Aurora R16, ongoing Issues, suspecting Factory OS corruption

Question

I wanted to share my experience with a new Alienware R16 desktop, purchased near the end of November 2024, in hopes of finding others who may be encountering something similar—or at least getting this issue on Dell's radar in a more visible way. Since early February, the system has been plagued by: Regular BSODs (Blue Screens of Death), about a few times a week Laggy, glitchy performance across the board Inability to perform a factory reset, even after following Dell support instructions No improvement after BIOS update (from 2.12.0 to 2.16.0) Remote support has been responsive, but so far, nothing has resolved the issue. The most recent attempt involved updating the BIOS, which didn’t fix the deeper instability problems. After months of troubleshooting since February '25, I’m starting to suspect that something went wrong either during factory setup. Recently, a technician helped update the BIOS from version 2.12.0 (9/6/2024) to 2.16.0 (3/__/2024). This was thought to be the root cause, but unfortunately, the system remains unstable. Given the timing and consistency of these issues, I’m beginning to suspect a deeper problem — possibly that: The operating system was not installed properly at the factory, or There was early corruption during first boot or system prep I’m keeping detailed documentation on my end and have come across multiple posts from other users describing similar issues with their own systems—often with overlapping purchase dates and issue onset timelines. If anyone else here has experienced the same, I’d really appreciate hearing from you, especially if you’ve managed to reach a resolution or were offered a replacement. This is a premium device and should not be exhibiting this kind of instability straight out of the box. Any input or escalation options are welcome. If Dell reps are monitoring this board, I’d also appreciate guidance on how to escalate this properly. Thanks in advance.

salt28 · Answer

Even though the following cases involve different models (the XPS 8960), their progression mirrors what I’ve been experiencing with the R16: XPS 8960, slow with Blue Screens of Death XPS 8960 BSOD disaster with solution

salt28 · Answer

Update: Using this post as an informal journal entry going forward. As of April 18, I've been working with a senior tech specialist at Dell Technologies—and the difference has been night and day. If you're dealing with persistent issues, I highly recommend pushing to have your case escalated to this level. Consistent communication with senior-level support is crucial. Back in February, I brought this desktop in to be inspected by a Dell Certified Technicians. They replaced a few components that were still under warranty, believing hardware might be the culprit. Unfortunately, it didn't solve the problem. Even those technicians were stumped by the end of it. I initially hesitated to reach out directly to Dell Technologies because of all the automated checks and prerequisite steps required before you’re allowed to speak to a senior tech. But if you can get through to one during Central Standard Time (CST) business hours, it’s worth the effort. Just be aware that outside of those hours, you’ll likely get rerouted to a Level 1 tech instead. Tip: Putting everything in writing really helps. Use their live chat assistant during CST business hours—this seems to be the most effective way to get routed to someone who can truly help.

salt28 · Answer

Update: Using this post as an informal journal entry going forward. As of April 18, I've been working with a senior tech specialist at Dell Technologies—and the difference has been night and day. If you're dealing with persistent issues, I highly recommend pushing to have your case escalated to this level. Consistent communication with senior-level support is crucial. Back in February, I brought this desktop in to be inspected by a Dell Certified Technicians. They replaced a component that was still under warranty, believing hardware might have been the culprit. Unfortunately, it didn't solve the problem. Even those technicians were stumped by the end of it. I initially hesitated to reach out directly to Dell Technologies because of all the automated checks and prerequisite steps required before you’re allowed to speak to a senior tech. But if you can get through to one during Central Standard Time (CST) business hours, it’s worth the effort. Just be aware that outside of those hours, you’ll likely get rerouted to a Level 1 tech instead. Tip: Putting everything in writing really helps. Use their live chat assistant during CST business hours—this seems to be the most effective way to get routed to someone who can truly help.

salt28 · Answer

Update: Using this post as an informal journal entry. As of April 18, I've been working with a senior tech specialist at Dell Technologies—and the difference has been night and day. If you're dealing with persistent issues, I highly recommend pushing to have your case escalated to this level. Consistent communication with senior-level support is crucial. Back in February, I brought this desktop in to be inspected by a Dell Certified Technician. They replaced a component that was still under warranty, thinking hardware might be the culprit. Unfortunately, it didn't solve the problem. Even those technicians were stumped by the end of it. I initially hesitated to reach out directly to Dell Technologies because of all the automated checks and prerequisite steps required before you’re allowed to speak to a senior tech. But if you can get through to one during Central Standard Time (CST) business hours, it’s worth the effort. Just be aware that outside of those hours, you’ll likely get rerouted to a Level 1 tech instead. Tip: Putting everything in writing really helps. Use their live chat assistant during CST business hours—this seems to be the most effective way to get routed to someone who can truly help. Update (4/20): This is the second time I've tried posting this. My last comment was auto-deleted. I'm not sure if this was intentional or if there was a glitch on this site.

salt28 · Answer

Test entry. Test entry. Test entry. Test entry.Test entry. Test entry.Test entry.Test entry.Test entry.

salt28 · Answer

Update: Using this post as an informal journal entry. As of April 18, I've been working with a senior tech specialist at Dell Technologies—and the difference has been night and day. If you're dealing with persistent issues, I highly recommend pushing to have your case escalated to this level. Consistent communication with senior-level support is crucial. Back in February, I brought this desktop in to be inspected by a Dell Certified Technician. They replaced a few components that were still under warranty, thinking hardware might be the culprit. Unfortunately, it didn't solve the problem. Even those technicians were stumped by the end of it. I initially hesitated to reach out directly to Dell Technologies because of all the automated checks and prerequisite steps required before you’re allowed to speak to a senior tech. But if you can get through to one during Central Standard Time (CST) business hours, it’s worth the effort. Just be aware that outside of those hours, you’ll likely get rerouted to a Level 1 tech instead. Tip: Putting everything in writing helps. Use their live chat assistant during CST business hours—this seems to be the most effective way to get routed to someone who can truly help. I'm leaving this entry here as a 'comment' because posting as an additional response gets auto-deleted each time.

Vanadiel · Answer

@salt28​ this might be of help for you.

salt28 · Answer

@Vanadiel​ I super appreciate you. Thank you for sharing this. Will be looking into it.

salt28 · Answer

@salt28​ Oh, by the way. That senior tech never got back to me on anything. I had to follow up with a new tech. She wasn't a senior specialist but she was smart enough. Despite numerous attempts by her to get me off the chat I asked her to stay on till I attempted enough fixes and read off enough blue screen errors that she finally upped the issue for a repair. And yes, I also asked her about these Intel processor issues. She denied any problem. You can't let these people brush you aside.

salt28 · Answer

Wow, so sorry for the duplicate comment entries on my behalf. I see Dell's website works about as well as their computers.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

@salt28​ Apologies. Our Forum AI is strict and looks for same or similar posts within a time frame and marks them for review. That is why your post got held up. They were reviewed and posted.

AlpineBeast03 · Answer

Exact same problems. Super frustrated! I bought a premium product hoping for high end experience, and it's been glitchy and unstable from the beginning. I also bought it around the same time. I had to return mine to Dell to get the OS re-installed and it is still constantly crashing.

salt28 · Answer

@AlpineBeast03​ this doesn't inspire high hopes for me. My computer is on its way back from one their 'depot repair' centers in Houston. The repair order on my end was 'blank' and I had to contact technical support to ask what was changed. They tell me they changed out the processor and re-installed the OS. I'm unsure if this will correct the problems I was having. Would have felt better if they changed out that entire mainboard. Was it only the OS that was re-installed or did they do any other work on your computer?

salt28 · Answer

@AlpineBeast03​ Don't think Dell liked my last post as it didn't take... so trying to comment once more! But yeah, I hear you. It is super frustrating. Mine is on its way back from one of its depot repair centers today. After asking tech support what work was exactly done they tell me they re-installed the OS and changed out the processor and memory... we'll see how this goes. I'm documenting as much as I can at this point. Any chance you had any additional work down on your computer?

Alienware Desktops

Aurora R16, ongoing Issues, suspecting Factory OS corruption

XPS 8960, slow with Blue Screens of Death

XPS 8960 BSOD disaster with solution

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