m18x and windows aero

Never seen the aero bug until last nite. Installed the webcam software and it started instantly. Removed it, no problems after. Not sure if there is more to it but that's what started/stopped it for me.

 

Aero problems on the R3??? Haven't heard of that one yet. Most people here have the M18x.

 

Dell Engineering must not be connecting the dots. It seems they are assuming we're all a bunch of newbies that are too dumb to remove and install drivers correctly. Take a peek at the lame information they asked Chris to post as a solution on the Dell Community. No offense to Chris as the messenger, but c'mon Dell Engineering... let's stop pretending this is something driven by incompetent end users. I've spent more time troubleshooting glitches and bugs with the M17x R2 and M18x than I have time spent gaming on them. We deserve better than being patronized with something as juvenile as a lesson on how to remove and install drivers correctly.

 

Thats a really lame and pathetic response by Dell Engineering. People who spend thousands on high end systems are (on the whole) NOT comuter illiterate people. We all know how to remove a driver and reinstall a driver....this process is not in question (or should not be).

Maybe this can be forwarded to Engineering:

"I have done a Clean install hence NO DRIVERS required to be "removed or reinstalled". Installation of Dell drivers along with Dell OS disc supplied with my machine - with the exception of AMD 11.8 Preview (as we were asked to test it out) and I STILL have had Aero flake out on me after running WEI check.....cant get ANY cleaner and clutter free than this guys....yet the problem still exists...."

If its not fixed, if Dell continue to mess us about with crappy excuses and such forth, I will be looking to take this matter further.......

 

this is kinda extremely stupid.. after a fresh install of windows and all the drivers being updated.. btw have the 11.8preview drivers there working great.. i still get this windows aero flake -_-...

 

Do you guys actually think they are really going to fix this problem?

Lets look at few things:
1. The M17x R1/R2 has the Sleep/Resume Brightness Problem, Code 43 problem & Plugged in not charging problem that was NEVER fixed. Instead of fixing these problems they release a new model.
2. The Sleep/Resume Brightness Problem finds it way into the M17x R3 & M18x but on a lower scale. Ridiculous.
3. Even though AW sells many different configurations of the M18x they ask for only one that we know of to represent all of us.
4. For how common this Aero Bug is engineering needs the customer to help produce the Aero Bug.....really..............wth.

In this thread I have read posts along time ago, from R3 owners who suffer from the aero bug.

I'm back on AMD hardware thanks to Dell, now the Aero Bug is more active than ever......lame.

 

It is stupid, to put it bluntly. I was having issues with a BSOD using Catalyst 11.8 preview on my new M18x with the factory Windows installation. In fact, there were several adverse issues with the behavior of the system as it shipped from the factory.

After deleting all of the original partitions and installing Windows 7 Ultimate using installation media that I created from an unbranded ISO, my M18x is working close to flawlessly on the Catalyst 11.8 preview except for this Aero bug and no screen brightness controls. I also think my secondary video card may be having issues, or may have come with no thermal paste from the factory. It is running hotter than the primary GPU even at idle. I have seen multiple posts that other customers have found CPU and GPU dies without thermal paste. (It's also mentioned in a Tech|Inferno review of the M18x.) I'm going to order some IC Diamond 24 and repaste everything. I will take photos and post them on this forum for all to see if I find that to be the case. I will reserve judgment on the condition of the video card until I see what things look like during the paste job.

Whatever off-shored vendor Dell is using to assemble these things for them and create the OS drive images needs to be fired. They're doing a terrible job on quality control and potentially lots of damage to the Dell/Alienware reputation. Even the RAID0 install this system was ordered with wasn't done properly. The BIOS was set for RAID0, but the OS was not installed as RAID. The secondary HDD was just an empty drive.

I have not made a big stink about all of this, but when someone from engineering comes back with a condescending response suggesting end user incompetence as the cause of an issue, it really does diminish my tolerance for their shortcomings. I'm trying to be rational about this because, overall, Dell has treated me very well as a customer and their good employees are the reason for my continued patronage.

 

No, I don't think they will, but I am hoping they do. I'm going to keep hoping they do. What I think it comes down to is they do not know how to fix it, and they did not do enough pre-release testing to even have an awareness that they were selling a product that is broken.

And this is only one major issue. Anyone thinking of purchasing this system or the M17x R3 should also be aware of the situation highlighted on this thread:
*M17xR3 & M18x* Internal Speakers not working after using Optical/external audio out.

What we need here from Dell goes beyond delivery of good customer service. What we need is someone at Dell with adequate technical competence to take ownership of resolution.

 

True. And as far as the speaker issue, good job I caught that one a while back otherwise I may have plugged my 2.1's into the SPDIF.....since reading that, I have steered clear of sticking anything in that port for fear of crapping things out. My Soundsticks work AMAZINGLY well, just glad I didnt plug 'em into that port.....

 

I read about that problem on the M17x board and from M18x members a long time ago. Because I had a insight into the problem before I actually received my M18x, I only use USB or Bluetooth audio devices.

The M18x and R3's I/O board is defective. Instead of fixing this issue or issuing a recall they will just deny this problem and release the M18x R2.

 

Shouldn't we all send a common letter (signed by all of us) to our appreciated Michael Dell? Maybe (just 'maybe') he can / will do something about for once and for all?

Just a 0.01 cent suggestion...

 

I know. 4 quotes here. But to sum it up-Dells incompetence may get us all a new system. I went from a 1315$ R1 to a maxed R3. They'll fix it with a new M18x R2 and we'll complain till they give-or, they can fix it. 'Nough said!

 

This is true, at least conceptually. I started out with a $4,100 Dell XPS M1730 in Aug '08. It was replaced by an identical machine in March '09. It was replaced by a $3,025 M17x R2 in Sept '10 and that was replaced by a $3,019 M18x R1 less than a month ago. I never complained about the fact that with each exchange I receive a system priced a little less than the one it replaced because technology is advancing and these are very fair trades as far is performance is concerned. They are equal or better, so the original purchase price is irrelevant to me. Did you do the math on the timeline? That's 4 system replacements is 3 years... all flagship products.

I know that they are trying to take good care of me as a customer. What I really want the most is a really good computer that does not have to be replaced to resolve unsolvable problems due to poor design and lack of quality control. This is a subject the I know SOS finds near and dear to his heart.

Last month I sent a letter to Michael Dell's email address and acknowledged the phenomenal service I received from my Tech Support Rep in Costa Rica. Mr. Dell replied, thanked me for sending him the letter and expressed his appreciation for my patronage. I would mention the Tech by name on this thread, but I don't think that would be appropriate. If he is reading this, he knows who he is and that I think he is awesome.

What might be effective is for a few of us to send Michael an email and request that he read this thread and take whatever action is warranted in his good judgment. The danger would be in too many people sending messages and diluting the response. I still believe Dell is the best computer company there is and if I were Mr. Dell, I would want to know about this.

I don't want to be silly and do anything out of frustration. I'd prefer to give Dell Engineers a little more time to figure out what's wrong and proactively follow up and offer a solution to us. They know who we are, especially those of us that responded to Chris with a PM to volunteer for the capture. If Dell Engineers do not follow up with us, then that would be something specific to share in a letter to Mr. Dell at a later date. If there is one thing I feel very strongly about, it is that employees that do not do well at their job and do not attempt to excel do not deserve to keep their job. They are expendable and need to be replaced by someone that does. Communicating proactively with customers is one way to excel as a company and as an employee.

 

^^^For sure!!! Everything you said is spot on. I hear people all the time say no more Dell, but they have ALWAYS done me good (nice grammar). I have had several different AW techs and all but 1 have been stellar.

Like you I have the fear of diluting as well. So maybe they will keep an eye here and see what is going on.

As far as system replacements go-
Started with an M17x R1 at $1315>Replaced with R1 refurb config @ $3153>Replaced with NEW R2 @ $3853>Replaced with R3 @ $3119. Sold it to a friend and got an M1730>Replaced with sig system. I have no complaints except lost time, frustration, and time (yes, I said time 2x).
They have been awesome to me and the warranty has proven itself several times. I am now a full fledged Dell/AW fan.

 

pmassey - I tried to give you a rep point but the system will not let me until later. We are definitely in sync on this. I'm a Dell Dude for sure... probably for life.

 

I do agree with all what as been answered here by Mr. Fox and Pmassey. I'm also a loyal consumers of Dell's products (specially the 4 years full warranty) since it start selling laptops over the web (long time ago). Now my children are too. So many of my students all over the world. Let's wait a little longer and see... I do want to believe that Mr. M. Dell, eventually, will take care of us. I believe too that he didn't forgot it's starts at the garage, so he's loyal to his own products.

 

Hey SOS. Long time no see. Hope all is well with you. I agree... I think Mr. Dell does remember his humble beginnings.

I can almost guarantee you that if my original XPS M1730 had been an HP or some other brand I would most likely still own it and be using it for a doorstop. HP sells extended warranties like Dell does, but they don't honor what they sell like Dell does. I've already been down that road and it lead me to Dell. I got screwed twice by HP over warranty issues... never again.

 

For those with 6970M's, to get the brightness to work you have to re-install AW OSD after you install the new drivers.

 

Wow! Thanks for the tip. I'll come back and post if it works or not.

Edit: Uninstalled OSD, rebooted, reinstalled OSD, rebooted... no brightness adjustments. Controls are all there just as before, but they do nothing.

Observation: after reinstalling OSD I had a helluva time getting Aero to work again. I had to log-off/log-on four times before Aero stopped crashing. (Aero would load for a few seconds and snap to Basic.) GRRRR!

 

Uh, same here

Not having an issue with it but I'll keep it in mind. Little tidbits like this are good...

My Fn+F4/F5 acts crazy once in a while, but I never lose it completely. Sometimes when I can't adjust down, I try up and then down and it works (or vise versa). I also have the brightness gadget installed from Orblog

 

Reinstalling the AW OSD to get the brightness working, only works for the new 6970M Dell driver http://support.dell.com/support/dow...dateid=-1&formatid=-1&source=-1&fileid=468099 . Not 11.7 or 11.8P.

 

Apologies...I will read the whole post at somepoint.

Basically I should get my M18x any day now.

This aero issue, is this the alt-tabbing functionality?

What issues will I see? Random crashes of the desktop back to Windows 2000 style if I alt -tab between apps? Is there a fix to this - like disabling aero?

 

You said it!!!!

Aero is the 'glass like' effect in Vista and Windows 7.

TRying to get a fix from somewhere.

 

I cannot find a brightness gadget from Orblog... is it a feature of another gadget with a different primary function or another name?

Hmm, I was there yesterday and this must have been posted after my visit to the driver page. Thanks for pointing it out. I'm going to clean out 11.8 and try this new driver from Dell. I wonder if there is a way to set up an email alert for new drivers for our systems?

It is encouraging that we've had 2 BIOS updates and a video driver update (for an older video card no less) all in the same week. Thanks Dell/Alienware!

 

I installed the new 6970M Dell driver without CCC.

After two reboots, brightness control is working fine. I did not uninstall/reinstall AW OSD.

It is possible to enable Crossfire without CCC ?

 

Oops! This is similar to what I have. Not the exact one. I could upload what I have I guess. Gimme a few.
Display Brightness Vista Gadget // projects.edgylogic

 

It may already be enabled by default. If you run 3DMark11 you will see a CrossFireX icon in the upper right corner during the benchmark.

If not, use Regedit to change the DWORD value from a 0 to a 1 for all instances of EnableCrossFireAutoLink. While you are doing that, right below that registry key you will see a key named EnableUlps. Change any of those you find as a 1 to a 0 (zero).

 

OK, went through the driver cleaning and installing process and yes, found no brightness controls until removing and reinstalling OSD.

Ran WEI and all my ratings stayed the same, but Aero crashed and failed to start during reboot 3 times in a row. Aero stayed turned on the fourth time.

 

Thanks for the tips.


What worth ATI Tray Tools 1.7.9.1564 ?

 

I don't know Waterr. I can never get them to work. They crash my M18x and always crashed my M17x.R2 as well. If you can get the ATI Tray Tools to work for you, please share your secret with us.

 

Looks like I'm getting a NEW one with 6990's.

 

After rebooting, almost all values of EnableCrossFireAutoLink return to 0

Also, no CrossFireX icon in the upper right corner when running 3DMark11.

Seem to work correctly but i can't enable CF. So this program is useless.

 

If you install 11.6, 11.7 or 11.8P you will have to reinstall AW OSD. I totally agree that it is nice that Dell is providing updates as of late.

Fantastic!! You deserve it
I also have 6990's now. Outside of benches I really don't see too much of a difference. Most of my games CAP off FPS after a certain point. I'm sure the day will come when I will appreciate the extra power.


I'm loving my Alienware Tactx Keyboard. The AlienFX works in sync with my M18x in WMP/itunes!!!! Sick!!! The only problem is that the KB oly has a 145hz pooling rate
My Lycosa has a 1000hz pooling rate.

 

I have a new m18x with 6990's. With the stock Dell drivers I was encountering the Aero issue, but after uninstalling CCC and installing the 11.8P drivers I haven't seen it since.

 

Yeah. This has been touched on by Fox, Stevie, and Skygunner. Sounds like it's gonna be part of (or not) my fresh install next time. Should be getting the new unit in a few days. I will update of course when I do. Bet the issue is still there though ......

 

Pretty sad to see this issue going for so long. I take delivery any day now and some how missed this issue when doing my research. I doubt i would have changed my mind though.

You all must be just turning aero off yes? It sounds like it happens so often it surely just gets in the way. I think ill be turning it off - otherwiseill go mad.

Hope they fix it! Pretty poor otherwise....this is pretty basic stuff to get right in the grand scheme of things.

 

I leave Aero on....when it flakes out, I either log off/restart and it comes back. I guess alot of users would just live with a basic theme but I cant stand the baby blue basic theme...it just looks so dated and old....thats why it annoys the crap out of me!

 

Yes, I discovered within a few days of receiving my M18x that running drivers only (no CCC) is a tremendous help in reducing the frequency in which Aero crashes. Not having CCC all but cures the problem it happens so rarely without it.

Yeah, I have never had any luck with ATI Tray tools. That program is so ancient now, that it's really no wonder it will not work for you. It has not been updated in several years.

FYI - I use RadeonPro as a substitute for CCC and manually install the drivers through Device Manager. Maybe that is why your registry settings are not sticking. Not sure... I have never seen that behavior before. You might try uninstalling all AMD software and manually installing the drivers. (I posted very detailed instructions on this thread about two weeks ago.) Maybe following them will stop that from happening and get your CrossFireX enabled for you.

No, I don't turn it off. Basic theme is horribly ugly. I would actually switch to the Windows Classic theme with the putty gray task bar and no visual effects before I would run Basic.

I think they are on their way to a fix, but it's not a problem limited to Alienware systems. I think it is going to take some cooperation of multiple players (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, Dell, HP, etc.) to resolve it. It seems to be an issue related to switchable graphics and driver compatibility problems. Personally, I also believe the Windows registry is having difficulty handling instructions for hardware that magically disappears and reappears. The Aero crashing occurs on the Intel IGP as well as discreet graphics. Killing CCC at startup and the Intel tray tools at startup using MSCONFIG pretty much makes Aero act right. Everything is solid until you do something to trigger the crash. Running a game, benchmark or any software that does not use the Aero theme can be a trigger.

 

Did you ever upload that gadget you are using? I'm not seeing it if you did. I'd like to try it.

OUTSTANDING! I am very happy for you.

If I cannot resolve the issue with my secondary video card running 8-10°C higher than the primary card by repasting, then I am going to call about having mine swapped for 6990's. I spoke to Alienware support today and let them know so they can note the issue on my account. I advised that I would be contacting them if repasting does not correct it.

 

So if...and I mean a big "IF" we managed to somehow get this resolved....what's next, the defective I/O board's audio jacks? I have known about that problem for awhile now. I avoid using those jacks. But recently it was mentioned in this thread and since then, it annoys me that... that hardware defect exists on our systems.

I'd also like to point out that I've had my Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78 3D for almost a month now. It has switchable graphics and has NEVER experienced the Aero Bug.

 

Yeah, that bugs me too... the thing with the jacks. I'm scared to use them, but I just might do it anyway. If it screws it up, they'll have to fix it for me.

Well, I have seen the posts on Envy and a few other systems with switchable graphics that have this problem. All I can say is that you're very fortunate with the Toshiba. There have been a couple--not many--posts about Aero problems on the R3, but I think those customers may be having issue due to something else. As anyone that uses Vista or Win7 knows, Aero can crash for a lot of reasons. The problem here is that it happens frequently, not once in a great while.

Question: Does your Toshiba switch on-the-fly like the R3? If so, that's probably why it works OK. If one graphics system totally disappears like the M18x, you know that is going to confuse the heck out of Windows. Someone a lot smarter than me pointed out a long time ago that you "cannot serve two masters" and I think that applies here in a non-spiritual way.

Just think of all the errors you have experienced over the years with invalid registry references for uninstalled hardware and software. Heck, we cannot even update AMD drivers without jumping through hoops to clean out the old stuff. With NVIDIA, you can usually install over the top of the old without major issues. If you try that with AMD you'll have problems ranging from BSOD to CCC refusing to launch. The registry is just a dumb database, that tries to do exactly what it is programmed to do.

I think it will take some mighty creative coding wizardry to make Windows behave when the user is constantly changing hardware and/or the registry has no way of knowing when it should or should not process instructions. I could be wrong, but I cannot help but think this is having an effect on Aero stability. I don't see how it couldn't.

 

I will first thing tomorrow. Early. Like 530 AM EST. OK. I will NOW. Give me 5. Been on the old Inspiron 1501 and gotta get the beast out. Hold on!

 

Here.
Brightness Gadget

 

Ah, you had me going for a minute there.

Thank you! I just installed it and it's pretty slick. I like it. It's a heck of a lot faster than using FN keys or the system tray applet to launch power settings.

Edit: @pmassey - system finally allowed me to give you another rep point. Thanks again.

 

Here is some information about failure rates by brand...

Laptop Reliability Ratings: Which Laptop is Really Most Reliable? Of course, HP is the loser... as expected.

 

The Qosmio uses the FN keys to swith to between the igpu and the gpu. From that chart it looks like Toshiba is pretty reliable.

 

Toshiba has always been pretty solid on laptops. Their business-class machines are very good.

I'm not sure why the graphics switching on the M18x is designed the way it is, unless it was the only way they could achieve such a wickedly-long battery life on IGP. Other than this, it seems ridiculous to have to reboot to switch. I'm really not that concerned or overly excited about battery life on a gaming system, but I must admit that it's amazing getting more than 4 hours on a charge with this thing. I've run it that way twice since it arrived on 07/12/2011 and it's very impressive.

Regarding the chart... It's interesting that between Asus to Dell, there is less than a 3% variance.

What is most sad is Lenovo. For years, IBM made rock-solid business laptops and they've really tanked since the sell-out. I think one thing that speaks well for Dell is that they are a leading supplier of budget laptops with the Inspiron line... many hundreds of thousands sold... and still good reliability rate. Those to the left of Dell don't sell that many budget laptops and have nowhere near the market share. The exception would be the Asus netbooks. There are a ton of them out there and I think the reliability would be very good for their triple-E series, but not so good for their G-series.

It would be interesting to see this chart by brand and by price range, instead of everything in the same bucket.


Source: Smidgen PC article

 

After using the Qosmio's on-the-fly switchable graphics the M18x really feels cumbersome. Thank GOD for SSD's
It would be nice to see Toshiba compete with AW instead of only competing in the mainstream market. The only problem with Toshiba is that they out source their depot repair to UPS Logistics TOSHIBA - CUSTOMER STORIES – UPS LOGISTICS .
Dell/Alienware does the same type of out sourcing for their depot/outlet to Genco. Besides the Dell horror stories, that is one of the main reasons why I refuse depot repair. Checkout these links below.

GENCO Supply Chain Solutions Acquires Dell’s North American Remanufacturing Operations, Enhancing its Strategic Reverse Logistics Margin Recovery Service Offering

Dell Sells Tennessee Remanufacturing Operation to GENCO | Dell

Operating in reverse: Genco buys Dell computer refurbishing business

 

I've had several IBM and Lenovo laptops (T-series Thinkpads) both at home and at work and I agree that IBM used to be the best and the quality since Lenovo's takeover has gone down-hill. I've always had excellent turnaround times with their depot service though and there are still a lot of things I like about them (quality of keyboard, trackpoint, Ultrabay slot, docking station, keyboard light).

I'm interested in buying an Alienware M18x, though I'm concerned about DELL's quality, so I'm following the various threads here to get a sense, what the main pain points are and how good (or not) DELL is about fixing them.

 

The best thing about Dell/Alienware is their Complete Care warranty/accidental damage coverage, excellent Technical Support service and having next business day on-site warranty fulfillment. I will not consider purchasing an expensive machine where depot repairs is the primary option. I want it done at my house, right now, where I can watch everything and document anything that goes wrong. As far as I know, nobody else offers that, and I am a die-hard Dell fan for this reason more so than any other.

For business use, I have had numerous Dell Latitude systems and they were always rock-solid like the T-series ThinkPads had been historically. I have had several ThinkPad at work and they have been great until the last 2 or 3 years under the Lenovo banner.

For personal use, the only Dell products I have owned are Dell XPS and Alienware laptop gaming systems, which is difficult to compare with a business class system. They are totally different in form and purpose.

The trouble with gaming systems is that they often having bugs that come with the latest technology to hit the market. This Aero bug we are experiencing here is a good example of that.

So, as far as everyday use is concerned, there are not really any pain points with a Latitude that I am aware of. They are essentially trouble-free. I've know several people that owned Inspiron laptops that were excellent, but I have never owned one myself.

If you want the best gaming system available, I do recommend the M18x. If you just want "good" performance with rock-solid (no bug) dependability, I would recommend a Latitude.