R3 ONLY: Problems & defect poll

Based off of my thread earlier, this is strictly for R3 owners who have had problems and or defects upon or after receiving their R3.

Please vote and discus what problems you have been having.

Thanks.

 

Edit: My bad logged in as the wife not me, see below.

 

I originally ordered mine with the 460m/120hz/3d combo and had nothing but bsods using any drivers designed for mobile GPU's, I had to use modded desktop drivers to not throw bsods any time windows loaded. Alienware took an official stance that they will not warranty a gpu that is damaged while using a modded non-mobile driver with me so they swapped it out for a 6970m. The other thing I've noticed that is a performance issue IMO but maybe not others is my CPU, any time I try to go over 100.20 in the BIOS it freezes up and refuses to boot.

 

GPU: gtx 460m - drivers (optimus)

• No un-modified drivers allow hardware acceleration with some Autodesk applications (3ds max 2011, autocad 2011, autocad 2012)
• "video driver failed and was recovered" windows7 error/notification semi-often

wear/peeling of all corners @nebula red soft touch finish
chipping/peeling of black paint @ bottom left corner (& under) of lid
keyboard rattle @right side
left shift key squeaks every time it is pressed
media bar incorrectly installed / popped up at top right corner
Bottom panel improperly aligned
BSOD @startup if anything is plugged into a USB 2.0 port (right side usb)

 

Specs in sig.

-Lid has a 1 inch scratch, that seems to fade away every time I look at it. The first day it looked like a heavy scratch. See the photo in my picasa page.

-2 BSODs: 1st one while updating/downloading the SP1 update through windows update. 2nd one while updating BFBC2 through its updater.

-"Squishy" side panels (where your ports are on the leftside and rightside of your computer. There's a 1/2mm gap in between, where dust and dirt could slip in. Even the Vostro 3400 at work is flush on the sides...

-While on the GPU, my mouse cursor turns into a mini notebook paper cursor (1 or 2 black vertical lines with 4-5 horizontal lines to the right of it, resembling a 1x2cm notebookpaper cursor).
-Looks like this--> |E

-When you close the lid, it's misaligned to the right about 1mm. Not a big deal, as most notebooks I've seen are like this or even worse.

 

dookie11, that whole mouse acting like that when on the GPU sounds really odd. lol Find a way to fix it yet?

 

That's an nvidia driver issue actually.

 

thought Dookie had 6970?

 

It hasn't happened lately. It's only happened twice, and when it happened it was just at random. I don't remember what I was doing when it changed to a bunch of black lines as big as a 1cm square.

I've got the 6970, so I don't think it's a driver issue since noone else has complained about it. I'm afraid that it might be my hardware. It went away when I changed to the IGP and then it stayed away when I went back to the GPU later that night. hmmmmmmm....

 

From what I am seeing, I am going to need to expect a few BSOD.. lol

 

I haven't had any BSODs but I have had the system shut down completely and restart a second later, like as if the power was momentarily cut out and came back right away. Needless to say it comes back on with the "Windows was not shutdown properly message". It has happened three times since I got it on 4/5/11.

 

What are you plugged into? A surge protector??? My current Toshiba does the same thing... I have mine plugged into a cheapy Surge Protector though.

 

I am plugged into a quality surge protector, not to mention there is the battery still connected. I think it's the OS drive that is causing the issue, but not entirely sure.

 

This is strange indeed.

 

The only issue that I can beat Alienware up for is the misaligned media bar in the upper right. The panel has a 1mm or less gap between the media panel and the body.

However it is only noticeable if you actually look directly at it from the side.

All in all I am pleased with the unit so far.

 

Posting pix of the notebook-cursor problem on my picasa page. I got the problem again today while trying to watch a yt video that someone linked me to so I could try to pair my ps3 remote with the lappy.

 

Here's a list on my system issues...
- loose lcd panel which will be replaced tomorrow.
- start up issues. (freezing on POST which seems to be resolved after clean installing the OS)
- squishy side panels (which im hoping to get resolved tomorrow when tech replaces my screen)
no BSOD so far and other than those mentioned i'm pretty satisfied and happy with my system

Update: Screen got replaced today tech did it in only 15 mins. Told him about the side panels and I went to grab coffee when I came back he told me to press the side panels. I don't know what he did but it feels more solid now. so happy

 

Loose battery is the only issue i have had thus far.

 

I had just the opposite. I could not get my battery out. Took me a long time to get it out to upgrade the RAM.

 

Well my R3 was Dead on Arrival!!! Took it out of the box and got a white screen and 8 beeps that repeat. Had in home service change MOBO, GPU, GPU fan and heatsink and still same thing, so now waiting on my replacement getting built. Wish I could have gotten an hour out of it to atleast see the awesomeness haha

 

I was getting random reboots. The machine was useless to me. It turned out to be bad memory. Since I replaces and upgraded the RAM I haven't had any issues. (CarlosGFK, your issue sounds like this...) Note: the memory diagnostic said I didn't have memory problems.

Lifted media bar. Small space on the left side.

Screws (about 5) missing from when the unit was build. Memory upgrade technician installed screws in the vacant places. (This bothers me. One HD was missing a screw!)

M17xR3 3D 16GB 1.5TB Blue Ray Win7Pro64

 

Does the hindge on anyones r3 creek?

 

Media bar lifting and media bar/keyboard/touchpad touching screen. Getting a replacement because they were not able to fix these issues after a tech replaced a bunch of parts.

 

Only issues for me were a wobbly battery, and I guess a tiny bit raised media bar on the right side.

Other than that, she was flawless

 

On battery, I noticed now if I have my screen dimmed on almost the lowest setting, it gets brighter then dimmer again. Anyone else experience this?

Update: Figured it out from Dookie's review post. I changed a setting for the Intel IGP and it fixed this issue.

 

DVD-ROM drive was dying on arrival. Shoved my Windows disk in there, wouldn't let me boot from it, and then it wouldn't let me eject it! This caused an entire system slowdown. After reparation, worked perfectly fine.

 

Got mine last week and notice the enter key on the numbpad raised a nit , also the lcd when the laptop is closed is slighty to the left.
called alienware and sent some photos , they calling me back tomorrow with a solution, they offer to take it away and replace with a another new one but i think that will take ages ..... so wainting for a phone call tomorrow

 

Glad you found it This tip should be added in the R3 FAQ thread though, for sure.

 

so i called dell and complained about the plastic flexing and making noise when i open or close the lid, and also a rattle noise noticable while typing sometimes.....they are replacing the keyboard, hindges and 4 plastics parts on the computer.......the tech is coming today so ill let yall know how this goes.. Im kinda disapointed in build quality. I dont believe that what they are replacing will fix the problem and what happens after a years use of the laptop???

 

Warranty gotcha covered?

 

to ya'll having peeling soft touch issues: guys, use the bag that came with laptop (black one with alienware written on it) i carry mine anywhere i go now and i gotta tell you it does not peel unless you treat it bad.

 

So far my major issue is buzzing audio, which only happens at max volume which is so annoying! if I decrease the volume to 75% the music sounds good but then again i lose precious base.

Another issue is the speakers doesn't play most of my music very well, But when gaming the speakers are AMAZING! i just don't get it? i keep tuning the equaliser and IDT but nothing seems to be working ):

 

Dead pixels - My original had 3
Misaligned hardware - My original had a misaligned keyboard, plastic wrapper inside heatsink
Hardware Failure - My replacement had bad RAM AND bad HDDs, switched it with the original and it's working fine

All in all disappointed in quality but still loving it once I got it together and working.

I'd take away the BSOD section as BSOD is too general of a term, it can be caused by many things which AREN'T Dell's fault.

 

Agree with X3NIA, from my customer support experience (have been working here n there) I know that 90% of BSODs are caused by user's action. You wanna have a dummy-machine that doesnt fail at all get a macbook. even they may get you in big trouble (fake anti-virus for mac, anyone?)
overall I'd say speakers is a huge CON, never tried them for gaming but for music o m f g they just suck. not something you would expect from Klipsch speakers... Btw, old audio driver with maxxxwaves is a must for anyone who wants to experience at least some decency in sound.

p.s. Did any1 notice the keyboard "marks" are left on screen once u close the lid for long time n open after? I mean its easily cleanable but what the?

 

wow...does it have a tread with good news??...i mean, how % of all the owner are afected with problems?

I will recieve my m17x if few days...and now i'm in fear that i spend 3500$ on a cheap laptop, ....to replace my 7yrs old Travelmate that is working #1 with no issue what so ever even after 7 years of beating.

How the hell can they sell those laptop with so many problem!?

I hope that it's just because the one who have 0 problem don't post on the net...because they don't have to complain about anything loll

 

New problem: Hdmi-In getting sound for only 20seconds before it goes silent. Also, I never get sound on bootup to the XMB. I have to do the Fn+F8 back to desktop, then click on the volume bar to make the "ping" sound, and then Fn+F8 back to XMB, where sound once again will last only 20 seconds. See video here: YouTube - ‪m17x R3 HDMI-In - Sound Messed Up‬‏

Should I get it serviced?

 

The sreen lid is a little out of line. Can I fix that myself? No problems with it so far.

 

I have no problems or defects to report.

 

On my second refurbished now.

First one was missing half the screws inside, and when I tried to take of the keyboard to install more RAM, those screws were stuck so badly there was no chance whatsoever to get them off. Also came without a second HDD bay. If it wasn't for the above, I could have lived with the only cosmetic blemish of a loose panel right of where the mediabuttons are. (seems like the glue isn't strong enough)

Second one: Same loose panel, but atleast the second HDD bay was included, and all the screws in place. Finally got the keyboard off (screws were almost stuck again), but I had no chance of getting off the screws that secures the 2 RAM slots benath the keyboard.
Since this second one is perfect, and it was an insanely sweet deal ($1550), I didn't wanna return it, so I just got a plier and tore out the RAM cover, installed the ram, put what was left of the cover on top, replaced keyboard, and all is well

tldr: Dell needs to do something about overtightened screws, making it impossible to remove some of them.

 

I have a problem and would like to know if anyone else you doing the same, the problem is that my alienware m17x r3, is giving me problems with the MLB and NBA 2K11 I am Receiving delays in the sound, the commenters and the sounds of bats , umpires, etc. the funny thing is that the black ops, mass effect and other games I are giving this problem two days ago, uninstall the NBA 2K11 and re-installed and solved the problem but it happens again and it happens again, what I discovered is that if I do a defrag the hard drive the problem is resolved or becomes smaller, this is driving me a little crazy and I hope someone can help me.

 

I wonder how do u know if u have dead pixels?

 

Fullscreen something that's black. Or fullscreen something that's white (e.g. a picture or a movie clip or something)? The dead pixel may be blinking, blank, or of a different color than the rest of the screen. There's progs online that sometimes can fix them. Otherwise, you can ignore it if it's in teh corner, or return it / get a replacement.

Although they're not that bad, I'm sure most would agree with the feeling that once you discover that danged deadpixel, you're gonna be p'ed off and think about it and keep seeing it everyday till it's gone LOLZZZ

 

Voted for misaligned parts.
Anyone fixed the lifted media bar yet?

 

Small drop of superglue, or taking it off and realigning it, is what I've heard.

 

So here is my dell tech experience... Like i said previously my hindges would make a plastic flexing noise loudly when i opened my screen. also a rattle when i typed... So dell sent a tech out to replace my screen, keyboard, palm rest, the media keys around the keyboard and the lid. The tech installed the wrong screen so i now have a 1600x900 instead of the 1920x1080, the media key is now lifting in the corner, and there is a white light coming through the lcd panel where the alien head is on the lid. so i called tech support after the systems were back up and a tech said they were gonna send parts again. I wasnt having it so i talked his manager and she gave me all kinds of attitude said i cant have a refund because i was out of the 21 days. She said they would send me a replacement only cause the right screen is unavailable while giving me loads more of attitude. I asked for her manager and she refused and sent me to customer care where they chatted before i talked to them and i was again refused a refund and sent back to tech support... so after 2 hour holding session i hung up then called back to talk to a diff manager and after escalating the issue the couldnt refund my money but they would send me the replacement and a ty keyboard which i dont need. this started 4 weeks ago ive had my pc since 3/28 im not satisfied with build quality or customer service so im stuck with a cheap version of the r2. lots of money for low build quality.

 

Keep demanding for replacements. That is what they should be doing instead of offering you repeated bad in-home service...

 

They screwed me with the wrong screen too. I'm waiting now until monday when I am supposed to get a tech to bring me the 1080p panel. This all started about a month ago when I called for the original screen replacement due to dead pixels and dust in the panel.

 

Gsod running any youtube type app. Updated flash and drivers. Issue remains. Otherwise my refrub has been spot on

 

I am a bit concerned that most of the M17xR3 i saw have the media strip popped up on the right.Does anyone here have any experience in remedying this problem by themselves,or dell tech taught them how to do it?

 

I just expected a little more from alienware, but ill gve them the chance with the replacement. If i have more issues im just gonna do a credit card dispute.

p.s. I will not let another tech touch my pc bunch of hacks.... he kept having to take it apart cause he kept forgetting things so sad.