m17 R1, numpad and directional arrows issues

I'm having this same issue, is there a fix for this?

Hi @Keinia  four beeps diagnostic is Memory fault. The solution could be re-seating your RAM cards. The RAM electrical connections may have been disturbed during transit or they need cleaning with a dry lint free cloth (do not use cleaning solutions or water).

Understanding Beep Codes on a Dell Desktop PC. 

Series of 4 beeps continuously at start up solution.

So I think its a RAM issue as the beep codes apply to specific system problems and nothing else really.

I recently ran into this issue on my m17 R1. I thought it was a Windows update issue as it started popping up after receiving the Win 10 1909 update, but I later found it was happening in the pre-boot diagnostics when testing the keyboard and in Ubuntu boots. Try the options below to see if it helps.

1. Flash BIOS, I am on the 2.50.0 version, but I have seen lower versions used depending on you CPU settings, test after flash to see if it fixes if not try below.
2. Perform a power drain and keyboard reseat
   1.  Disconnect and remove battery
   2. Remove RAM sticks
   3. Disconnect keyboard ribbon from motherboard
   4. Hold down power button for 20 seconds
   5. Reassemble laptop and test.

Make sure to refer to the Dell support site for disassembly. Something I did notice was the Num Lock is set back to auto off on boot. Hope this helps.

Hi @captain008  welcome to this user to user forum. This is not Dell Support. 

Never came across a keyboard reseat before, must live a sheltered life. Is that a reseat of all the keyboard cables? 

Our 17 R5 MLK refresh laptop has no AWCC AlienFX tab problem that requires multi key RGB backlight keyboard to work, but it is always dark. Is reseat keyboard cables a fix? 

Thanks for the welcome. Sometimes with Alienware laptops, taking the laptop apart and reseating seems to work. I took the same logic with the keyboard and removed the ribbon cable from the mobo and reseated it. Back in the day I had a m17x R2 from 2007 that had a boot up problem and Dell thought it was the CPU and mobo. We later found it was the inverter board cable not fully seated causing a power failure. Reseated the cable and it still works to this day.

Hi @captain008   have watched the 'Alienware 17 R4 & Alienware 15 R3: Keyboard and Touchpad Disassembly' video [Here] from Alienware Support. We have the Alienware 17 R5, which is similar. We note that there are many keyboard cables. It is going to take time to discover if reseating these cables is a fix. 

Hi @captain008  we have the Alienware 17 R5 and it has no lights, and I mean all the lights do not work. Reseating all the cables sounds promising and worth a try. Although ePSA says all cables are connected, perhaps not all are fully connected. Most perplexing. 

You are correct, but the AW 17 R4 is part of the Ranger line with a dedicated MXM GPU and is a completely different system than the m17 R1. I have a AW 17 R1 and that thing is chuck full of wires and cables and has about 10 different circuit boards and internal parts. My keyboard on the AW17 R1 has at least three cables, 1 for the keyboard, 1 for the LED lights, and one for the AW hot keys. My m17 R1, which looks to be the same as the OP, only has one cable for the keyboard. 

If you guys are having issues with the keyboards on those systems more than likely the keyboard is going bad. Those systems were solid and probably one of the best Dellienware systems they made. 

Alienware m17 R1 WinX i7 9750H 16GB RAM, NVIDIA RTX 2070 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD
Alienware 17 R1, Win7, i7 4700QM 16GB RAM, ATI R9 290m, 256GB m2, 1TB HDD
Alienware m18x R2 Space Black, Win7 ULT, Intel i7 3740QM, 32GB RAM, NVidia 680m SLI, 2x 750GB HDD
Alienware m17x R2 Space Black, Win7 SP1, Intel i7 740QM, 8 GB RAM, 5870 Xfire, 320 GB HDD,
Alienware m11x R2 Space Black, Win7 SP1, Intel i5 540UM, 6GB RAM, 100GB SSD.
Oldie but goodie, Alienware Aurora m9700, Amd Turion 2.2 GHz, 1GB RAM, Nvidia 7900GS SLI, 120GB HDD, DVD/CDRW, 17" XGA. (Still Running)

*****They are like Pokemon and I will collect them all. ^_^*****

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Alienware Control Center (AlienFX)? This software controls the lighting and the designations for the macro keys. The AWCC contains a firmware file that flashes the keyboard and motherboard to control the effects. Might be worth a shot. If not you may have to get a new keyboard.

Alienware m17 R1 WinX i7 9750H 16GB RAM, NVIDIA RTX 2070 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD
Alienware 17 R1, Win7, i7 4700QM 16GB RAM, ATI R9 290m, 256GB m2, 1TB HDD
Alienware m18x R2 Space Black, Win7 ULT, Intel i7 3740QM, 32GB RAM, NVidia 680m SLI, 2x 750GB HDD
Alienware m17x R2 Space Black, Win7 SP1, Intel i7 740QM, 8 GB RAM, 5870 Xfire, 320 GB HDD,
Alienware m11x R2 Space Black, Win7 SP1, Intel i5 540UM, 6GB RAM, 100GB SSD.
Oldie but goodie, Alienware Aurora m9700, Amd Turion 2.2 GHz, 1GB RAM, Nvidia 7900GS SLI, 120GB HDD, DVD/CDRW, 17" XGA. (Still Running)

*****They are like Pokemon and I will collect them all. ^_^*****