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August 9th, 2015 18:00
Aurora R4 To Aurora R4 ALX Conversion
I've been having shutdown and other issue with my R4 for 6 months . The other day after an incomplete shut down, the PC wouldn't restart no matter what I tried. The power would come on and a fan or 2, but the it would never post and boot up. I figured it's a failed motherboard. I found a vendor with new R4 ALX bare unit. Case. power supply, motherboard, MIO board, and all internal wiring. I should receive it next week. Any idea what I'm up against here? Will be tranferring CPU and cooling unit, memory, drives, and all cards.
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Alienware - Rodrigo
9 Technologist
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August 10th, 2015 13:00
Hi,
It could be a motherboard failure, we recommend replacing the motherboard first. If the issue continues, proceed with the power supply. From there on, it’s a matter of you replacing different components to see how the system responds. Click here to view a video on how to disassemble the Alienware Aurora R4 system, you may find it useful.
Cass-Ole
8 Professor
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August 11th, 2015 23:00
yeah man. seamless. no worries. just put it back together like you have yours now. only difference is the top vents which you won't fool with ...
StevenC56
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171 Posts
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August 11th, 2015 23:00
Thanks for the reply. I already have a new ALX case that includes a new motherboard and power supply, so I think that should cover the issue. What I was really needing to know is what issues I might encounter since my original chassis is the standard R4, and my new chassis is the ALX. Will the swap be pretty easy? I'll be transferring my CPU, memory, video card, audio card, optical and hard drives. Also, the CPU cooling system. Is this a fairly seamless swap since they are both R4's?
StevenC56
2 Intern
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171 Posts
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August 12th, 2015 00:00
Anybody know what the correct part number is for the CPU cooling system? I found 2 or 3 different ones that say they are the correct one for an Aurora R4.
Cass-Ole
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August 12th, 2015 00:00
01YGW is the R4 Premium kooler with larger 38mm-wide radiator & superior copper-base:
imo all other 25mm standard R4 koolers are suspect, given their propensity to prematurely 'fail' & overheat the cpu, compounding the failure:
No one knows exactly how to tell when or if an R4 cooler will junk-up, the standard R4 koolers came with soft-rubber gen2 hoses, so at least you know what they look like. A gen1 kooler like HRGD5 will have rigid-plastic hoses, will be older (r1 r2 r3 era) and probably won't junk-up for it; due to age, buy a new gen/type1 kooler when possible / avoid gen/type2 when possible, as reasonable advice.
01YGW is your safest bet & the copper-base is an upgrade over a standard aluminum-base, while the radiator is wider & holds more liqwid making for an improved cooling solution:
If you're not buying 01YGW then message your vendor 1st to make sure whatever part# you're considering has a 7pin connector-end on it, & not an Area-51 5pin end ... some vendors do not distinguish between Aurora/A51 koolers when they lump multiple part#'s in the listing ...
Aurora 7P4JG & 5560W have gen2 rubber-hose --> they're suspect, might junk-up, who knows
StevenC56
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August 13th, 2015 23:00
Thanks for the info. I ordered a used 01YGW from a seller on eBay. Used-Hope it's in decent shape. There's a couple places online showing new ones, but I'm not sure if they really have stock.
StevenC56
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August 19th, 2015 09:00
Does any place carry a new 01YGW? I received the used one I ordered on eBay, but I'm not entirely happy with the condition of it.
Cass-Ole
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August 19th, 2015 19:00
you can call/chat with Dell Sales & try to haggle the price of a new one, or run the part# through Bing/Google, see if you get hits.
as for eBay, you can contact the vendor for an adjustment on what you paid for the used one if it's cosmetically not to your liking, or try anyway, perhaps ask for an exchange unit &/or 1/2 off of another one (so you have a spare). To repair damaged fins, prise the fins up with a mini-screwdriver or similar object; to then straighten fins I've used a basic plastic zip-tie --> push it up through the good side 1st then out the bad side to create as even-spacing as you can; for missing black paint, try a black majik marker; to cover damage, a 120x120mm fan dustfilter can hide bad spots ... sorry you weren't on the receiving end of a nice one )=
Cass-Ole
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August 20th, 2015 23:00
for starters, you have your old case, you should verify all of the mio wiring relative to the new one, make sure it's spot on.
I wouldn't know what is or was wrong with either of your machines; however, now is a good time to remove the onboard 3volt coin-cell battery, test it w/a voltmeter, make sure it's between 2.5volts & 3volts; if not replace with a new batt of same specs/type/# ... if it's between 2.5 - 3v it's probably good and the problem is elsewhere ... exactly where, I wouldn't know. you do have your old power supply to try out as a possible cure, possible anyway.
StevenC56
2 Intern
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171 Posts
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August 20th, 2015 23:00
I have a bigger problem. I assembled the new ALX and it won't start just like my regular R4. This is a new ALX case with new motherboard, MIO board, and power supply. When the power button is pushed, the power light comes on and a couple fans. No video ever displays and no beeps. My cordless keyboard says no connection. I could shut down my R4 when this occured by holding the power button down, but the ALX won't even shut down. The lights and fan go off for a split second and then everything comes back on no matter how long I hold the power button. I had to unplug the power. I'm at a loss. Can abad video card do this? Memory? Those items plus my hard drives, optical drives, and CPU are what was transferred. How do I diagnose this since nothing comes up on my monitor? The monitor displays a no signal error.
Cass-Ole
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August 21st, 2015 00:00
you did remember to plug in the cpu 8pin cable at the top left of the mthrbrd, didn't you? You can unhook your psu harness, plug it back in to make sure the connexion was good and tight, as well as unhook/reconnect all connexions again.
you can search the forum for Aurora beep / no beep or post / no post or won't boot & possibly run into good info, or wait for someone else to jump in here. The best I can advise is to go back over your work & make sure it all checks out. If it isn't a wire or the wiring or a temporary correctable loose connexion, there are a half dozen other possibilities, my hands are tied here over the problem. If you do get it running, here are your beep codes for future use.
cpu failure is 7beeps, your cpu might still be good, it should be but who knows. From Tesla:
Systems turns on and beeps repeatedly
6 Beeps Warning: If you have dual video cards you must connect your screen to the bottom video card otherwise the system may give you 6 beeps.
Cass-Ole
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August 21st, 2015 00:00
do u know how to short the motherboard 'power on' pins using a screw driver? sometimes the top power button assembly can be faulty:
on your mthtrbrd front panel connector (very bottom far right) there is micro-text at the header; find the poles which say power on */- & touch them for a split second until the pc comes on then take the screw driver away, see what happens. don't do it if you aren't sure what you're doing or haven't done it before. it might be called pwr sw */-
jump-starting the mthrbrd on is done when troubleshooting the top power switch, by shorting the 'pwr on / pwr sw */- poles' with a flat-blade tool; quickly touch the poles together then back it off after your mthrbrd turns on ... to shut your power supply off after testing, pull the plug on it ...
Cass-Ole
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August 21st, 2015 00:00
that's your way of saying your up and running / back in b'ness, I take it ... if so, does that possibly mean your old mthrbrd is now your known-good working spare ... if so, you need one, R4 mthrbrd's have been dropping like flies lately. In parting, it is true that seating memory just right can be a delicate thing; cards that act bunk, pull 'em out pop 'em in and they work. keep us posted. it's past my bed time
Cass-Ole
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August 21st, 2015 00:00
time to sell the non-ALX chassis ... ship it out in the new box (=
check your bios, make sure your sata controller is set to ahci mode & ssd set as #1 boot device, that might help boot the ssd. edit: others had luck in the bios switching to 'legacy boot' ...
StevenC56
2 Intern
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171 Posts
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August 21st, 2015 00:00
I'm not out of the woods yet. It won't boot on my SSD which was the primary hard drive on my R4. Endless loop of loading the bios and not recognizing the SSD as a boot disc. At least I'm getting somewhere.Starts and I get a post beep. Seems like I wasted my $ on this ALX case however if I can't get this thing going. At least all the LED's are nice. LOL! Bedtime for me too.