind some heft. It’s great that there options to suite everybody across vendors on the PC space.

Having said that, it’s kinda lame (my opinion) when RAM/WiFi card slot take barely any space and are removed, though I’m sure other than the relatively small enthusiast community like us people in this forum they won’t take a hit as few people upgrade parts unfortunately. I hope since the most vocal people are the small enthusiast community they back track on soldered RAM/WiFi on an updated version.

 

Reminded me of how not very long ago many experts predicted that PC gaming is just for a small group of enthusiasts and will be wiped out by consoles. Turns out there are a lot more enthusiasts than people had thought!

I bet most non-enthusiasts never heard of Alienware, nor do they care.

 

The great majority of people i know when they see my laptop actually ask about what brand is it, since they don't know, indeed

 

Hi,I’m here to thank you of the big effort you made doing this.
And also it seems that is all working fine in my laptop.
Only one question,my default bios setting in SATA operations is RAID and I change it to AHCI before the restore,is correct?
Thanks again

 

So guys I have an issue. I can't update my thunderbolt 3 drivers. Whenever I try to update it says it cannot find the setup.exe to uninstall it. I used CCleaner to try to uninstall it too but it didnt work and gave me the same error message. Any suggestions?

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

no, if you change it to AHCI it won't boot. Dell sets all their BIOS to RAID whether you're on an actual RAID array setup or single drive and thus, all their images are setup in RAID mode.

Where'd you get your Thunderbolt driver from? show me the link.

 

From the Dell m15 support site. I recently upgraded to windows 10 1903 and then downgraded back to 180# which might have caused some sort of corruption.

The link I used was
https://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER05...ntroller-Driver_TBT79_WIN_17.4.79.510_A12.EXE

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

1) This is the one I'm using and I suggest you to install as it's newer: Intel-Thunderbolt-Controller-Driver_TBT51_WN64_1.41.613.1_A03_02

2) Make sure you disable your AntiVirus

3) When you download the file, don't forget to unblock it first, see how to do this here: "Are you sure you want to run this file?" [Yes or No]

 

That's great and all but the problem is the thunderbolt installer wants to UNINSTALL the old version first otherwise it won't install.when it tries to do that and can't find the setup.exe file to uninstall the old one it fails to install.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

ok why not try to hit EXTRACT when you double click on that installer and extract the files to a folder, then manually update the driver by pointing it to that folder from device manager. The Thunderbolt driver is located towards the end of the list of devices under System devices

 

I couldn't find the thunderbolt controller in device manager but I'll try when I get home

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

Check again if you don't find it then we need to dig deeper into this issue.

 

Yea, that thunderbolt controller is no where to be found in my device manager.... Not sure where to go from here.

 

I need your TeamViewer ID/Pass bro

 

Send me a PM