Alienware M17x R4 Display Issue

Thought I would share this in case any other users are experiencing this problem.

You are not alone.

Pixelated display on start-up or waking from hibernation. Green lines, very poor display.

I have had this problems for many many months.

I am led to believe now the unit will eventually be replaced under warranty, however I have invested countless hours trying to resolve the issue. I had however been led to believe it was software / driver related, however nothing I, or any of the DELL technicians have done have been able to fix the problem,

3 x on-site visits from technicians replacing parts, heat sinks, fans etc. etc. also did not resolve the issue. Being a machine I rely on so heavily for work unfortunatley I could not demonstrate the problem when the technicians turned up, unless they were prepared to wait a few hours,

For now, I have reverted back to my old HP laptop and my Alienware unit is sitting in the corner waiting for collection with nothing on it apart from Windows 8.1 operating system (plus Firefox Browser).

The Display Fault...

When connected to the power supply, after several hours of being off, (or in hibernation), starting from cold boot or waking up from hibernation the screen display is all pixelated.

Temporary Fix...

This problem can be manually corrected once the unit has started, after running for about 3 minutes, by either putting the unit to sleep and waking up again, or rebooting. On restarting the display is normal until next time.

The unit needs to be off for at least 1 hour whilst connected to the power supply for the issue to occur.

Whilst this issue does not appear to affect the performance of the unit, it is a very annoying issue providing a constant reminder every morning when starting the machine that there is an underlying fault with Dell’s Alienware M17x R4 premium quality hardware.

Operating in Battery Mode...

The issue does not occur in battery mode. i.e. If you start the computer not connected to the power supply then the display problem does not occur.

Reformatted Computer...

C Drive was formatted and Windows 8 reinstalled and again upgraded to Window 8.1. (BTW this takes forever to do!)

ALL possible Dell drivers (including optional drivers and BIOS) were downloaded and updated after reformatting. (Be prepared for large downloads).

The problem still existed after re-formatting the C Drive.

External Monitor...

When connected to an external monitor, the display on the external monitor is perfectly fine, only the display on the notebook itself has the pixelated issue.

Battery Removed...

Have tried testing the unit with the battery completely removed and the fault still occurs.

Also various power setting configurations have be tried.

I am pleased that DELL has escalated this issue and advised that action will be taken to provide a resolution, hopefully a replacement unit. I am now waiting patiently,

It is a shame however that it is such a long drawn out process for the customer who must absolutely prove there is a fault, (i.e. hardware not software problem) causing significant anixety and stress.

This information was shared to assist others in case they have a similar issue. Apart from this display issue the Alienware M17x R4 is a great machine.