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5515
May 11th, 2021 13:00
m15 R1, BIOS does not boot, cannot enter BIOS
Hey guys,
I bought an m15r1 4-5 months ago (its a 2019 model i7 8750H , 2070 Max Q )
A few months after I got it, I developed a curious issue. First time it happened my computer took a long time to boot and when it booted it did not detect my hard drive (the SSD was ok but the D drive was not there) a restart fixed this, I thought its just some loose cable or something, this never happened again.
However, randomly it sometimes refuses to boot. when I turn the computer on, it gets stuck on the alienware screen. When I press F2, the loading bar for bios shows up but it doesn't get into BIOS. F12 for boot menu does not work either. If I turn it off and back on it doesn't get fixed, the only solution I have found is to hold the power button for 30 seconds until it flashes blue, after this it turns on like nothing happened. Both BIOS diagnostics and support assist diagnostics pass, also I have run HDD tests with seatools and they all pass
I am running BIOS 2.6.0
Should I be worried ? My laptop is still under warranty, would it make sense to ask for a MOBO replacement ?
Mo_yi
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9 Posts
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September 22nd, 2021 13:00
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to report some of my findings hopefully it might help the support team and those who see this in the future.
There were two issues I mentioned in this thread whose root cause I seem to have found.
Issue 1 : AWCC does not load and is constantly crashing
-> This is caused by kaspersky anti virus. If you have kaspersky it will cause the AWCC service to not load. (As documented here)
Issue 2: the laptop does not boot and cannot enter bios
-> This happens when you shut down the device while the fan is set on performance mode. There will be a 50/50 chance that the computer will simply not boot. I am not sure, why , but maybe there are some issues with the power delivery on these motherboards, maybe the high current draw of the fans as they don't spin down causes the BIOS to go crazy. [I have had instances of the system suddenly shutting down a few minutes after turning it on when on battery and only being able to turn it back on when you connect it to mains power]
-> If it happens the only remedy will be to hold the power button for 30 seconds until the CMOS resets, esentially pulling you out of performance mode.
-> To stop this from happening never shut down your computer with the fan on any setting other than balanced.
Hope this will help someone.
But it is surprising how weak / loaded the PSU of these models are.
fosautoparts
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March 16th, 2023 01:00
I had exactly the same issue with the Seagate Firecuda ST1000LX015 SSHD drive that was supplied with my Alienware m15 R1. Although it passed the tests (when it was working), sometimes the drive would just not be recognised and the laptop would fail to boot. It happened frequently when the laptop woke from sleeping (or should I say didn't wake from sleeping as it failed). A few weeks ago I decided to do something about it. I bought a Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1, cloned the Seagate to it using Acronis downloaded free from Crucial, replaced it and the laptop has been fine since.
mattyb3
5 Practitioner
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1.6K Posts
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May 11th, 2021 15:00
If you are still under warranty then yes, you should contact Dell Support and let them know. Depending on your warranty, they will either send a local tech to your house or ask you to send it into them. Once someone has diagnosed the issue then they'll decide what needs to be replaced. It could be your system board or possibly the memory or storage drives.
The diagnostics help find hardware faults but they aren't 100% effective especially for intermittent faults.
crimsom
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6.1K Posts
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May 11th, 2021 19:00
Hi @Mo_yi the root cause of this problem has not been determined. Please open the on-board Reliability Monitor to see timeline of events. There should be a date/time event that coincides with this problem. Open these events, they probably report the same issue. Look for Microsoft error code and the other information that reveals the root cause. Please share an image, so that forum users can also see what you can see. Thank you.
Please install BIOS update again, never install update over the internet. Follow the Dell process, download update, verify file integrity of download, then run as administrator to install, Restart (not Shut Down) to load the BIOS. Update BIOS incrementally, one version at a time, never jump ahead to install the most recent version.
Mo_yi
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May 12th, 2021 01:00
Thanks for the reply. I myself am having a hard time figuring it out. I was thinking something is up with CMOS but that is very unlikely.
I did not find anything concrete in windows because the issue occurs pre boot. To put down the usual timeline: 1. Power button pressed
2. Alienware logo comes up but no spinning windows loading circle
3. Pressing F2 fails to load BIOS interface
4. Hold power button for 30 seconds
5. Post reset system boots normally
I checked reliability monitor, all I see is that AWCC appears to crash on boot every time (not sure if related) and I have pretty much lost access to thermal controls in AWCC.
Here is the log :
Source
AWCC
Summary
Stopped working
Date
12-May-21 12:26 PM
Status
Report sent
Description
Faulting Application Path: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\DellInc.AlienwareCommandCenter_5.2.106.0_x64__htrsf667h5kn2\AWCC.exe
Problem signature
Problem Event Name: MoAppCrash
Package Full Name: DellInc.AlienwareCommandCenter_5.2.106.0_x64__htrsf667h5kn2
Application Name: praid:App
Application Version: 5.2.106.0
Application Timestamp: 5fd7a7e2
Fault Module Name: combase.dll
Fault Module Version: 10.0.19041.928
Fault Module Timestamp: c94441ae
Exception Code: 80004003
Exception Offset: 0000000000086256
OS Version: 10.0.19042.2.0.0.256.121
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 81f3
Additional Information 2: 81f35c835a3f99618d1ebce634c11168
Additional Information 3: 130b
Additional Information 4: 130bc46e14e96e392f87ccd667682d1b
Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID: 965849f32dfde656662c3a95a9a1a5c8 (1597716382280164808)
crimsom
7 Technologist
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6.1K Posts
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May 12th, 2021 03:00
Hi @Mo_yi please download Revo Uninstaller Free and use it to completely remove AWCC and all its leftover files. Open this application, wait for list update, then double click on AWCC, click on create restore point, then click on uninstall AWCC, wait for new window to appear, click on Advanced and then Scan, new window will appear, select and delete all files, and on subsequent windows, when finished close Revo Uninstaller Free. Wait for AWCC successfully uninstall notification, then Restart (not Shut Down).
Having removed AWCC, please install BIOS updates incrementally and Restart (not Shut Down).
When BIOS updates have been applied, please install AWCC update again, never install update over the internet. Follow the Dell process, download update, verify file integrity of download, and then run as administrator to install, Restart (not Shut Down) to load AWCC within operating system. AWCC will automatically install and integrate the OC Controls option so that the AWCC Fusion tab is correctly installed. You may have to wait for the OC Controls option to arrive. Do not manually install the OC Controls option.
Mo_yi
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9 Posts
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May 17th, 2021 12:00
I will do that, hopefully it will fix the issue.
Since it happens maybe once a week or once every two weeks all i can do is hope that the issue wont happen again.
mattyb3
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1.6K Posts
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September 22nd, 2021 14:00
Really good work diagnosing and working out a solution. I would imagine that lots of people have their laptops set to performance mode so I wonder if the issue occurs on all R1's or maybe just a few boards have a flaw or maybe it's the BIOS version.