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Aurora R4, 2011 (ordered 2014) freezing
I have an Aurora R4 desktop. It has been pretty stable. I upgraded the video card to Rx 480 and Samsung 900 SSD (sp?). But in the last few months, I have noticed for few instabilities:
- Office 365/2016 apps are slow to load.
- Computer will freeze randomly.
Anyone else still have an Aurora R4?
I use Chrome and keep everything up to do, Norton, Chrome, AMD, bios and hard drive bios, Windows Updates, Office, etc. The problem may coincide with Spectre/Meltdown issues. Other than windows, I don't think Dell provided an updated for this old machine.
Truthfully, is there anyway to configure the OS to not mitigate Spectre/Meltdown so I can isolate whether the problem is related to the mitigation or just a computer problem.
I have noticed a similar problem with my Dell XPS 27 (Nov 2017) which seems to suggest Spectre/Meltdown. I only use Chrome on the XPS 27, no office.
Thanks for any feedback.
Tesla1856
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March 11th, 2018 11:00
Yes, many people still use Aurora-R4 Desktop.
Troubleshooting Tips are here.
https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-General/Alienware-Desktop-General-Hardware-Troubleshooting/m-p/5555517#M57436
- What version of Windows?
- Does it pass ePSA Diagnostics?
- Is something Over-Heating?
- What is HDD/SSD SMART?
- Do you use good UPS like APC?
- What is "red flag" error in Windows Reliability Report?
I doubt it's a Spectre problem unless your machine is not behind a properly configured router (with SPI Firewall) or you are careless. If you are saying you bought it used (2011/2014), did you not Nuke-and-Pave (wipe it) before use?
XPS-27 issues should be in it's own thread.
Moderator: This post should be moved to Alienware Desktop area.
PeterP478mKexG
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March 11th, 2018 11:00
- What version of Windows?
Windows 10 (Fall creators update with all windows updates)
- Does it pass ePSA Diagnostics?
I have run that before and it didn't report anything. I will run it again. I did run Intel's Processor Diagnostic utility and it didn't report any issues.
- Is something Over-Heating?
No indication that is. The freeze usually happens shortly after startup, while Office and Chrome are starting up.
- What is HDD/SSD SMART?
Samsung SSD 950 Pro
- Do you use good UPS like APC?
I like to thinks so, it is a belkin.
- What is "red flag" error in Windows Reliability Report?
Just indication from yesterday that the "The previous system shutdown ... was unexpected". But nothing about what happened before.
Sorry, Dell calls it a -- Alienware Aurora R4 (Late 2011)-- which I purchased new in 7/14.
Thanks!
PeterP478mKexG
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March 11th, 2018 12:00
Never heard of Windows Error-Check, will try that.
I have used CPUID HW Monitor, I will check that again.
Samsung Magician says Drive Condition: Good, Firmware: Latest. No indication from the "SMART" button that there are any issues.
Freeze = mouse, keyboard everything, any running software showing a processing indicator is frozen also. In some cases, waited about 5 to 10 minutes with no change.
The freezes happen very randomly over the last few months. No more than 5 times total (computer is used daily)
AMD RX 480 installed in 6/17 or 6/16 (whenever it came out) Been applying AMD driver updates within a few weeks of release since obtaining it.
Office 365/2016 hang at processing has been like that for about 5 or 6 months. I have tried reinstalling Office 365.
PeterP478mKexG
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March 11th, 2018 12:00
Update
ePSA (thorough also) and web based dell support assistant testing performed without any issues (all tests passed)
Tesla1856
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March 11th, 2018 12:00
Good.
So, did the computer ever work properly after these upgrades? If so, for how long?
I particularly wonder about the AMD video card.
If it's been previously stable, did you update drivers or something recently ... right before it went bad?
Tesla1856
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March 11th, 2018 12:00
Good post.
Anything not quoted above is acknowledged.
1. Yeah, run it now.
2. As that linked page says ... use CPUID HW-Monitor
3. Read it's SMART parameters to determine it's health. Obviously, first you run a Windows Error-Check.
4. Explain these "Freezes". Can you still get to Task-Manager ?
PeterP478mKexG
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March 11th, 2018 13:00
Windows Error-Check = chkdsk, right? Yeah done that, and I know what that is. :) Also have done SFC, and the like.
Or is it something else?
Tesla1856
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March 11th, 2018 14:00
Not sure you actually answered my questions.
Sounds like you have been having problems since the upgrade (install of AMD RX-480).
Complete hard-lock (no BSOD, Event entry, and/or access to Task-Manager) usually points to a hardware-problem.
However, I have recently seen a bad set of released video-drivers cause it as well. While previously unheard of, this might be common now-days.
OCCT is a good stress-test. See if it can run the Power-Supply Test (while running a full drive virus-scan).
Tesla1856
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March 11th, 2018 14:00
Yes
edmoncu
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May 16th, 2019 08:00
Dell has not updated R4 firmware. I just did them a favor and patched their lastest A11 BIOS.
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/624040-alienware-aurora-r4-z97-samsung-950-pro-w-lycom-dt-120-m2-to-pcie/?tab=comments#comment-12565307
Features include
Please refer to attached in my last 2 posts in that thread
t0x1ct0m
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August 26th, 2019 09:00
hiya i have an r4 also from 2013 new i7 4820k 16 gb ram and a 780gtx now upgraded to rtx 2070 , with no problems ..my question is ive bought 3 dells and ive had no discont vouchers for being a loyale customer .for a start ... but why do all dell alienware pc's desktops idle at 3 to 4 gb on idle and when you start digging you get dirty theres a load of throthing diliberatey sry if my spells suc all to do with alienware software itself , my research has led me to belive that alienware are specificlly set there timeing to medium so they can tweek it as they feel . knocking off alienware aps and changing to overclocking apperantly puts the pcs into the perfect runing state linustec tells the tale much bettr . so i ask why stay with alienware when i see builds with the optional settings and no third party periferals convinence.... good look with your R4... i wish more ppl would post on here ,reddit ok is cool but these need to be bugged !!