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Does my Alienware Aurora ALX support UEFI?
Alright, so 4 people from Dell tell me this computer should support UEFI, yet I don't have the option for it in my BIOS.
1 person from Dell told me it does not support UEFI.
So I am still unsure of who to believe. Does anyone know if this computer should support UEFI? If it should support UEFI, would flashing the BIOS fix the issue of me not seeing the option for it in my BIOS? 1 Dell employee said it definitely should support UEFI, and that I should purchase a warranty from Dell and they can fix it by flashing the BIOS or something else but that I most definitely do not need to upgrade the motherboard just "My warranty currently doesn't cover this kind of support. After purchasing more warranties, they can help me." The system is covered under warranty until 2016, I don't see how it's not covered under "this kind of warranty" but anyways, I'd just like to get UEFI on it.
It's an Alienware Aurora ALX with an Alienware 04VWF2 A02 Motherboard and Intel Core i7 Extreme 990X Processor.
If this does not support UEFI, what Alienware motherboard can I install that will allow the computer to support UEFI? I have 2 3TB hard drives, one of which I want to install Windows 7 64-bit on and utilize the full drive space. I planned on inserting 4 4TB drives and installing Windows 7 on one of them in the future and getting rid of the 2 3TB drives I currently have.
Any help would be very much appreciated!!
Jonas200
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July 27th, 2014 03:00
UEFI was not a feature on any motherboards featuring the x58 chipset at the time of its launch.
A small number of companies added it as a BIOS update a few years later....so most of the users wouldn't have systems with this.
But have you tried flashing your BIOS to version A11?
iigreatoneii11
3 Posts
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July 27th, 2014 11:00
No, I haven't tried it. One Dell tech support employee suggested that would fix the issue for me, but told me that my warranty doesn't cover them helping me through that process, so I would have to call a number on Monday and purchase a warranty before they will help me. My system is covered until March 2016 under warranty, I'm surprised that when you pay for a warranty, it doesn't cover everything. I was afraid of paying for the warranty because I get different answers from different employee's, (4 said it is UEFI enabled, 1 said it's not). So if I pay them, and the 4 are wrong, I don't get my money back (most likely) and then I'm just out more money before I'm told to buy a motherboard. I looked at how you flash the BIOS, was reluctant because I saw it could screw up your computer if not done correctly.
The system is running A11 BIOS,, but it was just installed by logging into Windows and running the executable for A11 BIOS. Should I try flashing the BIOS? Is i possible that installing it while logged into Windows caused some changes in the update to not appear for me in the BIOS menu?
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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July 27th, 2014 13:00
There is no UEFI on Dell Alienware Aurora R1 with Intel x58 chipset.
However, 3tb is suppose to work ... as long as it's not Drive-1, and you do not boot from it (search these forums). Not sure about 4tb.
I suggest trying a Clean-Windows7 Install with drivers, but without Intel-RST. However, the fix might be a Clean-Windows7 Install WITH Intel-RST.
iigreatoneii11
3 Posts
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July 27th, 2014 14:00
So what if I swap my current motherboard with one from an R3 (46MHW) or a board from an R4 (don't have the number at the time)? Are there any other brands that I could install that would fit this system and have uefi? I've read if you use a third party board, the lights won't work though, is this true? What I want to do is eventually install 4 4TB hard drives in this system, so I'd have to make it bootable if possible at all.
Jonas200
97 Posts
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July 28th, 2014 02:00
R3 and R4 belong to newer generations and you might as well build a new system from scratch. Incompatible CPU socket and chipsets.
you can't just move everything you have put into a new MOBO, you will need to buy a new CPU, PSU designed to support the system. A direct replacement for your CPU is the i7 4960k which costs $1000+ alone
Also R4 is considered end of line, and Alienware is expected to announce the replacement in September when x99 chipset is replacing x79.