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

rkj4243 - finding the source of the problem is great news. Let us know how it turns out. Make sure the replacement has specs that equal or excced your R2 in every respect. Don't accept anything less.

Please update your forum signature with system specs.

 

Will do. I asked them about system being comprable, and Dell agent said it would be exact as I have, as they have all information from original build sheets.

 

Okay folks, I haven't posted in this particular thread for a while - but it's time to refresh my status: The latest twist is this, after ALWAYS needing to do remove/replace the battery after running on battery & then plugging in to get it to charge again - the last three times I let the battery drain to the point where the system shut itself down (But I knew it was about to happen, so I didn't have anything open). When I plugged in after each of these instances, it successfully went about recharging. Not yet sure what this means, but something is triggering something different when I run the battery completely down.

 

San Diego, that's an interesting finding. Are you planning to contact Alienware to let them know of this discovery?

 

Mr. Fox, "someday" I'll take the time to do that. I'm still recovering from the 25 to 30 hours (not an exaggeration) I put in with those folks last year while working through R 1 issues.
So right now, while I'm keeping detailed records, I don't have the wherewithal to spend an hour on the phone, going through what they always want to go through, and demonstrating that I know what I'm talking about. I'd guess you and others on this forum know what I'm talking about.

 

Yep, a lot of us know what you're talking about. Maybe an email to Alienware Support outlining the issues in detail would be an easier and less time consuming approach.

 

Bumping this thread. Is Dell even investigating this anymore? It's been a while since A10 came out and it did NOT fix it. The only way I can charge my battery is if the computer is off or asleep. If it's not, no way. I always get plugged in not charging.

 

I don't recall hearing about anyone else having the "plugged in, not charging" problem 100% of the time their computer is turned on. Perhaps your AC adapter is defective. Are you still under warranty? If so, I would call 1-800-ALIENWARE and get it fixed.

 

After all these months of people having the "plugged in, not charging" issue, and a handful or two of different levels of resolutions, what is the general consensus about A10 and this problem? It would not be the first time Dell has just swept an unfixable problem under the rug and carried on with life and new products (i.e, XPS 730x abandonment), but is the absolute resolution to this problem having A10 Bios PLUS a functioning 240W AC adapter?

Has everyone had their charging issues resolved with A10 and/or a new 240w AC adapter? And, by "resolved", I mean having the ability to use the M17xR2 normally, like any other notebook user does, and have it charge normally. I don't count removing batteries, draining current, running down to 5% before charging, etc. I mean, plug it in, and it charges. Always.

I saw the writing on the wall with this M17xR2, and sold mine a few months ago. Too many issues, and I didn't want to get stuck with another "XPS 730x".

Maybe a POLL is in order?

 

Maybe I'm missing something in the wording, but isn't that what the real problem was? People could not charge their M17xR2 without going through a dizzying array of procedures, and some, couldn't charge at all.

 

I have two ac adapters and the problem exists on both. I pretty much have to shut down or put the computer to sleep to charge the battery.

Dell your "Fix" isn't working!

Barry

 

My Response to Lancorp: The short answer, for me, is that the problem still exists. However, instead of it happening all the time, it now happens "sometimes" - IF I let the battery get down to less than 10%. If I plug in any sooner, then it will NOT charge, unless I take out & replace the battery (don't have to do the power drain & I can take the battery out with the system on or off). This criteria is true with any of my three adapters.

I have sent a rather thorough email (but haven't called them & gone through their troubleshooting drill)to Alienware support that describes all the various test sequences I've run - no response.

 

I'm on A10 and still have this issue. I have 2 adapters as well and if i unplug the laptop while it is on and let it drain a bit then plug it in (to either adapter) it won't charge

Most of the time I still need to shutdown and do a battery pull

 

I have owned this R2 for almost a month. It is my 3rd R2. This unit was PERFECT except for this eEeEeeeEee sound coming off the motherboard when plugged in and turned off, Plugged in(Not charging) & brightness issues after resuming from sleep mode.

I have tried the following to fix this issue:
1.Replaced motherboard
2.Replaced speakers
3.Replaced both 5870M GPU's(2) & CF cable
4.Refurbished battery
5.Refurbished AC Adapter

Because I'm on my 3rd R2(Brand New) because a on-site tech messed up previous R2's....I have been battling it out for new parts with a Dell Tech/CSR Supervisor. I refuse to put refurbished parts on a brand new R2.

At this point I was convinced it was the refurbished/previous AC adapter & battery.
Sooooo after going off on quite a few people I finally got Dell to send me a new AC Adapter and battery.


The new AC adapter and battery solved my plugged in not charging and EeEeEeeEee sound coming from the motherboard!!!!!! Before I could do certain things to produce the sleep brightness issue....but now I can't.


Dell previously offered to swap me out a New R3 fully loaded for all my troubles.

I'm soooo glad I have a better than new R2 that fully works. Now I know that every inch of this unit is done properly(There were mistakes like loose screws & a sticker over the primary GPU from the factory).

 

I have also been having this problem with my m17xr2. Talked to alienware and they sent a new charger and battery which did not fix the problem.

I am a software programmer and spent a couple of hours looking into this problem.

I believe i have found the solution for this problem. I called alienware tech support and spoke to a manager and they said they had found a solution and that was to flash the bios two or three times.

Can anyone that is still having this problem please try this solution and let me know if it works?..Thanks Mike

 

Well I can say I've flashed the Bios with A10 twice and still have the problem intermittently. I have not flashed it the 3rd (or 4th or...) time. Please let us know if that works - as I'd for sure do it too!

 

Just curious, what is the problem?

 

if you are using the laptop and unplug the power for a bit, then plug it back in the battery does not charge

I will try flashing the BIOS 10 more times

Also - i tried the 'take the battery out while plugged in" trick. It comes up for a second and say charging, but after 15 seconds if you move the mouse over the battery again it says not charging

not bad for $3000

 

In the taskbar when my R2 was charged it would say plugged In charged when it wasn't giving me the plugged in(not charging) issue randomly.

After replacing the AC Adapter, Cord & Battery(new) it now says fully charged(100%) instead of Plugged in charged...like before.

I hope this helps.

 

This did not work for me. Although, i did some more reserch and it appears this is a windows software problem. I found this solution and it appears to be working. I have shut down the computer and restarted several times and i can remove the ac adapter and plug it back in and it charges now. Hope this helps...Mike

1. close laptop and remove battery (while still on).

2. open lid and remove AC adapter (while still on, will power off system)

3. close lid and connect battery

4. open lid, connect AC adapter, and power on.

 

For me this "fix" worked:

Clean the connectors between the Laptop and the Battery.
Those connectors often have some kind of waxine on them. It is used to prevent oxidation while the parts are in storage at the factory.

To clean them use a "chempad cleaning pad". It does not leave any kind of film behind. Be sure to clean the connector-pins properly (in between them and so on).

After this (the tech told me this while changing gpus) the battery instantly charged!

Good luck with that!

 

I think this might be a Windows Vista and Windows 7 problem that is not limited to Dell and Alienware. I found a few web sites where hp, Sony and Toshiba owners are running into similar things.

 

If that is the case then Why has Dell released 2 different BIOS updates to 'fix' the problem?

I'd also have to wager that if it was a Windows issue it would be more prevalent and thus get more attention

So I've now flashed my system with A10 about 6 times, guess what, still doesn't fix anything

This R2 is about 1 year old now... how much can i sell it for?

 

Mr. Neutron, it sounds like maybe you need to do something about it under warranty if the problem is serious in your case. I am assuming it may be if it's bad enough to make you want to take a big loss and sell your R2.

This is merely a minor annoyance for me, as only I run into this about once a month. About 2 seconds to pop the battery in and out and I'm good to go.

 

That doesn't solve it here or for most other users. I get the message of, "plugged in and charging" when I do this, but twenty seconds later it's not charging again.

 

How did you determine "most other users" are having this problem and that removing and reinstalling the battery does not make the problem go away for "most users"? If that were accurate, we would likely see a whole lot more than 28 pages on this thread.

If it is persistent and the A10 BIOS does not largely resolve the problem, then there is something else wrong... motherboard, battery or AC adapter may need to be replaced.

 

Hello Everyone, I am new to the Alienware scene coming from a Asus G51jx-x5 and after flashing the bios I too had the recurring issue. However I was offered a system replacement yet I declined as getting an R3 would make me forfeit my RGB screen.

After my own personal digging on the matter I found that doing a clean install for me fixed the issue I can now go all day and week without incident, unplug at any battery percentage and she will charge no issues where as certain instances before I could duplicate plugged in not charging. I flashed the bios 3 times for what its worth to you guys I am wondering if somehow stealth mode has something to do with it as thats the only function that can instantly disable charging. just a thought and your mileage may vary but if it works for machine perhaps it may for some but not all.

Also note that I am using a non dell charger which I found odd seeing as this was a warranty replacement from a m1730 I got the m17x R2 (best looking refurb Ive ever gotten from dell MINT) refurbished they apparently had a non dell charger sent back and it passed their refurbuish specs Im assuming

 

A non-Dell charger? That's interesting.

That kind of shoots holes in the thought that a proprietary charging system is an underlying cause. Also, the clean install fixing your problem supports the theory that peculiarities with the Vista and Windows 7 power management system can sometimes contribute to this phenomenon. (It's not unique to Dell/Alienware systems. This has been occurring to some extent in computers made by other OEMs.)

I have found that when this problem surfaces for me, which is not frequently, it is generally associated with a change or fluctuation in power source or supply.

 

I got the bug back after a while (A10 BIOS):



Taking the battery out and putting it back in fixed it.

 

Same here ...

 

I just got it as well. Running the newest bios and it just "happened." Great....

 

I havent really kept up with this issue. I used to have it on my earlier system quite frequently but with this one, I can say whilst its not 100% free from this issue, it is quite rare that I suffer with it. Not to say it doesnt happen because sometimes it does. I get the odd OSD message saying something like "Kb - cant read source" or something like that...

I also get the odd instance of where I know the battery is 100% charged as its been plugged in for some considerable time. The tray icon displays 100% but the alienhead on/off button will still continue to "glow" indicating charging for some odd reason.

I should say that I am running test bios X31 that is supposed to cure sleep/brightness issues (but doesnt) so my experiences may have more to do with that than A10.

Thought I would post here though as its fairly obvious that there is no fix for this issue and no fix for the other issue too....

 

Can anyone tell me if random cycling of the status of the alienhead on/off button is a symptom/problem of running A10?

Basically, re-flashed to A10 after running test bios X31 only to find that even though my battery is 100% fully charged and plugged in, i get random "cycling" of the status indicator of the on/off button that shows charging status.

One minute, its constant and solid and the next its glowing like it s charging....

This pattern is fairly steady, it will glow for a minute or so and then be steady for a minute or so....and then go back to glowing as if charging....

This is all whilst the system is plugged in and 100% battery..

Anyone care to comment for me?

TIA

 

I am running A10 and have the exact same issue that you are having. Hopefuly someone has some input.

 

Thanks Kavy for the reply.

Good to know (in a weird way) that im not just losing my marbles.....its definetly a problem glitch or something because its happening to me on a fresh install of windows with all the latest relevant Dell Drivers and, of course, Bios A10.

 

Hey steviejones - my system has always done this random glow color morphing thing as if charging even when the battery is 100% charged. I have even seen it when the FN+F2 shows the battery disconnected. I think it is a glitch with AW CC and OSD. It does not happen all the time... very random. Sometimes it's a few times in a week, then goes for several weeks without acting up.

When your system is exhibiting these symptoms, do your touch panel controls continue to function normally? The next time my system is doing this, I plan to check that out.

Here's a new one... the other day I was running on battery in a plane. I had the system running probably 20 minutes while watching a movie. No AC adapter was connected. For no explainable reason, I get the pop-up message from OSD that the connected AC adapter is not supported and the system will continue on battery power.

 

Hi Mr Fox!

Well, my system hasnt always done this weird flashing/changing/constant thing....i dont recall it happening on A08 or A09 - it did happen on X31 and is definetly prevalent on A10 - on A10, its more or less all the time even when fully charged. Ive just turned on thismorning and have already lost track of the number of times its changed status from charging to not chraging back to charging....

Have tried my volume up/down touch capacative buttons and, although i have never been a fan of them, they do work. They require a very "full" fingertip to cover them to operate, not just a slight touch....i have to ensure that my whole finger "covers" the area and they are very temperemental.

Here are a couple of video clips I took illustrating the charing/not charging "cycling" whilst system plugged in and battery at 100% - very ODD!

 

Same here, never really noticed it before as I usually have the same color set for battery and AC... its doing it as I'm typing this!!!

 

It does this randomly.....I mean, once the battery is charged, it should stop and be a constant "rim of light" right? - it should only "glow" when the battery is accepting a charge.

I dont know if its simply a lighting glitch but the thought that my battery is trying to charge when its full isnt good.

Ive noticed that others have reported "drop outs" in performance too when their systems seem to change from a plugged in status to a on battery status...we all know how these systems love the juice for best performance and if there is a glitch/bug that is intermittently telling the system its only on battery when actually its plugged in, doesnt bode well in terms of constant performance from our beasts......does it?

 

These symptoms should not be occurring, steviejones.

I do not experience any drops in performance, but always I modify the advanced settings in my power profiles to allow a minimum processor state of 100% on battery and 100% on AC power. I prefer having everything function in a "full blast" state at all times. I have zero interest in reducing power consumption with my beast, but for someone that is interested in conserving power that may not work out for them.

The bottom line here is that it needs to be fixed and a $4,000 system should function very close to flawlessly. There's simply no excuse for it to not function correctly, regardless of the end user preference in settings.

 

I'm in the same boat Mr.Neutron. I conquered all of my R2's other problems but the battery charging issue still seems elusive. I've just never had a machine that required this much fussing with to get it working as advertised. Do the Alienware folks ever spend any time on this forum anymore?

 

i doubt it.

 

I cannot help but think that things would be a little different if someone was truly paying attention.

 

High performance computers always have their quirks, just as high performance cars do. There is far more good than bad in both of them.

For me, the few seconds it takes to unlatch the battery and snap it back in place when this plugged in, not charging thing happens occasionally is certainly an annoyance, but not a show stopper. Alienware owes us a cure and I'd like to have it fixed, but I'd still choose my M17x R2 over an ordinary, mediocre competitor's product any day of the week.

 

Sorry Mr.Fox, can't agree with ya here. A supposed MOBILE machine (hard to call it a laptop) should be able to be unplugged and and plugged back in and have a pretty basic operation like charging the battery work properly. I have had and still have other "mediocre" laptops that seem to have no problem with this simple operation. The fact that a solution seems to be beyond Alienwares grasp is especially troubling. If people find that acceptable fine, for what this machine cost, I don't!

 

I have to agree with Goldenboy on this one. I know the only reason I put up with this issue right now, is that it "seems minor" compared to all the others I had to work through all of 2010 with my R1.

So this problem with the R2, while annoying, is tolerable by comparison. But it's pretty lame that a system that is this good (and expensive) can't deal with a basic function like charging the battery.

 

Conceptually, I totally agree with the point both of you are making and my expectation is that it gets fixed... Period. Alienware owes us a fix. For the price of these systems, they should be very close to flawless. They don't get a pass from me on this, but it's not something anywhere near serious enough to make me dislike or regret owning my otherwise outstanding machine.

The point I was making, which you may or may not agree with, is that I would choose to tolerate this annoyance more than having a mediocre machine as the alternative. There's nothing on the market that compares to the M17x R2 or the M18x overall. (Even the M17x R3 falls well short of hitting the mark.) If push comes to shove, I'll put up with the minor inconvenience of the two seconds it takes to pop the battery in and out again over the alternative of owning something inferior.

There are a few high end machines that sell in the same price range and compete with them on a performance level, but when you consider the big picture (including appearance and build quality) nothing else compares. I am not going to be even remotely satisfied with a cheaply constructed and indistinctive plastic cracker box equipped with the similar internal components. I've already been down that road before, and it sucked.

 

I think that is one of the things that happened when Dell bought Alienware. Dell's stupid 3rd conductor proprietary power mechanism. Not sure what the purpose of the 3rd conductor is, but from using other 3rd party changeable-tip power supplies with past Dells, Dell was able to put up error messages indicating that this wasn't a legit power adapter and refused to charge the battery, but still powered the laptop (also made you press a key in BIOS upon bootup to acknowledge this).

It would be great if they just jumped this crap out altogether in the BIOS in some kind of way, but somehow I get the feeling it may be hardware impaired.

 

They wont do that because of PSU sales....man, if you need a new PSU...who do you have to go to to get that "propriatory" PSU from.......hmmmmmmmmmmmm???

 

Update on the "3rd conductor". Did a bit of web searching and found some interesting background info. The short of it is that they use a "chipped" power supply (much like modern day ink jet/cartridges) to enforce their "genuine Dell" power supply usage. This power supply sends an I2C response message over the third conductor (which is a communication line) to the laptop to let it know that it is ok.

http://www.ideastorm.com/ideaView?id=087700000000A4VAAU

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php?topic=69200.15

http://blog.kingj.net/2008/11/10/me/dell-laptop-ac-power-adapter-fault/