I/O Board R4 issues and possible other issues stemming

Question

Hi, I recently ran into a problem with my Alienware Aurora R4 where the lights stopped working and the Alien head was going from "Orange to Red" in a slow pulsing manner. I talked to an agent and we did a clean uninstall and install with the power dissipation fix and it initially works, however, the awcc becomes unresponsive in the fact that it will not change colors when I select new ones and the fans read 0 except for the last one which is always at 65. At start up it will only mess with the gills and it will keep the last known color scheme, but it doesn't give that rev up on the fans.

I pulled off the panel masking the I/O board and one light was blinking blue "LED 4 Charge" and the Power button is "Orange" I ordered a new I/O Board for installation to see if the Board is in some way dead. I won't get it till Saturday so I won't know till then, I was hoping to see if I could get some help as far as have I covered every base so far.

The other issue am having that is really causing me fits is I'm getting a message in my Taskbar about "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media", the device in question is the Media Card Reader. It's coming up in my Devices as a Mass Storage Device. Now the Media Card Reader is plugged into the I/O Board, so I'm not sure if this is linked to a bad board or if I'm missing something.

Before, I had to clean install, I never received this message but now it won't go away even though there isn't anything in my media card reader and it won't even allow me to hide it in the Customize options for the Taskbar. I tried downloading the Drivers for the Media Card Reader aswell.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, especially on the latter.

Bmfstunner · Accepted Answer

I ran the Diagnostics and it seems that the AWCC is working for now. I'll still have the board coming in case, but that still leaves me with the problem, How do I fix this media card reader issue with the message "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" in my Taskbar?

I've tried uninstalling the driver and reinstalling and it's still recognized as a mass storage device, even though that was never the case prior replacement mobo. So I'm not sure if it's a BIOS setting on the media card reader, if the master I/O Board still does have other issues that aren't showing, or something else that I'm not seeing.

Just a brief description of the issue again for all people that might be able to help:

- AWCC wasn't responding, would pulse "Yellow to Red."

- Tech uninstall, reinstalled AWCC, started to work but would eventually go back out.

- I fresh installed windows (for other reasons).

- Safely remove Hardware and Eject Media comes up, I removed devices till I determined it was Mass Storage Device which is my Card Reader. I don't have anything plugged into the Card Reader and like I said the only one I figured out was my removing devices till I figured out which one was causing the issue, otherwise the message does not indicate what needs to be removed.

I don't think it's the master I/O Board, but I've basically reached the point where I've done all that I know as far as my tech knowledge, so I need people that are more experienced then me to help solve this problem.

Tesla1856 · Accepted Answer

Good to hear MIO-Board is working.

For Card-Reader, see these recent threads:

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/p/19538036/20492347.aspx#20492347

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19532810.aspx

Double check the plugs, but IIRC the cable for the Card Reader to FlexBay port looks like a internal USB-2 port. You might try disconnecting it from there and connecting it to an extra USB Header on Motherboard. I would only try it if it looks like the standard USB keyed 9-pin.

Also, I'm not sure that the FlexBay connector wiring pattern is not Dell proprietary, so be careful and proceed at your own risk. You could also test the Card Reader on an old non-vital computer.

Tesla1856 · Answer

Disconnect Card Reader from FlexBay socket on MIO-Board. That whole thing goes away and ignore it for now.

See this link.

In Dell Alienware Hardware Diagnostics, (outside of Windows) see if MIO-Board is detected, can be tested, and you can exercise the fans and lights.

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19454040.aspx

Bmfstunner · Answer

Alright I'll try that Telsa, I also installed a new Mobo because the old one was not recognizing my ethernet port, so I'm not sure if that's playing a part aswell.

Bmfstunner · Answer

exact

Tesla1856 · Answer

I also installed a new Mobo because the old one was not recognizing my ethernet port,   An new, exact replacement Dell one, or an after-market motherboard?

Tesla1856 · Answer

exact   Good. Carry on then.

Bmfstunner · Answer

Well I just switched usb 1 with usb 2 and it's gone, so maybe when I installed the mobo, I misplaced the usb cords to the wrong pin. Can't believe that was the issue.

Telsa, you should open your own third party support for dell because you are infinitely more helpful than most techs I've talked too.

On a side note, extra credit question for you :)

What would be the process to get the correct service tag on the BIOS since I installed a new mobo out of warranty since my Aurora is expired. All solutions are going to have to go through Dell support I assume.

Tesla1856 · Answer

1. Well I just switched usb 1 with usb 2 and it's gone, so maybe when I installed the mobo, I misplaced the usb cords to the wrong pin. Can't believe that was the issue.

2. Telsa, you should open your own third party support for dell because you are infinitely more helpful than most techs I've talked too.

On a side note, extra credit question for you :)

3. What would be the process to get the correct service tag on the BIOS since I installed a new mobo out of warranty since my Aurora is expired. All solutions are going to have to go through Dell support I assume.

1. Good work. Hey, as long as it works. No Aurora-R4 here to examine, but I wonder if some of those headers are really USB-v3.0 (which are probably not recommend for this use).

2. Thanks for the vote of confidence. It's not hard if you know the machines (they are kinda tricked out). Not many people have your skills ... to digest the new info and act on it at a hardware level in the field. It's rewarding to help you guys and girls. Reminds me of when I used to do this for a living.

3. Look closely in the BIOS. If not there, it might take a proprietary Dell software tool. Since you are outta warranty, I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

Bmfstunner · Answer

Yea, I just switched the cords on usb 1 and 2, usb 3 is still unused.

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I/O Board R4 issues and possible other issues stemming

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