m18x and windows aero

This is based on trial and error research by members of this forum and conversations we have had with Alienware Level 2 and Level 3 support reps. Also, DELLChrisM, an Alienware Forum Liaison has been communicating with us. You can see those posts on the Alienware Club forum in the Dell Community. LINK

The real proof that OSD is the problem is inescapable. When we identified this for Dell, they readily acknowledged it was the source of the problem. Aero does not have any real significant issues except when OSD is running.

 

There could also be a connection between OSD and video card drivers. I know that since updating to the beta nVidia Verde 285.27 drivers, the frequency is lessened. Used to be once every 3 times PowerDVD 11/Game/HDMI output/3D is run, now I'd say it's once every 9 times. Still not optimal but an improvement nonetheless.

 

Very true... different conflicts can arise that are affected in a variety of ways by changes with drivers and other software. Changes in firmware can also make problems improve or worsen. The presence of OSD in memory is the common denominator for the Aero issues on both AMD and NVIDIA powered systems. When OSD goes away, so do the issues with Aero. When OSD comes back, the issues with Aero return... at least for most of us that has been exactly what played out. Dell has been able to replicate the same scenario on their end.

 

Thanks Mharidas

If there is some other tests I can do just ask, but for now there is no permanent solution.

 

Just to let you know Powerdvd 11 has just released a massive update. Used it about ten times and no aero

 

So far for me without the OSD application running no Aero crashes so far. But not having OSD is an inconvenience.

 

It certainly is... a major inconvenience. The M18x does not operate as it was intended to operate without it. I expect Alienware/Compal will release a new version that fixes the OSD bug. Hopefully, that will be very soon. I know they are working on it.

 

Hi guys...back again ..... been away for a bit due to refund/re-ordering procedure. I now have the rig as my signature below (only difference is 2960xm vs 2920xm / 6990xf vs 6970xf / Killer 1103 vs Intel 6300). Gonna be testing out and catching up as much as I can in the next few days.

On a side note to the Aero problem, I have been putting my new rig to sleep and resuming successfully without ANY problem with brightness - it resumes normally AND at the same level of brightness as was set prior to sleep. I know that with my last rig, this was not the case as it would always need a "tweak" to get the brightness back at the previous level (dim down one octave and then back up would do the trick).

I am still running dell stock video drivers on this new system so it may be the case that the latest reference drivers will force this minor problem to raise its head again....we shall see....

Regarding Aero, its early days for my new system as I have only had it two days and all is still stock....no bsod and no flake so far....gotta be just around the corner though!

Any news from Chris and his team??? - I have been away for a few weeks so not up to speed right now....

 

Welcome back, Steve. We missed you, bro. Congrats on the new system.

No news from Chris about an OSD update yet. I've posted on the Dell Community Forum offering to be a beta tester. Maybe if more folks do that it will reinforce that we are all serious about needing and expecting an OSD update that does not cause problems with Aero or anything else. I know they are working on it with Compal (the ODM), but it's critical that they keep their hand to the plow and deliver.

M18x Aero Issues - Alienware Club - Dell Community
-

 

Thanks Fox, its good to be back...

Actually, and it comes of no suprise at all, Aero has just flaked on me after running a WEI check....failed to revert to Aero. Seems that nothing has changed in my abscence and I was kind of hoping for a fix to have been sorted within the few weeks I have been away. Wishful thinking on my behalf!

Ive recapped a little bit thus far and its seems apparent that OSD is the culprit - something we all suspected. I am willing to test out anything that Dell want to get this sorted....

 

*Sigh* Sad, but expected, my friend. The silver lining, if there is one, is that it's not a hardware or a BIOS problem and we have the power to stop it from occurring. It comes at the expense of inconvenience having to do without OSD features and having to manually launch OSD when it's absolutely required to perform a function like graphic switching.

I'm posting links back to this thread every chance I get to draw attention to the activity here, but I'm not sure that Dell/Alienware (or Chris) watch this NBR thread as closely as we would like. That's why I've posted the offer to be a "crash test dummy" on the Alienware Club forum. I know they are watching that thread because Chris posts periodic comments.

 

Yeah mate....sad. Very.

I too have just posted over on the Alienware thread on Dell Forums. Dont see a hive of activity on there from Dell either......

 

I am game to beta test, I love crashing me OS especially since its microsoft

 

Hahaha - love that. You dont have to work hard to crash a Dell based Microsoft OS...it does it all by itself.....tut.

 

Awesome... the more the merrier.

If anyone wants that to be known by our liaison, please post that here: M18x Aero Issues - Alienware Club - Dell Community where it is more likely to be noticed by Chris and Dell/Alienware.

 

Some kind of server re-direct error when I tried post in there.

 

Steve - I'm eager to see how that new bad boy of yours runs with stock 2960XM and 6990M CFX configuration.

Here is my latest post on the OC thread with the hacked work-around I have implemented to hold me over while I am waiting for my replacement system to arrive. http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...re-m18x-benchmark-thread-245.html#post7922371

(If anyone else with 6970M CFX is having issues like freezing in game, display driver frequently stops responding and recovers, or BSOD, you might want to see if my hack will work for you also. It's not a permanent fix, just like disabling OSD to prevent Aero from crashing is not, but you can at least get some serious gaming done without crashing. Since my current system would need a third pair of 6970M video cards installed in it, I'm either just terribly unlucky or the 6970M video cards are garbage.)

 

So, I just started some gaming again-took a break to get the computer as a whole sorted out. Are you saying disable OSD before gaming? I know you mentioned it for the Aero problem, but I have been running it still and just using the fix posted by (can't recall his name-Lehigh???) and been getting by. But my game (Dead Island crashed 2X today with limited play. Could it be related to OSD? Is that what you're saying????

 

The name you are trying to think of is leigh_vh... that is his forum handle.

What I am doing and recommend that others do is run MSCONFIG and uncheck "On Screen Display" in the Startup tab, then reboot. This will prevent OSD from loading automatically with Windows. If you do this, you will probably never experience another Aero crash. I am a few days short of a month of running this way and Aero has never flaked out on me even once. Aero always comes back after running WEI or other programs that shut Aero down as long as OSD is not resident in memory. (The only exception I know of is in the case of wraithrsw using a 3D display with his system. He has some issues with Aero when connected to his 3D display even without OSD running.)

Because you will still need OSD if for nothing else but switching graphics to use the Intel IGP, browse to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Alienware On-Screen Display\AlienwareOn-ScreenDisplay.exe" and send a shortcut to your desktop or wherever you want it so you can manually launch OSD when you actually have a need for it.

If you manually launch OSD it will stay running in the background, so you will still need leigh_vh's utility to revive Aero if it crashes prior to your next reboot. (After you reboot, OSD will no longer be running in the background.)

EDIT: I think the other workaround I referred to in the M18x benchmark thread (which you quoted) may have you confused. The OSD/Aero workaround is unrelated to the vBIOS hack I have implemented so I can keep using my M18x while waiting for my system exchange. I have modded the vBIOS so my cards stay at constant factory clock speeds of 680/900 and 1.1v and that has, for the most part, stopped the BSOD, "Display driver amdkmdap stopped responding and has successfully recovered," crashing to a black screen and operating system freezing issues I have been experiencing during gameplay with my defective 6970M video cards. I am still having some intermittent issues under DX10, but not seeing problems with DX9 or DX11 based games.

 

EDIT: What I should've wrote.
I be havin' done th' bold an' 't worked great. But after me recent fresh install, I jus' wanted t' be seein' how 't would go. I thought ye might be sayin' that OSD be some way related t' some game crashin' somehow. That be me question.

 

No, I was only commenting with regard to my defective cards crashing games on my system. I think one of the cards has some bad memory or a bad capacitor. Forcing static clocks and voltage in vBIOS has made it a little more stable. I mentioned doing this was just a temporary work-around, just like disabling OSD at startup is only a temporary work-around... both tweaks are only intended to deal with a specific problem and not a "good solution."

However, in your situation if OSD is running in the background since your fresh install there is some possibility that it might be responsible for crashing a game because it conflicts with the CSRSS process. If it is not, then I don't see any way it would.

 

+rep.

ive just been reading through the forums, and you answer everyones question and on top of that, you never leave anyone behind.

 

Thank you for the kind comments. I appreciate it, buddy.

 

He is kind. Knowledgeable. And friendly. Don't know that I can recall him blasting anyone too much either. A Sly ole Fox he is!

 

Thanks to you also for the compliments. I'm not sure what I did to deserve two compliments within 24 hours, but I'll take them in humility and gratitude. Being on a forum where most of the members are very intelligent and pleasant folks, I am in great company. The collective talent on this forum is truly amazing.

 

I didnt really want to say this so held out. But since my rebuild I've had no aero flake outs....nothing. No idea why.

Everything is installed except the webcam software....everything else was installed manually though.

 

Is there some alternative software to really use the webcam better? They say its 3MP but it sure doesn't feel that way. Looks more like 'digital enhancement 3MP'.

 

If you have OSD installed since reinstalling the OS, you can pretty much count on the fact that the bug will be back. It usually takes around 4 or 5 days for Aero to start flaking out... not sure why that is, but it has worked out like that for a lot of us. How long ago did you reinstall your OS?

While this is sort of off-topic, I'm sure there are more NBR folks searching for the same thing. I did a lot of web searching some months ago, when I still had an M17x R2 and I tried a couple of freeware programs that were junk. I downloaded Debut (free version) recently, but haven't taken time to play with it to see if it is any good. Maybe if you have time you could give it a shot to see if you like it. Alternative software for the web cam would be a good subject to start a new thread for. I agree the resolution of the web cam seems pretty lame, but maybe it is software related. The web cam does not handle motion very well at all.

 

Just a quick question, how often does your Aero need to fake out for you to be having the Aero issue, as i Rebuilt my lappy over a week ago and (touchwood), have only had Aero flake out once due to a game crash... I have OSD and everything installed (not the wecam driver..)..

Cheers,

 

If it starts to become an issue, you'll notice right away because it will be a frequent occurrence. Perhaps you are one of the fortunate M18x owners that does not have the OSD bug. I won't say anything else because I don't want to jinx your situation.

 

If this thing is taking its time to show its first flake out effect, it maybe accumulating something somewhere, some log file or a large file or some changes to something existing somewhere.

Because I noticed this bug after a few days too, until then it was not apparent when I first started using my new M18x.

 

Haha thanks Mr. Fox,

Thats a good point mharidas, it may be something that reaches a critial mass and pow starts failing as a constant??...

 

There are only 3 DLL files and the executable in the installation directory. The dates on those files don't appear to change over time. If there is a log file or some other type of config or INI file, I'm not sure where it is located.

 

Yeah those are the only files I saw in the main directory. Maybe it doesn't need logs or files to cause the effect. Something as simple as the OSD application causing resource conflicts/deadlocks alone can cause these issues and we wont even have obvious hints to see them when we experiences the syndrome.

PS: I see your dog is now pooping out Mr. Steve Jobs?

 

No, just taking a crApple.

 

Dell has gone silent on this issue which means:

1. They are working in the background on a fix
2. They have gone silent and have no plans for a fix (seen this before)

 

I think it will be the second option, they already have all our money that they won't care for some "silly" bugs the machine might have...

 

I really wish that we had a regular update from Dell on this....maybe someone (maybe Chris) could stop by once a week (or something) just to update us all....even if there is no fix....some news is always better than no news at all - I for one would be happier about things.

We have been told that Dell have replicated the issue and that they are working with various 3rd parties such as Microsoft and AMD etc etc etc.....sooo.....wheres the news?

I had the Aero problem right outta the box on my current system - thats with as Dell shipped it to me and it STILL happens....

 

I take it it's a random thing where you lose aero and can't get it back? So you are stuck in the win7 basic looking mode?

I take it you can either run in "classic" mode where it doesn't cause any issues or even stay at windows non-aero/basic mode and it works fine too?

 

Pretty much so. Yep.

 

Once you have reproduced a software issue, debug, coding and testing should take only a number of days or couple of weeks. Unless they have a set release cycle for updates, I would expect someone from Dell to issue an update unless they are clueless. we should have a fix by now IMO....Come on Dell!

 

OSD is provided by Compal Electronics. To some extent they may be at Compal's mercy to release an update to OSD. Compal manufactures systems for Dell and other brand names and my assumption is that Compal builds the current lineup of Alienware laptops. If Compal does not really care, then perhaps that explains the delay and the lack of resolution. Responsibility ultimately rests on Dell/Alienware to provide resolution on products they sell and they have historically dealt with resolution through system replacements if a warranty is still in effect.

The one positive thing I can say about this is that Dell/Alienware does a better job at taking care of customers than their competitors. It may not be in the form of software or firmware updates, but system replacements are commonplace. I've been given the run-around by other computer companies so many times it's disgusting. I have not been given the run-around to the same extent by Dell/Alienware. I actually grateful for how I have been treated as a customer, even though I wish they could simply fix known issues.

 

My PowerDVD software is always updated the day they release any update. Their updates don't impact the aero issue. Heck, their recent build 2114 update doesn't even fix the Star Wars Blu-Ray issue that is supposedly fixed according to their release notes. It's blocky and scrambled whenever there's a lightsaber scene or a cut to a different locale.

I guess all this has somewhat tempered my joy in owning an m18x. Of course, seeing the specs for BF3 add to it but aero bugs tend to make me a bit disgruntled. I've had great service with Dell in the past and I'm hoping they don't let me down. It's a big reason I chose Alienware over a Sager laptop.

 

Have you tried Nero 10 Media Suite Platinum HD? I don't even mess with PowerDVD any more. The Nero HD works way better for me for BD playback. Nero HD also does a great job of ripping to HD MP4. I made the switch about a year ago while still an M17x R2 owner and never looked back.

 

Last I checked, Nero doesn't have 3D Blu-Ray or 3D video file playback while PowerDVD does. That's been pretty much my sole reason for sticking with Cyberlink. But I guess it'll be moot anyways once I replace my PS3.

 

Also PowerDVD has that sick app that lets you control PowerDVD with Android or IOS. You can also use your phone or tablet as a mouse to control Windows 7. http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdvd-remote/overview_en_US.html?&r=1

Between this app and the Samsung TV app, I never have to get off the couch or out of the bed...lol.

 

Nero 10 Multimedia Suite Platinum HD has BluRay playback, authoring and ripping. I use it exclusively now. I love the ability to take HD MP4 on the road with me on the M18x and leave my BluRay discs safe and sound on the shelf at home. Like the old Media Player Classic, I have found it is also able to play corrupted video files that PowerDVD and Windows Media Player sometimes choke on.

http://www.nero.com/enu/nero10-hd-version-comparison.html

Edit: wraithrsw - I missed the 3D part... not sure about that since I don't have any hardware to support it and probably will not in the foreseeable future.

 

So, you can use the Android phone like a mouse to control the M18x? Sounds interesting. I don't own anything with Android or IOS. Too bad it doesn't work with BlackBerry, as that is my company's standard for smart phones. I have no plans to own a tablet... ever. But, I have been thinking about getting an Android phone to play with. If I do, I'll have to check that out.

 

If you get one you'll love PowerDVD's remote app. I haven't tried my Star Wars Blu-ray collection yet with PowerDVD. I have yet to install the latest patch. I hope Star Wars works.

 

Well, the m18x qualifies as one part of hardware support.

Prior to the patch, it just won't read the disk. With the patch, 80% of the movie is fine. The 20% are a bunch of blocky, scrambled messes in really key fight scenes. It was the same for X-Men First Class and I believe it has something to do with the new copy protections Fox is using. Frustrating to not be able to watch some good movies and still have the aero bug.