Just received my m17x r4, problem with date and time (bios?)

I've received my m17x r4 just a few days ago and it already has some problems ._.

Performance wise it's perfect. The problem is the setting of date and time.

Every time I restart the laptop, the bios configures itself as 1st january 2011. EVERY SINGLE TIME -.- As a result of this the d&t setting in windows 7 gets messed up. For example, if i restart the computer now I'll get 16th june 2012 in windows 7. If I update d&t via internet it works fine and it's now correctly set at 6am 22nd of june 2012, but as soon as I restart the laptop I get the same problem over and over again, giving me heaps of authentication problems.

Any idea?

edit: as soon as I received it I used Alienware respawn to have a recivery usb flash drive. I've already tried to do that with no success.

 

It must be that the CMOS battery is not correctly placed. Try reseatting it. Here is how.
If after doing that the issue persists you may need a hardware replacement (CMOS Battery) so please send us an e-mail to [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Remember to add your service tag and contact information.

 

Just checked the bios battery, it's correctly placed, still getting the same error, will send an email to you, thanx

 

E-mail received and assigned. Please keep us posted here

 

Thanx xD
To be honest i'm slightly worried about my laptop, I've spent a bit of time on google and it looks like most people who had my same problem on a new machine (where it would be weird to have a dead battery on arrival) had some kind of major motherboard fault and required replacement/refund ._. Very few people actually managed to fix everything with a new battery, I guess i'll need to keep my fingers crossed.

 

We may need to replace the motherboard, you are right but we will send all parts at once for him to fix it.

 

Fingers crossed then xD
What's going to happen now though? With my service tag number do you have all the required details or will someone from dell's support contact me again?

 

You should be hearing from one of our Reps. very soon.

 

Ok, i'll wait for that ^_^

Additional detail, there are times when windows 7 changes its date spontaneously, it happened a couple of times yesterday that i left the computer alone for a few minutes to prepare dinner or have a shower, and when I got back it looks like the laptop came back from the future, 2015 the first time and 2017 the second time, lol

 

Go into the bios and try changing the time manually, once you change the "seconds" bit it should start automatically ticking. I had a similar problem where the laptop's date and time was not moving forward and only did when windows updated it over the web. This was in the R3 but it may help?

 

Tried changing date on the bios several times, if i restart the laptop it gets back to first januaru 2011 !

 

This is our new Alien Technology haha that's why it is coming from the future. Now if you could please look at this little thing here Just kidding! xD We need to laugh out of the bad things that happen. I hope it gets fixed properly and easily and you get to enjoy that new computer.

 

Haha actually when I found it's date to be somewhere in 2017 the first think i thought was:"COOL it's been kidnapped by aliens and/or found a time vortex....hope it has not been probed".

The laptop is amazing, 99% happy about the purchase, just need to fix this annoying bit xD

These errors are so random:

80% of the time the laptop restarts with the bios setup at 1st january 2011, 1am, and I get all sort of errors during startup making the laptop unusable. Windows 7 starts as 1st january 2011

20% of the time the bios correctly saves the date as 22nd june 2012, but at windows startup i get 16th of june 2012.

In the 20% case scenario the laptop works perfectly, i just need to update the date (duh) via internet and then it looks as good as new.

I wish I had a recurring pattern of errors, not this randomized stuff -.-

Quick update:

I tried a new cmos battery, no improvement. Tried updating the bios, nothing happened.
Called Dell's support, within monday/tuesday the motherboard will be replaced, hopefully that will fix the problem.

I'm (sort of) glad that if I manually setup the bios after every restart I can still use the computer with no problems, at least I can still enjoy it until then!

 

Yeah you are right, I mean, the computer works, it's just that it is not perfect as it should be, at least you can use it until now. I'll be on top of the issue and waiting for the outcome.

 

This is the reason that despite whatever i read or hear I keep coming back to Dell and didn't even hesitate to buy an Alienware, because I have always had terrific customer service from Dell and they have always taken care of me. Keep up the good work

 

I'm only a bit worried about the timing of everything. In july I'll have to move to taiwan and china, that's why i wanted to get an alienware with a good international warranty.
My current m17x r4 should be 100% fine after monday, so i'll have a few weeks to play with it and make sure everything is ok.
Just in case i may find other problems (fingers crossed it won't happen) i'll have to ask for a replacement or a refund because i cannot afford to move abroad with a laptop that's not working properly. How long does it usually take to handle these kind of refund/replacement problems?

edit: it's a laptop from the outlet, it was marked as "NEW" amd i've only had it for 4 days now.

Sad update.

Even after replacing the whole motherboard the problem still persists...

Tomorrow the guy from dell will replace other parts, do a clean install and see if things improve.

I've already called their customer support, if tomorrow the problem won't be fixed I'll ask for either a replacement or a refund :[

 

I;m sorry to hear that, I hope it gets fixed this time. Keep us posted.

 

i've spent the whole morning doing all kind of software tweaks with no result.

i've noticed that the bios can mantain its settings if i don't load windows. If i setup the correct settings, save and exit then enter the bios again everything is fine even if i restart it many times in a row. As soon as i let it interact with windows 7 it's a disaster.
So this morning I tried to do anything i could, like removing/updating several different programs, doing a new clean windows 7 install, format and reinstall everything... with no result. Even with a fresh install of W7 the problem persists, as soon as the bios and windows 7 talk to each other something goes terribly wrong. After the first startup the date is always setup as 6 days in the past, and every restart after that it becomes 1st january 2011 and creates heaps of problems.
In a couple of hours the guy from Dell will try again but looks like a replacement/refund will be my only option.
Yesterday I called Dell to see how long it would take and the lady told me that for a replacemente they require up to 17 business days, which is way too much as i plan to be abroad by then.... damn ._.

No luck again, one more appointment tomorrow to replace more stuff and then a replacement/refund will be my only option :[

 

Let me know how it works out for you IbisOZ. I'm curious just in case I run into the same issue...

 

I'm pretty sure it will work out with a replacement/refund xP
Today we'll replace cpu, hd and graph card to see if anything was having some sort of weird interaction with the bios and/or windows.

This morning i tried to format everything and reinstall w7 and drivers from Dell's website. The result is: the very first time I get to the desktop after installing W7 bios and w7 have the same. After the first reboot problems start to appear. I've tried rebooting immediately and rebooting after installing chipset drivers, problem persists.

Fun fact: if I setup the date somewhere in July in the bios then W7 will follow the bios' setting. If I set it up at the current time or a fake time in the past from the bios, windows will only get that setting as ahint and will show a date 6 days prior to the bios' settings.

Basically:
Bios: 3rd july 2012 / 27th july 2012 / apparently anywhere in the future -> W7 will configure itself properly

Bios: current date, or any date in the past -> W7 will start with a date that's 6 days prior to the bio's settings

Changing time & date settings in W7 ALWAYS resets the bios to 1st january 2011, it doesn't matter if i do it manually or through the internet, and i've tried every single combination of settings (internet sync on/of, windows service time auto/manual/disable, different time zone, different state and time zone during first set up etc).

And on a side note, everytime I reinstall w7 (done about 8 times now, some of them were fresh installs over the old os, then i tried format+clean install) when i get to the first date&time setting popup I can change the time but W7 won't let me change the date, which is always setup at 6 days prior to the current one. So what happens is:

Bios= correct time
W7 installation= forced to setup 6 days in the past
First time at W7 desktop = correct date and time, matching bios
First reboot = bios setting correct
Second time at w7 desktop = 6 days in the past

If I keep that setting in w7, bios' date won't change. If I change d&t in w7 bios will always reset to 1st jan 2011 and windows to 6 days ago.

 

Looks like some replacement part is missing and next appointment will be on the 2nd of july instead of today -.-
It means that if the laptop will not be fixed, there won't be time for a replacement before i go abroad and i'll be forced to ask a refund -.-