well, now it seems that when i reboot im getting an error that the ac adapter is not recognized.... this is great.

I've been having the same issue as well. The laptop was working perfectly fine the other day and then all of a sudden when I started it up it said on the BIOS screen that it can't recognize the AC Power adapter that's plugged in which I have the one that came with the laptop. I've reset my laptop, the whole shut down and turn back on process, a hard shut off and even tried sleep mode but nothing works. I've seen people say you have to replace your battery but I'm looking for a free option and to know my battery isn't broken on a laptop I've had for a little over a year. I've also unplugged the adapter from both ends and there's nothing else plugged into the socket. Would also like an answer soon.

Hi @mrpizat, @ChristVokill,

Update the BIOS version to the latest.

Also, you can try a power drain: unplug every external device from the system, including the AC Adapter, then open the bottom cover, disconnect the battery cable and hold the power button for around a minute to drain all the power out.

I don't want to scare you, but end up becoming a fail motherboard. 

discharged the battery and updated the bios. issue is still present. 

thoughts?

Time to replace the AC Cable and box. My wife's 15 R2 is having this issue. Luckily I have a back up AC power cable/box from my 15 R3 as the one that came with my unit couldn't supply current to my 15R3 properly. But given the 15 R2 is a 180w unit and this one is a 240w should be more than sufficient.

Check Amazon for yours... Not sure on your 17 R4 specs but if its a 1070 or higher look for a 240w or higher (check your box for its wattage, or check alienware.com parts for a new one and just order one through amazon. Wife's is $56 on amazon, DELL wants $80 for it...)

I've been using notebook computers for decades and never had an issue with a power block failing (especially with something that's supposed to be as high quality as an alienware). This isn't a wear and tear item and it's only just over a year old. I certainly hope the answer isn't to pay more money for the privledge privilege of using something that has a known defect, especially if it's just going to fail again.

Check and see if your brick is manufactured by DELL or by another company. My 15 R3's brick was from another company. Replacement brick they sent me, IS manufactured by Dell themselves. Looking around the internet, says its the brick that's failing.

Mine is showing Dell on the brick. made in china.

Oh, I found a solution. Bought a cheap 30 dollar power supply from amazon and vowed to never purchase from Dell/Alienware again. Fortunately, I'm the one everyone I know goes to for electronics purchasing advise, so I'll be able to help many others from making the same mistake I did.

This is not reassuring. I am having the same exact issues. Has this been resolved for you?? I'm kind of freaking out. Like you said, these are supposed to be top of the line gaming laptops, this is complete that this is happening.

same issue here may i know how to fix this 

Hi @neroZzero

What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?

nothing work i also try downgrade bois and downgrade nvidia driver and still charger getting so hot while playing games 17R4 1070 gtx i also upgrade my laptop add 2tb hdd ,1tb ssd ,128 ssd 330w charger can fix my problem or not ? and how i can sure my charger is original or not 

I think we all AW owners should use maps to find the nearest trash can and throw our laptops in. I paid a CAD$2760 for a literally   named m15 and am out of 30 day return policy and have gone thorough 2 as they say "NEW" exchange units all with different issues. Right now, I'm sure that all of you are seeing this page as white but this shows me a yellowish page. With my first m15 I had the error that said that my supplied charger (180w) was not enough and that I need a 280w charger!! Can anyone tell me if they know a company that ships faulty products to customers to just rip them off like what DELL does?