A06 Aurora/Area-51 Command Center

Chris,

Thank you for the recent replies and for keeping this issue alive.  I have been following this thread for months now and suffering with the various ACC "ills" since December.  Through trying the myriad fixes and patches I am down to this:

System fan (radiator fan on top) running on high (very loud) with System fan sensor reporting 0 RPM!

Current ACC version is A06 with AlienwareAlienFXTester reporting version 1.02.04 on the board, lights and vents working as advertised. If this was your rig, what would you do? Continue to wait or initiate a fix through phone support and on-site techs?  Not really all that crazy about getting phone support involved with the sad reports everyone else has posted here.  The swapping of boards and hardware seems to have caused more problems than they have fixed.  Thanks for any input you care to provide.

 Joe

Alienware Area-51,  Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 960 @ 3.20GHz,  6GB (3X2GB)  PC3-10660 (1333 MHz) RAM

BIOS A03,  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, 600GB RAID 0 (2X300GB VelociRaptor  SATA-II, 10KRPM, 16MB Cache HDDs)

1TB SATA-II, 3GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB Cache HDD

Joe-ITO,

I doubt it is hardware. I would wait.

Compared to how many we sell and never hear from again, the users on this thread could get multiple system exchanges and it wouldn't cause a blip in the big picture. I am doing what I can.

Compared to how many we sell and never hear from again, the users on this thread could get multiple system exchanges and it wouldn't cause a blip in the big picture. I am doing what I can.

I know what you mean Chris, though the people don't want to have to have to send away their $3k-$6k+ product to replaced with something that'll probably have the same thing/problems, these are the people who care.. and this isn't a rant at you Chris, all of us in this thread know you're doing your best.
I'd say most users that buy Aurora/Area's from Dell have no interest in what temps are going on inside the case aslong as it does what they want it to do, play games and heavy program usage. (many of us could have gone for a self built product and saved a lot of money but we want the best built from the supposedly one of the biggest and best computer manufactor).
The lighting feature is one thing but for the Aurora ALX one feature is the active venting, this is shown as a highlight feature and for most of us doesnt work.. the product should work as it should stated and from the box, it doesn't.
I don't want a replacement re-furb, I want the thing I paid for to work.

It's really simple. The product is not as advertised. There is a known defect in the interaction of hardware and software controls for both the fan speeds and the active venting. Wether or not this is affects the performance of the machine, how many people complain about it, or the cost of the replacement. The issue is still that we've all paid for something that clearly doesnt work and is covered under the warranty of the product. I dont care about the pretty lighting. I care that when I spend over £4000 on a PC that it works exactly as advertised to me.

Every technician sent out to replace either the IO board or the motherboard has actually left the PC in a worse functioning state than when they arrived.

I've been very impressed with the responsiveness of Dells 24hr tech support in Slovakia (EU customer). Whilst they havent solved the problem; they have at least responded promptly and proffessionally.

On the other hand I can say nothing polite about Dells sales and customer services team who have shown nothing but total incompetence in sorting a replacement machine. 4 weeks after telling me the replacement is ordered and on the way I call up to find out that something went wrong and they cant order the machine because it's speced with 3yr warranty. So they need to sell it to me as a 1yr warranty then upgrade it. The machine is now delayed a further 2 weeks because no one knew it was stuck in some order que. On top of that I am told 1600MHz RAM is no longer available. So i am offered a downgrade to 1300MHz with no refund! In return I get "accidental damage" cover.

Accidental damage to a 58kg PC that sits under my desk? What do Dell think people do to these machines... Yes I carry mine under my arm to work every day like a laptop. DUH. And how is the price difference between 1300MHz and 1600MHz just the value of some insurance?

On top of that Dells sales team (both in Ireland and India) have been utterly incompetent. Failure to return calls, reply emails. Failure to place orders. Complete lack of understanding of the problem or the technology they are selling.

I might be pleased about getting a replacment in a few weeks it if works. But seriously I'm considering never to buy any Alienware PC again so long as it's owned by Dell. I guess Dell wont care anyways since we're just a blip in the overall scheme of the amount of defective PC's they can get away with selling to customers who wont know any better or cba to complain.

Just wondering if you could comment on if new systems are being shipped with this problem, or they've figured it out on that end at least, I just ordered one on the 10th(area-51)and really don't want to play the exchange game 

Got my system 3/11/2010 and it started this today 3/13/2010. Rebooted 3 times to get back in control. Now I gotta try some of the remedies after reading 15 pages/3 months worth of posts.

Almost scared to do a reboot now. The worst part for me is the USB connecting/reconnecting. grrrrrrr

Thanks to all who have tried so much. Now that I've found the forum, I'll add to the experimenting....

Larry

lol god thats terrible! I know if mine starts doing it, its getting packed up and going right back... Not that the moneys a big deal but if this is a known problem they should have fixed it on outgoing systems by now.

Is the Command Center A06 link above dead, or do I have yet another problem? Support page shows the A03 as the current version, which is what is on this new (4 day old) unit.

BTW, I have tried the F2 at boot, then F10 and continue booting. I have Thermal Controller set to manually start rather than auto start at boot. So far this has got everything working as it should except for doing it automatically. Aggravating, but it works.

I also connected my iPhone through the USB Hub and get just a few disconnects rather than constant connect/disconnect.

Now, I'm going to google for more goodies for my new toy.......

Edited: My bad. I found the A06 on the support page right where it was supposed to be!!!

Replacement machine arrived finally.   On first boot the system was fine. On second boot it had an "unknown USB" device and the fans went into failsafe again. Removed the USB device, unplugged from wall for 30sec, rebooted. Alien FX IO board reinitialized properly this time and all working as normal. Seems fine now. Fingers crossed the problem does not reappear.   PC shipped with A03 bios and the A06 command center installed.   I would also add the motherboard design has now changed. Rev02 motherboard. PCIe slots for the graphics cards are now side by side and not staggered between PCI slots.

I believe it is time to move away from this forum, to move away from the mostly useless support system and contact executive management who undoubtedly are unaware of what is going on. I will begin research on how to go about doing that.

Roy Berger

Hello,   Updated my Area 51 with Version A06 of Command Center:   Same as kiax0001 wrote and an Error on Programming AlienFX in Command Center:   1.  All of the lights on the system turn off during shutdown as well as the vents will go into the closed position.   2.  During a cold start (start after shutdown), the system lights work properly and the fans do not run on high anymore and will come down to normal speeds.   3. The issue regarding the automatic vent however is still not resolved. I have mine set to automatic and to open if the fan speed is higher than 50% but the vents stay        open at all times.   4. The Programming of AlienFX in Command Center doesn´t work if you try to choose a Program (.exe) for the new Profile. Error:      System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x80004005): Beim Aufruf einer COM-Komponente wurde ein HRESULT E_FAIL-Fehler zurückgegeben.    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.ShellLink.IShellLinkW.Resolve(IntPtr hWnd, UInt32 fFlags)    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.ShellLink.Open(String linkFile, IntPtr hWnd, EShellLinkResolveFlags resolveFlags, UInt16 timeOut)    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.ShellLink..ctor(String linkFile)    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.ApplicationTreeNode.PopulateFiles(String initialPath)    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.ApplicationTreeNode..ctor(ApplictionTreeNodeType type, String name, String fullPath)    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.ApplicationsForest.PopulateFolders(String initialPath)    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.ApplicationsWindows.PopulateTree()    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.ApplicationsWindows..ctor()    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.VisualizationsController.getApplicationData()    bei AlienLabs.AlienFX.Editor.VisualizationsController.AddVisualization(String model)    bei System.Windows.EventRoute.InvokeHandlersImpl(Object source, RoutedEventArgs args, Boolean reRaised)    bei System.Windows.UIElement.RaiseEventImpl(DependencyObject sender, RoutedEventArgs args)    bei System.Windows.Controls.Button.OnClick()    bei System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.ButtonBase.OnMouseLeftButtonUp(MouseButtonEventArgs e)    bei System.Windows.RoutedEventArgs.InvokeHandler(Delegate handler, Object target)    bei System.Windows.EventRoute.InvokeHandlersImpl(Object source, RoutedEventArgs args, Boolean reRaised)    bei System.Windows.UIElement.ReRaiseEventAs(DependencyObject sender, RoutedEventArgs args, RoutedEvent newEvent)    bei System.Windows.UIElement.OnMouseUpThunk(Object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)    bei System.Windows.RoutedEventArgs.InvokeHandler(Delegate handler, Object target)    bei System.Windows.EventRoute.InvokeHandlersImpl(Object source, RoutedEventArgs args, Boolean reRaised)    bei System.Windows.UIElement.RaiseEventImpl(DependencyObject sender, RoutedEventArgs args)    bei System.Windows.UIElement.RaiseEvent(RoutedEventArgs args, Boolean trusted)    bei System.Windows.Input.InputManager.ProcessStagingArea()    bei System.Windows.Input.InputManager.ProcessInput(InputEventArgs input)    bei System.Windows.Input.InputProviderSite.ReportInput(InputReport inputReport)    bei System.Windows.Interop.HwndMouseInputProvider.ReportInput(IntPtr hwnd, InputMode mode, Int32 timestamp, RawMouseActions actions, Int32 x, Int32 y, Int32    wheel)    bei System.Windows.Interop.HwndMouseInputProvider.FilterMessage(IntPtr hwnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam, Boolean& handled)    bei System.Windows.Interop.HwndSource.InputFilterMessage(IntPtr hwnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam, Boolean& handled)    bei MS.Win32.HwndWrapper.WndProc(IntPtr hwnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam, Boolean& handled)    bei MS.Win32.HwndSubclass.DispatcherCallbackOperation(Object o)    bei System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.InternalRealCall(Delegate callback, Object args, Boolean isSingleParameter)    bei System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.TryCatchWhen(Object source, Delegate callback, Object args, Boolean isSingleParameter, Delegate catchHandler)   Pls. can someone (User or Chris) confirm this Error.Support told me its a Software Failure.   Headset

Hello,

new to these forums, i was looking for answers regarding this specific problem and i stumbled onto this thread. Well I received my system on 4/22/10 and it was fine but i restarted the machine and the right light under the hard drives on my area 51 stopped working, so i guess im in the same boat. Oh yeah i did install the new BIOS A07 and the new command center update as well.

Area 51

980x

Single Gtx 295

1.5 TB 2 HD'S ( Raid 0)

SB titanium

My comp only recently started doing this..The download link doesn't work..any other fixes ??

Welcome to the Alienware Club.

Somehow, you have managed to find a very old thread. This thread is about older machines. Even these older machines are likely now running at a newer firmware level.

Please start a new thread and re-post your question. Include your make,  model, and systems specs.

My comp only recently started doing this..The download link doesn't work..any other fixes ??