Alienware M15X Boot Failure.

Hi there,

I bought an Alienware M15X back in the Winter of 2010 (About two years ago). The warranty was only for one year, and I considered renewing it, but decided against it. In about June of 2011 (while the warranty was still active), I had some hard drive issues which were addressed by a house-visit and a subsequent replacement hard drive. However, since then my optical drive has not been working properly.

Very recently, I updated to Windows 8 directly from Microsoft (DreamSpark is an initiative for student developers, and I happen to be one so I took advantage). However, now my computer does not even boot to the POST screen. I didn't open it or anything. I've done some troubleshooting, but only went as far as removing the battery and holding down the power button for 20 seconds.

Upon a press of the power button to initiate boot, I get a black screen with white text telling me I need an installation disc to "Repair [my] computer" (Fig 1).

I still have the Windows 8 flash drive with which I originally installed the OS on my laptop, but when I plug this in to undertake the repairs requested by the system, the system shows a black screen with white text that lists my laptop specs (Fig 2). At the bottom of the screen is written "Press <F2> to enter SETUP", but after pressing F2, the text is just replaced by "Entering SETUP ..." for an indefinite amount of time. Other than these two screens, there is nothing I can do.

I have tried to use the recovery disk that came with the computer, but nothing helped. The system just ignores the DVD.

All the data I want I grabbed from the drive already using a 2.5" enclosure, so I don't mind wiping the drive (which works fine, may I add).

I have troubleshot this for four days and am starting to run out of options. I'm a college student and can't afford a new laptop. I got the Alienware because I figured it would last through college.

Thanks,
Olin

 

Hi, try doing the Windows installation this way. Get back to Windows 7 for the moment. You can also try installing Windows 7 from an USB stick.

 

I wiped the drive and reset the BIOS, but when I boot it loads the POST screen, then gives me a "BOOTMGR missing\nPress CTRL-ALT-DEL to restart" error message. If I put in the recovery DVD on boot, it gets ignored (even on subsequent boots). If I put in a boot USB (tried Win7, Win8, and several Linux Live USBs), the boot freezes at the POST screen and pressing F2 results in a *BEEP* then nothing, and F12 does nothing.

A friend of mine insists this is a software issue.

 

Seems like one actually but it could also be the motherboard or even the hard drive. Can you get to the F12 menu and run the diagnostics?