Unsolved
4 Posts
0
498
April 22nd, 2023 10:00
Aurora R7, won't boot
Hi, I shutdown my Aurora R7 for about 3.5 months while I went on a long trip. Came back, and it won't boot up.
It had been working fine since 2019 (it's now 2023). At power up, I get the "Alienware" screen, then the computer sounds like it's doing something, then it just goes quiet and the screen is blank.
I'm able to hit F12, run all the diagnostics, and all are fine. I tried the "unplug, hold the power button for 30 secs", nothing. When the F12 menu is displayed, I select "Windows boot manager", and nothing happens.
What else can I try?
No Events found!
jplank
4 Posts
0
April 23rd, 2023 12:00
So I went with the "nuclear" option, one of the selections under "support assist". That did wipe the computer, but at the same time, saved my files. All the installed software was gone (not a big deal in my case). The computer is back up and fine.
Vanadiel
8 Professor
•
7.1K Posts
•
29.6K Points
0
April 22nd, 2023 10:00
Any flashes on the Alienware head (power button)?
Tesla1856
10 Wizard
•
17.7K Posts
•
70.6K Points
0
April 22nd, 2023 11:00
Download and read PDF Service-Manual.
Yes, it must pass ePSA Diagnostic with 100% good.
Maybe check your CMOS battery? Machine was older and then 3-months on battery might have been too much (and drained it). When you looked in BIOS, was RTC (clock) still correct?
If you are not "up to it" I suggest you get someone to help you. Pretty easy to destroy computer if you are not qualified to be working inside it.
ProfessorW00d
6 Operator
•
2.4K Posts
•
10.2K Points
0
April 22nd, 2023 11:00
Consider replacing the CR2032 coin cell battery.
jplank
4 Posts
0
April 22nd, 2023 13:00
I replaced the CR battery as some have suggested, brought it up, it told me "time is off, needs to be set". I did that, continued to boot, same issue, just hangs.
I tried a power down, disconnect the plug, wait, reboot, same thing. I get the "alienware" screen, and then it just goes dark. I can move the mouse around the screen, but it's just a black screen. And you can't hear the computer doing anything. The light is blue, constant blue, no blinking.
As mentioned, I can hit F12 and get into some preboot screen. The first time I ran diagnostics and it was fine. This time I went into "support assist recovery" (or something), and I could navigate that UI no problem. I did another hardware scan, no problem. Then there's a "repair" option. I tried that, and it took me back to some past date saying it was going to "restore everything to that date". Fine, I tried that.
But again, no dice, Same exact behavior after a reboot.
There are other options to try under that "support assist" that seem more nuclear, but was wondering if others had other ideas. Thx.
Vanadiel
8 Professor
•
7.1K Posts
•
29.6K Points
0
April 22nd, 2023 15:00
I would try a safe mode boot for windows, with networking support. It should be available from the pre-boot screen.
If that boots, do a disk scan from within windows and check for any file system errors or bad blocks on the drive.
Tesla1856
10 Wizard
•
17.7K Posts
•
70.6K Points
0
April 22nd, 2023 21:00
Sounds like it isn't finding a bootable disk. ePSA should have detected a poor SMART on drive, so either it missed it or the SMART is good but Windows is till corrupt.
If Safe-Mode doesn't work, I guess I would suggest a Nuke and Pave.
Hopefully you have a backup.
https://www.dell.com/community/Windows-General-Wiki/Guide-to-migrate-to-a-New-Windows-11-computer/ta-p/8307872