18 R1, not turning on

Hi @crimsom 

Amazon has already approved the refund request

I am sending the battery back across to the vendor

I have asked the vendor to provide an explanation for this

Will post an update if I get some additional information on this issue

Hi @crimsom 

Thanks for that information. Really helpful for me

What do you suggest I should do if this label is missing?

I paid like $110 for the battery on Amazon and yes the battery is in short supply

Could this battery harm my laptop if I use it?

Then I will just return it, I have time till June 5th to return it

I have not checked to see whether the battery works yet, I will get my laptop back hopefully by Wednesday then I can check it

Could it be a refurbished battery? because I paid for a new battery

Hi @GARYY2K2000  thank you for sharing update. 

Hopefully, Amazon gave you pre-paid label so that you do not have to pay for return of battery. That Amazon approved return so quickly, suggests that this vendor has a history. 

You are right to have requested refund. 

Hi @crimsom 

I am posting an update a week after getting back my laptop from the Dell Service center

My laptop works fine now just like the day I first purchased it. Overheating problem solved as well as the no power issue 

I have been using it for 12 hours a day for past 7 days so I presume everything is alright now and hence this post

The technician or service engineer has done the following changes to my laptop

Highlighting it below in interest of the readers and the community

1. My previous BIOS had 'legacy' boot, now it is 'UEFI' boot

2. SATA operation has been changed from RAID to AHCI

3. I no longer get the Alienware head on boot but just 'ALIENWARE' logo at boot (not a big deal, I mean it boots to desktop in a flash)

4. Hard disk (on which my OS is located) partition has been changed from MBR to GPT (Don't know much about this but just noticed it yesterday)

Overall I am finding my laptop working faster now than before don't know if these changes had something to do with it.

I am still unable to locate a battery for my laptop

I am operating my laptop directly on AC power, planning to get a UPS backup if I am unable to get a battery

Thanks @crimsom for your help and support

Hi @GARYY2K2000  thank you for sharing update. Appreciate you investing your time to provide this Dell Community forum with your upgrade improvements.

The modern GPT partition format is a vast improvement on the old MBR partition format. Switching the BIOS to UEFI is required to use the GPT's improved start times, performance, data security, reliability, etc. I am guessing that your SATA mechanical HDD OS(C:) boot drive has been changed to a SATA SSD. 

Your Dell Service Center Technician(s) has provided an excellent response, and I am amazed at their level of expertise and commitment to keep this Alienware 18 serviceable. 

Everyone is having problems getting a replacement OEM internal main battery in the current climate. There is the Dell Notebook Power Bank Plus (Barrel) option [example]. An external rechargeable portable battery that plugs into the laptop's dc socket, to restore laptop function. Your local Dell Service Center should be willing to tell you which one (and its adapter) is suitable for your Alienware 18. 

Hi @crimsom

Thanks for your reply and help

Yes, my SATA mechanical HDD has been changed to SATA SSD. I am not using a mSATA SSD anymore. Just 2 SSD's of 2TB each of Samsung 870 EVO series for a total of 4TB . So one SSD which holds the windows operating system has GPT partition while the other SSD is MBR. 

My previous setup was a 500GB mSATA SSD on which the operating system was located and 2 mechanical HDD's for storage but this new setup is way better. 

I was not aware that Dell had a Notebook Power Bank Plus (Barrel) option. I will get in touch with the service center about this. Thanks for sharing the link

Hi @GARYY2K2000  thank you for sharing more detail about upgrading Alienware 18 to keep it serviceable. 

I do not understand why the second 2TB SATA SSD data drive's partition format is MBR, and not GPT. I will have to research this configuration, having stimulated my continued interest. 

Which Windows operating system is now installed on the OS(C:) boot drive, and can the Alienware 18 still get Dell Product Support's Drivers and Downloads from somewhere? (There are new versions of Windows 10 x64 being released twice a year.) 

I am guessing that the Dell SupportAssist application has been installed, so that the Alienware 18 has ePSA and maybe the other Dell BIOS and Windows recovery options installed on the OS(C:) drive's hidden partitions. 

Will there be a standby copy (clone) of the new OS(C:) boot drive as part of your disaster Recovery Plan, so it can be swapped-in within minutes should the new OS(C:) drive become unrecoverable? 

Hi @crimsom ,

I have shared with you the screenshots

In DISKPART you will notice that one SSD is partitioned in GPT while the other is MBR

Not sure why this is so but both the SSD's work fine

On OS (C:) drive I have Windows 10 Home Version S0H2 Build # 19042.1052

Yes, Dell Support Assist works fine. All drivers up to date

I don't know about disaster recovery plan, I usually take external backups once in 20 days

Hope this helps 

Hi @GARYY2K2000  thank you for sharing update and images. Yes, this helps clarify that the Alienware 18 is in good shape. Thank you.