I have an Alienware 18 running Windows 8.

I am having a problem that I think started when the Command Center was updated about a month and a half ago.  The update was done because a pop up said that there was an update to it and I said to go ahead and install it.

The problem is that after a while (could be an hour of a couple of days) the macro keys become unresponsive.  A reboot will fix it until it fails again.  I call Tech support and the rep had me do all kinds of things including removing and re-installing the command center (did that 3 times).  The also had me i install the keyboard driver for the stand alone keyboard and that really messed up things.

I uninstalled and re-installed the Command Center (the 3rd time) and it look like the problem was fixed but the next time I booted it failed again after a few hours.

TheTaskinfo (a utility I have) showed that AlienwareTactXMacroController.exe was not responding so I terminated the process and then started it again by double clicking on the exe file.  The program then shows up in Task manager as A;ianLabs.Keypad.Controler (32 bits) and it usually is not responding right after I start it.  I then do an End Task from Task manager and then the keys start to work again.  When (notice that I said when and not if) I do the End Task and restart and I am back in business.

When the keys are not working, if I open the command center and go to the TactX screen, I can select the keys and even use the pop up menu to define them, but when I try to put in a key stroke nothing goes into the box.  When I try to define a macro it lets me name it, but when I try to record it the keystrokes do not appear in the box.

Any one has any idea as to how to fix or diagnose this problem since Tech support is totally useless?