Alienware Area 51 boot problems

Question

I've searched other threads and forums for similar issues and while other people's problems do have some similarities, the experience I'm having seems somewhat unique.   The issue started after upgrading to Windows 10 (the upgrade was successful, no issues) and has been happening periodically ever since I completed the upgrade a little over a month ago.  I have dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 video cards.  When starting the PC, the Alienware text will appear on the screen, then the monitors go black and I have no mouse cursor.  The screens just sit there until the Windows log on screen eventually comes up.  This takes anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes.  Once the log on screen does finally appear, I'm able to log in and everything functions normally.  This doesn't happen on every single startup, but I'd say at least 1/3 of startups result in the black screen. If I'm feeling impatient, I can force a shutdown (holding the power button) and power the PC back on.  It never hangs at the black screen on the second power up.  Ive kept up to date with driver updates, etc. so I'm at a bit of a loss on how to resolve it.

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Hi,  Just to confirm, do you have the R2 revision of the Area 51? Which Bios and video card driver version are you running with the system?

mhueb · Answer

I do have the R2 version.  The BIOS version says Alienware A01.  The video card driver version is 355.82.

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Hi,  Thanks for confirming this. Try flashing the Bios to the latest version, click here for the download link.

mhueb · Answer

I installed the latest BIOS verison (A03) a couple days ago and when I started the PC this morning, it hung at a black screen for close to 15 minutes.

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Hi,  Try running an ePSA/Diagnostic test on the system, click here to view a Dell article that explains how to run the test.

mhueb · Answer

I ran the ePSA (including the 'thorough' tests, which took a very long time to run) and it said all tests were successful.

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Hi,

Thank you for confirming this.

Try doing a power drain. To perform a power drain, follow the steps below.

Turn the system off and disconnect the power cord.
Disconnect all external devices (mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc.)
Press and hold the power button for 1 minute.
Connect everything again and turn on the system.

Boltof · Answer

Do you turn on the monitor first then the computer? I had a similar issue with my Area 51 R2 with triple GTX's where turning on the monitor after the computer would cause it to timeout and disable SLI. Now if I turn on the monitor first then boot the machine it all works perfectly. Once booted turning on/off the monitor doesn't cause any issues. Might be something to try.

mhueb · Answer

The monitors are always left on so I don't think that should be causing the issue.  Thank you for the suggestion though. I also did the power drain but that has not solved the problem.

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Hi,  So you have 2 monitors connected to each card? Which type of video cables are you using? Does this also happen with just one monitor plugged in?

mhueb · Answer

I have a total of two monitors.  They are both connected to the same card.  One via HDMI, one via DVI.  If I boot the PC and it hangs on the black screen, disconnecting one of the monitors doesn't do anything.

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Hi,  Thanks for confirming this. Does it do the same thing if you connected the monitors to the other card?

mhueb · Answer

The cards are SLI so it's my understanding that the monitors should only be plugged into the 'master card'.

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Yes, that's correct. This is the card on the top correct?

mhueb · Answer

That's correct, the monitors are plugged into the card in the top slot.

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