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AlienwareGuy41
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January 18th, 2014 10:00
Alienware Aurora 6 beeps
Hey guys. This morning I had a weird issue with my Aurora. On startup, it installed a windows update and then reset after giving the "Shutting down..." prompt. After it reset, it installed another windows update and reset again after giving the "Shutting down..." prompt. After that, it would only beep 6 times periodically on startup and there wasn't anything on the monitor. After looking it up on my phone, I figured out that the 6 beeps indicates a video card problem. I figured that sounded about right, as I had a blue screen the other day that listed atikmpag.sys as a cause. Anyway, after turning the computer on and off every 5 minutes or so, it actually started up correctly and the video card seems to be working. I was just wondering:
1. Is my video card on its last legs?
2. Do I just need to install new drivers for my graphics card?
3. Why would it do the 6 beeps on startup for a while and then just spontaneously start correctly?
Thanks for any help.
Like Chris said, I would try to remove, clean (blow-out), and re-seat first. Clean rest of machine and radiator while you are at it.
What machine, processor, and video card model do you have?
1 & 2 = Possibly
3 = You will find out as you methodically trouble-shoot.
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
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2 Posts
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Posted January 20th, 2014 19:00
Machine: Alienware Aurora R2
Processor: Intel i5 CPU 650 @3.20GHz
Video card: ATI Radeon HD 5670
Thanks for the replies.
Is it still doing that or working ok now?.
How did the cleaning and re-seating go?
Maybe even try a different video card power cable. Remember, if only 525w PowerSupply model, like that little label says ... some of those harness plugs are inactive.
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
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56891 Posts
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Posted January 18th, 2014 10:00
AlienwareGuy41,
That could be a possibility since the BSOD occurred before the Windows updates. I would try reseating the video card as the first troubleshooting step.
* Power down the Aurora
* Disconnect the Aurora power cord from the system
* Disconnect the monitor cabling from the video card ports
* Remove the left side cover
* Notate what power supply leads are currently connected to the video card
* Disconnect the power supply leads from the video card
* Remove the screw that secures the video card to the chassis
* Remove the video card from the motherboard slot
* Use compressed air to blow out the dust from the video card fan and motherboard slot
* Reinstall the video card
* Reconnect the power supply leads to the video card
* Close the cover
* Reconnect the power cord to the Aurora
* Reconnect the monitor cabling to the video card
* Power the monitor on, then the Aurora
Once back into Windows, check the AMD website for a video card driver update. The video card could be intermittently failing.
DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell