m17x R1

Usually backdatng corrupts the light controller .. That unknown device is the  light Controller, and its attached to the.motherboard so requires .ew board or if tech savvy  info on forums on how to revive the dead controller

I have tried a lot of things that I read on the forums, nothing seems to work.. I guess it’s corrupted... I have owned this system since new, and it has worked with great..The system had plenty of life left in it and never once hiccuped on me.  Now I decide to upgrade the drive and use the recovery cd and resource cd to do the install..  This is what irritates me; I used the resource cd that came from Dell with the system and followed the instructions in my manual for restoring a system I apparently bricked my system.. My dual video cards no longer work in the system, which renders this system completely useless to me.. So now I have a 2k system that is a giant paper weight..  I am very disappointed by this and this will be the last time that I purchase a dell system.. Looks like ASUS or MSI system will be my next purchase.... Thanks for the great support DELL, a very, very dissatisfied customer!!

so instead of double checking you followed a 3 year old instruction manual...  well thats your problem there, LOL

i know its dell's fault for issueing a cd with stuff that can brick a controller,  maybe chris can help but its your responsibility to check these forums, ask questions BEFORE you do anyhting and so on and so fourth ,

video cards not working.... this is odd but okay i wont touch that as it was never mentioned and is completely different then original inquiry

asus warranty is a joke to be honest,  i had to pay shipping both way from canada to US, and customs costs ect to get my system back, in total costed me more to get it fixed then it was to replace it.. go figure

MSI,  got one. bought in 2007, only thing replaced was drive and that was for a ssd, still going strong with a 8600M GT  

just got another acer with a 650M   price was steep but still cheaper then a M14X  and has 17 inch screen, dual ssd's in raid ect...

in reality i miss my M17X , but  it was more the WOW factor then anything when people seen it there jaws dropped, and are like WHOA YOU GOT AN ALIENWARE! NO WAY!

Really? Did you just say it was my responsibility to check the forums before following an OEM instruction manual?? Seriously? I am suppose to be physic and know that I can’t follow OEM instructions..  I don’t care how old it is, why wasn’t it tested thoroughly before release? Talk about bad business.

I didn’t even know about this forum until my system got messed up, so excuse my ignorance.  This was a very simple thing; I was upgrading my hard drive and reloading the OS. Who would have thought that someone can’t write firmware properly….

I received my system in 2010 and I did read a post by a dell representative that said the resource cd that comes with it should work fine, and did not have the issues of the previous cd’s.. So I guess these forums aren’t as accurate as you make them out to be.

Yes I think the video card not working is odd, but it happened after I loaded the firmware from the resource cd. The wireless card also stopped working, but started working again after uninstalled and reinstalled command center. . I think this might have something to do with the fact the command center can control power schemes and turn off these devices etc??  forum until my system got messed up, so excuse my ignorance.  This was a very simple thing; I was upgrading my hard drive and reloading the OS. Who would have thought that someone can’t write firmware properly….

Anyway I am just irritated that I am going to have to spend another 2k on a system, where I thought I had a solid system from Alienware that would be useable and upgradable for years.  

Hello ChadWJ

We would like to review your case, please send us an e-mail to awsocialmedia@dell.com please include the service tag, phone number and brief description of the issue.

So it’s been 9 days since I emailed awsocialmedia@dell.com and I have yet to receive a response. Thisi is some steller customer service, can’t say I shouldn’t have expecte any thing less  to go with the GENIUS level of engineering… This is deffinatly the way to keep customers coming back for your products..

ChadWJ

I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I sent you a friend request, please send me a PM with your service tag, contact information an I personally look for the available options.

I finally recieved a response, but the answer blew me away.

Here is the quote from the dell representitive "That issue was reported on a different model. You can install the Command Center version from the resource DVD in all our M17x revisions."

If i can install command center from my resource cd then why did it break my onboard controller for the lights after it downgraded the firmware? Why are there a ton of threads stating that people with M17x's have bricked there controller the same way??  Am I missing something???

Just let everybody know I will handle this case personally.

This may be a little late but I want to try to help

www.ebay.com/.../181051211773

A repair service to fix the issue. This is caused from installing the wrong command center. Dell charged $800 to replace the motherboard! They will fix it including return shipping for 150.00

Re-installing the Command Center will not fix it. The problem is that the C2 chip was programmed with the wrong software from and outdated command center. The only way to fix it is with a SiLabs programmer, or a new motherboard. The link above offers a reflashing service to fix the issue

Thanks, but I already replaced the motherboad on my own dollar and it was cheaper then the service in the link that you provided! 18 days later and after an email to the board of directors I had Dell come back to me and tell me that they would replace it. Since I had already replaced the motherboard I offered to trade them my original Motherboard for a known good board and never received a response. Typical Dell, this is poor customer service and horrible engineering. I wouldn’t give this laptop to my worst enemy. Anyone that reads this should be warned, DO NOT BUY ALIENWARE save your money and frustration and buy another brand system. There are plenty of systems out there that are backed by companies that will stand behind their brand and go out of their way to make and keep customers.