Alienware x51 Bios A07 PC Does not shutdown completely

Sounds like it's really confused:

- It's doing A1 sleep instead of A3

- Sleeping instead of Shut-Down

See my post here:

en.community.dell.com/.../20204964.aspx

I'm not sure ... I don't have a x51.

But from your description, to me ... that what it sounded like it was doing.

Hi tesla, may i know how do i access sleep mode in bios and to change betwwen A1 and A3 ? I couldn't find it under power management.

hmm, the thing is i can't seem to find any sleep mode options.. The mobo's confused yea?

NEED HELP!

Hi Chris,  thanks a lot for posting it.  I'll try it as soon as possible when I'm homed

ystoh,

* Make sure you are not going to lose power (Do not do this during a storm)
* Power the X51 off
* Disconnect all external peripherals connected to the X51 except for the keyboard, mouse, and monitor
* Power the X51 on, press F2 to go into the Bios System Setup
* Record your current settings onto paper. Example - Boot- Boot Mode = UEFI

Advanced- Standard CMOS Features
SATA Port1 = CD/DVD
SATA Port2 = Hard Disk Drive
SATA Port3 = Not Present

Advanced- Advanced Bios Features
Bootup Num-Lock = On
OptionRom Display Screen = Display

CPU Configuration
Hyper-Threading Technology = Enabled
XD Bit Capability = Enabled
Intel Speedstep Technology = Enabled
Intel C-State Tech = Enabled

Integrated Devices
USB Controller = Enabled
HD Audio = Enabled (Disabled if you added a PCIe x1 sound card)
Onboard LAN Controller = Enabled
Launch PXE 0pROM = Enabled
Primary Display = Discrete
SATA Mode = AHCI Mode

Power Management Setup
Suspend Mode = Disabled
AC Recovery = On
Auto Power On = Enabled

Boot
Boot Mode = UEFI
Hard Disk Drive BBS Priorities = Hard Disk Drive

* Exit the Bios System Setup and enter Windows
* Disable all antivirus software
* Download/Save this file to your windows deskhttp://pages.suddenlink.net/downloaddell/AlienwareX51-A08.exe" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc">http://pages.suddenlink.net/downloaddell/AlienwareX51-A08.exe
* Once Saved to the Windows desktop, double-click the file AlienwareX51-A08.exe
* Follow the prompts
* When done, the X51 will want to restart
* When it restarts, press F2 to enter the Bios System Setup. It should state that it is on version A08
* Press F9 to restore the Bios System Setup defaults
* Change the Bios System Setup fields to what you previously recorded onto paper
* Press F10 to Save your changes and Exit the Bios System Setup

* Test the system and post your results

Hi Chris, I've updated the system to A08.  But the problem still persist.  The lights and fans of the pc still won't turn off

The X51 should be plugged directly into the wall socket. No APC, no surge protector. Disable all network access to the X51. Turn it off. What happens?

Hi chris, the problem still persist, i've contacted my local dell support and the person insisted that it's a motherboard fault, and an engineer would be here soon. will post the results once it's been changed.

Might not be a bad idea if they swapped the "power board" as well during that service call.  In fact I would ask them to swap the power board first and try it.  It's a small board and quicker to replace than the entire motherboard.

Hi all, the engineer just replaced my motherboard and everything is fine now. Lights are shutting off as it should, and the bios version on the motherboard is A06.

Awesome! Thanks for the update.

Do NOT upgrade from A06, A07 and A08 are BROKEN! The reason everything works is you are on A06.

I was having the same issue with my X51 not shutting down all the way on a new system.

When I received my X51 it had BIOS A08 on it. After many hours troubleshooting with a tech on the phone and him remoting in. The problem still existed. The Tech tried changing all the settings and power settings and also updated the bios to A10. Nothing worked... Then he had me do a fresh install of windows and had another tech call me back to load all the drivers. The problem still existed. (I'm also missing Respwn now, not sure if I need it, but it seemed kind of nice)

Call back to Alienware support the next day and they confirmed that it must be a motherboard of power board issue. However, everything that I read in the support forums was leading to a BIOS issue, anything after A06 not working right.....

So, within a couple days Dell got the parts to a local technician to come out and replace the parts. He replaced the motherboard and graphics card (Graphics card?!?!) not sure why the graphics card, I think he may have received that instead of the power board. He thought is was odd as well. Upon boot-up after replacement BIOS version was A07 and I thought for sure, here we go it's not going to work, because supposedly it should be only A06 BIOS that works correctly for most users. However, It worked! It now shuts down correctly the way it was meant to.

I'm pretty sure anyone having this problem, you're going to need a motherboard. - No matter what the BIOS.

This is my 3rd Dell/Alienware product in the last 2 years. I have a XPS15z, Alienware M14X, and this Alienware X51.

I had no problems with the XPS15z. I had a couple issues right off the bat with the M14X (missing parts and MOBO failure, which lead to a stripped out screw on the battery) and now the Issue with the X51 (not shutting down). I see many things in the forums reguarding Dell's tech support, I would have to say that I have been fairly pleased. Other then all the time spent on the phone or waiting for a repair, they ultimately taken care of the problems and stand behind their product and get things fixed.

I was not too impressed with the technician that came out to my house to replace the motherboard. He had issues getting the cover off and on. Didn't get all the connectiions back together the first time, then it was making a fan noise that I could clearly hear but he couldn't - turns out a missed connection cable to the mobo was hitting a fan. Missplaced the GPU bracket - causing noise. Then he had some trouble  with the BIOS. He must have taken it a part 6 or so times to fix his inital mistakes. This whole time he was spinning it around on my desk marking up the cover and he also never wore a wrist strap....... He was having such a hard time getting the cover on he was  hitting it and forcing it I could hear snaps and cracks everytime he was trying to force it on. I'm not totally sure that the covers are ok. I know the one side is definently all scratched up . I also hope the components are not going to be affected from him not grounding himself.... He was also using a magnetic screwdriver I thought that was a no no with electronics..... After seeing that I would have rather replaced the parts myself or sent it to the repair depot, however from a time standpoint it is nice that they come to you.

Scorp

My X51 had a build date of 7/25/12, and began to malfunction and not shut down all the way after an automatic update.  After reading this thread I discovered I had A03, so I updated to A06 and now it shuts down completely with no issues.