m17 R5 AMD, boot freeze at Alienware Logo until manual intervention

Hi Dell Support,

I’m experiencing a persistent and frustrating issue with my Alienware m17 R5 AMD laptop related to the boot process, and despite extensive troubleshooting, the problem remains unresolved.

Issue Description:

On every system start or restart, the laptop freezes on the Alienware logo screen, only showing F2 (BIOS) and F12 (Boot Menu) prompts. It does not proceed to boot Windows automatically unless I intervene.

Workaround behaviors:

• If I press F2 and manually select the HDD, the system boots successfully.

• Alternatively, performing a hard power reset (long press the power button) allows the system to boot correctly on the next attempt.

• However, the issue returns on the next restart from within Windows or a soft power-on.

Troubleshooting Steps Already Performed:

BIOS & Boot Settings:

• Reset BIOS to factory defaults (multiple times)

• Reconfigured BIOS to:

  • UEFI mode (not Legacy/CSM)

  • Ensured Windows Boot Manager is at the top of the boot order

  • Secure Boot toggled (tested with both enabled and disabled)

• Verified that the correct boot path exists:
  \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi

Bootloader & OS Repair:

• Ran full bcdboot rebuild:

  bash

  Copy Edit

  bcdboot C:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI

  (EFI partition correctly identified and mounted)

• Ran bootrec commands via recovery mode:

  • bootrec /fixmbr

  • bootrec /fixboot (resolved “access denied” via bootsect /nt60)

  • bootrec /scanos

  • bootrec /rebuildbcd

• Created a clean Windows 11 installer USB and reinstalled the OS — issue still persisted after clean install.

Hardware & NVRAM:

• Performed NVRAM/BIOS power drain reset (held power button 30 seconds with power disconnected)

• Verified SSD is healthy and correctly detected in BIOS

• All unnecessary boot devices (e.g., PXE IPv4/IPv6) moved to the bottom or disabled where possible

Linux Diagnostic Boot:

• Booted into Ubuntu Live USB and used efibootmgr to:

  • Delete old/ghost UEFI boot entries

  • Re-add only the valid Windows Boot Manager entry

  • Set proper boot order using:

    php-template

    Copy Edit

    efibootmgr -o <Windows Boot Manager ID>

❗ Current Behavior (Unresolved):

Despite all of the above:

• System only boots if I manually intervene (F2 → select HDD), or after a forced shutdown

• Does not auto-boot after a restart

• No consistent error messages; system just hangs at Alienware logo with no progress

Could Dell Support or engineering please:

• Advise if there’s a known BIOS/firmware issue for this model?

• Recommend manual BIOS downgrade or NVRAM deep-reset (if applicable)?

• Provide a tool or steps to perform a clean NVRAM wipe beyond power cycling?

This issue has been persistent for weeks, and I’ve exhausted nearly every user-level fix. Any assistance or escalation would be highly appreciated.