Alienweare 17 sleep mode problems

So I got my new Alienware 17 on August 8th and I have been working to resolve the sleep mode issue ever since, I now realize that it is not unique problem because I am currently am sitting in front of two Brand new, NON-refurbished Alienware 17's. Maybe someone Dell tech support can help me.


So here is the problem:

Intermittently after a few hours in sleep mode my new Alienware 17 will not resume from this state, power turns on but screen stays black. If I immediately resume from sleep mode,, everything is fine(mostly) but the longer that the computer sleeps the more of a chance it will not recover. Once, it rebooted itself saying that it recovered from a BSOD but it just sits there frozen most of the time.

So here is what has been tried already:

Factory Reset through dell tech support, then turned off all non-essential services and programs: no help

Bois update, Reinstallation of ALL drivers, also done by dell, after Factory reset: no help

I have tried multiple driver variations from Nvidia: still nothing

Also tested all the power settings, including removing "hibernate mode" in registry

THEN after explaining my frustration to dell and many hours of support, they built and sent me ANOTHER BRAND NEW LAPTOP. I was actually surprised they did this because I still have my old one and well... anyway I started to feel all warm and fuzzy again about my purchase but again, this new one will not wake from sleep mode after an extended period of time.

So now I am sitting here with two(2) broken Alienware 17's -

What do I do now?

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer Alienware
System Model Alienware 17
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz, 2701 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Alienware A03, 7/15/2013
SMBIOS Version 2.7
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7601.17514"
Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 32.0 GB
Total Physical Memory 31.8 GB
Available Physical Memory 28.8 GB
Total Virtual Memory 63.6 GB
Available Virtual Memory 60.2 GB
Page File Space 31.8
ATA LITEONIT LMN 256 SCSI SSD
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 780M with 4GB GDDR5 Current Drivers installed are 327.23 WHQL
17.3" 120Hz WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) TrueLife Display w/3D Bundle
Broadcom 4352 802.11 ac 2x2 and Bluetooth 4.0

By the way, these specs are from the new one that just arrived Friday 9/20/2013

The only thing that I can think of is that maybe there is something wrong with the VBIOS?

 

That's strange to get 2 machines with exactly the same problem. I had this happen on my R3 and all the fixes never worked so I gave up. A little while later the HD failed and after replacing it the sleep started to work!? There is an A04 bios you might like to try.

I assume you have tried different video drivers as the later ones do have issues, so unless you are installing something I'm at a loss. The new one did this out-of-the-box?

 

Under Device Manager --> System Settings, do you have ACPI Lid installed? I had a similar issue with my R2 and removed the ACPI lid driver, restarted windows and let it reinstall. Also, if you Ctrl+Alt+Del with the blacked out screen after sleeping, will it activate the screen? That was one way I was able to circumvent the problem until I reinstalled the ACPI Lid driver.

 

Thanks, I will try A04, It could be the MSATA SSD, I suppose that I could install the OS on another HDD but it seems like a pretty far stretch. But I am running low on ideas so.....

 

I have tried Cnt+alt+del with the blacked screen and it does nothing, even when I open and close the lid, nothing. I will try the ACPI driver but it is currently installed along with the ACPI Fixed feature button and ACPI power button.

 

And yes it did this out of the box no tinkering or installing applications

 

Yup, it's grabbing at straws now, that's why I gave up and a reinstall on the HD is going to be a real pain, and you end up with a much slower machine

Another 'out there' idea. Have you tried an external monitor and see if it's the same. I wondered if it has to do with the 120hz display and no intel GPU but this again is a poor suggestion since it obviously works for others. You can also just turn off the cache in IRST to take that drive out of the equation.

I'm still confused as to why two machines do exactly the same - It would drive me nuts - as I'm sure it does you!

 

Now that you mention that, I recall uninstalling *all* the ACPI devices found in the device manager, rebooting, and let Windows reinstall all the ACPI compliant hardware. That's what was giving me problems, but I never had BSODs if I hard restarted it.

 

I also had this problem refer to my thread. I'm getting an exchange for my computer. It seems we have all been subjected to a bad batch of mother boards or video cards but yes my computer would say the same thing about recovering from a bsod and I thought it was video card related and I'm thinking it is. Because it would always have to do with the nvidia driver failing. And my computer had arrived the 13th so, fits my thoughts of a bad batch.

 

Maybe try an earlier driver? All the drivers since 314.22 have been having blank screen issues. You will need a modified inf file to install on the 7xx series and the modded one over on LaptopVideo2Go: Drivers will probably not have the card ID in it, but worth a try. If not the a PM to user j95 may get you the inf (he mods them himself ).

Could be a problem that has slipped by with the rush to get a 7xx driver out - and Nv are still struggling to get a good working one!

 

Yeah, but I have two bad laptops now, I think that chance that it is a hardware issue is pretty slim, unless they are all bad >< Please let me know if your new one works

1st one was ordered July something and then replacement was requested 1st of sept ish

 

Thanks for info, that is the only item I have not tried is the (new VBOIS) because I am not sure if that voids the warranty, and I do not want to get stuck with two bad non-warrentable computers but thanks, I might try with the 1st one before I send it back

 

Sounds like a plan but installing anything from dell's drivers and downloads will not effect warranty status. Whenever I have called them the first thing they have done is check the bios version and upgate it to the latest. Even when I have used later NV drivers all they do is roll it back to the dell one before starting any troubleshooting

 

I was talking about the Video Bios on the graphics card not the MB because I heard that dell installs a custom VBIOS. Some people have been flashing it back to stock or installing custom. Is that what you are talking about? Its also outside my comfort level because I have never done it or found an easy to understand "how to"

 

I did notice that on the new AW17 one they installed the 311.48 drivers stock, so I think that DELL thinks there are some driver issues with the newer ones too

 

Ah, yes dell do use their own vbios file (as do most laptop OEM's). The custom ones are usually to fix throttling or allow better overclocking. Downside is if the manufacturer ID in the vbios is not dell then 3d stops working

I was just mentioning that there is a later bios file so might as well try it out - just download and run (with nothing else running).

Using a different vbios would technically void the warranty but if it does not help then you just put the original back. It is more work than simply running an exe though and not something you should have to get involved with on a brand new machine at stock...

 

I don't have my AW 17 yet, hopefully soon.

However, I've had a similar problem with my ASUS G73JW (460M graphics).

Occasionally, after resuming from sleep or hibernation, the display remains black. I've found I can recover the system if I press the "sleep" button on the keyboard (configured by be FN F1 by ASUS) or hibernate (my power button) - and when the system resumes a second time - it usually gets the display back.

Since the problem only appears to be related to the graphics - and not the entire system (because the laptop does wake up very reliably to do nightly backups) - it's possible there is a problem related to the graphics driver that causes the display to be lost sometimes when recovering from sleep or hibernation.

Suggest that you try this on one of the AW 17's and see if going through the restart phase a second time will recover the system.

 

I had the same sleep not waking-up problem if I installed the newer driver from official NVIDIA download. I reversed back the DELL custom driver 311.48, then problem was disappeared. Using the driver 311.48 is restoring from "sleep" at no problem with my Alienware 17 2013.

 

Confirmed that the new drivers are bunk for AW 17(327.XX) sleep issues and that 311.48 are the best drivers for resolving this issue but still do not resolve my problem. I think mine might be related to the 3D/120hz screen. Anyone else have this option?

 

That does work when the computer screen turns off and will not come back on (also an issue with some driver sets) but nothing when in perma sleep.

Thanks anyway tho

 

My AW 17 shipped yesterday - so I should be able to investigate this later this week - and if I encounter the problem - look for a solution...

 

I do not have such problem and I even keep the system overnight in sleep mode. I use the latest driver from NVidia's website and the 780M 'Dell' card is revision A2 according to the NVidia Inspector / GPU-Z...

 

Yes, my system has the 3D/120hz screen.

 

I have the 120hz model as well but my issue is slightly different. I can sleep and resume from sleep just fine with 327 drivers. My issue is if I close the lid, the screen turns off but laptop is still on, when I reopen the lid the screen comes on but it is just black. The computer still functions fine.

 

If this is like other similar driver issues an external monitor may work?

Then try a switch display key combo.

Looks like there are a bunch of weird issues around the 120hz and NV drivers. 680's/120's have been starting with a black screen. Maybe someone could try a modded 314.22 since that is the one everyone with problems is saying works fine over in the NV drivers forum...

 

I have the exact same problem! I have the 3D/120hz screen too, and I run the latest Nvidia drivers. By the way, I also have a problem when using the HDMI IN. When I plug in my console, and switch to HDMI IN with fn+f9, I can see my console normally. But when I start a game and the screen goes to black for a sec, it doesn't come back. I then have to do the sleepmode trick (put it to sleep mode and start it up again) to get the screen back. Could you check if you have the same problem?

 

I have the same problem too. I also have the 3D screen. With my M17X-R3 closing the lid was the signal to hibernate, but with my new AW17 this doesn't work. It will only wake with a black screen. I'm using the latest nVidia drivers.

 

I have similar problem but not exactly the same - sometimes after waking up from sleep mode the screen does turn on but then immediatelly turns off. I am able to restart the system moving mouse heavily to keep it wake up ;-)
It was happening for A04 and A05 BIOSes, on Dell drivers and latest official NVidia drivers. I don't have 3D screen. Today it happened even without going into sleep mode but just after Windows 7 UAC screen (the screen to confirm executing application with admin rights), which started annoying me...
Do you have any thoughts?

 

Hi, Came across this thread looking for a solution to a similar problem I'm having with my M17:

My issue is a little different, if I set the lid power option to "do nothing" when closed (I use that for moving between power points etc, when I don't want to power down), the first time it's fine, second time I close the lid and reopen it (with out a reboot) the screen doesn't come back on and I have to power cycle the laptop.

(M17, 780m, December 2013 Nvidia drivers, Latest Dell system Bios, 3D screen, 750GB spindle disk, with mSATA)

If I set it to "sleep" it seems to be working fine!

Is anyone else having this issue with there system?

Cheers,

Matt

 

I not sure the BSOD you facing is same as mine. (something to do with the iaStorA.sys )
If yes, you can solve it by install the latest Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.
Open the program after the installation was successful.
You should be saw something like "acceleration using solid state drives isabled"
If yes, you go to "performance" tab, and there is something for you to click to.
I forgot what's that option, but after clicked, your IRST will be re-initialize and you should good to go.