New to Alienware - M17x R3 Questions

Hi all below are the specs of my m17x r3. I love the build quality of the laptop and I received it yesterday for a pretty good price. My questions is I've notice from booting up to the window 7 main screen is that it takes about 1min and 20secs is that normal? Also, I have not installed anything and when I shut down the laptop it gives me a warning that a program is still running and it force closes the app. I can't see what app it is because it shows the warning and 1-2 sec later it shuts down. What should I do? Should I do a clean install of windows 7? Any advise would be greatly appreciated as I am new to alienware.

-- Alienware M17x R3 Laptop
-- Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)
-- Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth Module
-- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
-- Certified Refurbished
-- 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (4 DIMMs)
-- 1.5 GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M
-- 17.3 Inch Wide HD (1600 x 900 60Hz) WLED Display
-- 9 Cell Battery
-- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Operating System DVD
-- Processor: Intel Core i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
-- 210W/240W switchable Slim 3P A/C Adapter
-- 320 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)

 

5400 RPM hard drive would be the culprit behind the booting time, I never even knew they offered 5400 RPM hard drives in the R3. You might want to upgrade to a 7200 RPM hard drive which I would strongly suggest. As for the shut down issue try closing any open programs you can see (like an open window of Firefox) before trying to shut down Windows. Occasionally I have the same problem on an older M17 so I'd assume its Windows 7.

Edit : Hard drive prices are apparently inflated due to flooding in Thailand, might want to wait to score a deal on newegg during cyber monday (Nov 28th) or until prices go back to their usual and find a 2.5'' 7200 RPM hard drive.

 

Thanks Skittles for the input can you recommend an inexpensive hdd with more space that 7200 that would fit? But with the -warning app still open- I get the warning even when I turn on the laptop and turn it right off never opening an app.

 

if i were you, i'd get an SSD and use your 320 drive for storage. Then your 1 1/2 minute boot times will become 20 seconds or less

 

Do you know where I could get a good deal on a SSD that would fit and when you mean use my 320 drive as storage. You mean installing games, app and to save stuff on? Or would I be installing my apps on the SSD?

 

If you absolutely want a new hard drive now I could link you to one on newegg, but as my edited post says they are ridiculously inflated in price at the moment (320 GB hard drives are currently costing the same price as 1 TB ones used to).

As for the shutdown issue the computer does eventually turn itself off when it gives you the warning or does it hang at the warning screen listing open applications?

 

Yeah man. Buy an aftermarket 7200 rpm HDD or an SSD. Itll cut your boot up time. Try newegg.com. Black friday deals are around the corner.

 

There just was a deal on newegg for a 128gig Crucial M4 for $179 shipped. You have to keep your eyes open. If budget is an issue, i've seen Corsair and OCZ 120gig SSD's going in the lower 100's like $120-130 shipped

usually with SSD's, you load windows and your most used apps. If you go with a larger SSD, you will have more space for some games

But everything else like music, movies, games etc will go on the 320gig HDD. I load most of my games on my HDD

 

SSD have come down a LOT in price lately, but you're still going to pay handsomely. I would recommend a 750GB 7,200 RPM disk. Due to spindle RPM and platter density, you'll see a big improvement. Again, this is if you are absolutely NOT willing to pay for an SSD.

People typically use a modest sized SSD for their boot partition, and then a massive HDD for storing music, movies, and other large files and multimedia. Newegg.com is where I get my SSD/HDD from. Good prices and relatively quick shipping.

Get an HDD if you're strapped for cash, and definitely get an SSD if you can afford it.

 

I hit shut down and it gives me the warning for about 1-2 sec then shuts down.

 

Oh that's perfectly normal for me, don't think there's much that can be done about it.

 

I've got the same shutdown issue. Had it since day 1. It doesnt even show what program(s) is still open. 2 seconds later the computer shuts down like normal. It's not W7 btw. I have W7 on my desktop and it never did that. It's prolly one of the progs on the R3. Most likely the IDT or the AW Command Center prog.

 

I've got an old Alienware Area 51 M17-R1 with Windows 7 on it and I've never reinstalled any of the AW stuff like the OSD or CC.

 

yea i have always had the same problem as well after several fresh installs. I don't think its to big of an issue but thats just me