Aurora R4, bluescreen/restarts/lockups, replacement PSU?

Question

Last spring my Aurora R4 started having intermittent crashes (blue screen or lockup or even sudden restart). I thought the hard drive was failing, or possibly that my OS had been corrupted. I got an SSD and installed Windows fresh on it. The problem seemed to resolve. Then last month I started having the problem again. It's most common when I first turn the machine on, or when I'm playing a graphics-intensive game, but it can happen anytime, even when I'm not using the computer. Of course I immediately suspected the video card (a GeForce GTX 680) but replacing it with another (lesser) video card didn't resolve the issue (though it did appear to work at first). Now I suspect the power supply, although its voltage appears normal when tested. I purchased a replacement from Best Buy but discovered the fan on it was on the top of the unit rather than the front the way the OEM 875W PSU is. Is there another possibility for these crashes besides the PSU going? And if replacing the PSU is reasonable, are there any aftermarket PSUs with the fan in the same place as the OEM? Or will the PSU I bought work with the fan aimed down at the bottom of the chassis (where there's more clearance than above the PSU)?

Tesla1856 · Answer

@LtPowers99 wrote:

Aurora R4 started having intermittent crashes (blue screen or lockup or even sudden restart).

1. I got an SSD and installed Windows fresh on it. The problem seemed to resolve.

2. Then last month I started having the problem again.

but replacing it with another (lesser) video card didn't resolve the issue (though it did appear to work at first).

That's some good troubleshooting (solid repairs and methodical ).

1. Perfect. Much faster right?

2. The time-span was so long. I would say this is a new problem. Exactly, drop in a different (known-good, even lesser) video-card.

Hmm.

- What critical (red) errors appear in Windows Reliability Report ?

- Are you connected to good UPS-Battery with AVR (like APC 1350 AVR-LCD).

- Does it pass ePSA or Dell Diagnostics (outside of Windows).

Read this closely.

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-General-Read-Only/Alienware-Desktop-General-Hardware-Troubleshooting/m-p/5555517#M57436

Tesla1856 · Answer

@LtPowers99 wrote:

Aurora R4

1. Now I suspect the power supply,

2. Is there another possibility for these crashes besides the PSU going?

1. There are many threads about installing after-market power-supplies in Aurora R1-R4 . Look in old section if you need to.

2. Yes. Any hardware (including motherboard and any cables) are suspect.

You are doing fine so far. Work toward a super-simplified hardware-config that proves the motherboard is still good. Without that, it's not really work fixing anyway. It's a good machine (and I agree you should try to keep it running), but it's not a halo-machine (at least not any more).

There are:

- new retail gaming machines to buy (like Alienware or HP-Omen),
- new Dell OptiPlex or Precision. Drop in a Nvidia/AMD gaming video card and you are golden.
- you can custom-build (maybe drop that Nvidia card into it until GPUs come down in price)
- There are popular online boutique shops that will custom build for you
- I know a place that sells off-lease refurbished OptiPlex. Solid business-class desktops for cheap. Drop is a SSD and video-card and you are all set. Should easily play games like Fallout-4 (or similar vintage) at around 1080p-1440p with full-effects.

Alienware Desktops

Was this post helpful?