[NEW] Command Center 2.5.44.0 A05 / Discussion

Hello!

Some hours ago, Dell released the final version of the new Command Center (2.5.44.0 A05) for the M15x, the M17x and the M17x-R2.

It seems this version brings a lot of modifications: logon screen has added features, Command Center's menu has a different general theme, a much more reactive interface and some visible changes...

You can download it on Dell's official support page: http://support.dell.com

You can also visit this page of a very good blog about the M17x for more details: http://m17x.blogspot.com/2010/02/command-center-updated-to-v25440.html



EDIT: What I've noticed good in this version:

-Automatic updates
-"Live" color changer (no more time or preview)
-Very responsive interface
-Animated menu, easy to understand
-AlienSense can now recognize you even in the dark: when there's no enough light, it automatically brings the screen white to light up your face for recognition (!).
To be completed...


EDIT: And the final verdict seems to be: do NOT download and install this update of Command Center! Even if it brings many adventages at software's lever, it is a total shame concerning hardware reliability!

 

I believe the updated CC has a bad AlienFX Board BIOS Update. After installing the update an intermittent flashing from different keyboard zones, touchstrip and speakers even when set for solid colors is seen. If a zone is set to a specific color it will randomly flash a different color for a split second. The Power Button is dark - will not light up or show drive activity at all. The back of the screen housing - the Alien Head is also dark.

To resolve the issue until a fix is released, see:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5913312&postcount=31

Dell is looking into this issue.

 

I keep getting a popup message saying that I need to reboot and that it hasn't installed properly. The firmware seemed to have updated, but it's not working properly. I've rebooted 3 times and nothing, so I just uninstalled it . Too impatient to deal with this now.

 

@ Zero989

I had also some problems after doing a simple update. I advice everyone going for this version to uninstall it totally, do a registry cleaning with CCleaner, then install it.

 

Hi
Well i tried the new command center on my R1 & had issues straight away looked if it installed successfully but noticed that i had spurious pulsing which is one of the new features which i did not select.Then noticed that i lost illumination on the Alienhead behind display,Also noticed the colour i have selected for powering up pc was not correct colour.Did a repair on installation same same.So have reverted back to R232274 and everything back to normal.

 

Yep, didn't work. Going to have to totally uninstall OSD.

 

sorry I didnt see this thread earlier because I had already posted in the information thread. Let me copy paste here and a mod can delete the post from there to keep it clean.

Thx

I have installed the latest Command Center but now I get random flashes from the leds (speakers/keyboard - numpad in particular and most often). I can't pinpoint a pattern and it feels quite random. Anybody ran into this after updating to latest command center?

Correction, only the left speaker led flashes from time to time and the numpad. The speakers tends to flash green/yellow , the numpad purple/red and the touchpad seems to flash , but i've seen it only do purple.

I have created a new theme aswell and does the same.

Later Edit : The Alienhead logo on the back of the lid and above the keyboard don't light anymore.
When in dark mode, the right speaker flashes red (the color that i have set up).

 

i got the error after i installed and restarted. i hit my command center soft key and let it start upjust to see what would happen. it downloaded some more updates and it works for me now

 

The install was a little rough, but I got it to work after fully uninstalling it, doing a registry clean, and reinstalling the new OSD.

Works good now.

 

Its been a pretty unproductive day for Dell as far as the Fix for DPC Latency & now this .

 

Bah, nevermind.

Whenever I open it, it's telling me I have an "unknown device" and when I go into alienFX, I don't see anything. It won't let me change a thing.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled twice since then.

Welp, I'm a bit lost. I should add that my old OSD was displaying a red m17x when I have the space black, don't know if that was somehow the problem (like it's not recognizing the right device or something).

 

Installed this version on the back-end of a fresh Win7 install. No problems, one reboot and everything is working great so far

 

Doesn't work. Installs fine.. opens up fine.. can't change anything.

 

Install went fine, but now I'm having a weird issue....

My AlienFX is behaving very oddly. My current theme is set for all zones to be lit up red, and for the most part they are. However, every couple seconds one zone will flash a different color for a split second then switch back. For example, the left side of my keyboard randomly flashes yellow sometimes, and my media buttons keep flashing to either yellow or purple then returning to red. Also the Alienware name under the display flashes yellow quite often. Other zones seem unaffected.

Anyone else having an issue like this? It's kind of annoying...

 

And now you have a unknown device in your device manager that wont go away!

 

has anyone tried any of the old themes?

edit: old theme work... but the fast custom themes are back to normal speed. i still need to figure out the new the command center.

 

I was experience all that as well... i just reloaded the older version that came with the resource dvd.. the random flashing was annoying.. i thought it was just me

 

is there a new osd which comes with this command centre for the r1 or is it still paired with the old osd

 

Hello Everyone,
I have recently tested A05 and the following issues were in fact replicated:

1. Erratic Color Changing
2. Power button and alien logo fail to change color
3. Erratic Alien Sense

I have personally reported the issue and Level 3 support is looking into resolving it. Please use A03 until these issues are resolved.

Thanks,
Gabe

 

lol this is seriously another nice example of great dell releases. they make the thing, dont even bother to check and release it.

if it happens just after installing it prolly goes to show the dell engineers dont even bother installing to check if it works properly before releasing it

 

Same issues, alienware makes broken software! totally lame, I want the old command center, the flashing light is getting annoying on my keyboard and number pad. A pulsing light I should say.

 

Yes, many of us are having the issue, they need to release a fix asap.

 

I am also seeing an issue with this update. Intermittent zones changing colors (blinking a different color then resuming previous color) and Alienhead completely dark.

Tried:

1. Running update over existing Command Center - no go - same issue
2. Uninstalling, reboot into safe mode, run CCleaner, reboot normally, reinstall updated version. No go - same issue
3. Uninstalling, reboot into safe mode, run CCleaner, reboot normally, reinstall previous version, reboot, uninstall previous version, reboot into safe mode, run CCleaner, reboot normally, install current version - no go - same issue.
4. Tried closing theme, selecting new theme, reboot, no go.
5. Uninstall current version, reboot into safe mode, run CCleaner, reboot normally, install previous version - GOOD TO GO - all functions normal.

I suggest staying away from the updated version for now - at least on the R1.

 

Heh, not a day passes by without new issues to emerge...
What are we gonna do BatBoy?

"The Robot Mafia has two options:
The Clamps!
Or Clamp-like device!"
The Robot Mafia
Futurama

 

Stick with v2.0.10 for now - at least on the R1. Not sure if the R2 folks are seeing this problem.

 

No way, I'm on Koala now, free from those issues.
Not going back till everything is ok....probably never

 

Its a bit disappointing all this issues with alienware makes me think that this company soon will be dismissed, I am sure the big shots at dell are not too happy with alienware and their product performance/support.

 

This is getting ridiculous...the DPC latency and now this version of Command Center that is released broken. QC and testing are lacking at this company....

 

If it ain't broke, don't fix it...

Mine came with A03, it's staying with AO3, it works just fine to me

 

I can't even get the damn thing to recognize my system. (AlienFX is totally blank, showing nothing....I'll post a screenshot if I can't figure it out).

 

If you are still on the update version, uninstall it.

Uninstall
reboot into safe mode, run CCleaner's Registry Module
reboot normally
install previous version

 

What a shame, worked good for a few hours now the alien heads went dark, even the HDD activity light is gone.

 

Instead of rebooting I shut my laptop all the way down then turned it back on and now it works just fine.

 

Matt, why did you have to post that? Now I have to go back and try that as well. LOL

I even went as far as reinstalling the older version, setting the default theme (Red) and then uninstalled and then clean install of the current version.

EDIT:

On second thought, I'm not going to bother. I recall now I had installed the new CC and noticed the odd behavior. Due to time constraints I was unable to tinker with it and powered down. When I did resume testing, the issue was still present at power up. If someone else wants to test feel free. For now, I'm staying with the 2.0.10 version. Thanks for sharing Matt.

 

I have the same issues, I think we should wait for Dell to release an update to correct that. Anyway, shame on them. That's unacceptable for a company of this size.

 

I dont think its the command center which is broken. Rather its the firmware which gets updated on the alienFX device which seems to have a bug. It also seems to happen on the M15x. I was first blaming my custom made alienFX Lite program, but now it seems to be a firmware issue

 

Exactly. It is the AlienFX Board's BIOS update which is broken.

 

That's not better... firmware should be at the center of the attention of computer builders.

 

Can verify this, as soon as the bios updated to the old version the alien heads illuminated and I had HDD activity right away without even a reboot.

 

Isn't it amazing that Dell publishes an update like this without testing it??? We all had the same experience - immediate problems - and had to revert to the prior versions of both software and frimware. How could it be that everyone who installed this update saw immediate glitches and Dell didn't? Do they test these things at all?

 

A developer for something as low lever as a firmware is most likely using a custom made dev board with a JTAG (or any other flashing/debugging interface) interface. There might be a lot of reasons why the software developed for the dev board may not work as intended on the product board, starting from bad flashing and ending in subtle differences as different oscillators.

Having said that, I find that there is no excuse for dell not to test it on actual products for consumers. My guess is, that Dell wants to cut as much costs as possible on these things, as things like command centre updates are not going to boost your sales that much.

To be honest, I would actually prefer them NOT to create updates, as I couldnt care less about the command centre. I use the power options from the OS, I couldnt care less about AlienSense or Touch, and I have my own alienFX program, even though the old one did also do the job

 

I'm experiencing this issue as well, flickering lights, Alien head going black... wish I had seen this topic before I installed.

I've tried powering down, removing power (battery and power adapter) and performing the hard reset also. It fixes for a short while, but eventually, the lights start freaking out again, and the Alien Head goes dark (HDD activity included).

/sigh

 

until a revised version is released, forget it. go back to the previous.

 

Each one of these little screw ups adds to the rage.

If Dell are smart they will put a freeze on all things AW for a few weeks until it gets to the Q/A issues affecting the division.

 

Indeed, add this to the list of issues... now my computer doesn't work as intended with the lighting? This is getting ridiculous.

...As Batboy suggested, I'll be uninstalling and going back to previous Command Center version.

 

Guys, I went back to the previous version of CC, and now that won't recognize anything on my laptop. I still have that unkown device in my device manager, and CC won't show anything for me to change. I've tried a couple uninstalls and re-installs of it, and it still won't work. All of the LEDs on my laptop are currently dark and remain that way no matter what I do. Ideas?

 

Uninstall whatever Command Center appears in the Programs and Features Control Panel. If there is none listed, run the installer for the version you have installed (current or previous) and select UNINSTALL/REMOVE.

Once this is done, reboot in to Safe Mode
Run CCleaner's Regsitry cleaner module, fix anything it finds and then reboot normally
Once back at the desktop, run the previous version installer and you should be fine. Remember, after install of CC you must reboot.

Let me know if you are still having issues.

 

Yeah this is ridiculous, releasing a broken software. Before the only things that worked perfectly on my laptop were the lights and the exterior, now only the exterior hasn't had problems...

 

BB, I went through those steps. Same issue. CC will not recognize my laptop. The same unknown device is in my device manager (the driver failed to install upon installing the previous version of CC). Also, when uninstalling, an error popped up, telling me that a COM Surrogate was blocking CC from completely uninstalling, though the uninstaller made it seem as though it was going to work around it. The registry cleaner removed two things, both of them were listed as ActiveX/COM. At this point I think maybe I should attempt to reinstall the new version of Command Center again and see what that does, but i'll wait for your input.

 

I had the same issues... the alienhead logo not turning on, random flickering of the alienhead logo, etc. I managed to get it back to the factory state after 20+ uninstalls and reinstalls (finally back to the A03 version). In the meanwhile I had called tech support and that guy seemed to think that the update process might have bricked the AlienFX bios (which is hardwired onto the MOBO). They sent a replacement MOBO. Although I did not have the problem anymore, I went ahead and replaced the MOBO.

Then I again upgraded to the new CC and again the alienhead logo would randomly decide not to light up. Rest of the issues are gone. Live previews work well except for the alienhead logo.

I'll again try to revert back to the original CC version.

For the information of the community, here are some fixes which have been reported to work on some M15x's
1. Repair CC OR
2. Shutdown PC, remove battery, hold power button for 20 sec, insert battery and restart OR
3. Just create a new theme

Try either of these and see if they work for you. None of them worked for me. I am going to call dell again and complain to them. If everyone keeps on complaining, then maybe someone would actually heed to it.