M17X Battery not charging - R2 owners, *test BIOS* available

This is the only one I have now. It was the first one released. This corrected the following -
* error message at POST stating invalid adapter detected
* error message please plug in supported AC adapter
* battery not charging
* power supply turning off

If someone can send me the second M17X33+9334.zip file. I will post it out there. [email protected]

 

Sending this to you now, Chris.

 

How do you flash this? USB method?

 

The first test BIOS (x33) I flashed within Windows using the WinPhlash64 utility that was packaged in the update.

The second version (x34) does not have that option and I used a USB thumb drive for that.

I think ChrisM may be posting the x34 version again, as soon as he finds it. You have to apply the BIOS updates separately. The x34 is an "updated update" and does not include the firmware changes found in the x33. When applied, the x34 flash behavior gives the impression it fails, but that is by design. (The process ends with an abrupt shutdown.)

 

Any update on this?

D.

 

Hi Guys,

Wondering if anyone else has had the following issue since updating to the X33 and X34 BIOS revisions. (Apologies in advance if this issue isn't related.)

I'm certain my trackpad light was working on A09, however, since installing the X33 and X34 updates, I can't get it to work, no matter what method I try.

The reason for my uncertainty is the fact I use an external mouse 90% of the time, however, recently I have had a need to use the system as a 'laptop' and hence began using the trackpad.

The fact the trackpad light was not functioning only came to my attention this evening.

Any thoughts?

 

I applied both BIOS updates and my trackpad lighting is still working fine.

I do not have my system set to automatically disable the trackpad when using an external mouse. I found that to be a little bit flaky. I use fn+f12 to toggle it on/off manually. Have you tried turning off the automatic disable feature and toggling manually?

 

Thanks, Chris!

As Chris mentioned, you have to be part of the Dell Community Forum and the Alienware Club (group on Dell Community) to access the files.

 

Yep. Tried both of those and still no luck. Time for my first m17x-R2 support call ...

 

SpideRMaN-17. Check your private message from me.

 

I had the battery problem too , it was plugged in not charging. And when I switched it off the alien head still pulsated (strange). I unplugged the cable and left it till the battery completly ran out of power. Plugged the cable in the next day and it started charging again.

 

I've been following this thread for a while but I never bothered registering because nothing had made a different for my M17x.

..X34 made a difference.

I had tried to apply X33. Unzipped, ran W851X33.exe and a CMD window flashed.

Tried again just in case. Flash. Ok.. that was easy.

Reboot, no change in charging status.

I booted to a boot disk and ran f.bat. It ended with an abrupt shutdown, as expected.. but now it won't turn on. Flashed CMOS with no result. Bricked completely.

..I can't imagine a. why this happened or b. that there's anything anyone can think of here that would help but if nothing else I guess this is a word of caution.

Unless I did something wrong?

 

It sounds like you did the right things, but it is hard to tell from your description. To flash the x33 BIOS in Windows you would run the WinPhlash64.exe file to install the W851X33.ROM. (There is no W851X33.exe file.) There should have been more than a brief flash of the cmd window applying the x33 update.

You are the only person I have heard this happened to from flashing the x34 BIOS. I had what sounds like a similar experience once where my M17X-R2 was totally dead, meaning no lights and no evidence of anything, whatsoever, happening when pressing the power button, but it was not from flashing the BIOS.

If this is what you are experiencing, try to reset the BIOS. To do that, disconnect from AC power, remove the system battery and take off the bottom cover. You should see the CMOS battery there. Try disconnecting the CMOS battery and then reconnecting it. Reconnect the AC power and battery, then try booting up again.

 

Got my R2 not 2 weeks ago, ive seen it do the "plugged in not charging" once so far. Ill keep an eye on this thread for any updates.

 

m060.mm - your profile includes no contact information. I attempted to send you a private message and could not. If your machine is truly bricked, see the following message from Chris M, a Dell employee:

 

I was just going from memory but I definitely remember trying WinPhlash as well because the instructions said that it was flashable.

Either way - do you think the x34 brick is the result of unsuccessfully applying the x33 first? It seems like x34 is pretty solid; mine was the only one that had negative consequences.

And unfortunately, CMOS was my first attempt at a solution and it didn't change anything.

Sorry about that. Are PM's disabled until a certain number of posts? I updated my preferences so that I'm able to receive emails from admins as well as members. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

Applying the x33 BIOS first is not an issue. I did and I think most other people also did the x33 first, because we did not have the x34 yet.

As far as PM's go, you have to add an external email address to your profile. When you receive a PM, (which is an email through the forum, not an instant message,) the forum will alert you by email. I don't think you need to have a certain number of posts, but I could be wrong about that.

 

But seeing as we now know that x33 wasn't patched properly, do you think that contributed to x34's problem. Essentially, if I never even attempted x33, do you think x34 would have caused a problem?

I'm trying to figure out what caused this when it didn't happen to anyone else

As far as email goes, that's strange then because I registered my email when I created my account here. And it's listed in the email/password tab..

If I can't get PM's to work I'll just come back here and post an email address for Chris.

edit: Not sure why I still have no options to PM nor an inbox in the User CP but your PM forwarded to my email.

(Thanks for contacting Fox, Chris! Thanks for contacting me, Fox! haha)

 

Yes, I sure do. If the x33 update was not applied properly before the x34 update, then it is a good possibility this is the source of your issue. The x34 really is not a stand alone BIOS update. In fact, it is simply a tweak to the x33 BIOS update. In Setup, the BIOS version will still show as x33 with an EC Version of 93.34 if both updates are successfully applied. Alienware will need to confirm this, as it is merely a gut feeling on my part based on what you have described.

 

When I go to your profile, I see a link with an option to send you an AOL instant message, but no option to send you a PM.

I think you may have missed one of the options. Go to your forum Control Panel. Click on Edit Options. Go to the section labeled Messaging & Notification. Specifically, add a check mark to Enable Private Messaging box. This should fix your PM problem.

While you are in there, you can explore all the other settings.

 

If you are a new NBR user and find you are not able to send a PM (Private Message) or create a forum signature, please see: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sit...-send-private-messages-create-signatures.html

 

Ah, alright. Any idea on possible fixes then? I mean, generalities. Can it be fixed over the phone, do I need a tech to come, does it needa be sent in..

(I ask because I'm looking for a timeline; I'm trying to sell this by or soon after the start of this upcoming semester. Less debt>more games)

 

Ah, thank you. I thought most vBulletins required some number of posts prior to PM being enabled.

And thanks Fox - I added the AIM as a means of contacting me until I had PM. But.. now I do. edit: ohnoes, I don't have PM till 11p tonight hah I just missed the cut off. But I did email Chris so it shouldn't really be a problem.

 

It would be very difficult to answer your questions accurately without knowing more information.

I cannot remember if it was you or another individual, so I apologize if I am asking again... Did you try disconnecting and reconnecting the CMOS battery?

Unless I misunderstood one of your prior posts, your system is completely dead and does nothing when you press the power button. Is this correct, or do you see the Alienhead splash screen when attempting to boot? Do any lights come on? If you can get to the splash screen and access the boot menu by pressing F12, then you can possibly flash the x33 BIOS and get things going again. However, if the machine does nothing when you attempt to power up and you never see the initial splash screen, then you are going to need to call Alienware Support.

What is the status of your warranty? Do you have the basic or Complete Care with on-site service? If you are under warranty, you can call 1-800-ALIENWARE.

 

Hey Guys, I hope I am not speaking too soon or being overly optimistic, but I have not experienced the "plugged in, not charging" thing for a few weeks. I think it has been since about December 18 or 19 when this last happened. Although I did experience it a few times shortly after applying the x33 and x34 BIOS updates, it does not seem to be reoccurring. I have not changed my use patterns, so I am starting to feel that these BIOS updates may have helped.

Is anyone else still experiencing this problem on a frequent basis after applying both BIOS updates? I also seems the frequency of this complaint is not as often on this forum.

 

I have the most recent Bios and still have had this problem a few times. I take the battery out power drain and it fixes it. How ever it is not happening nearly as much as it did before the new bios came out.

 

Yup, tried CMOS. And you're correct on the response too - no lights, no fans, nothing. I guess I'll wait to hear back from Chris, see if he as any insight. I think it'll be a few more days until my warranty transfer is complete.

 

Just had this problem start for me after running it on battery for the first time.
Running latest dell A09 bios atm. What the steps to try and fix?

 

Refer back to this post for links to the updated BIOS firmware. Be sure to flash x33 before attempting to apply x34. You can flash x33 within Windows. The x34 patch has to be applied in DOS from a bootable optical disc or USB flash drive.

 

i just took battery out, and did static discharge and its working now but do get msg unsupported ac adapter sometimes. Is this bios a modded A09 as i have 940xm don't want to loose performance

 

The BIOS is a beta from Dell and that's all I know. It would be unusual for a BIOS update to be CPU-specific, although code on a specific CPU can sometimes unlock certain fields in a BIOS setup. I doubt it would matter what CPU your system has, but you can check with Alienware support to be safe.

Are you getting the unsupported AC adapter message in Windows, or the obnoxious warning during boot? You can turn off the boot-time warning. The BIOS updates seem to have stopped me from getting the unsupported AC adapter pop-up in Windows.

 

I received my m17x in early June 2010. Within two weeks I was experiencing the battery problem. Called Alienware tech support who replaced the battery. Then power supply. Then a few bioses. I call them every couple of weeks to see if there has been a new bios released. Two weeks ago they offered to replace my motherboard. The tech support person swore this would fix my problem. It was install 12/29. Within a week the battery problem was back. Called again, this time they offered to send me a replacement machine. Got it today. Wouldn't boot right away, figured it didn't have an OS installed. Went into the bios, what did I find? Two 500 GB hard drives and maybe a BD drive. Tried to install Windows 7. No luck. Now they are sending another motherboard and two more harddrives.

Am I better off sticking with my current machine even though the battery doesn't charge properly? Do most of the m17x's have this problem? Is it just few?

 

It would be hard for any of us to know if it would be accurate to say that most have this problem, but it seems more than obvious that too many of them do. Let them keep on dispatching to replace parts for the same problem. While inconvenient, it can actually work to your advantage after repeated failures. At some point in the near future, you may receive an M17x-R3 as a replacement.

If they could just do it right and deliver a notoriously trouble-free product, it would not only make for happy customers that are advocates of their brand; it would also save them a lot of money on warranty fulfillment. It takes a consistent combination of build quality, performance, dependability and phenomenal custom service to earn a reputation for producing a superior product.

 

If you get the warning , arent you only running on 193 watts? If you turn off the warning you wouldnt know, except for being slow.

 

Nope, not necessarily. If you see 193 watts displayed in the BIOS setup, you may have a problem with the AC adapter. With the warning enabled in the BIOS, you will get that obnoxious beep and a useless prompt to press an F key every time you boot while not plugged in to AC power. I just disable it, because I only need to look at my system tray icon in Windows 7 to confirm I am plugged in and charging. The loud beep noise accomplishes little more than pissing off everyone within earshot.

 

Why don't you install A03 BIOS revision. I just don't see the reason of using A04 or A05.

 

R2 owners only. The test BIOS they are talking about is not for the 17xR1.

 

I'm pretty much in the same boat. I've been having this problem since almost day one with this machine and they came to the point of offering a replacement. When I got there, I told them I'd wait until there was a new hardware revision and they said that was a good idea. Considering how they seem to have no reliable solution to the problem, getting an R3 as a replacement is likely the best option. I'm going to wait until they flesh out the graphics card and CPU offerings, then I'll start calling again and see if I can get the ball rolling on a replacement.

 

the download link for the test bios seems to be down, does anyone have a backup?

 

M17xR2 Adapter Issue - M17xX33bios.zip file - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community

Not sure if this is the correct one but search this forum and you should be able to find

use this

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/m/mediagallery/default.aspx

 

awesome thanks a bunch

 

Guess whos starting to get this issue

 

I had the issue once then did the discharge trick and it still hasn't come back still on A09 Bios

 

Dell Community Forum - Alienware Club

If you are not already a member, you will have to sign up for the Dell Community Forum to access the files. Be sure to apply each BIOS update in correct order (x33 before x34) and follow the instructions carefully. One person that we know of bricked their system by applying the x34 BIOS update before the x33. (The x34 is merely an EC revision to the x33 and not a standalone update.)

I have been running the x33 BIOS with the x34 update for a couple of months or so. Seems to be working pretty well. I have not experienced the "plugged in, not charging" problem any more.

 

thanks for the info, just recieved my M17x r2 from the outlets, and straight out of the box, it was not charging. and i also have this wierd problem, when i turn off my system, it would turn off but all my lights would stay on untill i do a hard shutoff again.

 

I just had the same problem, but couldn't find the test BIOS. Besides, I'm not really that happy with the idea of flashing some test BIOS.

Power drain worked fine, though.

 

upgrade to bios a09... and flash your gpus to the new vbios on the dell site... that'll fix the problem ( the lights not going off)

And about the battery not charging... i actually only experienced this once... and a simple reboot solved it... not sure why this doesn't happen to me :S

 

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this (a search of this thread did not return anything pertinent), but I'm working on a friends M17xR2 with a chronic problem with the battery not charging without doing the removal/drain routine, and I installed BatteryBar and charged the battery to 100%, unplugged and ran for about 45 minutes. BatteryBar showed discharging. When it got to about 35% I plugged the charger back in, and BatteryBar shows "CHARGED" and a 0mw charge rate. CHARGED? For some reason, the battery is reporting it is charged and therefore turning off further charging.
Currently, the battery is showing 35% and CHARGED status.

Has anyone with this issue seen this "CHARGED" status?

Addition: With the system running, I unlatched the battery. BatteryBar showed "No batteries detected". I then re-engaged the battery, and BatteryBar showed "Charging" (not Charged), and began charging.

 

lancorp, I think this is the root of the problem and I am not sure if the beta bios and beta update bios fix this or not.

I have not got around to flashing the beta bios' yet as I did the same as you (without battery bar) to get my battery up to 100% and has been on AC since.

D.

 

Yes, i noticed this same thing. mine is at 5% currently, and not charging.
Grrr
(and 17% wear already!)