*Dell-Alienware & AW Legacy Replacement Systems-Warranty Repair Issues*

Thank you Alienwolf and infernia for the contact to reach via email. Hopefully I will get some support after warranty.

 

AlienCaZz: It's not really up to the video card(s) what your max resolution will end up being. No matter how much power is behind them, it all comes down to what kind of monitor you're using. Maybe you ordered the 900p screen instead of the 1200p?

 

It's hard to believe that just one year ago 1440 x 900 was the max for the video cards I had put in this machine... x2 ATi Radeon HD 3870's...these are what I ordered. This was top of the line back in April online for the Area 51 M17. When I use dual montiors I have a 22" Dell Widescreen Monitor only 2.5 years old and the resolution I can set is above 1440. Just my primary laptop screen maxes out at 1440.

 

It's definitely possible you ordered the 900p display with your laptop, then, instead of the 1200p. I didn't mean to say that the video cards were limited, but your display.

 

OK folks....where do i start!

4th replacement turned on today after my initial criticism about some cosmetic issues (keyboard flex and lid mis-alignment)

Cant say i am a happy alienware customer (yet again) as problems are persisting. I will give you a brief out line of the problems on the new system (bear in mind it is also brand new as were the previous replacements - although i am beginning to doubt this very much)

Several issues which are:

1) The right side gpu fan is alot noisier than waht it was previously - upon shutdown, i can physically hear it slowing down to a stop whereas my previous system was silent.

2) The blu ray drive is also very noisy - i can hear it clattering around like a stone in a bucket as it slows down.

3) Still have the problem with the lights when charging - i wonder if someone could check this out on their system....basically, i have dischareged the battery to 15%, shut down the system from being plugged in, removed the a/c plug from the rear...now when i do the following on my original laptop, the lid head glows and so does the on/off button when the laptop is off but plugged in to show its charging.

The problem is that when i replug the a.c into the rear of the laptop, even though the battery is at 15%, the lights on the lid when closed DO NOT glow to indicate charging - they do nothing. Same with the on/off button - nothing.

On my other system, this IS happening...i can unplug, replug the a/c and whilst the laptop is off and closed, the lid logo will slowly flash to show charging and whilst the lid is open, the power on/off button also glows slowly to show charging whilst the laptop is OFF.

On this 4th replacement (same as the 3rd) none of these lights would slowly glow whilst laptop off/lid closed or open/ac plugged in/discharged battery to indicat that the unit IS charging.

4) When i hit the on/off button (plugged in or not) the lid logo AND the on/off button will NOT illuminate at all until the desktop is reached....again, my original system lights up as soon as i press the on/off button. I thought this was normal as as soon as i turn on my original system which DOES NOT have this fault, the lid logo and the power on/off immediatly light up and the on/off buton flickers to show HDD activity and it also shows the status immediatly of wether charging or just plugged in.

5) It has intel rapid storage technology installed (and i have elected to have all icons on taskbar) but when i boot and it gets to the desktop, the icon for Intel RST appears with a warning exclamation stating that it isnt working.....if i wait for 2 minutes (and i have timed it) it will show with a green tick.....should it take that long to start working from the desktop???

I am gutted that this system has more or less exactly the same faults/problems as my old one....

I would appreciate it if someone could check out the logo lighting issue for me on their system and tell me wether or not they light up when laptop is off/closed/battery semi discharged with a/c plugged in.....

Oh and obviously it is BANG up to date with bios and updates as it landed from the factory the other day, has bios A08 factory installed and cc/osd latest versions.

Im gonna go grab a beer now and console myself to the fact that number 5 is on the cards.....

 

if you want steviejones133 you can send it my way and I can send you my overheating Area 51 M17x

 

Ah sorry to hear about all that Stevie. Yeh I just plugged back in my system which I was running off battery for a little while before. The alien head is glowing and showing that it is charging. I've tried it both while it was on and while off.
I think I had a problem with the lights last time as well. I think I just played around with them inside the AlienFX program. I like went through all the light settings for each zone and changed colours and what each light would do like pulse or change to a differrent colour when I was plugged in and on battery. That sort of thing. After that all the lights seemed to work correctly. I did check for an update from within AlienFx as well just to be sure.

Perhaps try fiddling around in AlienFX and see if you can get the lights up. My also came with a bad right GPU fan. It was quite annoying. Got all 3 fans changed a few days later though. Perhaps try checking your temps on the gpus as well just to see how come they are so loud. Usually super loud noise from the fans I have noticed is when they hit 4k rpms or above. Around 3k its loud but not too bad.

Cheers.

 

Stevie just for an FYI my Intel Rapid storage task bar icon does the exact same thing. It seems to have a delay. I don't know if this is an issue as it hasn't bothered me. Also I'll check on the battery/lighting issue later today. I haven't run mine on battery yet except to see if I still had the sleep/hibernate/lcd shutdown issue. As far as fans go mine are pretty quiet, well relatively speaking, neither is louder than the other but to be sure you can always check and see if both cards are running at the time you are hearing the discrepancy. If so then you may have a problem. Still, as you said your other laptop doesn't make that kind of noise.
And my blu-ray player makes no noise.
I sure wish you were hardware savvy. You could have a perfect system in front of you. Will post back with my findings on the Battery/lighting issue.
A beer sounds like a great idea. Hang in there.
PS - I know you want a great working system out of the box but... it might be worth it to you to learn a few things about the inner workings of your M17X R2.

 

Oh yeh Stevie I was just curious seeing as it came with system bios A08 installed stock. What were the GPU ATi drivers and vbios versions that came with your new system?

Cheers.

 

Well guys, wish me best of luck.
My Alienware M11x's battery is practically dead (The computer sees it is there, but it does not use power from it).
I have already talked with tech support, and my rep has requested on-site support.

 

Ah good luck chiefs.
How old is your machine. The battery is covered for 1 year. So if it us still within 1 year then after the tech support check you should be able to get a new battery.

Cheers.

 

Mine is only two months old.
Originally, I had battery issues like 2 weeks ago.
So I called tech support, and they told me to open up the M11x and unplug the battery, and put it back in. This fixed it for 2 weeks.
Then the problem came back, and now my M11x has basically become a desktop D:

 

Thanks for the info on the Intel RSD, i timed mine and it takes two minutes for the warning that it isnt running to disappear from when it gets to the desktop and the warning icon appears.

I created recovery discs first thing and the disc drive noise was alot louder and more "grinding" than my previous drive.

Regarding the gpu fan, its on the right and once the system is shut down, right after is when i can hear it "physically grinding to a halt"...my other system ran more or less whisper silent.

The keyboard on this new one is flexy as hell and the lid doesnt marry up when closed to the front above the left speaker...the metal of the lid overhangs by about 3mm - kinda like the lid is fitted incorectly.

The lighting issue is really bugging me, i know its relatively insignificant but if the systems were all built the same then why the discrepancies? - one lights, one doesnt??? - that isnt what i paid thousands for, to get a random experience.

Im sooo fed up with it i am thinking of calling it a day and Dell can shove it....right where it hurts. 5 systems (all supposedly brand new) and 5 out of 5 have had what i call "issues" - says alot for quality control.

I wish i was more hardware savvy but at this point in time, i have to rely on my instincts as to know what is right and isnt....along with help from you guys to tell me if something IS normal or not.

Personally, i dont think its normal for my system to have a poorly fitting lid, noisy optical drive, faulty charging lights, a gpu fan that you can hear come to a halt....its not acceptable in my book.

Anyway, would REALLY appreciate it if you could check out the lighting/charging thing on yours Infernia...(and anyone else that cares to give me feedback on any of this) - it would really help me to eliminate this as being a problem or something i alone am experiencing.

Gonna have several more beers.....

 

8.692 dell drivers alas.....so must be original vbios and not beta vbios as vbios isnt backward compatable with 8.6xx drivers.

 

Oh thanks for checking Stevie. I just had a look at my lid and it doesn't over hang out at all. Sits very nice and flush. Sorry to hear about all your problems.

Also I wrote a little about your lights issues on the previous page. Just a little after your post I think it was. Have a play around with AlienFX and see if you can get it going correctly.

Cheers.

 

I have had a play around with FX but i cant see any way to turn on or off the lights when charging...sure, colours can be changed but not the fact that they are on or off...i too have checked for updates and none available but i wouldnt expect there to be as its 1 day old!

EDIT...never had to do anything with m original to ensure that all the lights glow when turned off/plugged in......

 

Could someone/anyone also indicate wether or not that their on/off button illuminate immediatley after pressing or wether it only comes on once the desktop is reached? - thanks.

 

Am discharging battery as we speak. i'd run a game to kill it quickly but am currently doing *gasp* homework/Project.
As soon as I get the battery down I'll let you know about the alienhead light when pressed.
And I remembered something but I can't verify at the moment. The taskbar icon was bugging me too and I 'think' I found the executable and ran it in compatibility mode 'run as administrator'. I recall thinking it strange that it would put the application in the Program Files folder with UAC and such. Sorry I can't verify but I will try to do so as soon as I get the chance.
At this point Stevie I think Laptop #4 was probably the best of the bunch. I hope I remember it correctly. Will keep at the testing and hopefully others can check out the lighting issue as well. It is simply turning the laptop on that requires the check. Enjoy your beer and no shoving anything yet.
**EDIT** 1- Stevie, with the Intel Rapid Storage software, I enabled the 'run as administrator' compatibility on the executable in program files and it fixed it. Shortcut; Start-->All programs-->Intel-->Intel Rapid Storage Technology-->(Rt click on it and choose properties) -->compatibility--> tick the check box 'Run the program as an administrator'-->OK.
Still killing the battery, will edit again when done.
All my lights are working as they should. Check your command center drivers to make sure they're up to date. THis has to be an ALienFX issue.

 

Did the suggestion re: Intel RST and stil takes almost 2 minutes to load from desktop icons......

 

I'm sorry Stevie, it ended up working for me. Just wonder what the difference is. As I recall it was bugging me and I tried this as a shot in the dark. User Account Control was a big pain in the 'arse' in Vista.
I'll keep checking into it and see if I can reproduce the issue. I am probably forgeting something simple. Good to hear you got a lot of your issues worked out tonight, just wish this would have worked as well.

 

Hi Stevie,

Yeh About the alien head lighting up when you 1st power on the machine. I too get a dark alien head from time to time. I remember the last time I took apart the machine and the next time i booted up there were no lights so i was shocked to say the least. However the alien head light came back on once I was within windows. So Phew!

Its kinda odd I reckon this light thing with the alien. Cause I have noticed that most of the time it will light up immediately after I press the head to boot up however I have noticed other times too when it doesn't light up until i am in windows. So about 1 min in. Also my touchstrip lights eject disk play pause stealth mode button bit sometimes doesn't light up. Most of the time it will.

The only quick remedy I know of that will definitely fix the issue on the very next shutdown bootup is to power off the notebook and then remove the battery. Hold the alienhead down for 30 secs or longer. Then place the battery back in and power up the notebook. Hey presto the lights will all be back working. Other serious cases will involve taking out the battery and also taking out the CMOS battery. Leaving both out for 1 min or so no less. Also holding down the alienhead for 30 secs or more. I'm pretty sure you already tried something like this so sorry to hear that didn't work out either.

All I can really say is that the AlienFx is pretty buggy sometimes. Not too sure whats going on with yours atm. It can sure be very annoying thats for sure. Good luck chiefs. I wonder what dell is going to say about your troubles now. Hmmmmmm Number 6 or a full refund.

I must say though one of the most annoying things bugging me lately is every time I go to move the notebook from around the house room to room or I accidently bump the notebook it will restart on me. Every single time. I'm pretty sure it must be a new hard drive free fall sensor or something protection. As I never had troubles like this with the R1. I could move that around even flip it upside down lol with no troubles.

Cheers.

 

Hiya, Regarding my lighting issues, i was talking with grim on another thread and we checked out a few things (alienfxtester etc) and he recommended that i uninstall Command Centre and reinstall it from support.
I said to him "its showing the same version as what came from the factory only the other day so wouldnt i be reinstalling exactly the same?"

Well, cut it short, i did uninstall it rebooted and installed via dell support and low and behold my lights are working correctly now! - god knows what was wrong with the installation but you would think that you wouldnt have to uninstall/reinstall anything to get it to work correctly would ya???

The AW tech i spoke to about it didnt have a clue.....my grandmother would have known more

Still have the other issues which are the slightly misaligned lid, spongy/flexy keyboard, right gpu fan noisy on shutdown (can heear it whirring to a standstill after the system has shutdown and also my blu ray drive....

I am hoping that it may be "burning in" and the noise will go but i could be going for no.5 at this rate....

 

Well , i think i did what you suggested correctly. Didnt make a difference for me so i played about for a bit using your guide line and dont know if this is the same thing but.....

Start/programs/intel/intel rst (right click) / shortcut tab / advanced button / advanced properties window / check "run as asministrator" / ok.

Dont know if thats just a different way to what you suggested or wether it does something else....

What dya reckon?

 

Windows always gives you multiple paths to the same end. However your path may be different. i would have to go and see how this is applied. To the entire application, to the shortcut only, etc.
I am so ashamed I used to teach this stuff in my OS classes but I haven't cared to retain it unless I need it. Just like explaining the entire OS from Kernel on up. Couldn't even begin to do it nowadays. I feel like a computer with a full hard drive and in dire need of a defrag. Getting old sux!
If it works for you let me know. There is yet another way to get it to run the executable as admin by typing in the shortcut Target area, a runas command after the "". Would have to check on the syntax.
This is only good for bypassing UAC and getting this program to run with the appropriate rights as soon as it starts.

 

Do reps work on weekends?
My Rep has yet to confirm that I will be getting an on-site technician.

 

I have gotten calls from them on weekends.

 

I was hoping to hear back from the email I sent during the weekend. I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow and get a response via email.

 

Some reps work weekends and others don't. I think it's where they are located and how long they've been with the company. Mine did not work weekends. But I have seen others that have had plenty of contact on weekends. Sorry but I think it just depends on who they assign you to.

 

I know that IF you get a tech, get his/her name. Include it in any other CORP emails you send and it seems to get answered a whole lot faster. Just my experience.

@steviejones-a picture is worth a thousand words. If you could post pics of some of these issues(obvious cosmetic, not software), maybe we could 'see' more of what you are talking about. I just can't visualize the 'lip' issue.

How to.

 

Well everything has to be done by email for me. I don't have the luxury of phone access offshore.

 

Got internet right? Maybe remote could help. They can remote in but your speeds may be too slow. May wanna check.

 

Why don't you try their chat support? It's a nice way to start if you don't want to call.

 

Chat support? I would gladly do that if I had the option on the support portion of Alienware.com....

Am I overlooking it? I will check again.

 

Yeah I do not have an account with Alienware and getting the information is going to be fun for my account. All I have available is my Order # from last April. Can all that be recalled from this?

 

Sorry, Aliencazz, I'm stupid. AW doesn't have chat for tech support. Only sales.
I think your only option is to email or phone call.

 

Stevie I checked my alien HD lite and it pops on after my decktop loads not before. Yes post some pic's so we can see the issue's.

 

Wolf, got told on another thread by Grim to uninstall CC and reinstall it and it worked a treat....got my lights coming on within 2 seconds after i hit the on off button...they all seem functional now....maybe you should do the same?

 

As a reminder, in case you did not see it or were directed to it earlier, I included this in post#1 of this thread:

Alienware Legacy Systems

Quote Src: Alienware Support - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community

 

@BatBoy
I appreciate the reminder but the problem is I do not have the laptop in my possession at the moment and I am out of the country. I doubt I even have anything with the account number on it unless its somewhere in the battery compartment. I know on the R2 m17x's your name and such is engraved on a placard on the bottom.

 

the order# you have should be good enough to at least get some contact moving. give it a shot - wont hurt to send another email...

 

Stevie thanks it worked great, didn't even know I had a problem.

 

No worries wolf, glad i could help you out....i only noticed it cos im hyper critical lol

 

Well guys, I got myself a tech
He is gonna call me tomorrow for an appointment.
I can't wait to get that new battery.

 

that is good to hear Noah!

 

I have had my system's exchange dispatch number since last Friday. Is there a way how can actually check my replacement's status with that ?

My tech rep is out for two days, and it seems that no one can actually help me with it but him ...

Any ideas guys ?

 

Im waiting on an EMAIL reply from my rep as its impossible to get through to the escalations team who deal with the UK cases. Although I have been told that they deal with ALL cases, I dont believe that too much....every time I have been able to talk to someone, its someone in India (sure one guy said Mumbai). Seems to me that US have thier own to deal and Europe is farmed out to a call centre in the middle of nowhere.
Im not being nasty, but, they just dont seem to have the empathy or understanding of how stressful this is for us owners who are trying to get issues resolved. My impression is that its very black and white and they do not know how to see things differently.
My update, well....

Have mailed my rep with photo's of my overhanging lid, told him about my noisy right gpu and my sloppy keyboard - got an email back yesterday saying that I could have my money back which as I said earlier, is fair BUT I gave DELL my money cos I wanted an M17x, not just so they could keep it for 4mths and then give it me back after 4 months of grief.
What I want from them (and i dont think its too much to ask) id for a perfect M17x with no defects....lots of people own them and have no issues - why on earth should I be different? - 4 systems rec'd and not one has been correct.
I am hoping that they get back to me today with some SERIOUS offer of replacement....

 

Of course you don't have to, but some of those photos herte would be nice. What if, like alienwolf, we have a problem and don't realize it? How about posting them???

 

Here is my somewhat overhanging lid!

Will post pic soon.

http://www.box.net/shared/dxz7y5lv2c

 

Hey theres Stevie,

Actually I just had a look at my notebook again and the R2 has the exact same over hanging lip like yours does on the left side. The right side is not over hanging, actually it is a little inner if you know what I mean. However i never noticed all this, until I saw your photo Stevie and decided to check it out.

My R1 has pretty much the exact same cosmetic look as well. Left side slightly out and right side perfect. I guess it never really bothered me as the hinges and lid seemed very solid and there was no real problems.

It seems that we had a couple of similar issues then I guess. The overhanging lip thing and the GPU right fan. I'm not to fussed about the lip thing so I won't bother about that. I did however get my fans all changed and their brilliant now. I would also recommend you get your keyboard changed. That should all fix it then.
But yeh see what your next email saids from your REP i guess.

Good Luck!

Cheers.

 

Stevie - you are not the only one complaining about the 'farmed out' tech support issues. Another user in a thread about his cpu has an issue that so far none of the tech's he's spoken with understands. Such a simple issue but at the same time if they are not tech savvy it is easy to see the confusion. He has a 940XM that can't be overclocked at all, not even the 5% in the BIOS and yet when he calls tech support he gets India and they always tell him Dell doesn't support overclocking at all. He's in the UK as well.
This lack of communication or the lack of tech knowledge is a huge hurdle and it's sad that the UK customers are having an even more difficult time than the rest of us.
I honestly think your 3rd laptop was the best of the bunch. If I'm not mistaken, you have the means (software/driver updates) to get that one to work and be a really good laptop. I may have forgotten one of its issues, I'm sorry. Or you may have already sent it back.
I would not accept the mushy keyboard, misaligned lid, or the noisy fan or the Bdrom making noises. Those are obvious hardware issues that will require a fix either now or later. The longer this drags out the more your money will buy if you go the route of the refund. You know that as the 6 month marker approaches you will be looking at some sort of hardware refresh or price drops. It's up to you but as it stands, a refund will get you back in the queue of a brand new laptop. (if you stick with alienware )
I feel for you and wish I could make things go your way. I am older and my ideals are buried a little in practicality. I would take the money, sit on it until a sale starts and get everything I could with the money. If you consider the replacement route once more; I implore you to use the configurator and put together a system for the amount of money you would get as a refund. Then start taking off percentages based on 5% through 20%. (Best I've seen is around 20%) See what they offer as a replacement and be ready to crunch the numbers and see if what they offer is any better than what your money can already buy.
Ask your customer resolution person to give you a name or forward you to a sales rep that could possibly be sympathetic. (that's how I got a little over 20% discount with my refund) Good luck Stevie. PM me if you have any questions and please post the pic. I think others would like to see if they have that issue as well.
**EDIT** Whoops I took too long to type this out, you posted the pic. I'm going to check mine right now.