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M17 Charging Issues - Again!
I need help trying to figure this out. I have been plagued with the M17x not charging and having to manually discharge the machine daily. I thought this was resolved through BIOS update and using a different AC adaptor, but the issues is back.
I ran the machine for about 2 weeks w/ no problem only charging while up and running. For the first time the other night I shut down and put the machine on charge while off. Now, ac adaptor runs power but will not charge unless I pull battery.
CurrentCC
BIOS - A07
absolutely no software or h/w changes in the past week.
Any Ideas??
DELL-Chris M
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August 15th, 2010 20:00
The Alienware M15x, M17x, and M17xR2 AC adapter may not charge the battery or you may get a power warning at bootup. This issue is noticed if the AC Adapter is plugged into the system before the AC Adapter is powered on (i.e. blue ring must light up before plugging into the PC).
* Turn off the laptop
* Unplug the AC adapter from the laptop
* Remove the battery from the laptop
* Hold the laptop power button in for 30 seconds
* Reinsert the battery and plug in the AC adapter
* Power the laptop on
* Reboot the system and press F2 to enter the BIOS
* Go to the Power section. The A/C Adapter Rating should say 240 Watts
* If it says 193 Watts, unplug the AC Adapter and then reconnect it back to the system. The A/C Adapter Rating should say 240 Watts
* If applicable, turn off the Integrated graphics (This would have got enabled due to low power)
* Press F10 to Save changes and boot the system to Windows
rburchill
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August 18th, 2010 20:00
Chris:
Thanks for the re-post, however I am aware of the steps and that is what I mentioned in my orig post. The problem is that I have to pull the battery daily. I am rather fanatical about ensuring that I power up the adaptor prior to plugging into the machine.
Looks like a trip down tech support lane - again
DELL-Chris M
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August 21st, 2010 09:00
I emailed your notes to engineering. It will be monday before I hear anything.
rburchill
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August 21st, 2010 09:00
***Update***
I am not sure why I am not hearing from anyone else besides Chris with ideas - if it is because nobody has experience with this or just lack of interest. I personally am bummed over the fact that all major h/w is running except this. I so do not want to open a tech support case.
Newest symptom or anomaly - When not charging BIOS is reporting 240 watts. The trigger event appears to be when I charge with the system shut down - not hibernate. The system does flakey things when coming out of hibernate. I have kept the system charging consistently but not turning it off - only by doing reboots occasionally to refresh windows.
Any Ideas Anywhere would be nice. I really do not believe I should have to manually discharge a machine and it comes back to reliability again. I need to know that if I run this thing in a classroom it will charge when I need it to.
rburchill
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August 21st, 2010 10:00
Thank you.
htmurai
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August 22nd, 2010 09:00
Dear Chris,
I am having similar problems w/my M17x-R2 as rburchill.
Charging of the battery is intermittent and I have not been able to ascertain any pattern. I've tried all the fixes posted here and at Notebook Forums. The unit was charging more consistently last month, but in the past two weeks (w/out any changes to the system), it's been unreliable. Lately, the unit will not charge when turned on (!?), only when plugged in, but turned off. Even that is unreliable, as I had to remove the battery yesterday to initiate charging. (I am using the Dell charger and BIOS shows 240v).
This unit out-of-box also was plagued by random freeze-ups. Installing BIOS A06 seems to have helped. However, it is unreliable coming out of standby and hibernate: I get a black screen, cursor works, but no access to any programs w/out a cold reboot. I suspect that the video card driver may need an update.
Here's my service tag #, if you needed to check my configuration: < ADMIN NOTE : Service tag removed per privacy policy >.
I hope that a solution to these issues can be found soon.
Sincerely,
htmurai
rburchill
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August 31st, 2010 18:00
Chris:
Did this request to engineering fall through the cracks? Or perhaps they responded that I am cracked The issue has not gone away and is repeatable. If I charge while the lid is closed and the machine off it will require a battery pull within the day. I have to keep it up all the time and cannot charge at night while it is off.
russell
DELL-Chris M
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September 1st, 2010 06:00
Reload the A07 bios. Retest. If still no go, contact Support and get the battery and AC adapter exchanged.
rburchill
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September 3rd, 2010 17:00
I reloaded A07 and no change. Frankly, I do not believe the batt and charger will make a difference either because I tried all combinations when I had both laptops in my possession prior to shipping the return. I suppose I have no choice if I want to get down to a solution, but this is still frustrating.