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    My epic fail.... M15X crash...

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by T-ravisty, Aug 18, 2011.

  1. T-ravisty

    T-ravisty Notebook Consultant

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    Hello all,

    First of all, I am a new member to this site, but have been following the threads for months... Secondly, if I have started this thread in the wrong place, please let me know where I should be posting it and how i go about deleting and moving a thread... anyway... here goes...

    In march this year I bought an Alienware M15X with the following specs:

    Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 740 @ 1.73GHz
    Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
    Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850
    750GB HDD @7200
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
    9-cell battery

    I am a student studying animation and was sick of using a slow computer, so I got this as recommended by a friend who has owned Alienware products before and swears by them.

    I received my laptop with a great deal of joy and went straight to setting it up... Mistake #1: I didn't setup AlienRespawn and do the factory condition backup...

    All was well for the first three months, I had all the current windows updates and drivers and then bam.... BSOD... I can't remember the error code, but I called up Dell, Australia and they said it was a driver that needed updating, so I followed their advice and sorted it all out. I asked if restoring a System Image made using Windows Backup and Restore would help, they said yes.
    Two weeks after that I got about 30 BSOD's as soon as I turned the computer on, It would startup and then crash about 1 minute when on my desktop, it would reboot and then do the same thing on a loop.
    I was late for a lecture so I left it until the next day to sort out.

    Next day I turned it on and it wouldn't get past the black "Starting Windows" screen.
    I called Dell and was told to run a diagnostics. It came up with Error Code: 0146, the Dell rep said the HDD was fried.

    The following day a Dell Technician came with a new HDD, they even came to my uni to fix it as I was having to do assignments on their computers as mine was dead. (luckily I had backed up all my work on multiple HDD's)
    I was new to the whole Alienware thing with all their custom programs so I had no idea about AlienRespawn. I didn't setup the recovery disc at all... BIG mistake!
    Anywhoo... the Dell technician went about installing the new HDD and installed the OS and Drivers, I downloaded updated drivers from the Dell website and got CC there as well.
    After about a week I had my prized lappy back in order... Except AlienRespawn was not on the HDD at all, and still isn't.

    Just this week I have received another BSOD, and upon searching in the mini-dump files there appears to be a previous one about a month after the HDD was replaced.
    I will attach these files, and if anyone can help me address these issues I will be very grateful.

    The tech said the HDD died probably because the disc got scratched by the headers. This being most likely caused by me carrying it aground to uni a few days a week. I have a proper padded laptop bag, but alas...

    Also, the image of the recycle bid when you delete a file is missing, please find an attached jpeg.

    So in summary, these are my questions:

    1. Will not having AlienRespawn affect my system?
    2. What alternatives do I have instead of AlienRespawn seeing as to how I don't have it?
    3. Can I Download it to do a restore disc or USB now?
    4. What do these attached minidump files mean and how can I resolve the issues that they describe?
    5. How do I get the recycle icon back when deleting files?

    Thank-you for your time, I know it's a long winded message.

    Again, if this has been posted in the wrong spot, please let me know how I can move it to the correct place.

    I'm sure no-one else has suffered from these circumstances, complete and utter stupidity on my part… Lesson learnt.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank-you,

    T-ravisty
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Villosa

    Villosa Notebook Deity

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    Hopefully a mod will move this to the M15x section. As for your problem, please run this test to check on your RAM. I have seen dying sticks of RAM cause all sorts of trouble in a system so please run it overnight and see if there are any errors. Run multiple tests using 2024mb at a time until all 8GB are used up.

    MemTest: RAM reliability tester for Windows

    Also, I can't read your files so are you able to tell me the BCCode? It would make everything easier.
     
  3. Esco

    Esco Notebook Consultant

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    Hi there,

    1. Will not having AlienRespawn affect my system?

    Not it doesnt´t its just a backup utility

    2. What alternatives do I have instead of AlienRespawn seeing as to how I don't have it?

    Norton Ghost ( i use it you can make a whole image from your HDD)

    what you need is norton ghost32 and a bootable medium for it,
    like a cdrom or a bootable usb stick, first u have a image you can restore
    it every time u need

    3. Can I Download it to do a restore disc or USB now?

    you can download it from many sites just search in google

    4. What do these attached minidump files mean and how can I resolve the issues that they describe?

    minidump files are the smallest amount of information to discribe a system crash

    5. How do I get the recycle icon back when deleting files?

    rightclick on the desktop

    -> personalize/change desktop icons

    i hope i could help u a bit
     
  4. t_man

    t_man Notebook Geek

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  5. xeroxide

    xeroxide Notebook Deity

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    you can also use windows 7's backup feature.
    it's actually really good.

    with regards to minidumps, you can try to make sense of them using a program called whocrashed from this page, hit free downloads on the left hand side.
     
  6. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    1. Nope - not at all. Most folks prefer a clean install of Windows. Since you have the Windows 7 Home Premium disc, this shouldn't be an issue. See this thread:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html

    Once W7 is installed, move to this thread to restore the Alienware 'look and feel':
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ook-feel-after-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

    2. After you have restored the AW look and feel, start looking for a back-up solution. Acronis is one, Ghost is another. Both will do the job. Check the manufacturer of your HDD and then look over their website. Western Digital and the others typically have a free solution on their sites for back up. I believe WD offers a lite version of Acronis.

    3. Most of the apps will offer a simple 'boot to recovery' option. Reference #2. ;)

    4. Looking over your Minidump from the 17th, it appears to be a Driver Power State Failure. If this continues to happen after you perform a clean install, then grab WhoCrashed and start looking at possible causes. The dump from is a bit old so unless it becomes an issue - just ignore it. In the June case, the error was a System Thread Exception.

    5. To restore the Recycle Bin icon, reference this link:
    Fix Recycle Bin Icon Does Not Refresh Automatically in Windows 7 and Windows Vista - OPTION 2. Should resolve your issue.

    My 2 cents - once you have a clean install of W7 and updated drivers, the crash dump issue and the recycle bin icon issue will be resolved :)

    Give it a go and be sure to post if you have q's on the clean install. Also, very important (as others have mentioned here), DO NOT USE the RESOURCE MEDIA for drivers. Grab drivers from support.dell.com.

    For apps, use your Dell Account login info to access this site:
    https://smartsource.dell.com/

    -

    Pfft... not at all buddy. We've all been there before. Don't worry, you've found the right forum for help. ;)

    -
     
  7. T-ravisty

    T-ravisty Notebook Consultant

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    Wow... Above and beyond guys, with speed and information!

    Villosa, in regards to your question to the BCCode's they are:
    0x0000009f
    DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE
    17/08/2011

    0x1000007e
    SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
    14/06/2011

    And thank-you BatBoy for the links regarding the BSOD's and everything else aswell.

    My main question is a clean install the best option to fix all these issues?
    And if I do, which specific drivers would I need to download from the Dell website? I can include as much information as anybody here needs to help me with this issue, whatever specs anybody needs...

    Also, if I do a clean install, download all the drivers from another computer (seeing as anti-virus wouldn't be installed yet and I don't want to surf the net without it), and I download AlienRespawn or another shadowing program... Then transfer all the drivers and applications via USB to the Alienware M15X, install all relevant drivers and applications and also have the Alienware 'look and feel' and then create the shadow/backup/recovery disc using AlienRespawn/Acronis/Ghost/Windows 7's Backup Feature, would this then be suffient and be equivilent to what would happen if I did it to begin with when I first got the machine straight out of the box?

    Sorry for any confusion there.... I think I just melted my brain trying to explain that...

    Also, what exactly do these BSOD's mean?
    I've read about them various time conducted in my own research on the net (I managed to open the .DMP files with BlueScreenView) and also via your links, BatBoy.
    However I still do not really understand what they refer to and what they mean and exactly how they can be fatal to a system.

    Also, why do they happen so randomly? I go weeks without one and then all of a sudden one just pop's up!
    the one on the 17th happened when I woke the laptop from being asleep, I got the window saying it had shutdown and rebooted due to a BSOD...
    I was gone for 15mins maximum... I just don't get how or why these thing occur when all has been without an issue for so long???

    Again, thank-you all.
    I love the computer and just really want it to be running smoothly.

    T-ravisty.

    P.s - Would a mem-test be reccomended, or would do a straight clean install be better? I personally think the latter...
     
  8. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Follow the first two links I posted. All of the steps to complete a clean install of W7 and restoring the Alienware "Look" are there. Once complete, you'll be fine.
     
  9. T-ravisty

    T-ravisty Notebook Consultant

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    Just one last question before I do a clean install, do I not use ther resource disc provided at all?

    Just download all the drivers from the Dell website/ATI/AMD etc?

    So install OS and download drivers, command centre, dell data-safe/alienrespawn? And not even think about touching the resouce disc... Correct?

    What issues have been come about from getting the drivers off the resource disc anyway?
     
  10. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Yeah, that's right. The only issue with the ressource disc is actually the Command Center, if you've ever updated it then the Ressource disc version can corrupt your Alien FX. Besides this, all drivers on the ressource disc are outdated, not worth bothering with them.
     
  11. Kratzen

    Kratzen Notebook Consultant

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    Just a heads up when doing a clean install: When I had some problems and called dell about it, they told me that it was very important that the first driver I installed was the intel chipset driver.
    I dunno if it makes a difference, but atleast thats what they want you to do.
     
  12. T-ravisty

    T-ravisty Notebook Consultant

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    Ah okay...

    Now I plan to do this clean install this Sunday as I have the day off completely.

    I am still really lost as to which drivers I need to download as there are multiple items when I login to the support.dell.com website and type my service tag...

    I've never done a clean install before, so if I could get a list or a link or something for the dire must-have drivers that would be great!

    I may just bribe my IT friend to do it for me...

    Cheers,

    T-ravisty.
     
  13. lordvice

    lordvice Notebook Consultant

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    I prefer Acronis. There is also Paragon (which I think is free). Different strokes for different folks :).