Hi there, sorry for the silly direction but... the boot promt for the computer to start from the disc goes out really fast; this is after you hit to choose the CD/DVD. You might want to keep hitting until you get it, I'll try that first. Let us know :)
Thank you for the feedback Frank, that is really odd! I will try that and get back to you and let you know what happens. I have done this once before,but it was with the original motherboard and I did not experience this problem. You just hit enter once and it bounced immediately over.
I sure hope it's new. I brought this computer to these computer techs in town.They told me the computer needed a good cleanup, so I left it with them to do what they had to do and the following day I get a call from them saying we are so sorry sir, but we made an attempt to flash your Bios from Dells update software and it cooked your motherboard. but have no fear cause Dell has come to the rescue! they informed us that this happens a lot and they are sending us a one time only free of charge new motherboard.so after the machine was returned,I decided to open the case to see what was installed.this board is different from the one I had for the reason that it has the Alien head logo and alien letters on it, so yes it does appear to be OEM. but like I said I hope it's new. I would also like to add that these guys did not fix anything! the system was just as corrupted as it was before I gave it to them and that is why once again I am Squashing the OS and starting a new.
the following day I get a call from them saying we are so sorry sir, but we made an attempt to flash your Bios from Dells update software and it cooked your motherboard. but have no fear cause Dell has come to the rescue! they informed us that this happens a lot
Yes, it does (just see these forums). And as long as they allow MB firmware flashing from Windows it will continue to happen. Smart people do it from outside Windows. The fact that Dell doesn't have a Dual-BIOS or Recovery-BIOS sure doesn't help the situation any.
You got that right ! so anyway this morning I installed the disk,then restarted the computer.While booting I hit F12 and opened the boot options screen and chose the top CD drive.After this I hit enter twice and opened a new screen called windows boot manager. This gave me three choices,the first choice is choose an operating system to start and there is only one which of coarse is windows 7. the other is hit the tab key and choose a tool.but the only choice is windows memory diagnostic. the third is hit F8 for advanced options,but this is only to start windows in safe mode. For what ever reason this computer does not want to pay any attention to the optical drives and I did try this with both of them.I'm pretty sure that if it did, I would have an additional choice with the OS to start option.So once again I AM STUCK.I hope this motherboard is okay, or those repair techs did not fail to take ESD precautions. (ect.not wearing a grounded static bracelet) I went inside the machine itself and all the connections are intact. let me know what you think Bro.
No everything is in the right place, I have taken this computer apart before so I know everything inside and out pretty
much. the one thing I did forget to explain is I already did reformat the OS from the disk but I did it without booting from the CD drive. I took the chance of running the installation CD when being prompted from the auto run feature.after I chose to run the disk, it did write over my current Windows install. It looks like it was successful,but I do not trust it because it installed in less then forty five minutes, before it took like two hours.it also did not give me the installation type option where you are supposed to click custom advanced, only language and partition options were prompted. and last it informed me that certain files were going to be placed in a folder called windows old were I could access them but I could not use my previous version of Windows.so that pretty much tells me that this is not clean installation.I do not want anything to remain.
I do not believe it is a good idea I leave it like this. I want to do it the right way to avoid future problems.
A question I have now is why did it even allow a new install right from the current OS? and why will it install that way,but fail to boot from the CD/DVD drives.
I will never understand how I always get into situations
with this computer that leave everybody scratching their heads.Especially those guys at Alienware tech support. Makes for a great reason why they will never get another penny of my hard earned money for anything.(NOT EVEN PARTS) No problem, I'll figure it out. If the motherboard is the problem, I got my trusty Dwalt industrial grade cordless drill!! If I can cut and grind my way into getting a Chevy 350 with 400 turbo trans to fit into a Honda Accord, then man I should have no problem slapping in the top dog ASUS motherboard." OH YEAH" SAY GOODBY TO ALIENWARE FX!!
Okay good .you have explaiNed a reason that sounds like it makes sense, an overlay is probably what was done..when I explained this to tech support they could not explain it, simply put, they are under trained and useless.
A question I have now is why did it even allow a new install right from the current OS? and why will it install that way,but fail to boot from the CD/DVD drives.
Because that way doesn't require the machine to boot from DVD at initial BIOS. Also, sounds like you did an OverLay install (more like an in-place-upgrade) than a clean install.
You can use the Dell Recovery procedure (if it's still intact and working) or you may choose to do a real clean install (just like any other normal computer):
As for your problem ... I have never seen a computer be able to use a DVD-ROM and not boot from it if the BIOS option was set. Only way that happens is if the DVD-ROM is bad (yes, they do go bad fairly regularly). They are like $20 or you likely have a spare one in an old machine you can test with. On an AW, you can also use the BIOS "one-time-use-boot-device-selection" option on startup.
I don't think it's because we are stumped, it's just that you have managed to create a complicated situation here. You have involved this other computer shop that did no-telling-what to the machine. If anyone has an responsibility for the current state of the machine, it's likely them (was the motherboard they installed good, was it installed properly, did it really come from Dell) but it sounds like you don't want any more to do with them because of the way the "repair" went.
Then, you talk about replacing the motherboard yourself (which is fine if that's what you want to do ... it's your machine). But then you drop into a x51 thread and talk about how bad Alienware machines are in general and calling BBB (I assume about Dell).
If you think that Dell still has some liability here, please answer these:
- What country are you in?
- Did you buy this Area-51 new from Dell (and when)?
- Did you buy this Area-51 as a certified Dell refurb from the Dell Outlet?
- Is it still under an extended warranty with Dell?
That's a nice machine with plenty of life left in it. We are all here to help you. I can only help with repairing the computer, but Chris-M and Frank can help with Dell company stuff (as allowed by policy).
In a previous post, I suggested that you put the DVD-ROM on the Intel controller (SATA 1-6) but you never said if it worked. If you want my help, you have to read my posts carefully and answer my questions exactly.
Okay good .you have explaiNed a reason that sounds like it makes sense, an overlay is probably what was done..when I explained this to tech support they could not explain it, simply put, they are under trained and useless.
It depends on who you get.
If you mentioned to them the chain of events up to this point, you might have gotten an un-attentive response. Sounds like you might have already had some poorly trained people (computer shop) inside the machine ... replacing the motherboard of all things
It would be like a car tech with only basic skills replacing the engine in your car. They could get it in there, but the problems could be anywhere (because they lack the expertise). Or maybe it runs but poorly or overheats. Projects like that ... you just take your time and do it right the first time (carefully and methodically) . However, that same person could replace the car battery with no problem.
Don't mean to bad-mouth this other computer company (I don't know them). If you like them and think they might be able to help you, I suggest you do that (if no Dell warranty exists).
I live in the United States ,and I bought the machine brand new in November of 2009, and it is no longer under warranty.
I would not even think of renewing it! More frustrating than the system not functioning properly, is the people who work
for the company who made it, knowing very little about how to fix it.This is what drove me to a local shop in the first place.Dell cannot possibly care about their customers and run an operation like this. They keep you on the phone for hours telling you to do this or that, or with their little tool they click in every area of the system trying this or that.It's all trial and error with them, they need to be properly trained.
I called them again recently to try to get updated info on this new 2.0 version motherboard and of course they know nothing about it. the settings in the bios are different from the 1.0 version and the 1.0 version is the only one they know.As always they try to give me the your out of warranty pitch,
and I said forget it, you owe me updated info so I can figure out how to navigate the bios settings in this new motherboard you sent, or you can give
me free service to help me set it up, so I can make a successful boot from the disk drive. they actually decided on the free service. I guess they thought they could figure it out in no time, but I knew better, and prepared for a very stressful experience. So about an hour later we did manage to get it to boot from the CD ROM, and this kid thought his job was finished until I politely asked him to stick around to see if Windows installs, And it didn't. instead we get an error message saying Windows cannot be installed on the main partition, so we go back to the bios and he puts me on hold for about ten minutes.Every time I'm put on hold it is for about ten minutes, because he always has to go flag down someone more knowledgeable than he is. he comes back and we go into CMOS settings where he finds that one of the SATA drives are disabled, or something like that( DON'T ASK ME HOW THIS HAPPENED, CAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA) so now trying once again to install Windows ,you now see the drives you did not see before on the list,and guess what, windows still does not install. Okay so its back to the BIOS and about another ten or so minutes on hold.When he finally returns, He tells me to go into this secret sub menu where you completely delete and recreate the SATA drives. at this point my current install of Windows is history.Again we try to install ,and you guessed it, the same message.Now more hold time, and he's back with a new idea. Go to Dell .COM and download this missing driver that is preventing the installation process on a flash drive from another computer.Well I did, and then we scanned the drive on the Area 51,And it can't find it. THE END, AND GAME OVER. The only thing this kid accomplished in over three hours was leaving my computer a very expensive boat anchor.
This case is now being escalated.
This is where I'm beginning to think about reporting to the BBB, I am starting to feel like I purchased a lemon, All I want is for this thing to work and that is beginning to look hopeless. I don't mean to be offensive or rude, I'm just not the happiest guy in the world when it comes to Dell and this computer. I would love to see this thing get resolved without having to report anything. I guess I will see Monday when Dell calls.
DELL-Frank Lz
208 Posts
0
May 22nd, 2012 20:00
Hi there, sorry for the silly direction but... the boot promt for the computer to start from the disc goes out really fast; this is after you hit to choose the CD/DVD. You might want to keep hitting until you get it, I'll try that first. Let us know :)
sickcyborg
31 Posts
0
May 22nd, 2012 21:00
Thank you for the feedback Frank, that is really odd! I will try that and get back to you and let you know what happens. I have done this once before,but it was with the original motherboard and I did not experience this problem. You just hit enter once and it bounced immediately over.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.3K Posts
0
May 23rd, 2012 00:00
sickcyborg
31 Posts
0
May 23rd, 2012 01:00
I sure hope it's new. I brought this computer to these computer techs in town.They told me the computer needed a good cleanup, so I left it with them to do what they had to do and the following day I get a call from them saying we are so sorry sir, but we made an attempt to flash your Bios from Dells update software and it cooked your motherboard. but have no fear cause Dell has come to the rescue! they informed us that this happens a lot and they are sending us a one time only free of charge new motherboard.so after the machine was returned,I decided to open the case to see what was installed.this board is different from the one I had for the reason that it has the Alien head logo and alien letters on it, so yes it does appear to be OEM. but like I said I hope it's new. I would also like to add that these guys did not fix anything! the system was just as corrupted as it was before I gave it to them and that is why once again I am Squashing the OS and starting a new.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.3K Posts
0
May 23rd, 2012 12:00
These answers still apply (have you done them):
en.community.dell.com/.../20107994.aspx
Download Area-51 PDF manuals. Be sure HDDs 1-6 are connected to MB 1-6. Says Optical drives on SATA 7-8. Is optical being detected or working at all?
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.3K Posts
0
May 23rd, 2012 12:00
sickcyborg
31 Posts
0
May 23rd, 2012 14:00
You got that right ! so anyway this morning I installed the disk,then restarted the computer.While booting I hit F12 and opened the boot options screen and chose the top CD drive.After this I hit enter twice and opened a new screen called windows boot manager. This gave me three choices,the first choice is choose an operating system to start and there is only one which of coarse is windows 7. the other is hit the tab key and choose a tool.but the only choice is windows memory diagnostic. the third is hit F8 for advanced options,but this is only to start windows in safe mode. For what ever reason this computer does not want to pay any attention to the optical drives and I did try this with both of them.I'm pretty sure that if it did, I would have an additional choice with the OS to start option.So once again I AM STUCK.I hope this motherboard is okay, or those repair techs did not fail to take ESD precautions. (ect.not wearing a grounded static bracelet) I went inside the machine itself and all the connections are intact. let me know what you think Bro.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.3K Posts
0
May 23rd, 2012 14:00
sickcyborg
31 Posts
0
May 23rd, 2012 18:00
No everything is in the right place, I have taken this computer apart before so I know everything inside and out pretty
much. the one thing I did forget to explain is I already did reformat the OS from the disk but I did it without booting from the CD drive. I took the chance of running the installation CD when being prompted from the auto run feature.after I chose to run the disk, it did write over my current Windows install. It looks like it was successful,but I do not trust it because it installed in less then forty five minutes, before it took like two hours.it also did not give me the installation type option where you are supposed to click custom advanced, only language and partition options were prompted. and last it informed me that certain files were going to be placed in a folder called windows old were I could access them but I could not use my previous version of Windows.so that pretty much tells me that this is not clean installation.I do not want anything to remain.
I do not believe it is a good idea I leave it like this. I want to do it the right way to avoid future problems.
A question I have now is why did it even allow a new install right from the current OS? and why will it install that way,but fail to boot from the CD/DVD drives.
sickcyborg
31 Posts
0
May 25th, 2012 16:00
Wow I stumped everyone! HMMMMM,
I will never understand how I always get into situations
with this computer that leave everybody scratching their heads.Especially those guys at Alienware tech support. Makes for a great reason why they will never get another penny of my hard earned money for anything.(NOT EVEN PARTS) No problem, I'll figure it out. If the motherboard is the problem, I got my trusty Dwalt industrial grade cordless drill!! If I can cut and grind my way into getting a Chevy 350 with 400 turbo trans to fit into a Honda Accord, then man I should have no problem slapping in the top dog ASUS motherboard." OH YEAH" SAY GOODBY TO ALIENWARE FX!!
sickcyborg
31 Posts
0
June 1st, 2012 12:00
Okay good .you have explaiNed a reason that sounds like it makes sense, an overlay is probably what was done..when I explained this to tech support they could not explain it, simply put, they are under trained and useless.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.3K Posts
0
June 1st, 2012 12:00
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.3K Posts
0
June 1st, 2012 13:00
As for your problem ... I have never seen a computer be able to use a DVD-ROM and not boot from it if the BIOS option was set. Only way that happens is if the DVD-ROM is bad (yes, they do go bad fairly regularly). They are like $20 or you likely have a spare one in an old machine you can test with. On an AW, you can also use the BIOS "one-time-use-boot-device-selection" option on startup.
I don't think it's because we are stumped, it's just that you have managed to create a complicated situation here. You have involved this other computer shop that did no-telling-what to the machine. If anyone has an responsibility for the current state of the machine, it's likely them (was the motherboard they installed good, was it installed properly, did it really come from Dell) but it sounds like you don't want any more to do with them because of the way the "repair" went.
Then, you talk about replacing the motherboard yourself (which is fine if that's what you want to do ... it's your machine). But then you drop into a x51 thread and talk about how bad Alienware machines are in general and calling BBB (I assume about Dell).
If you think that Dell still has some liability here, please answer these:
- What country are you in?
- Did you buy this Area-51 new from Dell (and when)?
- Did you buy this Area-51 as a certified Dell refurb from the Dell Outlet?
- Is it still under an extended warranty with Dell?
That's a nice machine with plenty of life left in it. We are all here to help you. I can only help with repairing the computer, but Chris-M and Frank can help with Dell company stuff (as allowed by policy).
In a previous post, I suggested that you put the DVD-ROM on the Intel controller (SATA 1-6) but you never said if it worked. If you want my help, you have to read my posts carefully and answer my questions exactly.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.3K Posts
0
June 1st, 2012 13:00
sickcyborg
31 Posts
0
June 1st, 2012 19:00
I live in the United States ,and I bought the machine brand new in November of 2009, and it is no longer under warranty.
I would not even think of renewing it! More frustrating than the system not functioning properly, is the people who work
for the company who made it, knowing very little about how to fix it.This is what drove me to a local shop in the first place.Dell cannot possibly care about their customers and run an operation like this. They keep you on the phone for hours telling you to do this or that, or with their little tool they click in every area of the system trying this or that.It's all trial and error with them, they need to be properly trained.
I called them again recently to try to get updated info on this new 2.0 version motherboard and of course they know nothing about it. the settings in the bios are different from the 1.0 version and the 1.0 version is the only one they know.As always they try to give me the your out of warranty pitch,
and I said forget it, you owe me updated info so I can figure out how to navigate the bios settings in this new motherboard you sent, or you can give
me free service to help me set it up, so I can make a successful boot from the disk drive. they actually decided on the free service. I guess they thought they could figure it out in no time, but I knew better, and prepared for a very stressful experience. So about an hour later we did manage to get it to boot from the CD ROM, and this kid thought his job was finished until I politely asked him to stick around to see if Windows installs, And it didn't. instead we get an error message saying Windows cannot be installed on the main partition, so we go back to the bios and he puts me on hold for about ten minutes.Every time I'm put on hold it is for about ten minutes, because he always has to go flag down someone more knowledgeable than he is. he comes back and we go into CMOS settings where he finds that one of the SATA drives are disabled, or something like that( DON'T ASK ME HOW THIS HAPPENED, CAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA) so now trying once again to install Windows ,you now see the drives you did not see before on the list,and guess what, windows still does not install. Okay so its back to the BIOS and about another ten or so minutes on hold.When he finally returns, He tells me to go into this secret sub menu where you completely delete and recreate the SATA drives. at this point my current install of Windows is history.Again we try to install ,and you guessed it, the same message.Now more hold time, and he's back with a new idea. Go to Dell .COM and download this missing driver that is preventing the installation process on a flash drive from another computer.Well I did, and then we scanned the drive on the Area 51,And it can't find it. THE END, AND GAME OVER. The only thing this kid accomplished in over three hours was leaving my computer a very expensive boat anchor.
This case is now being escalated.
This is where I'm beginning to think about reporting to the BBB, I am starting to feel like I purchased a lemon, All I want is for this thing to work and that is beginning to look hopeless. I don't mean to be offensive or rude, I'm just not the happiest guy in the world when it comes to Dell and this computer. I would love to see this thing get resolved without having to report anything. I guess I will see Monday when Dell calls.