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thisidismine
5 Posts
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82177
August 30th, 2015 07:00
Alienware 15(Early 2015) does not shutdown fully sometimes,
This problem occurs once every 3-6 shutdowns but its hard to reproduce wilfully as the root cause has not been identified. This problem started occurring after I upgraded to Win10 and/or upgraded to A05 BIOS. I have since downgraded to A02 BIOS and have clean installed Win10 from a USB stick but the problem remains.
When I click shutdown, the normal shutdown process happens, the screen goes off and screen backlight goes off but the AlienFX lights remain. The fans and HDD keep spinning. I have to hold down the power button to force the system to turn off. Now, once or twice while clicking "Shutdown", I had this screen pop up(attached). As soon as I pressed the Esc key, the Alienware logo came up and the system booted normally. I am mentioning this as the two issues may be related. In fact after upgrading to A05 BIOS, the system did not shutdown after the flash. The fans kept running at maximum speed. I waited for 10 min. and then forced a shutdown.
However the second issue has happened 3 times in the last 20 days and is not as frequent as the incomplete shutdown issue. I have found that the incomplete shutdown happens with greater probability if the system enters the sleep state at least once during use and is subsequently shutdown. I have clean installed Windows 10 from a USB stick and have updated all the drivers but the problem remains. I did a powercfg /energy report. Its saying that the USB device sleep state is intermittent. I contacted Dell support but did not get a satisfactory answer as they essentially told me to wait it out until Windows updates solve the problem. Meanwhile, I am worried that I may be damaging my system by forcing shutdown.
Can someone from Dell please help?
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IMAG0310-min.jpg
thisidismine
5 Posts
1756
0
Posted September 1st, 2015 13:00
I tried but the problem still occurs. Could this be due to a faulty/damaged motherboard or do you think it's a driver issue?
Alienware - Rodrigo
9 Technologist
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4398 Posts
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Posted September 2nd, 2015 14:00
Hi,
To rule out the possibility of this being a software issue, you could try restoring your system to factory settings using Alien Respawn. Click here to view a Dell article for more information about using Alien Respawn.
thisidismine
5 Posts
1756
0
Posted September 2nd, 2015 23:00
I have already clean installed Windows 10. Did you mean go back to Windows 8.1?
Alienware - Rodrigo
9 Technologist
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4398 Posts
1756
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Posted September 3rd, 2015 12:00
Hi,
Try running an ePSA/Diagnostics test on the system. Let us know if any errors come up.
thisidismine
5 Posts
1789
0
Posted September 7th, 2015 08:00
Hi. No errors came up on ePSA. However, Now I have clean installed Win 8 and the issue is still there. It seems that there might be something wrong with the motherboard. Have other Alienware 15 users reported similar issues?
Hi there,
I have an Alienware 15 and have experienced the exact same issue. Additionally in my case I cannot see my D drive (1 TB hdd). I had the laptop set to sleep when shutting the lid. Now the laptop will not shut down normally. The fan runs and it will stay like that until the battery drains or until it is shutdown by pressing the power button. Have upgraded the firmware to A05 also.
Did you manage to fix the issue? Is anyone else experiencing the same?
thisidismine
5 Posts
1789
0
Posted September 14th, 2015 03:00
Hi,
No I haven't. I have clean installed Windows 8.1 and tried with with various versions of Dell supported drivers but the issue remains. Dell support was claiming earlier that its a Windows 10 issue. When I told them that I have this issue even after downgrading to Win 8.1 with a clean install they did not reply.
Have you tried deleting any accelerated volumes you have on Intel Rapid Storage Technology?
That could help with your HDD issue. Also, try running ePSA diagnostics. Press F12 repeatedly on startup and select diagnostics. See if your HDD appears on the list of devices on the left.
Also, is your issue as unpredictable as mine? My laptop shuts down normally and sometimes it doesn't. That's why it's so frustrating. I have tried isolating the cause but I am still not able to. Btw, have you ever had the screen attached with my original post appear on shutdown. That screen also appears whenever I use ePSA diagnostics(right after I exit diagnostics). Please confirm if yours does too. If so, both of us have the same manufacturing defect and Dell should replace our systems if its a Mobo fault.
yojoshma777
1 Message
1789
0
Posted October 29th, 2015 16:00
Hi there,
I have an Alienware 15 and have been experiencing the exact same issue for nearly five months now. When I put my laptop into sleep mode, and turn it back on, my D drive (1 Tb hdd) goes missing. Then, when I shutdown the system, the screen goes black, the alien fx lights remain on and the fan keeps on running. The only way I can actually turn it off, is to hold press and hold down the power button.
I was experiencing the same issue before I upgraded to windows 10.
I have to let the computer cool down for at least half an hour before switching back on to see my D drive reappear.
I bought this computer in early January and am really confused as to why this problem keeps on occurring.
Is there any way to fix this issue? Need help please
Alienware - Rodrigo
9 Technologist
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4398 Posts
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Posted September 1st, 2015 09:00
Hi,
We recommend you stick with the A05 Bios version. Try doing a power drain (unplug the AC adapter, disconnect the battery, unplug all external devices, press and hold the power button for 30 seconds). Also, go into the Bios and load the optimized defaults with the F9 key.