Alienware M18x Owners Experiencing Windows Aero Issues Discussion

Alienware M18x owners in our forums have been reporting a strange issue with the machine being unable to maintain the Windows "Aero" interface, yet unresolved.

Read the full content of this Article: Alienware M18x Owners Experiencing Windows Aero Issues

Related Articles:

• Alienware M17x R3 Review
• Alienware M11x R3 Review

 

Clearly the graphics card is not powerful enough to handle the graphics intensity of Windows Aero

 

Just another faulty alienware system model like the M11X and M14X.
Nothing new at all here from Dellienware, move along.

 

lol....the real problem here is that the Alienware On Screen Display program causes a conflict with the Windows operating system.

What's so messed up is that this is not the first time the Alienware OSD has caused issues. The M17x R2 also had a problem charging it's battery, resuming from sleep properly(Brightness/BSOD) and code 43 as a result of having Dell's OSD installed. Those problems were NEVER resolved on the R2.

Removing the OSD software limits the use of the FN keys, Center Control Cover shortcut keys and HDMI IN. This problem is truly annoying.

 

Only way we can do is reboot...to get rid of aero problem.

 

Alienware is really dropping the ball lately, seems every new laptop out has some sort of issues, dont they have any sort of testing done before release?
These arent cheap so we should expect more quality control.

 

^ Agree..I'm on my 3rd replacement....first was dead pixel , 2nd was audio has no sound at all. hope the 3rd ones come perfectly....

 

I see a trend here with dellienware as well. I was a proud owner of M17xR1 that suffered from the DPC latency issue. I received an M17xR2 as a replacement. Mine went through 3 pairs of video cards and 2 motherboard replacements before a tech DROPPED my laptop and broke it. Thanks for the free M18xR1 Dell. You keep shipping me flawed laptops and I'll continue abusing the hell out of your flawed warranty

 

Thank you Charles for taking the time to raise awareness of this issue.

I, amongst MANY Alienware owners, suffer from this extremely annoying problem. It amazes me that Dell did not pick up on this fault "Pre-Production" of these affected systems. Basically, it does not take alot for the problem to manifest and the results are clear to anyone who experiences "Aero Drop Out".

Given that these systems are amongst the most very powerful laptops / notebooks (in the UNIVERSE as Dell would have you believe!), it is gobsmacking that something SOOO simple cannot be run without problems.

Yes, it may be a small feature to some but to others, it is very useful. I personally find that running an Aero theme makes for easier day-to day computing and I do not have to look as closely at the various tabs etc whilst using Aero. For it not to work 100% of the time is simply not acceptable.

Lets hope that this article and the voices of MANY NBR members can raise the awareness of this issue to a level that Dell will actually take note and FIX it so we can all get on and enjoy the systems we so dearly love.

 

Dell needs to address this issue ASAP as it is a serious bug. Everyone experiencing this should call Dell and open a case on your PC.

 

I wonder does this related window 7 version , anyone with window pro & ultimate has aero problem?

 

This isn't just an M18x issue. Both of my buddies have M17x-R3s and both have this same issue. Sometimes it will boot up w/out Aero, other times it will randomly change.

Changing video drivers hasn't fixed the issue for any of them.

 

Yes. AW OSD causes a conflict with Windows causing Aero to flake out. Alienware On-Screen-Display has been causing UNRESOLVED problems ranging from the M17x R1/R2>M17x R3>M18x R1.

It's true that M17x R3 users are experiencing this issue. I've seen scattered posts here & there. The only problem is the M17x R3 community barely mentions/complains about it. We M18x owners are much more vocal and have even created a thread at M18x Aero issues - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community to voice our concern directly to the horse's mouth. The M17x R3 owners need to join us in our thread and PM Charles the author of this story and ask if he can do something to include M17x R3 owners.

If the M17x R3 community just sits back and continues to do nothing....a fix will never be released by Dell for the M17x R3.

 

I went ahead and posted it on NBR, and over on Dell's site.

Let's see if anyone from Dell chimes in.

 

I saw it. I'm glad you are doing what you can. Even on the M18x side of the problem, I appreciate what you are doing to help achieve our common goal.

 

I've received an unofficial response from Alienware. They are aware of the issue and are working on a fix, but it isn't a particularly simple problem because they have to consistently replicate the problem in their labs and as some Alienware owners in our forums know, this problem doesn't happen every time.

 

Thank you for the update.

 

I have created a small utility that allows you to restart Aero without the need to reboot:

AlienwareAeroFix (free)
There seems to be a problem with the Alienware OSD application conflicting with the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) which provides the Aero screen effects such as transparency in Windows; this results in Aero not always working especially, for me, after coming out of hibernation. This is a problem on my M17xR3 Alienware laptop but the problem may also be present on other Alienware models.

AlienwareAeroFix is a free utility that you should run to quickly restart Aero without the need to reboot; it simply terminates the OSD process, stops and restarts the DWM service and restarts the OSD application. Simply download the utility and create a shortcut to it on your desktop.

This is a temporary workaround for a problem that Dell ought to hurry up and fix.

Note: This utility is in no way endorsed or approved by Dell/Alienware.

You can download AlienwareAeroFix from i42 Software - Projects

 

Thanks for the update Jerry - yes, many of us know that its hard to replicate consistently. Now that they know of its existence, as a problem, I consider it as a huge step forward. Lets just hope for a fix sooner rather than later.

 

*sigh*

....some things never change.

 

Hi, all. Sorry I did not see this one sooner. I know we've been working on a fix, and I would have posted here before had I known. I dropped the ball. I should have checked here as soon as I knew we were working on it.
Fix is posted. Blog here. Fix here.

 

Thanks for the update Bill. I think the majority of owners (including myself) were aware of the new OSD more or less as it was posted on Drivers/Downloads. Mr.Fox kindly informed us that it was available over on the initial NBR thread here post no. #1103

I personally have been running it without issue so far so I thank you, Chris and the Engineers for producing something that seems to have rectified the problem.

Other users seem to have the problem persisting but that may be down to something else - I am not sure.

So, thanks very much for the update - no need to apologise about "dropping the ball" .... the main thing is that Dell are activly working on this and if it needs "tweaking" more so that ALL users can enjoy Aero without issue, its something I feel comfortable with - now that I know Dell take this seriously enough to revise OSD.

Thanks for taking the time to post. Much appreciated. +rep.

Regards
Steve

 

Thanks for the rep, Steve. I was stuck on 9 for a while. I just hit this thread since it linked off Charles' post, I believe (crazy day; too many clicks and posts to remember)
I guess there is a need to jump on the other thread and see if there are any bugs we can help chase down.

 

Top man Bill.....have a look....some people having some issues with dvd playback or blu ray playback....like I said, dont know how or if its related but check it out....thanks again!

 

Thanks a ton Bill for posting an update! I've written an additional story here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...-m18x-aero-issues-discussion.html#post7952150