M11xR1 Troubleshooting Thread

^ I'm with Ceolwulf. I have it on disable charging and running off AC and yesterday I was encoding video via CPU (stupid zune encoder) for like 3 hours straight and drawing a lot of CPU power yet powebrick was warm, not hot. I could easily grip it without heat issues

 

My FN keys arent working properly. Sometimes when i try to use FN + F4 or F5 to change my screen's brightness, the brightness status is display but the actual brightness doesn't change and i would have to change it in the power settings or restart for it to work again. Other times the FN + F8 or F9 doesn't work either, well it works, but the status change isn't displayed like it should.

Do you guys know of any fix for this problem ?

 

I had the same issue. Dell mentioned re-installing the Alienware FX software, the drivers, etc. I ended up returning the laptop for various other reasons. I just wanted to make sure you knew you were not alone. Since I no longer have the laptop I cannot suggest another route.

 

ha I never even ever got the status showing up

 

mine comes up and works fine on both intel and nvidia chips.

 

I don't think you can call the keyboard or reflectiveness of the screen an issue, its no worse than most of the glossy screens out there that are available.

On the volume, open up your volume controls. Whilst pushing them has no OSD it definitely changes the volume.

Again not sure that 10% over what was claimed is an issue on watching MKVs it will depend heavily on what the encoding etc is.

I noticed that there is a windows update for Nvidia HDMI audio today.

 

Try reinstalling OSD and see if that corrects the problem.

 

reinstalling OSD didnt help. I'm just gonna turn it off and get used to no status display at all

 

its black in the centre should i call for a replacement?

 

This is going to be a pain since you will have to remove the bottom panel, but there is one more thing you can try. This has helped on the M17x when the touchpanel freaks out and has also worked on one other instance of the function keys not responding well.

1. Remove bottom panel
2. disconnect battery from motherboard (no need to remove the battery, just disconnect it.
3. Depress and hold the power button on the laptop for a 20 count.
4. reconnect the battery, replace bottom panel and power up.

If it still doesn't work, you need to contact Dell Support asap.

 

Is it me, or has anyone else noticed that after installing Flash 10.1 B3, IE8 seems to be very sluggish in terms of performance when going from page to page? I have reinstalled about 5 times now, only to have the issue pop back up after installing the beta version of Flash. If I go back to the release version of Flash, the problem disappears.

I also noticed that my cpu was still being utilized pretty high even with 10.1 B3 (above 80%). Is there a trick or a certain version that works with the standard Dell drivers? I also have CoreAVC installed, but from what I gather, that doesn't support Flash.

 

SVTSnake,

I am 99.99% sure that our drivers are way too old to support CUDA decoding in Flash 10.1 Beta 3. It just came out while our drivers are a year old or something like that.

CoreAVC doesn't help in decoding Flash -- only for x264 content. And even then, CoreAVC website says it need 191.07 and later drivers for CUDA support (i.e. to see green icon instead of the blue one).

Can anyone chime in to tell how fast Dell/AW is with updating graphic drivers? We are stuck way behind the times

 

So, in an effort to fix my SIM card problem (the card would randomly not recognize the SIM card, or the device would not be detected at all in the Dell Broadband Utility), I uninstalled the drivers for the WWAN card (which I ordered with AT&T service), and then uninstalled the Broadband Utility.

Upon first reinstalling the WWAN card drivers, and then the Broadband Utility, I now have a working card... except that it's now saying it's a VERIZON ONLY card. Obviously the GOBI 200 card is capable of EV-DO (Verizon) or HSPA (AT&T), but I figured that it was hardware locked to one or the other by Dell.

Anybody else get theirs working? I've tried reinstalling/uninstalling the drivers multiple times now, to no avail.

Help?

 

not got the gobi card but using a 5530 card I've experienced the NO SIM issue also. The only fix is power off. Seems to related to sleep.

Neil.

 

Rusdude, if Coreavc is important to ya, install the dox drivers. I'm using them and they work great. Plus I've tested coreavc and it works. Played some harry potter in HD lol and tested between integrated and gpu and there's a difference in CPU usage, although it wasn't a full 1080P video file.

 

Click on the down arrow in the upper-left hand corner of the Dell mobile utility, go to "Settings," then select "Network Selection." You should see a list of four networks: AT&T, Generic, Unknown, and Verizon Wireless. Select "AT&T" and click the "Load" button at the bottom.

 

Having WIFI issues. I have an Apple Extreme Router. Have other computers that connect fine.

m11X starts at 54 mps then drops to 5.5. No where near N class speeds. Can anyone shed some light on this?

 

FN volume keys dont work for me either...I dont think these functions are enabled.

 

Any problems with the DOX drivers? Can I still switch graphics without a reboot?

 

M11x does not see my new Vantec Firewire 400 Hard Drive dock and 2TB Hitachi HD.

If I use the included USB 2.0 Port on the Vantec HD Dock the M11x sees it. I tested the Firewire connection on my MacBook and it works no problems.

I have the latest SD Card Reader & Firewire Driver installed from the M11x Dell support site installed.

I'd like to know if anyone here has successfully used the 1394a port on thier M11x?

BTW Did a search for "Firewire" or "'1394a" and got nothing on this topic in this forum or side topics

Also I tried this but it did not solve my issue http://blogs.msdn.com/chris.green/a...dows-7-1394-firewire-devices-not-working.aspx

New Info: Alright False Alarm. I had a bad after market 6-pin to 4-pin cable. Replacement cable ok with workaround linked above.

 

if you're looking at the status in windows, that tells you next to nothing.

Try copying a file from a computer that is connected via a wired LAN to your laptop over the wireless, and that will give you an idea of your actual throughput.

you can also disable the power-saving features if you want.

when the connection is idle though, it isn't going to stay at a 54mbps transmission rate.

for reference, Apple Airport Extreme N should go at UP TO 300mbps wireless. actual connection speed will vary depending on the adapter, distance, etc.

 

anyone get speaker cackles via headphones? or even without? I was thinking it was just cuz of CPU lag, but I'm getting it a lot..

@random suffix - no problems, you can switch graphics via the green arrow icon in the task bar, but not via Fn+F6.

 

I got it too skyping with my family last nite. Thought it was a headphone thing.

 

i was having trouble with the space bar soon after i got it, and now today a third of the right side would fail to register when pushed. i was tempted to call support but didnt wanna go through all the trouble so if your having trouble with the space bar:
put 2 nails under the TOP side of the space bar, one on either side, and pull gently at the same time. it should click off. theres to metal wires still holding it in place, u can pull them out of their joints or just move the space bar up and out of the way it doesnt matter.
theres 2 white little overlays on each side. the problem with mine was that they werent overlapping correctly so with a little wiggling and pushing i got it flat. blow to get all the dust out and move the space bar back down, push firmly and it should snap on. next push a little harder on both sides and it will snap again, my spacebar works great now

 

@aznguyen316 - I got the cackles too. I didnt try the headphones yet so not sure about that part. I had an installation running in background & I thought that it might be due to CPU lag too.

I have a question but I am not sure if this is a problem or not:

Whenever I use the function keys for increasing/decreasing the brightness an On Screen display shows and icon and shows me the setting for brightness. But when I use the function key for volume, nothing shows up unless I am muting. Is this a normal behavior or an anomaly?

 

apt2l - yeah it's normal (stupid) behavior for no visible vol up/down display. I would like having the on screen dislay for volume up/down since the volume in the taskbar is not as sufficient in terms of visible "notches". Oh well at least it shows mute I guess lol.

 

that is a little bit of bad design for the function keys then. And hopefully the cackling thing is just bcoz of the CPU and not a speaker problem

 

@apt2l = Its not the function keys' fault, rather the interface design's fault. All standard Dell laptops have an indicator for volume when the Fn keys are used.

 

This is my 1st wireless n pc I have a new d-link dir-615 router that claims 300mbs wireless speed in my network properties my mini 1520 n card thats in the m11x says at most 130 mbs do I have to set anything to get faster wireless ive never used n before so its new to me Thank you

 

@nuke yeah I think it's the onscreen display file that's not written well.

 

This might sound a very simple problem but I am having such a hard time to download Bluetooth driver because I cannot find in my system. I paired it with my bluetooth headphones, it worked for a while and then its gone from the system as in I cannot see it in device manager. I dont know whats happening. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I am having an issue today. It seems when I try to boot up WoW or EvE Online...sometimes the sound comes on..screen goes black..like its going to start up but then after a few seconds it returns to the home screen and shows the game in the task tray at the bottom as "minimized". I click to expand it back and it does the same thing..goes black a few seconds then returns to home screen. The sound is off and on depending on when I try to maximize it.

Any ideas on how to get EvE online and WoW to show up? Btw, Steam recorded me playing EvE when this happened. My friend ask me why I was on there lol.

 

happens to me too sometimes on steam. just reboot

 

Think you'll need to be on a 5gz network for that speed. I have the apple router which can broadcast both freq at the same time. Turned on 5gz and connected the m11x to it...bam 300mps

 

Thanks anejo i dont have dual band it says 300mbs on box like i was saying i had an older 54mb g router i wanted to upgrade to wireless n for the m11x i dont have any experience with the n standard i know theres draft n dual band gigabit etc... but on box it says 54mb g 150gb n and 300gb n i got it from amazon cheap and maximum pc gave the dir615 a 9 out of 10 so i gave it a shot i have ps3 and xbox 360 on it direct a wireless g canon printer also my old toshiba laptop at 54g speed i just dont get over 135mb with the m11x i didnt see anything in manual about speed other than not getting 300mb the router works great i eas wondering if i had 2 enable something on my m11x or maybe i did something wrong it seems pretty straight forward sorry 4 long post i just wanted 2 give all info incase someone had similar issue.Thanks

 

This does not work im afraid.

WoW will boot now. EvE will never boot. It shows up as booting...the Dominion screen pops up..begins to start then it just returns to the home screen as if nothing has happened. I click on it again and hit "launch game" and it does the same thing...small picture comes up, then black screen, then back to home screen and its not even showing up as me playing it.

Idk what to do

 

With me, Mass Effect was refusing to load. Found out it was a UAC issue.

I had to disable UAC through the Control Panel and then run my game (which would now load) and then quit. I then reenable UAC and the game would fine from then on without having to mess with the UAC.

 

I'm having an issue with the fan. In my settings I have so when it is plugged in the cooling is active and when unplugged the cooling is passive but when i unplug it the fan doesn't slow down. Is this a software problem?

 

If the GT335 is still active, of course the fan will run, you don't want a hole melted through your precious AWESOME m11x right?

 

It's not though.

 

If you swapped from the GT to the IGP and didn't reboot, sometimes the GT is still active, thats why the fan still "shouts" at you. The only fix is to switch to IGP and reboot. Shuts the fan up

 

There are a couple of threads regarding the strange fan behavior. Something is not right with it.

 

Yeah, I noticed the other day, I had it on and the fan was constantly running. I had it on IGP before I turned it on. But now it seems fine.

 

It'll be quiet if you booted with the IGP running.

 

ok... sooo big problem if anyone could help me on this it would be great but, just wondering i got my alienware m11x yesterday and i turned it on and worked great so i proceeded to install my ssd and i opened the back case, and i proceeded to take out the battery etc etc and than when i reached the hard drive bracket i unscrewed one of the two screws and when i went to unscrew the other one the screw couldnt be unscrewed so i used a bit of force and it wouldn't unscrew and became a small hole instead of a +, so in that case how would i take out that screw? i called dell and they said they would send me a new hard drive bracket but they wouldnt send a technician or anything to fix the problem... so my only choice is to either return this and get a brand new one or... fix this and not wait 3 more weeks. and ive used a #00 screw driver and i easily unscrewed everything else but this... its like this screw was screwed on too hard.

 

Has anyone else gotten this machine and been able to play EvE online????

 

No, but i have been pwning in modern warfare 2 multiplayer, the small screen kinda affects your gameplay but the 3 first games i played at free for all i won everything on high settings no AA

 

@IRIS

Sounds like the screw was cross threaded into the hole. Might want to ask for a new one if possible? Lol. The way you fix cross threaded holes is to rethread the hole and put a helicoil in it but...this is a computer...Ask for a new one : \

 

So I was trying to get the alienfx event to work. Let the keyboard light up if I get a new email with outlook, somehow it doesn't work, anybody who can give a fast walkthrough? maybe i'm doing something wrong.

First i create an advanced them, save it. Then i give the keyboard the colour green if a new email comes in (zone 2) and then I save again. I exit and I test my outlook, but my keyboard doesn't change colour if I get a new e-mail

 

I figured out why EvE didnt work. You have reinstal Directx9 and such for the older steam games to run. Or at least I did.