M17x slowdown and wifi connection issues

Hey guys few issues with my comp.

I figured giving it a fresh install would help but its not...

Even after a reboot i still had these issues. To start off when i restart the comp sometimes i get a blue screen of death. What happens is i am about to login then the screen goes black and then the login comes back up and i can login or it goes to a blue screen saying its dumping physical memory. sometimes when i login it takes a while to get to the main screen also...

another issue i am having is when i play left4dead 2 my frame rate drops significantly sometimes lower than 30fps. I never had this issue when i first got the comp and now all of a sudden its happening. I did a stress test in CS source and i was getting 173fps avg on all high settings. I used to get 200+.

and the last issue..(so far) is when i restart the computer my internet does not work. I am connected wirelessly. it takes up to 5 minutes and sometimes disabling my wireless card for it to function correctly.

all my drivers are up to date from dell website... this is one of the first M17x to come out when there was a huge backorder about a year ago. Running one gtx260 and everything is pretty much basic besides that.

help please... fresh install didnt do for me =/

 

Do you have another hard drive you can slap into the beast? I have experienced remarkably similar symptoms on systems when a hard drive is failing. Have you run any tests on the drive? Sometimes drive tests don't always reveal a problem, so I would still try a new hard drive even if the tests come back clear. If you are running a single drive, I would purchase a large and relatively slow second drive. They are dirt cheap. If this fixes the problem, you can purchase a speedy primary drive for the OS and move the big drive to the slave position for storage.

Edit: When booting your machine, at the BIOS splash screen press F12 for the boot menu and select diagnostics. Here's a LINK for more info on the Dell PSA test.

 

i dont have another hard drive i can use and how can i test the hard drive? what could be causing this issue? i thought it would be a software issue

 

Refresh your browser and re-read my post above, as I added more information.

There are lots of free test utilities on the internet. HDTune is one of them. Also, check this out.

 

Sharpeye what BIOS are you on and also what video drivers?
Thank you

 

Im on the latest BIOS i believe A07 and 267.76 is the video driver.

just ran the debugging tool that is on the dell site. nvlddmkm.sys is apparently why i get the blue screen. any input?

Edit: also i ran some temp tests. while playing l4d just letting the game idle and leave it b the temp of the card went up to 100C and the gpu usage went up to 97%

 

That is a nVIDIA display driver system file .
Uninstall your current display drivers, reboot to safe mode run CCleaner to clean your registry reboot and install the latest nVIDIA drivers. If it happens to get lock UPS disable PCIeGen 2 in BIOS under graphic options .
For your wireless problem see my reply here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/567105-m17xr1-wifi-problems.html

Cheers

 

The nvlddmkm.sys file is part of your NVIDIA driver package.

Hard disk corruption and read errors will cause a host of issues that can masquerade as driver problems. Since you have performed a clean install and are running all of Dell's approved drivers (as you stated), I'm inclined to think your recent development of this problem is failing hardware. If you experienced the same problems before you went to the drastic measures of doing a clean install and the problem is the same afterward, then it's a low probability that it is software related. If it were software related, what you have done should have corrected the problem, and it has not.

As I mentioned, the symptoms you described are much like what I have experienced on multiple systems with a failing hard drive. I spent a lot of time doing things like you have that never fixed the problem. Have you run any tests on the hard drive yet?

If you want to continue pursuing a software fix before exploring the suggestions concerning the hard drive, try uninstalling your NVIDIA driver package, run Driver Sweeper and CCleaner's registry tool to make sure your system is squeaky clean. After rebooting, reinstall the latest NVIDIA drivers.

EDIT: I just read your post again and saw where you added information about your temps. I am even more convinced you are experiencing a hardware issue. How long has it been since you did a teardown and cleaned out your fans and heatsink? If you are having overheating problems it could be something this simple. If it has been a while, I would give that a shot. Intel CPU and AMD GPUs will generally clock themselves way down to prevent damage from overheating. This can also cause your BSOD and sluggish performance. What are your fans doing? At 100C degrees, they should be literally roaring.

If a thorough system cleaning does not help, consider testing the hard drive as I still think that can be the source of your problem. You could also have a GPU that is dying, or a fan that has stopped working. (If you're really lucky, the fan and heat sink is clogged with "dust bunnies" and cleaning them out will fix your problem.) If it is getting hot enough inside your system chassis, this can also cause a domino effect with other components acting up due to the heat. If you are not up to more troubleshooting and you are still under warranty, call 1-800-ALIENWARE and have them fix it for you. For all we know, they'll just send you an R2 as a replacement for your R1.

 

as of now im doing the Ccleaner and reinstalling the driver to see if it does anything at all. and i have never actually taken apart the computer to clean it only used co2 to try to clear dust. i am a bit nervous about taking apart a laptop like this that is y i never tried. i am not under warranty unfortunatly. but i may pay to try to get this issue fixed... if i do take it apart to clean it would i void the warranty i might pay for?

 

It's not that hard as it looks taking appart this machine.
You can find teardown videos of the m17x on YouTube and if you still don't feel comfortable opening it then ask somebody else as blowing from outside of the system is a bad idea, dust will stay inside and there's nothing to collect it there.
And as long as you don't break anything in the teardown process your warranty will not be voided.

 

Using compressed air is OK for light dusting, but it will not substitute for a real cleaning.

Did you see my question about your fans? They should be roaring loudly if you hit 100C.

You can download the Service Manual on the same page you downloaded the drivers at support.dell.com and it is not difficult to do, even for the inexperienced. Your nervousness is completely understandable if you have never done it before. If you take things very slowly and gently, and follow the manual, you should do fine unless you are famous for breaking things.

If you are no longer under warranty, then you may not be able to extend your warranty. If it was very recently expired, Dell might make an exception and sell you and extended warranty. You need to call them and ask if they will. Obviously, you don't want to volunteer any information about having problems or their answer will be "no" for sure.

And no, simply taking things apart for cleaning will not void a Dell warranty. Performing repair work and replacing components not authorized by Dell under warranty will. If you break things because of being reckless, then that would not be covered under warranty unless you have accidental damage coverage.

 

katalin - it's seems we're pretty well calibrated on our advice. Synchronized blogging! Twice!

 

the fans get a bit louder but not terribly loud. its been a while since this thing was under warranty so idk if theyll sell me and extended warranty i might try though

 

Hey, never hurts to ask. If you're super nice and go for more than the cheapest warranty they offer, who knows... they might.

katalin's suggestion on watching the teardown videos is good advice. I would recommend doing that in addition to using the Service Manual. When you see the videos it may help you feel more comfortable about taking it apart. If you print the manual, it helps being able to read the step as you go.

 

So last night i went through the diagnostic process and everything passed. I also dissasembled up to the system fan. I cleaned that off. Not much dust there. I also took out the HD and plugged it back in. And that didnt help either. I might go through the process of cleaning the gpu fan but still not 100% on it yet. I might see if i can get a warranty first see how much itll run me

 

+1 for the support Fox
Sharpeye let me get out of work and I'm pretty sure we'll get you up and running.

 

just renewed my warranty. it includes hardware replacement so im actually praying that the thing is frying and theyll send a replacement or something. just payed 344 for 1 year -.-