I love AW but after having m17x for 3 weeks its going to repair to get fixed

OKAY I ordered my m17x almost 2 months ago.. got it earlier then expected and now 3 weeks later all HELL is breaking lose

this is how it started...

Monday night I press the alienhead power button to put the new computer to sleep

Tuesday morning I open up my notebook to find that it never went to sleep but instead FROZE... I had to hard restart it.. It started loading and
once it got to the point of loading windows it never did just a black screen.. I restarted it many times and nothing but a black screen so before calling AW support I decided that I would do the AlienRestore... while trying to do that it told me that there were errors found on the on the harddrive and would try the next time Windows started.... my problem windows doesnt start...

So I decided to do the AlienRespawn? and so it pretty much put everything back to alienware factory settings... after it did that it told me to restart and when it restarted the only thing on the screen was
"BOOTMGR is missing"
and
"press f10? to start alienrespawn2.0"

So i did the the alienrespawn again
same error message

So at that point I decided to call the dreaded 866.287.6727 AW Technical Suppport

so the guy helped me get windows running again
had to erase the partition and make a new windows partition and once that worked everything was just fine...

the problem...

after we were done installing every driver under the sun and after i was done talking to the guy we disconnected from the phone and pc remote

and I decided to go into the Command Center and change some lighting including the KEYBOARD

when it opened it did not show the m17x it showed the m15x and instead of being able to change keyboard lights I could change the "light pipe" which the m17x doesnt come with...

FRUSTRATION

called up support

different guy had to tell him the story

and we then reinstalled windows drivers and everything else again...

same damn thing no keyboard only lightpipes

he then put me on hold for like 20 minutes and when he came back he said that my computer had a firmware issue and that I needed to send it in to get it fixed

so he got me a fedex label and everything and now Im going to repack my beauty and send her back... ill probably ship her out on monday or tuesday.. but im really quit sad

i was told i should have my notebook back under 10 days..

SO in otherwords if you have to reinstall windows on a m17x you are SCREWED

 

why not just uninstall the OSD and Command centre and put them back in from the updated versions in the hive?

wouldn't that, in theory, put it proper?

 

Wow, AW systems STILL having issues. That's just a damn shame.

Sorry about your baby there, mitsubishi, hope they fix it!

 

Wow, that sucks braw. Sometimes that stuff happens.

It's electronics, no matter how good the technology is, there will always good and bad, the odds are probably low 1-1000 with AW systems.

Hope you don't miss her too much!

 

well from the hive there are 5 total files

CommandCenterBundleSetup-Mob-1017
m17x_ATK_Vista_1043.2.31.100
m17x_HotkeyApp_Vista_1.00.0034
m17x_lighted_keyboard
m17x_RIPLEY_Model

I was told do the ATK first
then HotkeyApp (driver then application for driver)

ripley model then lighted keyboard

the command center

and i swear ive now done every single different order i can possible think of from not installing ripley and lighted keyboard till the end to doing those before everything else.... makes me pretty sad that they couldnt give me either the correct way to install the drivers.. (the one random way i couldnt have installed) or the correct file to fix the problem

with what they tell me its the same lighting system in both the m15x and m17x and the ripley and lighted keyboard files should fix the problem.... also its litterally takes like .00002 seconds to install them cause i think they run in Command prompt and by the time you click run it flashes CP and its done

 

can you have them send you the firmwares so that you can install them yourself? that shouldn't take more than 15 minutes.

 

I'm not surprised about the whole "same software" bit. it's the same tech, why not the same software? keyboard is a bit bigger and some of the options are different, but other than that...

it surprises me that it's still messed after doing that.

grr arg.

 

wow i didnt even know they could do that?!?!?!

to tell you the truth i have no idea what firmware is i was just thinking it was something that they had to do...

if this is worth calling them up and being on the phone for a while let me know...

please cause i really would rather not have to send my notebook out... i just dont want the wear and tear of shipping..

 

definitely call them up, I am not sure if they even have a new firmware for such newly released laptop.

 

wow i went into the command center program files and i went to this tester thing and it test all the lights and the firmware and the first one is Firmware- skipped red leds okay and down through the colors ahhhh... this is so FREAKIN lame.. It might just be easier for them to do it... i wish i knew what the files- Ripley and keyboard lights, actually do cause it doesnt seem like anything!!! damn the whole computer worked just fine when i first got it

 

Hmm, if they got the computer and windows to work again and the only problem is with lightning and the computer believing it is a m15x even though it is a m17x. Then it definitely sounds like a software problem, from your explination it sounds like you are not too "geeky" when it comes to computers and that may have gotten the CS agent to believe it was something the m17x had to be sent in for, or maybe they wanted to do it themselves instead of making you do it.

Anyway, i definitely think you should call up CS again (i know it is annoying) and ask them exactly what they will do to fix this problem. If they will just reflash the BIOS or firmware of some hardware then you should ask if you can do it and ask them to guide you through it over the phone step by step. Firmware upgrade is something you can do by yourself, if it is hardware related then for most pieces you can install them yourself.

Just a question, what Antivirus software do you use, as something like what you have gone through can easily happen to an infected PC?

Please keep us updated how it goes and good luck!

 

It not the antivirus for I have a problem with my lighting as well. M17X it Command central. They have stupid drivers 3 of them for one software. It not 100%

 

sorry to hear of all your troubles.
i think its about time you filled out the m17x worldwide forum survey

 

I would rather recommend him filling in the survey after he has solved his problems? Recommending him to fill in the survey during the time he has problems will skew the result, ofcourse he is gonna be unhappy during the time he has problems.

I dont say this to try and get only good posts on the survey, but it is from a statistical point of view correct for him to fill it out after his problems as then he is more likely to give an objective view of his experience instead of an emotional response. Who knows, maybe he will give an even more negative response after his problem because AW treated him like crap?

I like how you word it, he is having trouble with his computer and then you chose to say "I think its about time you filled out" indirectly implying that "oh you are having trouble well then you have passed the test and should now fill in the survey" I am sure that was not what you intended, I am just observing.

 

ok... that did it... i guess i can give a couple of more weeks...
i really hoped, i mean i REALLY hoped that the m17x would have been better...

i guess i could wait and my decision premature... but... i think it's safe that my money is NOT going to AW for sure...

sad... honestly, i am deeply saddened... i was quite fond of their design... had high hopes...

 

In risk of being mistaken as a fanboy, you are aware that he is having software problems which could and is happening to all computers under the sun, this is nothing specific for m17x and shows nothing of its build quality or any other aspect?

I am not trying to make you buy the m17x I just think you misunderstood his problem.

 

you know you shouldnt bother with regular tech support and go with roswell right....

 

Not a Alienware fanboy either. This problem could happen to any computer. Do not think it reflects on the quality of the M17X.

 

good point Svarto. i blame it on the heat as im sitting in my office with 4 screens in front of me and its 32c without aircon.
its not intentional to get anyone to fill out the survey only when they are having problems. its only because ive had 3 responces so far.
ok,excuses,ill shut up now as im melting.

 

Well... to be fair, most of the people fill the survey one day after they received their laptops... ie, without having any real knowledge of the laptop at all.
So... what's being fair to the "survey"?
One weigh, one measure...

 

you are right Svarto... i may be pre-mature... but you know what... it's a "no confidence" kinda thing...

seriously, most probably, i've overreacted... but then again... i just dont feel all that confident any more...

when i was reading of the m9750 and all the rave reviews and such, despite the few that had issues... i was sold on it... i was actually and have actually tried ebay'in my current laptop to think of a swap...

and in light of all these folks, not fanboys but customers who want the "best and the latest" post their review...

"key broke off"... "creaking noise"... "popping noise"... etc etc etc... but summed up in the end... "i love it"....

i was really surprised... and actually put in a position... will i settle for less?
c'mon folks, will you still accept it if your porsche was delivered with if the steering wheel popped off?, if it had a scratch, crack, creaking door, popping noise in the hood, etc etc etc?

but despite the issues made public the those who have the problems, i was still hoping... really hoping... but... in the end, i guess you can say it's the smallest and the lightest straw that broke this camel's back...

i am sorry, i am not one of those who have issues and currently owned a system... my condolences to you guys... and hope it gets worked out... but as a prospective customer... again...

no confidence in the brand...

 

Good answer King, I hope you will in the end find the laptop that you will be happy with!

 

Alright im going to call them up after work today and see if i can get anything resolved.. ill keep everyone updated..

whats the roswell crew or Critical Issues Dept

 

thanks Svarto...

and best of luck pfctmitsubishi...
this is one case... i hope i'm wrong...

 

Roswell is AW's best Customer Service they offer. they are way better than regular CS.

 

Does anyone have the number for the Roswell crew?

is that system specific like only m15x and m17x



and for kinghong its like having the radio in the porshe not work... i mean yea I did pay 3k and the keyboard doesnt work... but its a beast otherwise

but yea again when I get the number for the Roswell crew ill give them a call and see what they can do

 

roswell crew 1-866-roswell

 

@milcs

the surveys that have been entered have been atleast a week after (i knowmine is for sure and so are a few others) but thats up to you to believe.

@king

tbh the system is a great system does not have the same quality issues as the m15x no creaking very solid monitor casing and pretty much a great looking and responding system overall. and mitsubishi says it perfectly this is something that happens and well this is not completely controlled you could get a dell for example a m1730 and the firmware is messed up that happens and well it has nothing to do with the quality of the system. but its up to you what you wanna get as i have given my mini review the system is great still running great i have had it for two weeks now and just love it i didnt get the illuminated keyboard but i didnt really need it since im not gonna be using the system keyboard most of the time since this is my desktop replacement. anyways back on topic

@mistubishi

i hope everything works out i dealt only with the roswell crew and have had a GREAT experience all the way through its a great machine AW just needs time to get the bios and firmware up and going and fixed in my hive. i think they made leaps over the problems with m15x though

 

hey, guys, like i said, this is one case, i HOPE i'm wrong...

and seriously, i can kinda understand owning one of these... "borderline" items... i've been in love hate relationships...

BMW 540i e39:
Love driving it... made me the a$$hole driver that i am today... without it, i'd still be a timid nub driver in New Joisy

Hate paying for it... i took it to the shop frequently and all the tunings and tunings... and WTF is a GASKET and Why does it need replacement everytime i'm there?

Voodoo u709:
Love using it, the 17" 1920x1200 means i have a copy of my desktop wherever i go... good for huge excel charts... but c'mon who am i kiddin? love gaming at those resolutions!!!

Hate carrying it, leaving it in a hotel and wondering if it'll be in my hotel room in china... japan... korea...india...milan...paris...
HATE taking it out at airports and finding that the bin is too small...

My Married Live...
um... no... my wife sometimes look over at what i'm doing so... um... yea...

hey, all humor aside, call it the cost of ownership and if you Love something, you overlook it, right? but then... in each and one of them... i was not forced to settle for less at time of acquisition... i've learned eventually that the burden of owning it is a pain... but i did NOT settle for a broken radio...

dudes, my new car has Sirius Sat Radio... i made sure it works... not that i've used it in the last 7 months of owning my car... but heck, if it did NOT work... nah... it's not right... i paid for it, i need to get it... end of story.

again... best of luck y'all... best wishes and prove that my worries are pre-mature and that i am wrong of my concerns... i'll be happy to hear...

 

okay i saw somewhere that their office hours are not 24/7 is this true cause when i call it says that everyone is busy... and sounds exactly like the regular customer assistance....

as you can tell i really want to talk to the roswell crew and not the regular cs

 

roswell operates weekdays from 9 am to 6 pm

 

my m15x lasted about 5 weeks before needing to head into the shop I'll definetly be getting an extended warranty and hoping this doesn't happen (much)

 

You know otaku after the m5550 problems I had 1 year warrintee I called and got a 2 year warrintee for I know I was into a fight with hardware issues and such. With the M17X I went for 3 year Warrintee not power.

I had alot of people go why or that so stupid. But the m17X with my spec where faster then my last laptop. To boot I could upgrade.

 

I'm having the exact same issue with my m17x. I was wondering how it turned out for you?

 

have you tried removing all the batterys and the ac and then try to start it up?

 

look don't take this the wrong way but what I believe happened here is that someone with limited computer knowledge had no idea what he was doing and ended up sending a repairable laptop back to alienware. From your first post it really obvious that the initial problem was due to a corrupted graphics driver and would have been solved with a simple re-install of the graphics driver, rather than panicing and trying to use the alien respawn cd which you also messed up. This may sound rally harsh but I really really am not flaming you but pointing out that in a number of similar situations, the main problem is not the system but the experience of the owner. I have to ask you, was it even worth buying such an expensive system if you knew you would be unable to deal with any issues that came up?

I do have some sympathy for you as it isn't great not having the system and waiting for it to be fixed and sent back while hoping the problem will be resolved. But if you think that it will work 'perfectly' without any further issues then you are going to be dissapointed. Please do not get upset, I am offering my honest opinion and to be honest, you never should have invested in a system like this when you cannot troubeshoot simple issues.

 

You dont expect every porsche drivers to have a racing license too right?, maybe he is not a expert in laptop, but what i found here and the same problem i experienced with the AW tech. IMO most techs are not professional enough to handle the job, they mostly follow a system of answers which usually do not help solve the problem, alot of times i felt most techs from AW or DELL have less knowledge then i do, and i really dont know much.
i think maybe the OP should just sent back the system and let the tech worry about it instead of trying to solve the problem themselves, after all it is a new system.