Video of M11x R1 squeaky/rubbing hinge and sleep issue (freezes hard when lid is closed before completely entering sleep)

YouTube - Alienware M11x hinge and sleep problem

OK, this is ridiculous. I understand that "do nothing" isn't the default setting for the lid sensor, but I don't want my music to get interrupted or my downloads to quit (especially if I can't resume, which is usually the case) just so I can move the notebook someplace without awkwardly balancing it while it's open. Oh, and I darn sure don't need the display burning battery power when all I'm trying to do is outlast a slow download.

It doesn't mean that I don't use sleep. I use it often. When I really do want to put it to sleep, I will tell it to with the power button or menu, so an unrelated activity to that intention (closing the lid, which does not equate to "done using") never should have been set to do that as default. Of course, that's Microsoft's fault, but it's still no excuse for not testing it. After all, sleep issues are notorious on PCs and there's no way an Apple product would get caught with such an issue.

The problem is that I can't put it to sleep, close the lid, and walk away without expecting it to be locked up or completely drained when I return. Worse, it can nearly cook itself in a laptop bag while you think it is asleep, as I discovered it doing a few times before I was fully aware of the issue.

It is related to closing the lid after telling it to sleep but before it finishes entering the sleep state (after the screen blanks but before the AlienFX keyboard lights go off). There is no inherent sleep instability. It only happens when closing the lid, which is ironic because closing the lid normally triggers sleep by default. It doesn't always do it and trying to reproduce it without deliberately closing and opening repeatedly can be quite hard because it has to happen at a certain point as it enters sleep and yet the timing is variable. What I mean is that successive sleep cycles can vary greatly. I repeatedly entered sleep and "awoke" the notebook only to find that it sometimes takes many times longer than others before the AlienFX lights go off. In fact, the video was trimmed and the sleep session I attempted just prior to it took about 5 or more times longer (remember, I didn't change a thing; just woke it up and put it right back to sleep).

The other problem is with my left hinge. I doubt that affects many others like the sleep issue but I may as well mention it because it is so clearly evident in the video. The left hinge scrubs if I adjust the display from the upper right corner and it is leaving marks on the round plastic, but that isn't what is causing the squeaking. As you can see in the video, I am opening it from the center and the hinge still squeaks. I have looked closely and it does not appear to rub when I do that, so the sound must be coming from the hinge itself. The clearance seems to be the same on both sides so it doesn't seem bent or "droopy" or anything. It just "gives" a little when I lift from the opposite side. I'll probably call in about warranty service for that.

 

I should probably also mention that there appear to be two lid sensors, probably only one of which the OS is aware of. I noticed that the "ALIENWARE" text turns off before the screen triggers an event to the operating system, meaning it is triggered by something else. I know the the sensor the OS responds to is a magnetic relay switch and I suspect that the other is physical, even though that kinda defeats the purpose of having a more reliable magnetic relay switch.

Also, in case this can be fixed at the same time:
I can't close the lid and reopen it without it "snatching" the image right back from my TV when using HDMI output and nVidia graphics. IOW, I switch to nVidia graphics for big-screen output, toggle my display options to "HDMI only" using the FN+F1 combination, close the lid, and if I need to open the laptop for something during my game setup the screens will blank for a second and video will revert back to the built-in LCD, prompting me to start setting up all over again. It's very annoying.

 

OK, I just uploaded new videos with my Hibernation issue and a USB issue I've been having. Just thought I'd mention it for the Alienware rep ( erawneila).

Failing to resume from Hibernate multiple times until toggleing the O/C:
YouTube - Alienware M11x repeatedly fails to resume from Hibernate mode
(I hibernated while it was plugged in before taking the notebook with me, leaving the power plug deliberately and, thus, only being able to resume on battery power)

USB issues after resuming:
YouTube - Alienware M11x USB issue after resuming from hibernation
(happens frequently)

Now all I need are videos of the brightness issue (frequently needs to be turned back up and sometimes freezes at the lowest setting) and a video of the "New Storage Device Connected" issue.

 

Well to help you out, the restart issues are related to Windows, and isn't part of the Alienware system itself. Reinstall a clean copy of Windows and see if it helps. And those hinges are pretty much FUBAR'd, you should demand for proper replacements.

 

This couldn't have gone in the technical problems or hinge issue thread? This really needed it's own topic.

 

Of course I plan to back up everything and reload Windows before sending it back for the hinge issue, but I kinda doubt it's so clean-cut. After all, it was a clean installation only a day or two old with only a few Steam games loaded, but not executed, when I first encountered the problem. I hadn't even changed my home page or started gaming yet. The sleep problem is almost certainly related to the system config because it isn't "doing nothing" even though it is set to. Perhaps a simple BIOS update or a hardware revision is in order (too late unless the R2 has the same issue ).

Is my hinge issue the same? No. Is my thread useful? Yes. I am documenting it and seeking comment from the resident Alienware rep. I PM'd him with a link to this thread and there are advantages to keeping such things public. I don't see anyone else posting videos of these issues. It certainly deserves a thread.

Besides, I posted several more problems in the troubleshooting thread and they were glossed over by the community and the Alienware rep. The whole POINT of a thread is to ensure discussion of a partcular topic, which is impossible in a general troubleshooting thread, so what do you expect?

I always wonder why some forums are so aversive to dupe threads that they even dispute perfectly reasonable ones. It's not very "inviting." Personally, if I were an admin concerned with ad revenue and page views and concerned with users running my advertisers' target audience away with unwelcoming attitudes, I'd set a rule preventing users/members from "policing" it themselves. Isn't there a "report" button? Let them decide if it's a problem instead of stroking your ego and making this an unwelcoming place. They have the ability to merge threads WITHOUT saying anything inflamatory.

BTW, Golden Sun sucked. It was generic and excessively over-used JRPG-style bopping, shaking, and nodding during conversations, as if we were entertained by it, followed by a story that ends with you failing every mission only to have the second game completely undo everything you tried to do in the first game by reversing the goal. And did I mention that it ends when you are still expecting more lighthouses and only believe yourself to be half-way through the game? What a rip! This is coming from someone who maxed his levels in the game without cheating and then got so fed-up with them both as to not even bother completing the second part (it's not like it was going to redeem itself for being generic). I only gave it a chance because I LOVE Nintendo titles and trusted their judgement with Camelot. Now, I could care less about the NDS/3DS game. "Fool me twice..." How does the rest of that go?

See? I can be a disagreeable jerk too.

 

that comment made me lol on your video

 

Okay, you seriously need to chill out, and stop being a drama queen. Do you want people to purposely hate you? I accidently saw this video yesterday on youtube, while searching for m11x benchmark videos, and I saw the flameboyent comments by your youtube user, and now I come in here and see this?
Jesus christ!
Look, I agree with the others - This probably did belong in the other thread, but so what? Is being right or wrong really so important? Why not just say, sorry, ask for a mod to close it and repost it in the other thread.

The real deal here is that, many posters are to lazy to read through threads, so they go to the end of a long thread and ask a question that has already been asked - So people to get attention and awareness make new threads. It's a very egotistical thing that just screams "ME ME ME ME ME!!!"
But that's not the forums fault, it's the users, and the way we display our content.
This forum has been a mess for a while, with multiple topics about the same thing, contradicting information, lack of evidence, false asumptions and full of half hearted rumors, and people taking them/that for facts.

Just my two cents.

 

I hope you were laughing AT him because he obviously didn't read the description. Did YOU? How about reading my reply to that comment?

The laptop isn't set to go to sleep when closed and the repeated closings had more to do with demonstrating the hinge noise and ensuring that it happened for the camera with minimal attempts (entering sleep multiple times successively took greatly varying amounts of time, so the exact moment to trigger it couldn't be easily determined). It does NOT require repeated closings to happen as every previous time it has happened proves... sometimes multiple times per day.

Why on Earth would I ask a mod to close it? It has every reason to exist. And there aren't "others." There is ONE other. I wasn't outnumbered before you arrived and if you based your opinion on the assumption that the majority agreed with you, you may have been wrong. Why would I put MY hinge issue in a thread about a different hinge issue as GoldSun1715 suggested unless I WANTED it to get ignored?

As for my seemingly overbearing reply, which is what you really seem to be objecting to, I was waiting for Windows 7 to install and update and had some late-night time to blow and I used it to make a more elaborate point than most would care to make. I'm notoriously wordy and specific. So what? Do we need more thread-crapping?

Now, why on Earth do you say that a new and very specific problem "belongs" in a general thread that has already PROVEN itself to be unreliable? News flash: Forums have "New Thread" buttons and some people use them when they have new topics. There's nothing "egotistical" about it. If this forum has a problem with multiple topics about the same thing (I see it too), then that means that there are other threads that this complaint legitimately belongs in instead. So I agree that it is a mess and don't PARTICULARLY condemn anyone for rightly pointing it out, but people like GoldSun1715 are NOT rightly pointing it out. In the same vein, I think you are misapplying "Drama Queen." I consider just the type of posts from you (sorry; I'm being honest instead of friendly and I hope you appreciate it as much as I would) and GoldSun1715 to be egotistical "Drama Queen," attention for the sake of attention, posts.

There are many threads you could LEGITIMATELY complain about and you can do it more nicely. Here, let me show you how it's done. BRILLIANT!

Now, if a mod wants to delete all these replies to clean up the thread then, by all means, please do. I considered doing the same with that rogue YouTube kiddie with the potty-mouth but then I decided that it may be better just to publicly reply so that no one else was stupid enough to make the same mistake before commenting (unless they gloss over previous comments just as easily as someone in this thread is seemingly guilty of).

 

Anyone else gonna say it? No? Okay, I guess I will. CZroe, you're coming off as a complete jerk. I think you need to fix your personality before you fix your laptop. You ask for help, yet post these wall of texts which are just flamebait. Could a mod just delete or lock the thread?

 

his comment has got 2 thumbs up tho

 

This thread is closed, it is going nowhere. I deleted several posts.