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Please help, AlienFX and MIO board problems!
First thing's first, the system. This is an Alienware Aurora, I believe it is an R1. The service tags dates back to a ship date of 2010. It has an Intel i7-975 Extreme Edition.
Okay, so I bought this PC from a guy who said it was broken. This was back in like August 2012. It needed a new CPU pump, so I replaced it and everything was working great. Recently I was having some crashing issues with my video card, but it didn't happen on other PCs, just mine. I kept getting BSOD error 124, which was indicating a hardware issue. Unable to find the hardware conflict, I decided to do a clean install of Windows 7.
After re-installing all my programs and drivers, I noticed that my fans were running alot louder than usual. That's when I realized there was a problem. The fans are running loud, and the lights don't work. The Command Center was unable to give me ANY information. AlienFX doesn't work and Thermal Controller gives shows everything at 0.
After A LOT of research on here, I have figured out that the MIO board is the cause. I went into the Dell Diagnostics from the F12 menu, and it didn't show the Master I/O USB Device in the list. Also, upon entering the diagnostic, I got the following error:
" 5D00:0009 - UUTUSBTM- DEVICE_INITIALIZATION_FAILURE user must reattach unit on ROOT HUB port 1 and re-start test."\
After seeing the error, I shut down the PC, opened it up, and inspected the USB 1 plug. The plug on the motherboard, as well as the MIO board, was properly connected. I removed and re-attached the plugs just for safe measure. Started the diagnostics again, same problem. The orange light on the MIO board is on, so I know it's getting power. Also, the hard drive fan was spinning, so I know part of the board was working. When I loaded up Windows again, I checked the USB ports on the top of my PC, near the power switch. They all worked. So, this lead me to believe that my board was not fried.
I then proceeded to find more solutions on this forum. I have tried resetting the CMOS, and that didn't work. I have reset the jumper pins on the MIO board, that didn't work. I have dissipated the MIO board about a dozen times, nothing. I have uninstalled Command Center, ran CCcleaner, restarted, ran CCcleaner again, and re-installed Command Center about 5 times. I even did ANOTHER fresh install of Windows 7 using the recommended guide that I found on this forum, and I am still having the same problem.
I am completely clueless now. I have tried everything, and I am hoping that there is someone here who can assist me. I would appreciate any and all advice that anyone can throw out there.
Cyco2oo3
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April 24th, 2013 17:00
Also, under device manager, the MIO board is being shown as Unknown Device under USB controllers. Location of the device under properties is "Port_#0001.Hub_#0006"
Tesla1856
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April 24th, 2013 19:00
Tesla1856
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April 24th, 2013 19:00
It has been reported that Clean Windows Installs sometimes (rarely) confuse or lock-up MIO-Board. That's why I added the step to my doc ... to dis-connect it first. I think it might be the hardware detection.
Anyway, at this point ... if Dell Diags/ePSA can't detect (and therefore test) the MIO-Board outside of Windows, there is no chance it will work INSIDE Windows. You will have to repair or replace it. Be sure all the wires are connected properly.
The top panel ports connect directly to the motherboard, so they are excluded (from MIO-Board problems) and still work.
Cyco2oo3
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April 24th, 2013 21:00
Tesla, thank you so much for your responses. I figured it was going to come down to it that this was something that could not be solved without replacing the board. Thankfully, I already purchased a new one. Found the exact model number listed as new on eBay for $25. Hopefully this does that trick. Is it as simple as just removing the old one and re-connecting everything to the new one? Are there any other steps I should take, like uninstalling Command Center and re-installing after the new board is installed?
Once again, thank you for your replies. I've actually read a couple dozen threads today where you replied in, and I was pretty amazed by how much you know. I just thought maybe there was something else that I could've done to resolve it, something I missed.
Tesla1856
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April 24th, 2013 21:00
Tesla1856
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April 24th, 2013 21:00
I would uninstall Command Center.
Reboot, Start Windows, Shut-Down
Unplug machine, dissipate power.
Swap board
Power up and test with Dell Diags/ePSA. See MIO-Board respond.
Power down, unplug the power cord from the back of you PC, then press and hold the power button down for 10 seconds to drain residual power from MIO board to further reset it and to insure a trouble-free CC install. Then, power back up and go into Windows.
Disable your Anti-Virus software.
Install the latest Command Center (for desktops) and reboot. (ie v2.6.17.0 or newer)
Note: The first time this version is installed, it will upgrade the MIO-Board's firmware to v2.x (hopefully, this is already current and will be skipped)
Note: Microsoft Net 4.0 Client Framework is required for install. You can get it from Windows Update.
Test operation.
Never use the Upgrade feature inside Command Center. Always, uninstall old, reboot, install new fresh.
Spudzer150
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August 16th, 2013 04:00
HEllo tesla1856.... I need some help... Ive been researching on here because my alienware Command centre hass stopped working..Alienware Fx doesnt work and the thermomiters read 0 degrees... I dont understand much about Pc's so I was wondering could you give me a simple walkthrough on how to determine if I need a New MIO board or just to reinstall some software... Again please make the instructions simple...
Thank you in advance for any help,
Murphy
Alienware-Alexa1
361 Posts
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August 16th, 2013 12:00
Hi Murphy,
Follow these steps:
- Unplug the power cord from the back of the computer; press and hold the power button for 30 seconds.
- Connect the computer directly to the wall's power outlet.
- Open your local C drive, look for: Programs and Files> Alienware> alienwarealienfxtester. Start the application by double clicking it. It should say if the board is detected or not.
- Checkout this article for further instructions and a video.
- Here's another article that shows you how to re-install the command center.
Let me know how it goes.