Alienware Command Centre BROKEN!

Igingerninjai,

Did you perform a power drain after you uninstalled the command center?

As well you can try to update the BIOS to the latest version, that might help you.

My advice? Do not update your bios to version A10 on your own, not unless you have tech support on the phone walking you through it. That way, if A10 "cripples" your mthrbrd  after its 1st reboot, the people at Alienware might be in a position to replace it. Flashing your bios with a new update is a gamble, so, have tech support on the phone. This is a precaution since we all live in the world called: "a bios upd8 gone wrong" ...

For now, you can try a mish-mosh of these basic remedies ... note how CC might need uninstall/install multiple times before it "works" ...

How to Properly Uninstall & Reinstall Alien Command Center:

Aurora R4 Troubleshooting Articles (see section 14):

http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&docid=473482&dgc=SM&cid=266889&lid=4880516

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Older Help Thread: Some Lightning zones, vents, thermal controls not working

* Restart the PC
* Click Start- All Programs- Alienware Command Center and then Command Center.
* In the Alien Command Center, click the Thermal Controls icon, and then click Active Thermals on the left hand side of Alien Command Center to find normal results like:
- PC Fan 1200 RPM
- Hard Drive Fan 1 and 2 1000 RPM
- PCI Fan 1500 RPM
- Liquid Cooling Pump Fan 1400 RPM

* Verify the Master I/O Board is not Shown as an Unknown Device in the Device Manager
* If a device is listed as an Unknown Device, turn the computer off and remove the power cord
* Press and hold the power button for one minute with the power cord removed
* Plug in the power cord and turn the PC back on, then check the Device Manager
* Uninstall and reinstall Command Center
* 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

* Tesla1856 wrote - This is because the Command Center software and MIO board interact in a unique way inside Windows 7 64bit. If the CC software or it's settings gets corrupt, or the firmware or settings on the MIO Board gets corrupt, they fall out of sync and it looks like a bad board. In reality, the Alien Technology sub-system (hardware/software) just needs to be re-initalized. This can sometimes be caused by something as routine as a CC software upgrade.

* 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. The Automated Bay Cover Door which runs off the Main I/O board is working properly as well. The AlienwareAlienFXTester.exe program revealed the problem quickly

When posting a thread with Alienware AlienFX Command Center issues, include the following -
* Run the AlienwareAlienFXTester.exe program and report any failures it indicates (C:\Program Files\Alienware\Command Center\AlienwareAlienFXTester.exe)
* PC Model
* Bios version
* Command Center Version
* Operating System
* Specific failures of fans, lights, or vents

Desktop MIO (Master I/O) board Diagnostics

MIO Diagnostics from Bios
* If you have the Dell Utility Partition on your HDD, restart the PC
* Press F12 at the BIOS screen
* Cursor down to the Utility Partition [press Enter].
* Run the diagnostics on the MIO board. This will test it and sometimes reset it so that it will work the next time the Command Center is loaded fresh. Post the results

MIO Diagnostics from bootable media
*For Area 51, Aurora R1/R2, if you do not have the Utility Partition on your HDD any longer (if you've ever clean installed Windows), create (burn) a bootable Diagnostics Cd or usb flashdrive

*Visit Dell.com, find the driver/download page for your model, find "diagnostics" on your driver download page, view installation instructions to download & create bootable media:

*boot into your media & run diagnostics as above.

*Note: This diagnostics download is not shown on Aurora R3/R4 download page; it may or may not be compatible with those systems (?).

MIO Diagnostics from within windows
* Do a search for AlienwareAlienFXTester.exe and run it. Post the results

Desktop MIO (Master I/O) board Jumper Reset

* Shut down the PC (Turn power off)
* Open the case cover and find the MIO board
* On the Aurora: The MIO board communicates through the motherboards USB1 header connector. A 26 pin cable connects the MIO board to the Top Lighting Board (CPU cooler, interior lights, and other devices are connected here). The MIO board is powered by the larger 4 pin Molex power cable.
* Using the Green jumper on the MIO board, notice what pins it's connected to now. Return the jumper to those pins when finished
* Install the jumper onto the other 2 pins
* Power the PC on for 30 seconds. If it goes into Windows, do a proper shutdown (Turn power off)
* Remove the MIO board jumper completely
* Power the PC on for 30 seconds. If it goes into Windows, do a proper shutdown (Turn power off)
* Return the MIO board jumper to the original 2 pins
* Power the PC on
* Press F12 at the BIOS screen
* Cursor down to the Utility Partition [press Enter]
* Run the diagnostics on the MIO board. This will test it and sometimes resets it so that it will work the next time the Command Center is loaded fresh
* If all test pass, boot into Windows and load the Command Center Clean

Command Center Clean Installation

* Be sure you have Admin privileges. Disable any Virus Protection software temporarily
* Uninstall the Command Center through the Control Panel- Add/Remove Programs
* Download and install CCleaner (Note - I chose to not install the CCleaner yahoo! Toolbar)
* Run CCleaner
* Click Registry
* Click Scan for Issues
* Click Fix selected Issues
* Click Yes to backup the registry
* Click Fix All Selected issues
* Restart the PC
* Run CCleaner again
* Click Registry
* Click Scan for Issues
* Click Fix selected Issues
* Click Yes to backup the registry
* Click Fix All Selected issues
* Install the latest Command Center from our website. Not from the Resource DVD
* Reboot the PC when finished
* Test the functionality of the Command Center. If still no go, contact support and tell them you need the Master I/O board replaced:

In the end I did a system restore and restored it at the point when it worked and all is good at the moment.