m15 R1, AGA not working correctly

Question

Hi,

In 2019 windows 10 had an update that in like less than 1% of machines could not update successfully and further more manually installing the update would also possibly fail and when that occurred the only fix was to clean install the new windows 10 build (1909 I think). Well knowing that when stuff like this happens problems happen in strange places and not wanting to risk it in the middle of a work project I waited to finish my work project before going down that rabbit hole. Well this past week i went down that rabbit hole and well here we are lol.

Here's the problem:

My m15 R1 (1 year warranty expires on June 18, 2020) is recognizing that the AGA (Alienware Graphics Amplifier) is plugged in and giving me all the USB devices plugged in as well as seeing the graphics card and installing generic drivers for it via I'm assuming an update process that happens when a new device is plugged in. (looks for drivers and installs). The Graphics card will show up in AWCC (Alienware Command Center) but it is not performing as it should. AWCC is not detecting the AGA though at all. Like can't adjust any lighting and the fans both on the graphics card and in the AGA aren't responding appropriately. Barely running but given that the stuff inside isn't really performing correctly it is possible it isn't getting hot enough to merit turning the fans up higher. I don't know.

Some Housekeeping with my problem:

Lights on AGA cable are solid white when plugged in.
AGA Fan does the big power cycle when powering PC on then drops to idle and never moves from that.
USB attached is recognized and works
Graphics card shows up in device manager as a Generic Microsoft Display Adapter first before whatever process that runs finds drivers and installs. It then will recognize it as the graphics card it is.
Graphics card will show up in Alienware Command Center but nothing else including some alienware peripherals that are attached to adjust lighting/macros. (i did get some of this back after one of my many reinstalls but not the AGA or Alienware Headset. Both are MIA but yet fully work on the PC end. IE: I use the headset no problem, just can't do anything to it via ACC.
Plugging in the AGA while the PC is powered on will work in the sense the monitor and anything plugged into the AGA starts working almost immediately as described above with the cable flashing white/red without stop. What doesn't happen is ANY prompt or anything stating the device needs to restart to use as it should and use to. I can literally plug it in and out while the device is completely powered on without any issue as it relates to how it is currently working.
All monitors plugged into external GPU via AGA work.
Sometimes all three graphics cards will be active and "in use" via device manager and ACC.
Sometimes the internal Nvidia card will be turned off by the system due to "error 43" Sometime it won't.
Game I played at 200 FPS prior with CPU being what capped it at 200 now struggles at 76 FPS with the graphics card being the issue capping it. Same game, same settings.
It was 100% working flawlessly prior to the windows 10 clean install.

My system information

Service Tag:
Alienware m15 R1
Internal GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 TI
Internal GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630
Alienware Graphics Amplifier: purchased in 2019
External GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 1660 TI Windforce Desktop GPU
CPU: 8th gen Intel i7-8 750H (6-Core, 9MB Cache, up to 4.1GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
RAM: 6-Core, 9MB Cache, up to 4.1GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
Operating system: Windows 10 Home 64bit
Wireless: Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2x2 ) 802.11ax Wireless and Blueto oth 5.1
HD: M.2 1TB PCIe Class 40 Solid St ate Drive
Alienware Headset: purchased 2019
Alienware keyboard: purchased 2019
Bios: 2.4.1 installed (m15 bios update)

Troubleshooting/Steps I've taken

Clean Windows 10 install (twice)
Clean install of Dell/Alienware drivers/programs from Dell site using my service tag (more times than i care to count at this point)
Clean install of Alienware command center: following the steps in the FAQ/guides here on dell. So all the removal steps including reg edit and then reinstall steps to the letter. (more times than i care to count at this point)
I've swapped the cable ends from AGA to m15
I've unplugged and plugged back in EVERYTHING
I've installed drivers via geforce experience both laptop and desktop drivers respectfully just to literally attempt it all. (several times and multiple versions of the drivers such as previous versions)
I've manually installed drivers (not using Geforce Experience) both notebook and desktop (multiple versions including previous versions)
Connect everything while all systems powered down and unplugged before turning them back on. The hot plug part mentioned above was simply a test I did to see if ACC was even seeing it and telling me to reboot as it should. Plus it is one of the connect/disconnect methods in the official user manual and video guides supplied here on dell.com (just following instructions )
External GPU works when installed in my ancient Alienware Aurora Desktop (the model that is like 8-9ish years old now?)
and how could i forget: Turned if off and back on again several times
Contacted Dell support and was sent away saying, "warranty doesn't cover software" when it legit could be faulty hardware in the laptop or AGA, both of which are very much under warranty. Legit wouldn't even look into it. In there defense, I do suspect software issue is afoot here given it worked fine prior to a reset.

Anybody out there have ANY clue why this would happen or what I can do to fix this? I feel like it is something super dumb and software related but don't want to rule anything out. I mean it legit worked perfectly since I got it up until this windows reset I literally had to do because my windows OS could not longer be updated. Only drivers could so was a big security/stability issue waiting to happen. Like is there some hidden software on Alienware PC's that simply are taken out with no way of return after a Clean windows 10 install?

Any and ALL the help out there would be useful. Google has not been helpful as most similar problems i have found are with the systems prior to the m15/m17 R1 models. I did still follow all of those steps/solutions minus any AGA driver software as that is not available for my model and built into AWCC for my model.

Thanks!

Sayuri85 · Answer

Interesting. So the detailed issue i’ve typed out twice hoping somebody on this board may understand or know how to help is spam and removed but a literal post labeled 'test post' isnt? oof. Maybe a moderator could help me out here?

Sayuri85 · Answer

@DELL-Chris M - maybe you could help me with this?

Sayuri85 · Answer

Testing to see if literally anything i post just gets marked as spam and removed.

Alienware-Joe · Answer

Hi Sayuri!

We tried replying last night, however. Here goes again. We've read through the message. Primarily what we recommend is update the BIOS and Chipset Drivers. Secondly, proceed to reinstall the AWCC. And for the error 43 portion, please try reinstalling the Video card drivers.

Please reply back via Private Message through @DELL-Cares for further assistance, thanks!

mattyb3 · Answer

What are your issues? I see Dell recommend reinstalling the driver to fix an error 43. While this can work sometimes, it is not always the solution.

1. Reinstall the Driver

2. Disable the card in Device Manger, restart your machine and enable it again

3. Corrupted vBIOS - Flash a new vBIOS to the card using NVFlash (Nvidia cards).

4. Failing GPU - No fix. Replace card if it's an MXM card or replace motherboard.

Sayuri85 · Answer

What am i updated my bios too? They are currently the most up to date ones for my system as far as I can find anywhere here.

What do you mean chipset drivers and where would I gain access to do just that?

Sayuri85 · Answer

Thanks for your reply!

So the current issue is the essay I've written and posted twice detailing my specs, the problem, and steps i've taken keeps getting marked as spam and thus, poofed and gone. Like it's a lot I keep having to type out.

Is there ANY way someone can bring my thread back or give me access to copy paste?

My issues are already frustrating, this is just added layers to that frustration that seem terribly silly.

mattyb3 · Answer

Dell will remove your service tag as it can be dangerous to tell people what it is.

That's a pretty strange issue with Windows Update. I have zero experience with the M15 though so I'll probably be no help. You could install the Dell Support Assist software and it should tell you what drivers need updating. It sounds like a software glitch though which is a good thing. If your Windows Updates was working then I don't think you'd have an issue.

mattyb3 · Answer

I know how you feel. A little while back I was trying to reply to someone's question about upgrading an older machine and my reply kept getting rejected as spam. I tried 3-4 times. I sent Dell a request and they never responded.

Sayuri85 · Answer

m15 R1. In short the issue is that windows forced me to do a clean install because i was one of the 1% of systems impacted by that update back in the end of 2019.

I finally did it and now my Alienware graphics amplifier isn't working correctly and my post was the full specs of everything in my system, detail of the issue and symptoms, then all the troubleshooting i've done because i've done a ton of it.

I've found others with similar symptoms/issues but they are all on the laptops prior to m15/17 and the solutions for those don't exist for m15 models as AWCC should have it built in for the system.

I do believe I figured out what Joe was meaning by "chipset drivers." On my product support page there is a classification for "chipset" so i think he was telling me to redo all those.

my service tag if you want to see my system:

My AGA is using a Desktop version of the graphics card: Nvidia GTX 1660 TI Windforce. Confirmed working in my old aurora desktop. It also does work currently, just isn't working correctly causing performance issues. Works fine in aurora desktop though. And keep in mind, my entire system worked fine prior to any of this under the same specs until clean install of windows. The only thing that didn't work was that windows could no longer install windows updates causing my OS to fall out of date. Manual install was also not an option forcing the clean install.

Alienware-Joe · Answer

You can find the Chipset drivers on the m15 R1 website. You can use your Service Tag there to get all the applicable drivers for your system.   All replies merged to original thread. DELL-Chris M

DELL-Cares · Answer

Hi there!!

Thank you for getting back to us.

In order to continue checking this for you, please send us a PM with your full name, email address, phone number, full physical address and the order number for the Graphics Amplifier.

Once we have that information, we will reply to you with the next step.

Sayuri85 · Answer

Looks like i stumbled upon it and it is a hardware issue. Either the AGA cable or AGA cable port is bad. While moving cables around on the AGA while pc was on it registered the AGA and asked me to restart and poof! Works at least until i bump it lol.

Clean install is just what made me unplug it initially which led me to discovering the connect is bad somewhere.

Looks like i need to go hardware route now

Alienware-Joe · Answer

Send us a Private Message with your complete shipping data. That way we can proceed with the Graphics Amplifier replacement.

Alienware

m15 R1, AGA not working correctly

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