Freeze on Boot and other issues

Brand new M17x, first boot went fine.....did the initial set up etc.

Shut it down, powered it up later in the day, booted fine. Downloaded Firefox and Yahoo Messenger. Used it for 3 hours, no issues. Shut it down for the night.

Powered on in the morning, freezes at the windows loading screen with two of the colored squares that make up the windows "flag" hanging on the display. Hard shut down, power up and it goes to "start windows normally" and the other repair option. Keyboard doesn't work so can't make a selection and it defaults to the repair. 10 minutes later it says "can't repair". Hard shut down and restart, powers up and works fine. Shut down at the end of the day.

Power up in the morning, same thing, keyboard doesn't work, goes into repair, this time completes the process, says a change in configuration is the issue but gives no specifics. Restart the computer, boots fine. Shut it down and came to work to complain about it.


Anyone have any suggestions? Be advised, I have zero patience and tolerance for a company that sells crap and do not intend to spend an excessive amount of time "fixing" this computer, I will return it and buy a Clevo or other top brand for gaming if necessary.

 

Sorry to hear about the problems you've been having.

What all have you done with it since receiving it? Does the computer boot in safe mode?

You may want to try using Alienware Respawn to return it to the factory image, just in case something messed up Windows.
The other option I would consider is a clean installation.

What sort of updates did you do to it? When I was using my computer for the first month, Windows 7 screwed up an automatic update (without notifying me, I had to track down the problem) and corrupted my registry.

 

I don't allow automatic updates and no updates have been applied as of yet.

The only thing done since receiving it was downloading and installing Firefox and Yahoo Messenger and installing Far Cry 2 (which was played for 10 minutes just to confirm smooth operation of the video card). I also installed CPUz, GPUz and VLC media player but have not used any of them yet.

In short, nothing has been installed that should cause an issue of this nature. I do not have access to a fast enough connection to download drivers and will be forced to use the ones that came on the resource disc should I have to do a reinstall. The only Windows disc I have is the one that came with the computer as well.

Edit: Also installed Office 2010, factory Microsoft disc and product key, not a pirated copy.

I am very unimpressed with the quality of this product considering the cost.

Brought it to the office, booted it up, same thing.......freezes up, hard reset, goes to the Normal or Repair window but no keyboard input so it waits 30 seconds and boots in repair mode, says it can't fix it. Shut down, power up, boots normally.

Getting frustrated, going to blow it away and do a reinstall using provided discs. If this doesn't fix it, it gets returned for a refund and I buy a working system as opposed to a Dell.

Reinstall failed to work, kept freezing up. Finally got in touch with someone at Dell, BIOS was set to RAID even though I have 1 hard drive, they had me set it to AHCI. Computer wouldn't boot at all after that, they now have me reinstalling windows with the new setting. Guess we'll see if this works.

Thoroughly unimpressed with Dell at this point, hope this works as I'll be out a computer for 32 days if it doesn't. Wonder if they'll try to hit me with a "restocking" fee if I return it.

 

Do a clean re-install using a Windows 7 disc, and then install drivers from the dell site.

Windows 7 links: http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html
Drivers guide: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html

I'm fairly adamant that will work.

 

Not an option, only Windows 7 Disc I have is the one that came with it and network connection will not support a massive drivers download, took 4 hours to download a 268MB file yesterday. Tech Support is going to walk me through doing it with the Dell provided discs that came with the laptop and then transfer me to Customer Care so I can arrange for the return.

 

Sorry for your troubles. The keyboard, which seems to be the primary irritant, is controlled primarily by the EC. Try installing/reinstalling BIOS A08 or A09 to correct a possible corrupt BIOS/EC state. Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States] (A08; 3MB, less than a typical mp3 song file). You might also run the built-in diagnostics utiility accessible through the F12 boot options screen to identify any hardware issues that might require attention. However, anyone who categorically refuses to update Windows 7 or device drivers can expect all manner of operations glitches and inconsistencies. That's not Alienware's failure or Windows' deficiency, it is the nature of the beast we have chosen. It will be no different with a Clevo/Sager, Asus or the like. Given the circumstances, something less ambitious, like an Apple, might be more suitable.

 

No Sir, this is in fact a DELL issue. The BIOS was not correctly set by DELL, the resource disc that was sent with the computer was sent by DELL, the tech support that was unable to help me repair this computer worked for DELL, to claim DELL isn't responsible is borderline asinine.

I have had Apple, I chose Alienware because it's supposed to be "THE BEST" period. Obviously I didn't get "THE BEST. I have now spent over 2 hours (I'm still on the phone) with DELL trying to get this resolved, please don't patronize me. My primary complaint is NOT with the keyboard, it is with a computer that only boots when it feels like it.

 

Sorry to hear about all your troubles. Might have been best to wait until you were back home before ordering. If you do decide on a Clevo/Sager model, I hope it works out for you.

 

Yeah, might have but at the time I had 2 months left out here and wanted a computer to pass the time with. All the same, problems here or at home would not have made me a happy camper, not for the kind of money I spent to get what was supposed to be a quality product. Even with a full reinstall of windows (only missing the wireless driver as it wasn't on the disc that came with the computer) the same symptom occurs, if the computer is off for more than 5 minutes then when it is booted up it freezes and I have to do a "restore" before I can use it.

Don't know if that's a hard drive issue or what, but it's unacceptable no matter what the cause is.

 

If your problem is a bad BIOS or defective hardware, then no question it is Dell's fault. There is also no question that the Dell tech's advice that the SATA setting is/was incorrect in BIOS was wrong; it makes no difference whether you use Raid or AHCI so long as the SATA mode and the formatted mode are the same. But the only way to determine whether the BIOS or EC is partially corrupt is to reflash; if that fixes the problem, it was the problem; otherwise, it was not. Given the limited accessible resources, the best method to determine hardware functionality is the F12 diagnostics routine. These allow you to identify more particularly the causes and the remedies required if one is interested in making the computer work properly. On the other hand, you are entirely correct that you should not have to undertake any of this to get a fully functional computer from the factory, irrespective of cost, but particularly given the expense involved with Alienware. Send it home and demand a new replacement or a refund. I had to do the same thing, and it worked out perfectly.

 

As stated in my earlier thread, I received my M17x on the 23rd of Feb. From day one it has not functioned properly.

I spent in excess of two hours on the phone with Alienware Support attempting to resolve the issue with no luck. We completely reinstalled Windows from the provided disc, and then installed the drivers from the resource disc.

The resource disc did not include the Bigfoot wireless driver, and the Atheros that was provided is not recognized by the Bigfoot card. (No wireless available on the computer at the moment) In addition there were several other preinstalled pieces of software that were not included on the resource disc.

After spending an additional two hours on the phone getting bounced around by Dell I was told that I would have to call back on Monday if I wanted to get any resolution to my problem.

I would highly recommend against doing any business with this company at this point. I do not want an exchange I want a refund and I will make that clear on Monday. To those of you that love your computers and Dell, I'm glad you are satisfied and I hope your systems continue to perform well for you, but I do not have the patience to deal with incompetence such as I've had to deal with today, nor do I have the desire to throw my money away on an inferior product.

I fully intend to contact Dell via their FACEBOOK page and post this statement there as well, in addition I will post it on every tech site I am able to find. They effectively stole $2036.00 me and want me to wait 2 days before even discussing whether or not I can have my money back or a working system, this is unacceptable.

 

Sorry to hear about your problem. Have you tried getting the drivers from the Dell website?

 

We performed the diagnostics routine during the marathon telephone call, it failed but the only failure was lack of input from the user when it asked a y/n question, and that was because the keyboard didn't work. When the computer boots and operates normally, the keyboard functions (just flexes a lot) but when I have to do the hard reset because of it freezing on boot, the keyboard doesn't work in the diagnostic phase nor will it allow me to select "start windows normally". I am going to attempt to download the bios if my connection will allow it.

 

First I have to try and get the BIOS and reflash it to see if that resolves the boot issue..........the problem I face is that I'm lucky to get a transfer rate of 9 - 11kb sec on the network I have access to out here. Going to try it in a little while, after I'm done venting on Dell and Alienware's facebook pages.

 

Well, good luck with it. There's a lot of expertise and experience available in the forum should that be useful, but if the BIOS flash doesn't work, take advantage of the warranty and the return option to get one that works as intended. The R3's really are excellent when right.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I understand your frustration, but your actions seem to imply that Dell/Alienware aren't going to try and help you out. You claim they stole your money, but if in fact you want a refund, you'll get one. Just tell them on Monday that you want the refund and refuse any counter offer they give you. They probably can't handle your situation properly because it's the weekend and the department is closed. Most companies are closed on the weekends. It sux your system is failing, but in fact most systems work perfect out the box. There's always a chance that something will go wrong with an order. Let's say you purchased a Clevo/Sager model as you stated you should have done earlier. You wouldn't be able to get it serviced out of country. At least with Dell you'd get worldwide coverage (at least most of the world). I'm not a Dell/Alienware fanboy. I've owned one Dell computer about 10 years ago and I'm awaiting my first Alienware product. I hope I don't fall under the same situation as you, but if I do, I expect Dell to fix the issue either with a repair or a replacement. From what I have read online, Dell will definitely resolve any issue within their warranty period. Yes I expect a perfect machine out the box, but if I fall into the few that don't, I know it'll be taken care of. That's why I choose Alienware over a Clevo model. With a Clevo reseller, I wouldn't be able to get full warranty coverage because I am moving to England. Within the US they would cover it with free shipping no problem, outside of the US, I would pay for shipping. With Dell, they'll cover me in England.

I'm not trying to argue with you or say your making a huge mistake by demanding a refund. If your unhappy, do what is best for you. But to try and single handedly ruin a companies rep because your machine is faulty is a bit over the top, at least to me. Perhaps if they were going to do nothing to help you out or recompensate you, then I would understand. But they are willing to help you out, and they will recompensate you. I would think on Monday they will try and get your system repaired, offer you a brand new system (with perhaps upgrades), and would probably offer you a partial refund on top of it. For me, tha would take away a bit of the frustration I would have.

Please don't take this as a rant or attack against you. I do hope you get everything resolved and done so in a timely matter. If you do end up getting a refund and going with another company, please keep us posted and let us know the system specs you go with. Good luck with everything, and glad to know your time over there is almost up and your returning home safely.

 

Well, 10 minutes do download a 3.6MB file but I got the BIOS flashed to A08.........downloading the Bigfoot driver now, 42.8MB file, 45 minutes remaining according to the download manager.


I haven't shut down and rebooted yet (aside from the BIOS flash) but will post up any results.

I don't particularly want to ruin a reputation, not that I as a single individual could anyway, but I do want to make sure people are aware of the shoddy treatment they dish out. I mean really, keep me on the phone for 4 hours, tell me that you're going to transfer me to someone that can help me, then let me learn from a computerized voice that they're closed until Monday. Hire people that know what's going on and incidents like that are avoided. Then when I do get a real live human on the phone, keep me talking for 30 minutes and tell me you can't help me until Monday AGAIN? Really? That is enough to the pope off, much less an already irritated guy stuck 8000 miles from home ya know?

I just want my junk to work for at least the last month I have out here, once I'm home they can take it and keep it for a month if they have to (though I'd prefer they just replaced that damned thing) and I won't really miss it, but out here it's a lifeline.

 

It's statistics I'm afraid. I've had an M17x myself, and it was great. You're just unfortunately one of the few that has problems. In which case, you do the usual things that everyone has to do, and if that doesn't sort it, you get parts replaced. Computers coming off Dell/Alienware's assembly line just won't all be perfect.

As for their tech support? Well that's almost always universally horrible. Nothing you can do there.

 

Sorry for your troubles, I had similar issues with my first machine, but after getting it replaced I have never been happier.

If you can't get it perfect, or only get it halfway working, just ask for a new replacement and give them your home address, maybe even tell them to use slower shipping speed to insure it doesn't get there too soon. They will let you keep that one while they build you a new one, and by the time you get home the new one should be there or coming soon and you can return that one.

It is just sad this happened to you. If you were not deployed then this would be fixed within a few days with in-home service. There are a pretty limited number of things it could be, and they would figure it out quickly. Sadly, with your situation it is kind of a major problem.

My advice would be see if sleep has the same problems. See if hibernate has the same problems. If for example hibernate is fine then just use that, it shuts the computer down totally, will boot back up faster, and might just avoid this issue.

I also wouldn't bother letting it repair, just hard reset again and get it to boot. Does your keyboard respond to like F12 at the initial boot screen those times when it normally won't respond later?

The problem could be as simple as a needed Windows update (which you can't get right now). Many of the problems with my first unit resolved after I got all the updates. That doesn't help you though, since you can't get the updates.

 

Hmm. Good luck getting them to want to help if you go overboard on that program. (I know I would be motivated, LOL.) Here's a good read: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/647733-dealing-dell-keys-success.html. Being frustrated is understandable. I would be as well.

These are machines. Things can sometimes go wrong with machines, especially when they are assembled in places where the employees don't care. (The Alienware laptops are built by Compal and shipped directly to the customer from China without ever being touched by Dell employees.) Quality control could be better, without question. But, these are awesome machines, excellent build, and Dell's warranty takes care of you when things like this go wrong. Be sure to go only through Alienware Support in the US or Costa Rica whenever possible (calling 1-800-ALIENWARE probably does not work where you are located) because the end result is generally better and requires less effort. Being in Afghanistan is going to make it more difficult to get good help no matter what brand of computer you were to buy. I think the incompetence you experienced on the phone is just another fine example of outsourcing at its best. Based on your location, my guess is that you were talking to the outsourced Dell India support group. I've been down that road before (XPS Support is over there) and it's a pretty poor excuse for Tech Support. Still way better than most of Dell's competitors, but not what I would consider good.

 

i'm really sorry to hear about your problems. you should be enjoying ur new laptop, not spending endless hours with tech support.

if anyone from Dell is listening, i was about to pull the trigger on m17x but i'm seriously having the second thought...

hope it gets resolved soon

 

Mr. Fox,

The tech support individual I dealt with for the first 2 hours was from Costa Rica, and yes he was nothing short of professional and extremely helpful, his only fault being that he didn't know that Customer Care was closed. In fact it was his suggestion that the system be exchanged. My issues stem from everything forward of that point. Constant hand offs to other areas, each keeping me on the phone for between 15 and 59mins only to be told to call back on Monday. I have fortunately never had to deal with Dell India and hope to keep it that way.

I'm sure the machine would be great if it worked right, it's the getting it to work part that has me spun up...........as I said even before it arrived, I shouldn't have to "fix" something I just purchased brand new, especially not to just be able to use it to surf the web, I mean it's not as if I'm having horrible frame rates playing a game, I can't even get it to reliably boot into a basic operating mode.

I have thus far been able to get my wireless driver downloaded, the A08 Bios flash installed and am in the process (at 9kb per second) of getting .NET Framework downloaded so I can then download the Command Center.

I'm going to give the Hibernation-Sleep method a try and see if that works and on Monday when I call Customer Care I will give them the option of shipping a replacement to my home address in CONUS and allowing me to return this one when I get home at the end of March, or refunding my money and paying for FED EX shipping from Jalalabad to their offices for this return. Those are the only options I am willing to entertain at this point. We will see how it goes.

I do not want "compensation" in the form of upgrades or discounts, I only want what I paid for to function as advertised.

I have downloaded and saved the Command Center application multiple times from the Dell Support page but each time it fails to show where I saved it and it won't show up in a SEARCH. Any suggestions?

Also, I have an "Unknown Device" showing in my Device Manager, Windows can't identify it, it is listed under "Other Devices". How can I identify this and get the driver for it?


EDIT: I was finally able to get the Command Center and OSD installed and that eliminated the unknown device from my device manager. I show no missing drivers or conflicts though I am pretty sure the video card driver for the 6990m is not correct as it's identifying as a 6970m. Will do a search on here for a newer driver and spend the next 5 hours downloading it. lol

 

Slim, the 6990 and 6970 have the same device ID so often times, they are reported incorrectly. The driver was probably installed correctly. The newer AMD drivers will identify it as 6900m series

 

SlimShady - I really am sad to hear what you're going through, bro. Alienware systems really are awesome, but when you run into problems like you have, it certainly takes the joy out of ownership.

If you run into ongoing issues getting resolution, we have several Dell/Alienware representatives here in our forums that can be sent a PM asking for intervention. If you end up needing to know who they are, please send me a PM and I will put you in contact with them. I suspect you will find resolution when you are back in contact with the folks in Costa Rica. That support team is very good.

From the symptoms you have described, I am leaning toward the possibility of a faulty hard drive if your OS re-installation has not resolved all the issues. Do you have 2 HDD in RAID0, SSD or a single HDD? The fact that a file you are downloading is disappearing and symptoms such as inconsistent behavior and freezing that occurs between reboots, sound like there could be a problem with a drive defect. I would recommend running some scan tests on the drive(s) to see if any errors are found. If there are no errors and the OS re-install has resolved the problems, it is possible that drive information was corrupted during transit. If the system was subjected to overly aggressive x-ray or MRI scanning repeatedly when going through security checkpoints, that could also cause corruption. Rough handling can damage platters on mechanical hard drives. I don't know what path the system took getting to you in Afghanistan, so I am throwing ideas out that might explain what could have happened.

Perhaps one of the most common unknown devices on the M17x R3 and M18x, especially after a Windows installation, is the HDD free-fall sensor. It is frequently overlooked during driver installation and Windows cannot identify it. (Edit: I see you got that sorted and it was OSD and AWCC. I missed your edit about that.)

As SlickDude80 pointed out, AMD does not always identify their video cards correctly by name in Device Manager because of the way their drivers are written. I seriously doubt there is anything wrong in this regard. With AMD reference drivers, the 6970M and 6990M are both identified as 6900M Series. This has caused a lot of confusion for some AMD owners. You can tell by clock speeds and shader counts which display adapter is installed in your machine. Look at information in this thread and you can verify you have the hardware you paid for: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/618628-6970-6990-a.html.

I am assuming you are deployed on active duty with our armed forces. If this is correct, thank you for your service to our country. It is appreciated.

 

Mr. Fox and Slick,

Thanks for the info on the video card.

I did do a scan on the hard drive, no errors were detected. The free fall sensor driver was reinstalled when I did the full reinstall on while on the phone with Tech Support so that is good. As to the files not saving properly, honestly I suspect that issue is more network connection related as this morning my connect speeds were in the neighborhood of 34kb/sec and I was finally able to get CC and OSD installed and working. At this point I believe I have everything back up and operating and am only missing the pre-installed software (WoW and Steam) that came on the computer, neither of which I necessarily planned to use anyway, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that maybe it'll work now. Also, I have a single 750GB 7.2K HDD in the machine. The original BIOS was set to RAID but when on the phone with Tech Support they had me change it to AHCI. Once I did that the computer would BSOD on every boot attempt and automatically attempt to reboot.........it was at that point that they had me delete all partitions and do a complete reinstall. I know that I lost my restore / backup capability when that took place but if I can get it working well enough to last until I replace the HDD with an SSD or get it exchanged if it never works right I won't miss it. On another note, the eject button on the top right of the keyboard area doesn't seem to be working, I have to open "Computer" and right click and select "eject" in order to get the disc out. This wasn't the case prior to the reinstall, so I'm guessing maybe there's something else missing in the drivers area that isn't showing in device manager. Any ideas would be appreciated.

The problem usually didn't occur during a re-boot, in fact when installing the OS and drivers that required rebooting, the system came up fine each time. Generally the problem occurs on power up from a completely off state, though I just powered it down for a little over and hour after installing the OSD software and when I powered it back up it booted normally. I do see a slight hesitation in the windows colors as they swirl on boot that happens at the same time the fan speed slows down, power issue perhaps? At any rate, I appreciate the help you folks here have given, and the tolerance for my tantrums too for that matter, I'm Irish and German and I have a temper. haha

One last note, I am no loger Active Duty military, got out in 1999, but I work for Uncle Sam as a Department of the Army Civilian and am deployed with the Army here in Afghanistan in that capacity. I can say that the soldiers out here do appreciate the support and gratitude you guys back home show them though and I will make sure I pass that information on to them.

 

just wanted to say that the eject button not working is usually because the OSD isn't installed. I know you said you already installed it, so it should be working now. Do the rest of the buttons up there work?

 

I haven't tried it since I reinstalled the OSD software, it's downloading 297GB worth of Windows Updates at the moment and I'm in my office. I'll stop back over after my folks get back from lunch and see how it's coming.

Thanks for the tip.

 

anytime man, hope you get your system working. Sucks that you have to go through all this effort to get it fixed.

 

Glad to see you haven't fully given up on your system. I hope you get things squared out with a fully functional replacement once you get home.

 

SlimShady - as far as pre-installed software, go to your support.dell.com account, log-in and find the link for "My Dell Downloads" to get the PowerDVD, webcam software and other pre-install stuff.

Also, AlienAutopsy is available for download through another link. (This is the Alienware branded version of PC-Doctor and it's a pretty decent program to have.) Here is a post from one of the Alienware Tech Support Reps that is a member of our forum, along with a link for downloading AlienAutopsy. http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ienautopsy-software-where-can-i-download.html

Glad things are looking up for you, man.

 

Okay, so far it's taken all of the updates without giving me any issues. I have powered it down and brought it back up 3 times without issue so far, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything as in the previous couple of days, before all of the "fixing" it would come up from a powered down state fine if it was only off for 5 or 10 minutes, but when I brought it up from powered off for more than an hour or so it would hang, once I finish getting the rest of the software I've saved on my external drive put back on I'll shut it down for a few hours and see how it goes. Don't think I'll ever have any confidence in it after this and still intend to request a replacement.

Okay, probably speaking prematurely here, but it looks like it's fixed. No boot issues the last 3 power ups...............with any luck I'm finally seeing what a functional M17 is supposed to do............

Thanks to all that provided assistance.

 

Nice to see it functioning as it should. Not sure what your work and living conditions are, but do you think perhaps a little dirt might have crept into your system. I know it's probably far fetched and I'm pretty sure you've been very careful, but from what I've been told (I haven't deployed yet) dirt tends to creep up everywhere.

 

If everything is working as it should, I would not ask for an exchange. That's just my opinion. Clearly, if the OS reinstall took care of everything and there are no further problems you have conclusively ruled out a hardware issue.

As I mentioned in a previous post, it is possible the problems you experienced somehow occurred after the system left the factory. I know that x-ray and MRI scanning machines that are used by TSA and other security screening authorities can destroy data on hard drives if their settings are out of whack.

 

Well, after several boots from a power off state without issue I concluded that the issue was resolved, shut the computer down and lay down to rest until the 500 started.........when I got up, I fired up the laptop and of course, frozen during boot. I am so disgusted that I left it sitting on the "repair or normal" screen, where of course the keyboard wasn't responding, and came to the office to watch the race. It definitely needs to go back for exchange or return, even if it suddenly started working perfect every day between now and when I get home I'll never trust the piece of junk.

 

you got windows sp1 installed? I've always had random BSOD's and other issues without it. Not sure why, but every time after i install it, it never BSOD's or freezes up again. Just an idea.

 

Yeah, SP1 and every update as of 4:49am EST this morning. It is most certainly a hardware issue, there is no other explanation given that each and every piece of software, from the BIOS up, has been replaced without changing the symptom. I'll play the marathon phone call game with Dell again tomorrow and hopefully they'll make it right.

The only way to get it to boot is to select the system restore option when it comes up. The only error message it finds when I click the "details" hyperlink is "Unspecified changes to system configuration might have caused the problem". No changes to the configuration were made so I'm not sure why it's doing what it's doing.

I honestly believe at this point that further efforts on my part are pointless and all I can do is wait for Dell to exchange it or refund my money when I get home next month.

 

Don't want throw a cog in the wheel, but thing is...if it was a hardware issue, you wouldn't be able to boot...period. Being able to boot by choosing system restore seems to be a software issue to me

 

It is most definitely possible to boot with a hardware problem. It depends on what kind of hardware problem. I'm still not convinced that it is not a HDD failure. Even though it may pass tests does not mean it is free from an intermittent problem. Some of the symptoms sound like a drive that is having read errors. Dell just released a firmware update for the Seagate 750GB.

 

Very well could be a HDD or a firmware issue

 

Downloading the firmware for the Seagate now, looks like it was released on the 25th.

Noticed that the system restore erased all of the other driver and software (Command Center, OSD Application) that I downloaded the other day when I was reinstalling the OS, but the device manager shows nothing missing or inoperative. Did lose Firefox as well, but it kept the Yahoo messenger install that was downloaded and installed after the drivers and Firefox.

 

If the downloaded installation packages are continuing to disappear from your drive, then I would say that you definitely have a dying hard drive. System restore does not erase user generated data files, (which includes the packages downloaded for installation,) it only does an "undo" of system changes.

Be careful if the BIOS is set to RAID, then you will need to apply the firmware in DOS mode, with the BIOS temporarily set to AHCI. The Windows version of the firmware may create problems if you try to flash the firmware with the BIOS set for RAID.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/648214-new-seagate-firmware-st9750420as.html

 

Got ya, BIOS is set to AHCI and the firmware install went fine...........the drivers that I couldn't find in my "documents" folder where I'd downloaded the zip files to showed back up after the reboot from the firmware install.

I'm going to see if I can find the AlienAutopsy you mentioned and run that.

 

Dell really shouldn't give you any trouble about this, in fact, you really don't even need to do more tech support if you don't feel like it.

Just call in, explain it arrived with issues, that you are not satisfied with it as a brand new unit, and you would like a new unit exchange. Since you are within 21 days and the unit arrived from Dell with issues then there really isn't an argument and they should do it with no issue. If they ask to troubleshoot it just explain you have already spent lots of time and even if they manage to get it kind of working you are never going to be satisfied with this unit because you just don't trust it. One recommendation is make sure they get your nameplate right, when I did my exchange it got delayed by a few days because they didn't get my nameplate info, and had to call me to correct it which set the EDD back.

That sounds promising, maybe it was just an HDD firmware problem, which would explain the random boot problems as well.

 

Downloaded, installed and ran Alien Autopsy, passed all tests except the two SMART tests on the HDD.......said it couldn't run those but didn't give a reason.

I'm calling them again this evening (my time) and giving them the option of shipping a replacement to my house in PA and allowing me to ship this one back when I get home at the end of March, or refunding my purchase price, under no circumstances will I keep this computer, the randomness of the error leads me to believe that even should a tech come out and work on it, once he gets it to boot fine he'll call it good and I'll have it freeze up again an hour later. Just not worth the risk to me.

 

After reading through your posts it looks like a hard drive problem to me, like Mr. Fox mentioned.

I actually had a friend with similar issues on an Inspiron 15, and we spent a few days trying to diagnose the issue. They sent him a new hard drive and all was well.

I hope you can work things out with them and get a properly working unit. As others have said, they don't have any argument for not working with you on a replacement or refund.

 

I should know in an hour or so if it's a hard drive problem, I had a 500GB Momentus out of an old ASUS that was still good so I'm in the process of installing Windows on it and all of the drivers. Once that's done, I'll do all of the updates and shut it down for a bit just to see if it's going to freeze when it boots.

 

I am continuously being boucned from one Indian Tech / Customer support panel to another. I am getting absolutely nowhere with these people.

Is there anyone in Round Rock Texas I can deal with? Between an inability to speak English and a complete lack of concern for correcting this issue I don't think I want an exchange, I just want my money back if I can't speak to a native English speaker that can resolve the issues I have with this system.

 

SlimShady, I sent you a PM. Sorry you're getting the run-around from the Support Team in India. It seems they use a flowchart and don't know how to function without it. It is very frustrating and I cannot say that I ever have experienced anything different. I always get better results from the US and Costa Rican support teams.

 

Thanks Mr. Fox, I PM'd all you suggested and have heard back from two of them. Looking like no matter what I'm stuck with what I have until the end of March at the earliest though, hopefully I can limp it through until then with basic communications software on it and just not game on it.

 

Did the new HDD solve the issue?