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26438
April 12th, 2012 23:00
Alienware Area-51 ALX issue. (Won't boot.)
I've ran across a weird issue, and would like some advice before I start tearing down my system and troubleshooting, I appreciate any helpfull help I can get.
I've start by running through my speccs:
CPU: Intel i7 990X
PSU: Standard Alienware 1200 Watt supply.
GPU: Nvidia 580 (2x, SLi'd) (There's no branding, so I can't tell what brand. I'm assuming Dell provides their own version? Have the same speccs as the ordinary 580)
RAM: Kingston HyperX (3x 2GB, 1600)
Drives: Irrelevant, but I have 2x HSSD's at 500GB each, running in RAID0, and a Corsair Force 1 SSD where I store my Windows on.
Discdrive: Irrelevant.
Motherboard: Alienware 1366 Socket.
My problem is that I can't boot my computer (As stated in the title).
When I press the power button the only thing that I notice is a clicking sound in the PSU. Neither fans nor the motherboard boots up.
When I plug in the power cord, the ventilation flaps does its normal routine of opening and closing, the lights in the chassi flickers and strengthens (Which I assume is the PSU taking over the supply from the batteries) and the MIO boards orange lamp lights up. The problem first occured when I shut of my computer and I went to sleep, when I woke up this problem arose, and still persists. The Windows close-down were normal, no abnormalities. At first the orange lamp on the MIO board died out when I pressed the power-on button, but now it doesn't. I also changed the batteries for the lighting to new ones.
My hopes are that it's not a problem with the CPU, as it's the jewel of my computer, but the Motherboard would atleast power on if it'd be faulty.
It's either something with the MIO board (Which is where I need help, as I have no experience whatsoever with Alienwares, and I've never had a seperate MIO board;
Or it's the PSU, which I find doubtfull, as the motors in the chassi are still working flawlessly (Both the flaps and the front drive cover).
Or something with the motherboard.
Is there any I/O pins on your motherboard, or are the only ones present positioned on the MIO board? If it's a MIO board issue I'd rather bypass it and just plug the Startup Button directly to the motherboard so that I can atleast boot the computer, and just plug the fans directly onto the board aswell.
//Niklas Andersson!


Drakerip
11 Posts
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April 12th, 2012 23:00
Update: The Motherboards orange light was positioned under my Graphic Cards, so couldn't see it. It's lit up. And now the same thing from before happens; all power dies when I press the power button, the lights on both the MIO and Motherboard goes out, and the Chassi lighting switches to battery mode.
Drakerip
11 Posts
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April 12th, 2012 23:00
I'd also like to know where the power-button for the PSU is positioned? Can't find it on any visible part of the PSU nor the Chassi.
Drakerip
11 Posts
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April 13th, 2012 00:00
Update 2: I tried booting directly from the Motherboard boot buttons. Everything died out again, with the click from the PSU, when I booted from the Motherboard itself.
So it's either my PSU or Motherboard? Any ideas?
Tesla1856
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April 13th, 2012 00:00
One way to check the power supply is with a PC Power Supply Tester (with Digital Display).
There is also a test button on the back. IIRC, if it lights the LED, it thinks itself good.
You can remove the MIO-Board cable from motherboard USB-1 header, and it becomes a non issue. CPU Pump and radiator fan should continue to run.
This is an Aurora-R3 thread, but most of this applies to you:
en.community.dell.com/.../20085272.aspx
... or, just troubleshoot like any other dead computer. I'm guessing you are out of warranty?
Drakerip
11 Posts
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April 13th, 2012 00:00
Still have my warranty, but I'd rather not want to wait a month to get my computer back. And as far as I've seen, there's no LED light on the back of my power supply. It's the last version of the Area-51 ALX, not the one that somewhat resembles Aurora.
Tesla1856
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April 13th, 2012 01:00
Call Dell. That's what you paid for (warranty). If in USA (or most other places) they will come to you.
If you mean x51 ... not like an Aurora at all ... maybe a black xBox360