M17xR2 Bios A10 ('Plugged in, not charging' Fix) Discussion Thread

Donkenoji - The A10 bios this thread is talking about is for the R2. I believe that the R1 latest Bios rev is indeed A06 (there's a different thread on that one). Good Luck.

 

Thats a big NO. Do not install A10. It is for the R2 systems with Core-I CPU. Doing so may brick your motherboard.

See these two threads for more info concerning the R1 BIOS.
M17xR1 BIOS A06 ('Plugged in, not charging' + Touchpad Polling Fix) Discussion Thread

M17x R1 Test Bios 850-9662 - Post feedback HERE

 

Hey everyone,

first post on here. Looks like a great forum. Sorry in advance for the wall of text xD

I just purchased a new m17x r2, i7 740, 8gb, 5870m xfire, raid, 1200p. Non-outlet. Ive had nothing but problems..

Firstly, I read through as many of the posts that seemed relevant to my issues and i'll start by laying out some more details about the lappy. It's an a08 bios and I appear to have the "plugged-in, not charging" issue. Should I go straight to a10? or 09 first then 10? Also, It looks like they flashed the vbios to the newest available one that is currently on the dell site. Also, I verified in the bios that I have a 240w brick. I find it pretty insane that they didn't go directly to a10 as I have charging issue.. does QA exist @ dell?

I was completely shocked to see how poorly it performed out of the box in portal and also sc2. Those are the only two 3d games i've tried. I grabbed gpu-z and found out that my primary GPU appears to be locked @ 100/150 (2d) and 300/400 (3d). The secondary never clocked up from 100/150 and is 0 load always, while the primary is 100% running Furmark. Gpu-z is also saying that crossfire is not enabled. So, from there I grabbed the 11.2's and tried the same testing.

I had the same clock issues (300/400). Only, this time, both gpus were clocking up and crossfire appeared to be enabled. I was starting to get pissed at that point.. I know these chips are 700/1000 by default so I used MSI Afterburner to manually set the frequencies. I saw a very small performance gain. I then rolled back to the dell drivers (10.5 i believe??), and tried manual clock with Afterburner, upon applying the clock settings the system locks up, bsod's and then reboots. And that's where I left it. Had it for just over 24 hours and i'm beginning to think return is the best option. Please prove me wrong!!

So, my questions are these..

1. Which driver/app profiles is/are the best for the 5870 xfire setup?
2. a9, a10 BIOS question above
3. Has anyone had similar core/mem clock problems?

P.S. Thanks in advance for any input.

Edit.. Just realized that I have a lot of GPU related stuff in here.. I will move it over to the 11.2 thread if asked. :X

 

Hello Alienhead420, about your core/mem problem. have you verified you're not running in stealth mode. to enable- disable it push the speedometer on the right hand side above your keyboard.

I personally have never had issues upgrading a BIOS from 2 or even more revision below the last one on any machine, but when it comes to Your Alienware you should verify this with one of the admins or Alienware tech's.

About the drivers, i personally always use the latest ATI drivers from their download site (cataliyst version 11.2 at this moment, this driver has got some nice feature updates for your cards) they work very well on my system (i got a HD 4780 xfire system)

 

Alienhead420, welcome to NBR! We're glad to have you with us.

As negyuh mentioned, confirm your system is not in stealth mode. That may be causing your problems. If you rule out that as being the source of the problem, then below is a little more advice...

MSI Afterburner does not work with my system. I have the same experience you do with Afterburner. You can get rid of that, as it does not seem to be compatible with our HD 5870 CrossFireX systems, even though I think it is supposed to be.

There's no point in putting up with your machine not performing as it should, and it sounds like you system is having issues. I would recommend the first thing to do is call 1-800-ALIENWARE, not Dell Support.

Since your system is brand new, there's no reason to fuss with things. Have them replace your system. I would push for a swap rather than a repair since you've had it less than 24 hours. If they say no, then tell them you would like to return for a refund and order a new one and they'll probably go ahead and exchange for a new system. I think you have 15 days to return for a refund, so act quickly while you still have that leverage.

If you want to play around with the GPU settings, grab the AMD GPU Clock Tool. You can download that here.

Manually set your clocks as shown in the attached screen shot and see if your results are improved. You can use GPU-Z to confirm the changes. These settings are not overclocking your GPUs, just forcing them to run at their normal full speed instead of downclocking to save power. The throttling of the GPUs is normal behavior. Staying stuck at low settings under load is not normal. If you have problems manually setting the GPUs at full speed, that would indicate a problem with your video cards. The settings implemented with this tool are not permanent. They will have to be reset every time you restart your system. Disabling the throttle works well on a game that places a very high demand on resources, like Crysis. My average FPS in Crysis increases just a little bit using this tool because throttling is disabled. There's no noticeable performance increase with normal use and all of my games work OK on "high" or "very high" settings without using this tool.

Another thing you should do is set your Power Profile to "high performance", go into the advanced settings. Turn off all power saving features, set the minimum and maximum settings for everything at 100%, "never" and "do nothing" in this profile. This will ensure peak performance at the sacrifice of using more electricity. Personally, I don't care about saving power when I am using my Alienware. If you need to run on battery power, then you can switch profiles on the fly.

 

Thanks. Do you know if the stealth mode is a hardware setting or is it dependent on the software?

 

Thanks Fox.

Ya, i've used that ATI tool with the 5970 in my main system before. Certainly does suck that it doesnt allow you to create a profile for the clocks That's where Afterburner kicks a$$! Have you tried using Afterburner in conjunction with 11.2 in your alien? When I grabbed the newest drivers from AMD, I had success controlling the clocks with it. Might be worth a shot if you want to OC at all. Although, im not sure of the capabilities of the cooling in this beast yet.

I'll try playing with the 11.2's some more, manual clocking and power management. I think you're right though, I should just put in a request for a new system. If I still have the issues after today, I'm gonna call and get this straightened out. I'm not looking forward to that, as I waited 3 weeks for the first one.. i'm impatient though

 

I have read these threads plenty of times and decided it was time to sign up.

I still can't get my Alienware M17x R2 to fix the plugged in not charging
I have A10 bios and what not and even with a total power cycle (take battery out hold button for 30 secs to fully discharge it) does it work

Help?

 

When you look at the Bios - do you see that your AC adaptor wattage is at 240 (power tab in bios)?

 

Nope in the power screen it doesn't show anything at all :/

 

wyattroersma - I'm confused - so let's make sure we're talking about the same thing: On power up - you're hitting the F2 key. You get into the bios and move over to the power tab. There you should see "stuff" per this screen shot. Is there really nothing there (and if so - it's not seeing your AC Adaptor

 

Yes on that same screen you have there is actually nothing meaning it is not reading my power supply at all. If you want I can screen shot it for you. I just want to know how to fix it? It does work sometimes but very rarely.

 

Man that's a new one on me. I'm assuming that your system boots up okay & runs on AC. I'd tell you that the battery is bad - but if the Bios isn't sensing/displaying any wattage - something "deep" in the MOBO or bios is wrong. Can you reflash the Bios?

 

I have flashed the bios 2x already trying to fix this.

The AC adapter came with the system when I bought it new. It sometimes charges the system no problem, but most times it is not reading it. When it does work the battery charges and holds a charge as it runs off the AC adapter.... It is extremely weird as to my knowledge not read anything like it yet

 

Well, as you could probably tell from my posts through this particular thread, I've experimented with several scenarios to isolate a specific cause - all to no avail. But fortunately for me, The master reset sequence always gets the battery back to charging for that one time. If I run into anything new, I'll post here. Please do the same. Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the helpful insight! I will keep trying fixes maybe I missed something I haven't done yet that works.

 

I am really impatient also, but three weeks is a long time. It took about a month for my M17x R2 to arrive as a warranty replacement for my XPS M1730 and that really sucked.

Perhaps I misread your post. Were you getting the BSOD using Afterburner only with older drivers, but not with 11.2? I have not tried Afterburner with my 11.2 drivers. I don't recall what driver I was using at the time, but this was back around November I think. Maybe I will download the latest version and give it a whirl.

 

Return it if you can, this is what mine did out of the box. AW support wasted my time for a week on this exact thing.

 

I was able to set any clocks with 11.2 installed via Afterburner 2.0 final without a BSOD. Definitely give it a shot. I threw a nice cooler underneath and I'm able to push into the 800's core with reasonable temps. I havent touched the memory yet, and the core clocks seem more than enough to run everything with max settings + AA. So, I will wait to see how high I can push the GPU's.

BTW, thanks for the advice earlier! Everything is lovely now. A10 appears to have fixed my charging problem. I'm running 11.2 and 3d performance is great. I'll post some numbers when I get some time. So far though, I've run sc2, bulletstorm, furmark, and HL2 based stuff. It's like glass in all of them. <3 <3 <3

Also, they just released a new beta version of Afterburner. I haven't tried it yet but might have even better support for the mobile platform, even though their focus has always been the desktop platform. With AB, its totally dependent on the VREG's, so I really have no idea how it will work with mobile gpu's. I think I just got lucky

 

Alienhead, I installed AB last night and I am not getting the BSOD like I did with earlier driver.

What I cannot figure out is how to change the core clocks. The slider is all the way to the right with nowhere else to go. I have not read any of the documentation yet, so I will give that a shot. If you have any tips, please share them.

Thanks for the update. +1 rep.

 

So not even the master reboot would work, but I left my lid closed for about an hour and both times on resume it's suddenly charging(Seeing the adapter)...Strange thing is the computer is set to not do anything when the lid closes?

Edit: Its only reading 150 watts however in the BIOS with a 240 watt adapter?

 

I'd personally guess that you've got a bad Adaptor or MOBO if you're getting random wattage readings - or worse yet no reading at all. I'm not the design expert, but I will say that if there's no or low wattage identified in the bios, then the charging process won't work.

If you're dealing with intermittent readings, then you really can't ever tell what the status is when you started it up without looking at the bios (and if you look at the bios, you have to restart without seeing what it really is that particular time!

 

Definitely sounds like a bad AC adapter to me. If you're under warranty, call 1-800-ALIENWARE and tell them why you need a new 240W AC adapter. Should be no problem. I would resist an offer from Tech Support to replace the motherboard unless the AC adapter replacement does not fix it.

Just be nice and say, let's try the AC adapter and I will call back if that doesn't do it for me.

 

What are your specs? There is a 150 watt adapter, are you sure you have the 240? Usually when I got the adapter issue it read 193 watts in the bios.

 

From a few weeks of testing A10 it seems to have resolved the problem completely for me.

On a couple of occasions I've had the "plugged in, not charging" message pop up immediately after connecting the adapter, but it's disappeared within a few seconds, presumably after completing the handshake for the adapter ID.

 

Photolysis, I'm envious. I continue to have the issue. The only good news is that it is always corrected if I simply remove & replace the battery (after I've shut down & the AC adapter is not yet plugged in).

It will Not work if I shut down & simply plug in the adapter. Nor if I plug in the adapter while running. I've flashed the A10 bios a couple of times now, continue to use several (3) different AC adapters & experimented with how far I let the battery get down before trying to get the darn thing to charge.

I'm still not yet ready to engage in the support call ordeal process, so I continue to use the battery remove/replace "fix"

 

Like Photolysis, I hardly ever see this any more. Maybe one time a month, at most, and it goes away for me using the same trick.

San Diego, how often are you experiencing this?

 

Mr. Fox - this problem happens every time I run on battery. The saving grace for me is that isn't often (once or twice a week). This system lives the life of a desktop (large external monitors, wired networks, etc.) at both the house & office.

 

The "Plugged in, not charging" problem just started for me (never had it before in the year I had the system). I updated to BIOS A10 which solved it.

But I wonder, since I haven't ever had it before, does it mean my power supply is degrading and is now taking longer to identify?

 

I continue to have the issue now and then but I have learned to just live with it. When I start to see the "plugged in, not charging" I flash the A10 BIOS again and it comes out of it for a while and may end up flashing again a week later. This has been working for me since the day A10 came out.

Don't know whats going on but I would still take this machine, over any other, any day.

 

GIzmo - it might be an indication, but if the A10 solved it and there are no more issues it is probably nothing to worry about. If the AC adapter is dying, you'll see that manifest itself before long.

AWDanO - does the battery drop or power discharge trick fix your problem when it arises? I would be a little concerned about flashing your BIOS every week dramatically increasing the chances of something catastrophic happening.

 

hmmm.. didn't read through this entire thread but i have this issue of not charging after running on battery for a while.

Upgraded to A10 last week and nothing changed

My battery life also stinks.. i shut off my lights, dim my screen and i'm still only good for about 40 minutes

 

Check this out, Mr. Neutron: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ing-reference-amd-drivers-17.html#post7227047 and you will see what I had to say about battery life and "plugged-in, not charging" issues.

You should take time to read the whole thread, but to get started with participating in the test, see post #104 from DELLChrisM on page 11.

 

Hey !Sorry to disturb you all but i've been having problems related to my m17xR2 bios ( from what i've researched ), whenever i plug my ac adapter, my m17x freezes, i heard i can fix that by updating my Bios ( for example, using this update to A10 ) but after i downloaded said update there were no instructions on how to install it, could anyone that knows how this works ( probably, everyone in this thread ) lend me a hand on how can i install this BIOS update ?


forgive my despair but i use my m17x to work and if i dont fix it in a few hours, im going to be in deep trouble '-'

 

Download the Update to wherever you want to put it (Desktop is fine) then - Run (Double-click) W851A10.EXE from within Windows..] Good Luck!

 

You will find the instructions by "drilling down" on the driver page at Dell Support. If you just click the blue Download button where all the available drivers are list, you will not see the instructions. See attached screen shot.

It's every bit as simple as what San Diego 7697 said.

Also check out my earlier post (#233) on this page, as there is a test BIOS available you can install after installing A10.

 

Has anyone had issues with BSOD after upgrading to A10? My system has been BSOD when switching between AC and Battery and i am trying to determine if it is related to the A10 Bios or the ATI 11.2 drivers. I just completed a clean install of windows on friday so there is no other software or issues that should be causing the BSOD. I had the BSOD both before and after the reformat.

 

You're the first person I have noticed having this problem. I don't remember seeing others posting about this. I am running A10 and the 11.2 AMD drivers, and I think a whole bunch of us are.

 

M17x-R2 plugged in not charging.

I to am having the same problem. My system is saying its plugged in not charging.

Here is what happened to me

i had the older bios and when i unplugged the system it would not charge. the system would say plugged in not charging

Dell told me it was a known issue and they were working on a new bios

Some one from dell on 12/16/11 transferred a bios to my system called x33 this new bios let my system charge but theres still a glitch if i discharge the battery more then 40-50% then the system goes back to saying plugged in not charging this is happening with the x33 and a10 bios.

now dell/ alienware are saying they want to replace the battery and the ac adapter and the mother board but i dont want parts just blindly replaced. I looked up a post here
Re: plugged in, not charging M17xR2 alienware laptop - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community
and with the a10 bios they are still having the same issue even replacing all those parts.

I have 4 ac adapters and 2 battery's and i still have the same problem with all the ac adapters and both batts.



I dont want refurbished parts put in my system so i can have more issues in the long run. i have asked tech support to please test there m17x r2 in there lab and see if they discharge the laptops battery to 50% then plug it back in and see if this fixes the issue.



If i do unplug the system and pull the batt and hold down the power button and put it all back together the batt does charge so i am having the same issue as the rest of you. I hope this helps!

Maybe someone has a suggestion ?? I dont unplug my system all that much but i went to swap batts but charge and dis charge them first and thats when i realized this issue happens when the batt is discharged to 40%

This is my system config info...


1
5V3DW Module, Media, Resource Dvd, Alienware, M17X10
1 6FY1X Module, Accessory, Alienware, M17X10, England/english, Dao/bcc
1 F836R Pad, Mouse, Alienware, M17X
1 WRD6T KIT..., DOCUMENTATION..., ANW, M17X10, ENGLAND/ENGLISH..., D/B
1 6RDR6 SERVICE INSTALL MODULE..., SOFTWARE..., ANW, M17X10
1 GFWWN MODULE..., SHIPPING MATERIAL..., PACK, M17X10
1 N8GY4 Base, Notebook, Red, Configure To Order, Alienware, M17X10
1 K01Y7 ASSEMBLY..., BASE (ASSEMBLY OR GROUP)..., NOTEBOOK..., RED..., ANW, M17X10
1 T780J Module, Battery, Primary, 85WHR 9C, Dynapack International Technology Corp
1 W075J Battery, Primary, 85WHR, 9C Lithium, Dynapack InternationalTechnology Corp
1 V3C5M Module, Card, Network, 370, Foxconn, Alienware, Dell Americas Organization
1 P560G Card, Wireless, Bluetooth, 370 FXCN, 5DB, No Bios
1 VW0X1 Module, Keyboard, Alienware, 101, ENG-US, Personal Computer
1 8WK6F Keyboard, Alienware, 101, ENG-US, Personal Computer
1 Y540P Module, Software, Alienware CYBERLINK, YOUCAM
1 YGV2J Module, Accessory, Waybill, Asset Recovery Business, Exchange, England, Dell Americas Organization
1 1803X KIT..., DOCUMENTATION..., WYBL, ASSET RECOVERY BUSINESS..., EXCHANGE..., ENGLAND/ENGLISH..., DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION...
1 CDKX3 Module, Blu-Ray Rewritable, 4X, Panasonic, BARE, Alienware
1 JY598 MODULE..., INFORMATION..., SOFTWARE..., ANW, ALIENFX, RED...
1 7X54D Module, Information, Audio, M15X
1 5FJ8M MODULE..., LABEL..., INTEL..., NO BIOS..., CI7
1 69WYT Module, Processor, Clarksfield, I7-620M, 2.66, M17X
1 FGF8T Processor, I7-620M, 2.66, 4MB, Arrandale, C2
1 K005R MODULE..., DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE..., 8GB, 1333MHZ, DDR3
1 F073F Dual In-Line Memory Module, 4GB1333MHZ, 512X64, 8K, 200
1 X830D Dual In-Line Memory Module, 4GB1333MHZ, 512X64, 8K, 200
1 8WG28 Module, Liquid Crystal Display, 17WUXGA, Light Emitting Diode, M17X10
1 K1NFP LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., 17WUXGA, RED/GREEN/BLUE..., LIGHT EMITTING DIODE..., AG, SAMSUNG...
1 NRTT8 Module, Card, Graphics, 5870, Parker, Mid-Life Kicker
1 C8245 Card, Graphics, Hard Drive, 5870, Parker, Mid-Life Kicker
1 H754T Assembly, Bracket, Video Graphics Adapter, Heatsink, M17X
1 N330P Module, Information, Artwork NAME-PLT, Custom, M17X
1 NT799 MODULE..., INFORMATION..., ANW, AUTO-UPDATES, ON
1 8P085 MODULE..., CORD..., POWER..., 110V, 3W\3P, ASIA PACIFIC..., UNITED STATES...
1 C465T Module, Bracket, Hard Drive, Second, With Connector, M17X
1 F584N ASSEMBLY..., BRACKET..., HDD, W/CON, SECOND..., M17X
1 H606T MODULE..., HARD DRIVE..., 320G, 7.2K, SGT-HOLL, ACROSS LINE OF BUSINESS...
1 F729T Hard Drive, 320GB, S2, 7.2K, 2.5, SGT-HOLL
1 H607T Module, Hard Drive, 320, 7.2, #2, SGT-HOLL, XLO
1 F729T Hard Drive, 320GB, S2, 7.2K, 2.5, SGT-HOLL
1 Y924N Module, Information, RAID 0 Alienware, M17X
1 P349J MODULE..., SOFTWARE..., ADOBE..., READER..., 9.0, MULTI-LANGUAGE...
1 XM544 MODULE..., SOFTWARE..., PC-RESTORE, TRANSACTIONAL LINE OF BUSINESS...
1 D282K MODULE..., SOFTWARE..., DTSV, BASIC..., 2.0
1 P395P Module, Software, CYBERLINK Powerdvd, 8.0, Alienware
1 P398P MODULE..., SOFTWARE..., NERO, 9, ANW
1 8FHFY MODULE..., SOFTWARE..., STEAM
1 2J4FR MODULE..., SOFTWARE..., CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY..., W7HP64, ANW
1 CP1VF Module, Software, W7HP64 Consumer Desktop, English Dao/bcc
1 D9KVP MODULE..., SOFTWARE..., QUICK FIX ENGINEERING..., WIN7, CNB
1 Y2FYM MODULE..., SOFTWARE..., W7HP64, DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE..., MULTI-LANGUAGE..., ANW
1 DW6RN Kit, Software, W7HP64, Multi-Language, Alienware
1 WCVM8 Module, Software, Soft Contracts, Banctec Services Corp., Alienware
1 D0W4H Module, Software, Alienware, COMMANDCNTR, M17X10
1 CTX0X MODULE, INFORMATION, WIRELESS, BLUETOOTH, 370
1 MVF7Y Module, Card, Network, DW1520, Alienware, United States
1 intel n 6300

**********this was exchanged for the 240 watt adapters**********

1 K2490 Cord, Power, 110V, 6F, AlternatingCurrent, 3W, PROPOSITION 65..., United States
1 K467P MODULE..., ADAPTER..., ALTERNATING CURRENT..., DELTA - AC ADAPT..., 150W, 3P, WORLD WIDE...

1 J408P Adapter, Alternating Current, 150W, Delta - Ac Adapt, 3P, World Wide, M09

 

Upgraded to the A10 bios after reading this thread and finally my M17x-R2 is charging again. I usually leave it plugged in anyways so it hasn't been annoying, but it's literally been at like 50% battery state for a month or two.

 

Did the bios upgrade fix your issue?

When I would unplug my ac adapter the system would freeze, after spending about 5 hours on the phone with tech support updating the bios, updated the video drivers, unistalling programs etc. they are stating the the problem is with the ati 4870 video cards, had anyone else had this issue?

 

So Dell came out and replace my battery, motherboard and power supply yet my computer is still reading only at 150 watts... Its the delta 240 watt adapter though. Also I can't run 2 other screens from my laptop anyone have any ideas on how to get that to work?

 

wyattroersma, it sure sounds like you have the smaller 150 watt adapter. Are you sure you've got a 240W version. Please don't be insulted by the question - because on my adapters (all 3) the output wattage is NOT specified. They're all Flextronics, Not Delta, but the only place 240 is mention on mine is on the range of input voltages. Wattage out is not specified - just 19.5 volts 12.3 amps out.

 

I mean I guess I can't be sure but I have two different adapters one from delta and one from dell. The delta reads at 150 while the dell reads at 130....Maybe I should just call dell and tell them I have the wrong one....

 

Hi SanDiego,

The output power is 239.85W or ~ 240W. Power is the multiplication of voltage and current (19.5V * 12.3A = 239.85W).

 

Hi francinep7 - thanks - I actually knew that. My point to wyattroersma was without trying to insult him is that some folks mistake voltage ratings as wattage.

 

Just purchased a R2, updated the BIOS, but need to know if someone can provide the settings I need to get it to function properly?

R2 with I7 - 920, 8 GB Ram, Nvidia 285 SINGLE graphics card, blue ray player.

Any help will be appreciated. Battery icon shows 92 percent charge even though it is plugged in and runnning on AC, never changes?

 

The first thing to try is to hit Fn+F2. This can turn on/off the ability for the batter to charge when running on AC. It's there to help prevent battery micro-discharge/-charge cycles when you're running on AC most of the time, which can help to extend the life of the battery.

If this doesn't help, it could be the battery. If you got your system from the Dell outlet or eBay then it's possible that the battery has a fault that's preventing it from charging to 100%. Depending on the warranty state of the system and where you live, you may be able to get Dell to replace the battery.

 

Does the Fn+F2 stick or do you have to do it every time you restart?

 

Thought I would share an update regarding my M17X R2 and the battery charge issue even with BIOS update.

Spent over an hour on phone, and online with Dell / Alienware support. Performed few basic checks, then checked BIOS settings and readings. Seems my laptop NEVER recognizes AC adaptor at all!

They are sending me out a replacement lptop, should be about 2 to 3 weeks, I have "open" support case, so tracking progress will be easier.

Adaptor works, is 240W Delta model, just never recognized by computer, happened with A09 and A10 versions of BIOS.

The fn + f2 buttons did absolutely nothing for my computer either!