Aurora R10, Dell technicians not helping

Question

Okay this is like a last resort. I've used Dell technical help email, DELL-Cares twitter and now this. I've got premium support with a express service code.

So I bought this Aurora R10 Ryzen Rdition (Ryzen 7 5800x, 16GB ram, RTX 3070) 4 months/8 days ago from Dell UK with a 1 year warranty. It was quite expensive but it's expected as it's got that quality assurance you get with Dell or you're meant to get.

About a month ago the computer struggles to boot, and the alienware power button flashes twice. After going through some steps with the technician he sent over someone to replace the motherboard.

The technican couldn't even get the new motherboard up and going and said it was faulty before leaving as he was bamboozled by it asking for a chassis id, as he left I checked the bios and got the PC up and running by choosing the white chassis which is what this model is, luckily he was still outside as he had taken my ssd in the old motherboard as well.

I thought all problems would be fixed, but a week ago the computer started randomly beeping while in windows, for no reason so I called support.

L1 support - told me to reseat ram, download new bios 2.2.2 and run diagnostics. ( problem not fixed still beeping ) sent video evidence

L2 support - emailed L2 again who sent the technician he tells me to reseat ram, download new bios 2.2.2 from his link and run diagnostics and await further instructions from L3 support ( problem not fixed ) sent 3 videos

He also said although the beeping is a little annoying I can carry on using as it is and ignore the problem as the system still works ( my first clue to as to Dell not being bothered )

L3 support - Advice is to take out cmos battery and place it back, take out all cables and discharge the computer from the power button ( still beeping after these steps) he wanted a video while the case is open which I sent

I emailed L2 back to tell him I've done the steps but then he just stopped responding to me, I tried Dellcares and at first I got a response from Jill she will help me until this case is resolved and I am happy, twitter help is awol.

So fast forward to today, the computer is heavily lagging without any load on it in windows ,checking the temps in the alienware app, cpu is at 77-78 degrees doing nothing, so i tried twitter no reponse, tried L2 support email , he still isn't bothered and so i'm posting here, i feel as if the reapplying of thermal paste or something during the motherboard reinstallation wasn't done correctly, and they should send a technician out to investigate , i called dell premium 24/7 help and it said due to technical issues it's unavailable after putting my express service code in, making it seem like my code is black listed because they can't be bothered to fix my computer.

I just want this computer repaired, i'm not asking for a refund , exchange or whatever, just fix this computer so i can use it.

ivorytower 46 · Answer

It sounds like you have a cooling problem. I have the same everything as you do except that I have 32 Gb of ram. Early on I had two BSODs and I was worried.

My system is water cooled and on idle it runs at about 36 to 40 C. I've flashed the BIOS on the RTX 3070 and have the most recent W 10 Pro updates installed. My Nvidia drivers are from Nvidia directly. My system BIOS is 2.2.2. I'm running AWCC on OC1 just as it came from Dell.

Since I've updated the all of the software and firmware, everything has been stable. No more BSODs!

RodsterB · Answer

As the previous poster mentioned, it sounds like you have a thermal paste issue. Your CPU should not be idling at 77c. What version of Windows are you running? Is it Windows 10 or 11?

RodsterB · Answer

I’m sure Dell Support means well but they tend to use a canned approach i.e. update BIOS, replace parts. I used them and had to stop them from having to send out a Tech to replace my Motherboard.

I suspected it was something besides a hardware failure and I was right. It was due to using 3rd party RAM and overclocking it that was causing my problems.

Have you tried reinstalling Windows i.e. Clean Install? I’m still on Windows 10 because I don’t see Windows 11 drivers and chipsets for my system.

hazuki111 · Answer

Thanks for the responses guys, before the motherboard replacement the system use to idle at around 40 degrees and i remember seeing online that this is around the normal range for a non overclocked cpu, also thanks to this forum i got a private message to send the PC in repair. So going forward shall i send it in for repair or shall i try to reapply the thermal paste myself? i had a hunch it was thermal throttling as it was major lagging when just browsing the internet, mouses juddering a cross the screen and fans kicking up, it's on windows 11 ( was a free update with windows updates ). Could the beeping be caused by a overheating cpu which isn't correctly pasted or making contact with the aio - i forgot to mention it is liquid cooled. (apologies to anyone about the frustration level in the opening post, didn't realize how easy it is to get help from here.)

Thanks again

RodsterB · Answer

Sure, if you feel comfortable reapplying the thermal paste by all means, do it. Make sure you properly remove the old paste, alcohol is good and be careful if you are using a conductive thermal paste so as not to over apply. Over the years I have used Arctic Silver Ceramique with good results and it’s non conductive.

Check your idle temps after you apply the thermal paste and 37-44c at idle is good.

hazuki111 · Answer

Hi there,

I've switched back to Windows 10 and applied thermal paste but the system is still beeping, when I opened it first thing I noticed was the 8 pin gpu power wires were squished really badly and secondary the gpu socket bracket clip is broken and missing it wasn't like this before the engineer visit.

hazuki111 · Answer

also big mess of thermal paste on my cpu with paste dripping into socket

hazuki111 · Answer

Thanks for the advice i ended up getting thermal grizzly , cpu is now idling at a solid 36 degrees, least one of the problems is now resolved, i'll have to troubleshoot the beeping some more

RodsterB · Answer

Glad to hear you got the CPU temps down. They look real good, nice job. Is the machine just beeping only in Windows? If so perhaps you may have inadvertently enabled sticky keys. See if the link below helps you out.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/solved-windows-10-makes-beeping-sounds-while-using/1ccf1690-7082-422a-8aa4-7de3709afc8b

PCRead · Answer

I had a BIOS problem with my R10 the other month. It required 3 new motherboards to get fixed. So I have some experience with Dell Support and engineers.

First level support obviously don't have infinite knowledge of all problems. There's a script they have to run through that should fix most problems, but there's a limit to what you can do over the phone.
Depending on the technical abilities of the owner they can do more, but eventually an engineer might be required.
These guys are usually generic computer engineers, not Alienware specialists. The 2 guys that came to fix my machine were from Getronics. Great guys, but unfamiliar with the R10, even though one of them had an Area 51 himself. He wasn't up to date with what was part of the mobo and what had to be swapped out (VRMs) and I had to hover to advise and assist.
The first engineer actually plugged in the AIO pump into the CPU Fan connector on the motherboard. I only caught it after he'd left and the machine unfixed itself the next day (BIOS auto-upgrade). I ran SupportAssist and it flagged a Fan speed error, but I had still managed to play Forza4 for half an hour without problems. Long-term it would probably have been an issue and I didn't get a chance to check temps.
The two connectors are next to each other at the top of the board, so it's an easy mistake.
The second guy (who visited twice) did an excellent job repasting and even left me a couple of tubes of the good stuff.
So after the last fix, it's been sweet. Touch wood. I feel as if I know a lot more about my system after having had to jump through all the hoops Support requires before they send a techie out.

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Aurora R10, Dell technicians not helping

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