A11 BIOS for M18x R2

Hi heywheelie,

I apologies for the inconvenience.

May I know does the DVD drive eject using the eject button on the computer?

May I know the exact issue with the DVD drive so that I can take this case forward?

For troubleshooting steps on DVD drive, refer the following link:

http://dell.to/17KTo9t

Awaiting your response!

The matter of my problem with the eject CD button on the onboard control panel has already been thoroughly investigated by Dell Support.  They sent a technician out to my house and between him and his online boss they ran numerous tests before arriving at the conclusion that the only way to fix it was to fix the bios.  The online boss from dell Support promised me a fix in about 3 months.  That time is up I would say but still no word on a fix.

BTW can you explain in plain English what this new A11 BIOS fixes?

cheers

heywheelie,

We are not going to write a new bios to address an issue on one system. Whoever said this to you was mistaken. A bios is written for a an issue that effects many customers. This specific issue is not being reported to us as a call driver. Have you identified other M18x-R2 users with the same issue? The most we would do in this case is "capture" your system to the lab to see the issue. You would receive a like for like M18x-R2 in exchange for your captured system.

ok sorry I thought the guy on the phone was from Dell support, or at least he said he was.  Anyway hopefully something can be done to fix the problem.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

cheers

Thanks for the links. I will email the Alienware Team. The onsite technician and his supervisor are not members of the Alienware team. They are subcontractors. They do not have any contact with our Alienware Failure/Analysis team. When they were onsite, what parts did they replace? Did they remove the center control cover and reseat its cable to the motherboard?

Hi Heywheelie,

I have a few suggestions:

- With a disc inside, access the BIOS (by hitting F2 at start-up). Press the eject button; the disc should eject without any problem.

- The OSD (On Screen Display) application is the one in charge of making the soft buttons work. If you are not able to see the OSD on the screen when pressing the volume up button, for example, please refer to this article.

- Checkout this article on ODD issues. To get the firmware update for your ODD, click here.

- Here's a post found on notebook review from one of the moderators on this same issue.

Let me know how it goes.

Thanks for the prompt reply. Can you send me your service tag through a private message?

Hi Alexander,

Thanks for the suggestions.  I read all the articles and tried all the suggested solutions but none worked.  All the OSD buttons work except the eject CD button.

My Blu-ray burner is a sony Optiarc Blu-ray burner and I can't find any firmware updates for it so that isn't an option.

Any other suggestions?

cheers

@Chris,

Sorry I didn't answer your post properly.  The tech guys have replaced the onboard control panel as well as the connector cable that runs from the electronics to the center control cover.  After doing rthat all the buttons except the eject cd worked (before only sound worked).

cheers

Back to my original question:

Can someone please explain in plain English what this new BIOS actually fixes?

It is listed as a recommended download and install.  I would like to know what the changes from the A10 BIOS are (in layman's English)

cheers

Hi Mike, FYI - I purchased two Alienware M18x R2's last week, they have both been upgraded to Win 8, everything works and the eject button is no problem, it may be time to call Dell again and get them to replace the motherboard, looks like the mobo's floating around AUS right now dont have a conflict with win 8 and the eject button.

Regards.

Andrew.

Hi Andrew,

I've already spoken to Dell support and they have ruled out replacing the motherboard.  They seem prepared to replace just about everything else but not the motherboard (not sure why).

cheers

Mike

Surely there must be someone there that can explain in plain english what the difference is between the A10 and the A11 BIOS and why it is a recommended upgrade?

cheers

Hi Mike, found something I think you may find interesting, not only do they talk about the A11 BIOS, they are also discussing the CD eject issue

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/726210-anyone-tried-new-a11-bios.html

Hi Andrew,

yep I saw that thread, in fact it was me asking all those questions about the A11 bios and the eject CD problem in that topic :D

cheers