Correct clean installation / battery drain & regularly shutdown

Question

Good Morning guys,

Since I bought my Alienware 17 R5, ik kept having problems with it. First of all, my battery is draining when the laptop is shutdown and secondly, when I start the system up on battery power, the laptop shuts down when starting windows, even if the battery is at full capacity.

I tried several solutions proposed on this community, but it didn't got me to a solution so far.

Now I would like to perform a clean OS installation with OS recovery, but would like to know what the best way is to perform all the updates in orde to tackle the above problems.

Do I perform a clean installation and start immediately with all the windows updates, and afterwards the dell/Alienware updates? Or should I install all the Alienware updates, before getting the windows updates?

What about the AWCC, as the problem with the startup on battery and immediate shutdown is linked with a fault with AWCC? Should I keep it, or should I delete it immediately after the clean installation?

Any other suggestions or solutions so I can use my laptop as it should be (without startup problems on battery and without battery draining while it's shutdown...)?

All the tips and tricks are much appreciated!

Thank you all!

crimsom · Answer

Hi @RobinP87 welcome to this free user to user Alienware laptop discussion forum.

Please run Check Disk to automatically find and fix any corrupt Windows 10 x64 operating system files. How to Use the Chkdsk Command in Windows (lifewire.com).

If not using Windows 10 x64 version 21H2, run Windows 10 Update Assistant - Dell Community.

Battery chemistry is always active and reducing full charge capacity, even when laptop is not being used. Please create Windows 10 Battery Report: What It Is and How to Use It (lifewire.com).

Using SupportAssist OS recovery might work successfully. Downloading Microsoft ISO file to external stick or DVD storage and installing Windows 10 x64 version 21H2 is recommended.

To install Dell files, get free MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility or similar utility. Then download file, verify the checksum value to check integrity of download file, and install Dell update.

Use the modern GPT drive partition format, enable BIOS boot list option UEFI to get enhanced reliability, file security, etc. and fast power-on. How to convert MBR to GPT drive to switch BIOS to UEFI on Windows 10 | Windows Central

If current or old version of AWCC plus OC Controls works you may decide to keep it.

RobinP87 · Answer

Good morning,

Thank you for this great overview!

I did as you mentioned above, and installed the most recent Windows 10 (21H2) and performed all the checks .

This morning, when i started up the laptop, the battery drain problem stood up again:

Even though it's a clean installation, how could this clarified?

crimsom · Answer

Hi @RobinP87 thank you for sharing update.

Please check Sleep and Hibernation settings that will drain battery when laptop appears to have Shut Down. You may decide to disable these options.

The Alienware 17 R5 is old, what did windows Battery Report say about charge retention and getting near to end of life?

Are you playing graphic intensive games? The Alienware 17 R5 has Hybrid Power Design. Under a heavy loading environment, the system may be stressed to pull more power than the designed system power profiles allow for. In order to accommodate the additional power needs under heavy loading, the battery will be triggered to provide additional amounts of power to the system.

Alienware 15 R3/15 R4/17 R4/17 R5/M15/M17 performance issue or battery drain while AC adapter is connected | Dell US