Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
265 Posts
0
52101
Alienware Area-51 Lighting Problem
I originally posted in a different thread, but with the help of another member, I am reposting in here:
Hello guys. I am new here on the forums, and was looking to see if anyone can give me a hand.
I just got my new Alienware Area-51 today, and all was working fine until I restarted the system for the first time. Upon restart, the lighting on the right side of the case (HDD Side) started acting up. At first, the light started flickering a bit, and afterwards, it just went out. I went ahead and opened Command Center to see what happened. I tried changing the lighting colors, and the lights started working, but not normal. When I selected the RED color, the light went extremely dim to the point that you can only see it with the lights off, and when I change it to other colors, it does not change to what I pick. I select green, and I get purple. I select white, and I get blue. All the other lights work fine, the ventiing system works like normal. Just that one side lighting.
So I tried updating command center, and it installed the latest firmware, with no change. BIOS is up to date with A03, and all latest updates for the system from Dell website. Anyone experience this? Do you guys think it is related to the MIO board or is it the LED itself?
Specs:
Area 51 Cosmic Black 1.1KW
Intel Core i7 975 Extreme
6GB DDR3 1333
ATI Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
640GB GB HDD
Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
DMiannay
244 Posts
0
February 22nd, 2010 16:00
There's a large thread here in the Alienware forum dealing with this specific issue. It'll take a while to go through it all but you'll find the answers to your questions there. Bottom line, everyone experiencing these problems is still awaiting an updated Command Center release from Dell that fixes the ongoing issues.
m3th0d1c4l
265 Posts
0
February 22nd, 2010 16:00
Thanks for the reply.
Yes I was reading through the thread, and it seems to be a problem with the MIO board/Firmware. They just released a new command center on 1/28/10, that I figured would fix the problem, but apparently not.
I am just worried it might not be the MIO board and the LED Lighting itself on the side of the panel. I do not experience any other issues like the other users on that thread, such as the lights staying on, or the vents not closing on shutdown, etc. Everything works perfectly except the one single side lighting.
Will dell replace the MIO board or the LED lighting itself? I mean this system is brand new, just recieved today, and it wasnt having any issue until i restarted it for the first time.
DMiannay
244 Posts
0
February 22nd, 2010 17:00
Either you have a connector that's loose or fully disconnected or this is yet another symptom of the Command Center problems Dell is facing with the new Aurora/Area-51 series PCs. You might take a closer look inside the case for obvious problems. You can also call Alienware Tech Support and let them try and solve your problem.
Yodasmaster
76 Posts
0
February 22nd, 2010 18:00
My lights were acting funny once so I took the panel off and wiped off the the little 4 pin connector thing on both the computer and the panel and it fixed the problem. Of course I have an Aurora, so Im not sure if its the same on the area 51.
morblore
2.4K Posts
0
January 5th, 2015 16:00
Wow! You brought up a really old thread with an old friend of mine. I have this issue on my Area 51 and it was never fixed. I guess it found its way to the R2. But anywho...we have both moved on from Alienware. I just bought a Xidax Elite Custom build myself.
I always thought it was something in the MIO board myself ( mine just flashed while typing this ) so I would guess they used the same MIO board. Ether way mine has been doing it for 5 years so I wouldn't expect a quick resolve.
Ethan.Kirschman
1 Message
0
January 5th, 2015 16:00
i have a brand new alienware are 51 as well. I recieved it on Christmas and all was fine until about a day or two ago. The same this is happening with mine. on the left side, the top led is going out. When i change the seetings, sometimes the LEDs flicker on and off. I dont know what is wrong!
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
1
January 5th, 2015 23:00
I miss the old days ... reading posts about you and Methodical pushing the (then new) Alienwares to new levels (Tri-SLI and what-not).
Good times. [:)]
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
January 5th, 2015 23:00