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    Hangs, cannot get to Bios Setup or boot menu.

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by Jdpurvis, May 21, 2013.

  1. Jdpurvis

    Jdpurvis Notebook Evangelist

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    Yesterday, I repasted my M15x to see if I could get better temps (they weren't bad, but not great). Afterwards, because I had forgotten to bring my power supply, I booted it on the battery. All seemed fine - temps about normal (CPU high 40's and GPU similar) at idle, and fans running normally (they start on high and then slow down, as usual). I tried 32M bench in Throttlestop, and after about 2 seconds, it abruptly died - instant black screen. Afterwards, fans start normally, alien head appears, and everything stops. F2 elicits a loud beep, but no bios setup. F12 does nothing. I tried power drain several times, including CMOS battery (out overnight).. No change. All on AC power.

    This morning, thinking there was a problem with the pasting, I stripped it and repasted it with MX-4 (which worked fairly well previously).I cleaned everything I could find - even removed and reseated processor and video card. No change.

    Any ideas? Anyone else ever have this problem?

    Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.

    Joe
     
  2. fatboyslimerr

    fatboyslimerr Alienware M15x Fanatic

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    Still no BIOS after CMOS battery out? The loud beep is normal and BIOS should load subsequently.

    Really have no idea but I suggest trying to remove individual RAM sticks to see if they are the problem. Also could be SSD? Insta-shutdowns can cause SSD failure.
    Sorry I can't be more helpful. Hope you get it sorted.

    EDIT: Do you have another graphics card you can test? I had an issue recently where I couldn't even see alienhead when turning on laptop. Solved by leaving graphics card in a non-static bag overnight. Probably not your issue though.
     
  3. Jdpurvis

    Jdpurvis Notebook Evangelist

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    I think you hit it! I tried removing one stick of ram - no joy. Then I pulled the SSD - bingo! - I could get into setup - and enable the display. All seems normal with the SSD out. I put it back in - now no boot. I think the SSD is "hiding" - this has been reported with Crucial SSD's I will check with them.

    Many thanks - your suggestions put me on theright track.

    Joe
     
  4. fatboyslimerr

    fatboyslimerr Alienware M15x Fanatic

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    Glad I could help. I'm trying to avoid thermal shutdowns (from gfx card) at all cost due to them increasing the likelihood of SSD failure.
     
  5. Jdpurvis

    Jdpurvis Notebook Evangelist

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    Well, it's back!. I followed the procedure for "hidden" crucial SSD drives, and it came back and seems normal. Temps, however, are also back to normal - not lower. Oh, well, the quest for the magical paste continues. I know temperature will always be a concern for this laptop/processor combination. My daughter's ASUS IvyBridge weighs 4 pounds less, runs on a 90 watt power supply, and is 40% faster (and cost $500 less). But I'm not ready to replace my friend yet - we have a lot of pictures and videos to edit yet - two weddings this year (twin daughters!) and at least one more scuba trip with my NEX-7 camera.

    Thanks - + rep if I can.

    Joe
     
  6. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    Well at least the PC is now working fine, the temps... you can try lowering them using a cooling pad also. Have you tried using MSI Afterburner to manually set the fans?
     
  7. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    Congrats and don't forget to backup that data ;)
     
  8. Hellbey

    Hellbey Newbie

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    Hello Joe,

    It seems I have the same issue with my M17x R2. Could you please explain what you mean by "the procedure for "hidden" crucial SSD drives" ?
    I looked for information but I'm still nowhere :(

    Thank you in advance

    Laurent