Alienware Command Center Windows 10 , fan speed issues. Mostly cabinet fans

Hello :) so faar i have adjusted the Thermal controller only manually. I have tested gaming with a few online (heavy graphics) and som OPEN world single player games.  The surrounding sensors (3 x) are holding stable 27-29 degrees C! Tested over 2-3 hours. All this is ok. I can post my manual settings later + the setup on hardware im using if you are in Need of a comparing!

Still using this,  when i start up the monster.... It sounds like its about to Hoover of my desk and leave the rom.when i come to the start up screen and type the password in, it ukes 15-20 secs to cam down.23 % ca speed.( thats when the command center start)

Have a nice day sir!

Thank's my friend I will wait for them manual settings are you meaning the PCI FAN AND HARD DRIVE one? if so thank you and not sure with or what apart from I have gtx 690 i7 3990k 16gb ram mobo etc I don't know.

Hello again:) i Will post this as soon as i have the spare time :) gtx is the graphic vard.i7 is the CPU. And 16gb redd acsess Memory.i Will post the pci and hardrive fan speed

speed+ the degree curve setup.

Lets try to fix it together!  

Have a nice day/night :)

Kindest regards from Per

Hello again:) i Will post this as soon as i have the spare time :) gtx is the graphic card.i7 is the CPU. And 16gb read acsess Memory.i Will post the pci and hardrive fan speed

speed+ the degree curve setup.

Lets try to fix it together!  

Have a nice day/night :)

Kindest regards from Per

Hi

I have an Aurora R4 and R2 and they both have exactly the same issue with fans speeding up from BIOS until the manual mode is loaded by the thermal control within alienfx.

The issue seems to relate to the control centre software as this is now loaded post O/S and there seems no intervention post BIOS (no vents opening or closing, etc.).

The Dell site states that the R4 is windows 10 compatible but excludes the R2 although Microsoft states that it is!

Dell needs to issue an update to the control centre software for all alienware users as the issue must be with every user as there currently is no fix bar using manual mode for thermal control of the fans with the curve set at 10 to 15 at the start.

None of my two auroras are over heating it is just a software glitch!

Come on Dell please provide some assistance to your alienware customers?

Regards

I have the same problem - upgraded my Aurora R4 from x64 Win 8.1 to x64 Win 10 Pro, and all was well for a couple of weeks, and then the fans took off at high speed - see the thread below:

So there is a very definite problem, and it's affecting multiple people.

Hi,

I had the same problem, and I downloaded the most recent version of CommadCenter from here :

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=P1K0M   

It solved my problems.

But I had a few other BSOD crashes whish decided me to go back to Windows 7.

I do not kbow what it is, I followed all the directives fron Dell, updated the BIOS to A11, etc... My AURORA R4 was supposed to be Windows 10 compatible, but there is definitely a problem.

SInce I went back to Windows 7 everything goes smooth, the Fans are quiet and I am happy !!!

Regards,

Michelle

edit 3.5.16: on p.2 of this post, Itziar offers this advice, describing a possible fix, taken from this post: Windows 10 Aurora R4 Fans ... more tips attached, perhaps on p.2 as well. This isn't an easy issue to pin down & fix; as of 3.5.16 all 5 of my Aliens do not experience 100% fans on W10; I don't know what causes it, I've grasped at straws since August of last year. Frustrating issue if ever there were one.

"Things went even worse yesterday. All temperature sensors went mad. In the Thermal controls panel, one sensor indicated 0º and the other 64º ... as a result, fans were running again at 100% speed even after logging in into Windows. I then tried the following:

1.- Remove Command Center and remove Support Assist

   I did a complete uninstall of the 2.08.11 version of Command Center and Support Assist following these steps posted by Cass-Olé:

                    1. Uninstall Alienware Command Center, Dell Support Assist Agent and Dell Support Assist from the Control Panel > Programs and Features.

                   1A. Go to C:\ProgramData\Alienware and delete Alienware folder (if it is there)

                             1B. Go to C:\Users\xxxYour Account Name Folderxxx\Appdata\local\Alienware (delete AW folder if it is there)

                             1C. Go to C:\Users\xxxYourAccount Name Folderxxx\Appdata\roaming\Alienware (delete AW folder if it is there)

                    2. Restart the computer 

                    3. Download and Run CCleaner's registry cleaner to remove left over keys from the old Command Center uninstall. {http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner }

                    4. Open Regedit (Winkey + R...Type Regedit), press control + F. In find what type Alienware and make sure the keys, data, and value is checked and click find next. After deleting each object (key, value, or data) related to Alienware press F3 to find the next Alienware location and delete. Repeat until done. DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING IN THE SYSTEM INFORMATION FOLDER WHEN YOU GET THERE.

                      4. Verify that the device manager doesn't have any unknown devices under Universial Serial Bus Controllers. If there are unknown devices see note

                      5. Shutdown the computer.

                      6. Drain the power for 1 minute.

Note: If there are unknown devices on the device manager, or no device is detected please do the following: a. Verify the Master I/O board USB cable is properly connected to the motherboard and to the Master I/O board. b. Drain the MB power for 1 minute.

After that, all problems with the fans speed were gone. 

The fans were behaving normally at startup, inside windows and during shutdown (i.e. always).

After that, I reinstalled again the Command Center (not Support Assist).

2.- Install Command Center

 Install version 2.08.09 of Command Center (the old one I had) without any compatibility mode, I just installed it for Windows 10. I left the fan control to default (automatic) inside the Thermal controls options, and everything works fine for now. Normal temperature values and normal fan speed at startup, inside Windows and during shutdown. I hope this situation lasts longer than last one, at least one month before fans turn mad again  ...

edit 12.26.15: two users have had success, guidelines here: the jumper reset, & windows 7 or Win8 compatibility mode may work. For win7/8 mode, see p.2 of this thread, bamster's on 12.25.15

Mimi, your CmndCntr link was for 3.5, the latest CC is 3.6 actually & it isn't known yet which works better or worse on W10.

R1 R2 R3 can try the latest CmndCntrs for their platform - 2.08.11 & 3.0 as a test against 2.08.09

Since fans in my R4 & A51 R1 are ok, I can only guess at solutions, be it W7/8/10:
Aurora R4 Windows 10 Upgrade Success Command Center 3.5.10 & AlienFx
Area-51 R1 Windows 10 Success Command Center & AlienFx 2.8.11.0
@Alienware-Rodriguez: A-Rod. Aurora R4 Windows 10 Fans 100% fix? ... any word yet on a fix?

• (apparently not)

At current there is no Master Post describing a cure-all; troubleshooting is spread out over multiple posts. Some posts include info where others describe their own personal cure; each cure seems to be a tad different from the next. Feel free to gripe over on Arena also so they can hear you; use twitter / facebook / youtube also, public shamings can't hurt, only help.

If you're displeased anymore you might look into a fan controller for either the floppy bay or a dvd bay; fan extension harnesses when needed; note the stock radiator (& pci fan in Area-51) are high-power ~1.5amps & would require a fan controller with 18amps minimum per channel, 30w per is better (NZXT Sentry Mesh for instance).

A friend experienced 100% fans on Win7 last September; the only cure I could pass on was a clean 7 install & the advice to uncheck 'Give me Recommended Updates the Same Way I Receive Important Updates' > 7 should be stable enough in most instances not to need from that category of updates; when given a choice between hair-dryers for fans or not, I only install important updates personally. Your mileage may vary.

When we clean install 7 SP1 & do the 1st update check, these days there are 200+ that await (see note). It has always been the advice to only install Security Updates 1st in one fell swoop & leave all other updates behind for the next go 'round.

*note: it is advised to download & apply these two stand-alone updates 1st before doing your 1st online update check; these two updates may dramatically improve the time it takes for checking/downloading your 1st batch of updates:

• 3102810 & 3083710
• Sticking with Windows 7? The forecast calls for pain

Clean install of W7 SP1 is always followed by a your Drivers Suite, .netframework & CmndCntr: win updates follow, at least here they do. Once all security updates (& my basic apps) are installed I make a system image (clone to a spare drive). If my system were to wig-out, I may call on that spare clone drive (where I know my fans & hence CmndCntr work), boot up into it & check operation; I may launch CmdCntr.exe & do a 'repair', restart / power down again, boot into other drive that had fan issue & see if it induced a change in fans there also (did it cure the issue).

That is a basic outline that would occur here if I had this issue which I don't.

A case can be made where ZERO windows updates reside on a cloned drive; if we're looking to blame updates for wreacking havoc on our systems then simply clone your install before applying updates.

Why, you might ask?

We live in a world where master i/o boards do not need CmndCntr or Windows in order to function, ever; on a working system, power down, eject your hard drive, power up, enter bios screen or simply don't; note the lights come on & the fans are calm:

• one wonders what happens to systems afflicted by 100% fans once hard drive is ejected?
• do 100% fans carry-over into pure bios?
• how would one decide to fix that, since it is no longer a Windows issue (hard drive is ejected)

I would power back down & boot into my clone drive, for starters, & attempt a fix there.

Since most of this post is now an edit, I note on p.2 turning off Fast Startup; another try is to turn off auto fans in CmndCntr/Thermals & enable manual fans. Then there is this:

• "Hi, I've been struggling with this for a while now, but I've finally found a fix that no one has pointed out on any forums I've been to. The problem with Command Center (Thermal Controller and Alien FX) is that windows 10 disables the service that helps detecting hardware monitoring. You need to reactivate it in the "Services". Go to Services, and set "Windows Sensor Monitoring Service" to active, & startup mode to "Automatic". It should fix it".
• 'should'

A copy/paste of my page2 post; follow correct procedure to uninstall CC at top of this page:

Reinstalling CmndCntr is the most basic process we're taught here:

• "Uninstall the Alienware Command Center from your system
• Uninstall the .NET Framework 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5
• Restart the computer. Install the .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.5
• Download the latest Alienware Command Center from our website and install it
• If issue persists please go to "Control Panel", "Programs and Features" and choose uninstall Command Center, when setup loads, run the "Repair" option
• This will solve any software corruption in the AlienFX firmware while installing"

Now substitute will with 'may':

• * If this doesn't work, please uninstall and reinstall Command Center again. This might take several times to uninstall and reinstall before it starts working correctly
• * Hossmcd wrote - It reported that a firmware update had not gone to completion when a previous tech had uninstalled the old Command Center and installed the latest one. After uninstalling and reinstalling the Command Center again my situation appears to be back to normal. The Command Center now communicates with the MAIN I/O board. The fans, lights, and venting  work as designed.

Uninstall the Alienware Command Center

• Make sure the Master IO Filter Driver is removed from Device Manager
• If it is yet there, remove it manually
• Turn off the system and drain all power from the computer
• Turn the system back on
• Download and install the latest Alienware Command Center Software 
• Restart the computer

What if Command Center is not working properly?

• Alienware Command Center may stop behaving as expected after a recent software or hardware change, example a Windows or Driver update. If this happens it's recommended to:
• Drain all power from the computer

This process consists of:

• Turn off the computer
• Unplug the power cable and battery (for laptops)
• Press & hold power button for about 20 seconds (the computer is not expected to turn ON)
• Reconnect the power cable
• Turn the system on
• Update the computer BIOS to the latest version available at dell.com/support
• Uninstall and Reinstall the Alienware Command Center Software

reprint: Fans at 100% speed by Itziar "the kitchen sink"

I upgraded my system to Windows 10 in January. I've been running it for a month and a half without any issues and then, without any prior warning, fans have gone up to a continuous 100% speed and temperature was normal (around 22º - 24º degrees). 

I searched for help and read lots of threads about this issue for other Alienware owners, and tried several things:

1.- Set the fan control to manual + using curves inside the Thermal controls of the Command Center.

    This lowered the speed of the fans to a normal value, but it only worked after logging in into Windows, after the Command Center is started. During startup and shotdown of the computer, fans were still running at 100% speed.

2.- Upgraded Command Center to 2.08.11 (I was using 2.08.09) 

   No changes at all. 

3.- Installing Command Center 2.08.11 using Windows 8 compatibility mode.

    Uninstalling the existing version and installing the new one setting the installer to work in windows 8 compatibility mode. This fixed the fans speed during startup and shutdown, and I though it was the definitive solution. But my happiness only lasted for 3 days.

The 3rd day fan speed went back to 100% during startup and shutdown but still was lowered to reasonable values after logging in into Windows.

4.- Enabling Sensor Monitoring Sevice and set its startup mode to Automatic

    No changes at all.

5.- Power dissipation for 1 minute

    No changes at all.

Then, two days later (yesterday) all temperature sensors went mad. In the Thermal controls panel, one sensor indicated 0º and the other 64º ... as a result, fans were running again at 100% speed even after logging in into Windows.

I then tried the following:

6.- Remove Command Center and remove Support Assist

   I did a complete uninstall of the 2.08.11 version of Command Center and Support Assist following these steps:

                    1. Uninstall Alienware Command Center, Dell Support Assist Agent and Dell Support Assist from the Control Panel > Programs and Features.

                   1A. Go to C:\ProgramData\Alienware and delete Alienware folder (if it is there)

                             1B. Go to C:\Users\xxxYour Account Name Folderxxx\Appdata\local\Alienware (delete AW folder if it is there)

                             1C. Go to C:\Users\xxxYourAccount Name Folderxxx\Appdata\roaming\Alienware (delete AW folder if it is there)

                    2. Restart the computer 

                    3. Download and Run CCleaner's registry cleaner to remove left over keys from the old Command Center uninstall. {http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner }

                    4. Open Regedit (Winkey + R...Type Regedit), press control + F. In find what type Alienware and make sure the keys, data, and value is checked and click find next. After deleting each object (key, value, or data) related to Alienware press F3 to find the next Alienware location and delete. Repeat until done. DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING IN THE SYSTEM INFORMATION FOLDER WHEN YOU GET THERE.

                      4. Verify that the device manager doesn't have any unknown devices under Universial Serial Bus Controllers. If there are unknown devices see note

                      5. Shutdown the computer.

                      6. Drain the power for 1 minute.

Note: If there are unknown devices on the device manager, or no device is detected please do the following: a. Verify the Master I/O board USB cable is properly connected to the motherboard and to the Master I/O board. b. Drain the MB power for 1 minute.

After that, all problems with the fans speed were gone. 

The fans were behaving normally at startup, inside windows and during shutdown (i.e. always).

After that, I reinstalled again the Command Center (not Support Assist)

7.- Install Command Center

   Install version 2.08.09 of Command Center (the old one I had) without any compatibility mode, I just installed it for Windows 10.

   I left the fan control to default (automatic) inside the Thermal controls options, and everything works fine for now. Normal temperature values and normal fan speed at startup, inside Windows and during shutdown.

I hope this situation lasts longer than last one, at least one month before fans turn mad again  ...

***My Note: if he has an Aurora R4 he can try CmndCntr 3.5 & 3.6 from Dell/Aurora Drivers page

run them straight, &/or try compatibility mode

Yeah! A fix would be nice.a fan that runs on 100% Will break sooner or later... Then suddenly many users will call Dell support....

I won't be using W10 for weeks or months so I encourage anyone with fan problems to experiment with a W10 setting called fast startup, & I ask you disable it as a test, if it works or doesn't, report back.

Desperate times call for desperate measures so on a hunch, I'm about to spam the forum with this fan testing nugget which has a very low probability of fixing anything on Auroras:

• How to Turn On or Off Fast Startup in Windows 10
• http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4189-fast-startup-turn-off-windows-10-a.html

edit: posted by JasperY

" The problem with Command Center (Thermal Controller and Alien FX) is that windows 10 disables the service that helps detecting hardware monitoring.You need to reactivate it in the "Services".

Go to Services, and set "Windows Sensor Monitoring Service" to active, and startup mode to "Automatic". It should fix it".

I won't be using W10 for weeks or months so I encourage anyone with fan problems to experiment with a W10 setting called fast startup, & I ask you disable it as a test, if it works or doesn't, report back.   Desperate times call for desperate measures so on a hunch, I'm about to spam the forum with this fan testing nugget which has a very low probability of fixing anything on Auroras: How to Turn On or Off Fast Startup in Windows 10 http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4189-fast-startup-turn-off-windows-10-a.html

As a work-around ... worked and fixed problems with Win-8 and Command Center.

It has something to do with the way that the MIO-Board detects the "power-state" of the machine, and therefore, what it needs to be doing.

Big thanks to Tesla1856 for his tip as turning off Fast Startup resolved my problems with both my R2 and R4 Auroras.

Both PCs take twice as long to boot into O/S now (which is a pain) but far better than hearing the fans at full blast until I log in! Especially important if the PCs restart by themselves whilst I am out as not sure what anybody passing by would think about the noise.

Will wait now for a new version of Command Centre which is truly WIndows10 compatible!

Again thanks

post your problem at http://www.alienwarearena.com/forums/board/162/technical-support-1

i found out that uninstalling the program and fixing the application or reinstalling it fixes the fan issues.

i recommend that you uninstall the application browse to the location of the application...C:\dell\drivers\TD4C0 and re install it using windows 7 compatibility mode and run the program.   this will fix the problem...  until there is a legit patch from dell, looks like the bios and the program are not communicating.   That's my Rig on Youtube  

www.youtube.com/watch