New R4 won't run at all. No support. Out $3800+. Dead in the water.

I hope that someone high up enough in the support structure reads this and can help me. I, too have received my new $3800 Alienware Aurora R4 more than a week ago. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my son. Needless to say, his Christmas at the moment is looking very lean. The beautiful case and its innards sit on the dining room table, along with a new Dell 22-in. monitor, new mouse(wired), and new Logitech G510 keyboard(wired). All plugged in to the powerstrip Dell sent us. Three times in the last four days, I have waited twenty minutes, only to have the phone call cut off after ten minutes with the support person having taken my phone and alternate cell phone every time, along with my email. I have $3800+ invested in a useles-at-the-moment 70-pound elephant in the dining room. One tech had me plug in the DVI connector to the PC and monitor, using the bottom of the dual video cards. The quick-start guide said to use to top card. I've performed a power-drain with the power button, as I chatted with the tech, then she had me go through a power-on sequence and I finally got a splash screen with an Alien head that instructed me to push F2. I push F2 and the screen then says, "no hard drive, please reseat and try again". That's all it ever does. I cannot hold a conversation with support, after a 20-minute wait to connect and a ten-minute disconnect, so far in four days no-one will answer my emails at Dell or return my phone calls. The Pig sits on my dining room table, inert, and I'm out $3800 bucks.

Also, the lighting panels don't work on the left side, but the theater lighting goes on when the side panel is removed. My number is XXXXX

Remove your tag number  for your privacy...

Here is a better number for Alienware  800-254-3692

I will give Dell techs time to answer this post, then again will try to phone tech support, this time at the number Best Buy Geek Squad guys here in Idaho Falls gave me: 1-800-624-9896. While this online help isn't as direct as a phone call, I do appreciate no end that an actual Dell rep is communicating with me and will continue to try to resolve this without sending the unit back to Dell/Alienware. Thanks so much, DELL-Chris M

Also, the lighting panels don't work on the left side, but the theater lighting goes on when the side panel is removed. My number is [Admin. Note: Edited per TOU Policy]

* Power the R4 on
* Press F2 to enter the Bios. At this point, are you saying the Bios screen does NOT appear?

Thank you for answering my request. I now have hopes of resolution. I power the R4 on, the keyboard lights up but doesn't otherwise have any effect on the screen. The sepia-colored Alienhead screen appears for a few seconds, then goes to an error message saying "no hard drive detected. Please seat hard drive and try again". I just got back from taking it to the geek squad at my local Best Buy. They hooked it up and couldn't get even a screen of any kind other than black. They said I have to send it back to Dell as they couldn't get it to POST and the hard drives (2 each 500 GB solid state) seemed to be seated. I just hooked it all up again here at home and get the error: "no hard drive detected".

Making another attempt to contact Alienware support at 800-254-3692 now...

Dell rep/tech said to return the R4 for a refund, nothing they can do. Wating now 25 minutes on hold for an instruction on how to do this. No answer...

Trying to remove tag number but can't. Can you do it from the Dell end? Thanks. Will try the better number for Alienware.

So... . Now have at length spoken with Dell tech Antonio in El Salvador who  assisted me with an exchange for another R4 to me and I'm then to return the first unit. Said the replacement will be sent in 10 days.

So... . Now have at length spoken with Dell tech Antonio Mejia in El Salvador who  assisted me with an exchange for another R4 to me and I'm then to return the first unit. Said the replacement will be sent in 10 days.

Enjoy the new system... and one small correction now that everything has been straightened out.

It wasn't a 70lb. Elephant but more like 45lbs.

Use that number from now on, the other one was a Dell Support number.

I bet it comes sooner...

Trying to remove tag number but can't. Can you do it from the Dell end? Thanks. Will try the better number for Alienware.

You can try this:

support.dell.com/.../document

Tesla1856, Thanks for your post. Since I've got Win7X64 and not Win8, the only part of the link I see as applicable here would be about removing one of the dual VCs and replacing it again, and so I will just wait for the new, replacement R4 to arrive in a couple of weeks or less in hopes it works out of the box.

Dell called today. Said new system has been shipped. Expecting(hoping) it'll work out of the box....