Area51 m5550 Random Shutdown Problem - Page 2

Got the system all reloaded and wow loaded on it.. going to try some gaming on it and see what happens.

PMed you back... is the laptop still randomly shutting off ( i hope not.) ? if it is just return the thing... its not worth the hassle in my opinion. Good luck!

It could be the original installation of XP was bad and when they made your image it copied the "bad" entries thus when you reloaded XP via the Respawn disc, you didn't do anything to help the problem go away....

Hope you get this sorted out soon!

Actually I did a reinstall with the XP CD so its not the image. Right now I'm doing a CPU stress test.

I didnt read the whole thread but do a reinstall of XP, then do some test on it (EX memtest, 3dMarks06, and stress prime 06), after you do all that you could've just skipped over too a disk check.

The harddrive could have issues and needs the errors fixed and the problem might go away/found out that the harddrive was at fault.

So far I've done, CPU Stress Test, Check Bad Sectors on HDD, 3dmark test, memtest, and everything is ok.. Still shutsdown when listening to mp3s or playing some wow.

call in to return it... no new laptop should be having problems like this. I dont believe you have the same (along with several others) random shutdown issues as i did... Unbelievable! AW should find out the issue and reimburse us for all our wasted time in troubleshooting their defective units...

Theres your problem right there. You're single handling playing the gayest game thats ever came out. World of Warecraft.

I kid I kid.

But yeah did you do the check disk with the windows CD?

And if you're still having problems call up alien and tell them that you still got prolbems AFTER you've done all of thos test. And tell them you did all thos test for how long, what was the result, etc etc.

Yeah Yeah yeah.. world of warcraft blah blah blah.. My wife and I are actually into it. Its either that or watch the Hallmark channel.

They have all the testing noted in my profile. I am not having much luck with laptops in general.

History: Apple Macbook Pro - Returned because it burned my palms.
Dell XPS 1210 - First one returned because LCD Flickered
Dell XPS 1210 - Second returned cause the LCD Flickered and colors were washed.
Alienware m5550 - Possible returned due to random shutdown.

I'm still working out my 5750. If the random issues still continues I WILL return it. It is such bullshit if they dont take it either. After paying a prem of 29XXlarge for a rig I should not have too deal with petty problems at all IMHO. I've only had this junk for about two weeks and the three + hours I spent talking too the tech reps from alien does wear thin fast.

I hope you get your problems sorted out and keep me personally updated on your problem and what your resolution was...

I thought Alienware was the shiz... am I wrong?

I guess there the shiznip if you get the M9700/M7700/mALX.

Rei86 and DJinn I feel your pain... Its too much of a coincedence that all of 3 of use (and a few others) are having the same random shut down issue. This appears to be happening with the m5550 and m5750 models only... If they are willing to waive the 15% restocking fee if i cancel my (second) m5550 order I will just cancel the order complete. Who cares if I get the duo core 2 version if i have the same random shut down issues lol. Keep us posted guys and hopefully AW does the right thing.

Damn. I have a m5550 too. Mine has been fine so far, but I have to admit I have not been using it too much as I've been busy with other things. I hope it doesn't start with this BS like you guys have been experiencing. And yes, I've had it over a month.

Strange...

I haven't been on the boards recently but I've noticed my machine does the same thing?

Its happened to be about 4 times so far. Once it happened as I was uninstalling a program.

I think I'll call tech support tonight. Does anyone know if AW is aware of this issue and trying to work on a fix?

Does anyone think that the new BIOS may fix this issue?

I'm not going to flame Alienware. I guess I just had bad luck. I don't think Alienware thinks of this as a known issue. I think whats happening is.. they are taking guts of a computer that should be in a 17" for cooling reasons, and sticking it in a 15.4" case. That might contribute to the fact that it gets very hot. Heck.. when I told them my CPU was running at 71c they said that was hot? Ok, how can that be hot if it idles at 56-60c?

I think we are at the point in the notebook world where power and performance belong in a 17".

This is what they did when I called them about my problem:
1. They had me test the RAM (pass)
2. They had me do a check disk (pass)
3. They had me run 3dmark benchmark (pass)
4. They had me run a CPU stress test (pass)
4. They had me run the laptop with no battery, just AC (pass)
5. They asked if the fans were turning on (pass)
6. Then they asked for me to start tweaking the game WOW (no good, still crashed)

After 4 hours of tech support, they determined that my computer needed to go into the depot. I explained to them that I just received this last Friday and that I would like a replacement. Customer service said no, that it'll need to go into the depot that could possibly take 14 - 20 days. I asked for an extention on the return policy since it has to go into the shop so soon. They denied my request.

As of now, the laptop is back in its box going back to Alienware. Yes, I had to pay the restocking fee, bummer. Now where should I take my business? Maybe back to Dell or something.

The machine is awesome.. very fast, very clean.. but the customer service wasn't there.

I won't tell anyone not to buy an alienware because of the situation I went through. I'll just tell them my story and they can treat it as they hear it.

Have we concluded if this is a WOW problem? or perhaps this is a m5550/m5750 specific problem inherently? Didnt you mention this crashing wasnt occouring until you installed WOW?

Have you guys been checking your system log? What errors are you seeing that cause these crashes? Also, is it a blue screen thing or just shutdown/reboot.

I just placed my order for the m5550 and am now getting concerned about this situation, anything short of a rock solid stable uncrashing system to me is unacceptable at the price being paid here.

My problem happened during WOW and watching DVD movies. No Blue Screens, just a power off. Two of the times it shutdown on me, it locked up on BIOs. Had to remove the battery and power adapter to get it started.

I had VERY similar problems with mine except mine ONLY reboot automatically on battery every 10-15 mins. I think the problem dissappeared after the BIOS update to the 1.15 (KBC v1.12) and I disabled the Intel Proset Wireless software and told Windows to manage my wireless connections.

FYI: Re-install of XP did not fix this issue since I had it from day one and thought it was a driver issue as well. Didn't try respawn since my boot CD can all sorts of scratched up and didn't read = (

I think there is an ACPI glitch in the v1.10 BIOS. I also have a RMA on the battery but haven't seen it yet = \

Does anyone with an m5750 have an issue with PowerPlay on the X1800? Or a weird "IntelPPM" error in the Event Logs for those of you running Xp Pro.

And you guys should really read the manual on unplugging the laptop properly from the AC adapter. DO NOT UNPLUG IT FROM THE LAPTOP, ALWAYS REMOVE THE PLUG FROM THE WALL/POWERSTRIP/APC FIRST! There's a warning somewhere saying that pulling the plug from the laptop can cause a "surge" in the system that may be enough to damage something as the AC adapter gives alot of power to the battery/laptop or some crap like that. I might have read it online at another forum but it's there. It should also be common sense on these newer high powered laptops that you paid $2300+ for. Same goes for plugging it in.

EDIT:
Oh, also clean out the gunk they supply at the factory and put some AS5 on it. I used q-tips with rubbing alcohol and it worked perfectly on the GPU/CPU. If your overheating you PC should just TURN OFF; not restart. And another troubleshooting tip. Go to System Properties and disable the "Automatically restart PC on error". Google it if you dont know what I mean. Machine Check Exceptions is typically overheating/hardware related as well as the error ALWAYS being at the same spot. If it's caused at different times/spots then it's 99.999% software. Try to post a full debug/dump file on one of the MSDN sites and they might give you a lending hand; I haven't done it enough to tell you what to replace/uninstall. Just my 2 cents.

Im not sure if this will give peace of mind out there but here is what alienware outsourced barely english tech support had to say about this situation:

---------

Kristian V.: Hi, my name is Kristian V.. How may I help you?

Rachael: hey, I’ve been reading a bunch of forums saying the m5550 series notebooks have been having random shutdown problems. What can I expect when I receive my recently ordered m5550? I would assume as with any new laptop form such a high end company that my usage would be nothing short of rock solid. Will my machine have this problem?

Kristian V.: No this is not a common problem/

Kristian V.: all systems are thoroughly checked before they leave our factory to make sure they run in excellent condition.

Rachael: but I’ve read about 10 people or so have been having this problem. They also say when they call alienware tech support alienware makes them pay to ship the band new notebook back to you guys. To me that’s completely unreasonable and I don’t want this to happen to me, if my machine does have this problem what would I have to do?

Kristian V.: we will first attempt to diagnose and resolve the problem over the telephone. If we determine that the problem is with a defective component covered by your warranty, then we will, at our option, either: (a) have you send your product to our repair facilities for repair or replacement; (b) send a technician to your home or place of business to replace the defective component; or (c) send you a component part to replace the defective component. Option (b) will apply only if you purchased the Alienware Onsite Service along with your warranty.

Kristian V.: If our technical support agents determine that your product must be returned to our facilities for repair or replacement, we will issue you a Return Material Authorization Number. We will then send you a shipping label for shipping your product, at our expense, to our facilities. You must, however, return the product to us in its original or equivalent packaging. We will, at our expense, return the repaired or replacement product to you. We will pay shipping expenses both ways only if you use an address in the United States (excluding Puerto Rico and U.S. possessions and territories). Otherwise, you are responsible for shipping the product to our Miami Repair Facility and we will ship the product back to you freight collect.

Rachael: ok, so basically if I do encounter this problem and go through all the proper procedures you listed and things still don’t work perfectly, I won’t get stuck paying to ship back the product since it’s not my fault at all, right?

Kristian V.: If our technical support agents determine that your product must be returned to our facilities for repair or replacement, we will issue you a Return Material Authorization Number. We will then send you a shipping label for shipping your product, at our expense, to our facilities

Kristian V.: We will, at our expense, return the repaired or replacement product to you. We will pay shipping expenses both ways only if you use an address in the United States

Rachael: ok great so I have nothing to worry about since I live in the usa.

Kristian V.: Right

Rachael: great thanks

-----------

So worst case scenario the theory is they should pay to send the laptop back. Hopefully it never comes to that but I've read a few people saying how alienware has been requiring the purchaser to pay for their item to be shipped back.

We'll see what happens!