Alienware 17 R4 (GTX 1080) Restart Problem

Hello, I have recently bought a Dell Alienware 17 R4 laptop. However there is one strange issue-the laptop will not restart. If I press restart or I initiate the restart sequence through any software the laptop will try to restart but only to a black screen and the lights on the keyboard will be illuminated.If I completely shut down through windows or power button,the laptop will power on without any problems. I would appreciate any help.Thank you!

 

Okay so today i have disconnected the battery, disconnected the CMOS battery, let it rest for one minute and then back on - no result, still the same. I ran DELL diagnostics and all test were fine. There is one thing though - when i save and exit in BIOS (F10) the computer turns off, then after few seconds i get 2 RED light flashes on the power button and then after few seconds it restarts. So it basically restarts in BIOS, however it gives those 2 red flashes prior to doing so. Any suggestions?

Im on Windows 10 by the way.

 

Have you tried disabling Hibernation - which is required for Slow Shutdown / Fast Startup + Sleep?

Start a cmd windows As Administrator:

powercfg /h off

Then reboot, you may need another reboot, see if those symptoms end.

 

I have disabled it - still no juice.It boots perfectly fine off cold boot. However the restart or sleep options hand the computer - it says restarting and bam!Black screen and keyboard lights are on...

PS. The BIOS version is not the latest, however i cannot update it - the update requires a restart. If i try to update from BIOS it still restarts after initialising the update and hangs.

 

Weird, usually it is the Fast Boot disable that fixes it, but I prefer completely turning off Hibernation, which is the base for all MS's messing around.

But, it looks like someone else is seeing this too:

Power Lights Blinking after Shut Down
http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-2797800/power-lights-blinking-shut.html

" Best solution
metalicgeek
September 14, 2015 1:12:09 PM
You may be having difficulty with a Windows feature called hybrid shutdown, which performs a hibernate-like dump of important running processes and kernel components during each shutdown. To disable hybrid shutdown, type "Power plan" in Start and choose the first option. Click "Choose what the power buttons do" on the sidebar. Click "Change settings that are currently unavailable." Uncheck "Turn on fast startup.""

" prasadudt
September 16, 2015 9:28:15 AM
Thanks but its not working still the same issue"

 

There is no such an option , however i have disabled Hibernate feature. I dont have any warranty, thats why im trying my best to find a solution...

 

If you disable Hibernation the FastStart Option goes away

 

So should I enable it and disable fast start?

 

No, my last post was to say it's a good thing, you've clearly disabled Hibernation if the FastStartup option is missing.

IDK what's going on, but keep googling, and good luck

 

@tuxedo187: How come a new 17 r4 doesn't come w/ warranty? Please check what does power button do in each POwer Plan i.e Balanced, High Performance and Power saver. I think the system is going into sleep mode.

 

Because I bought I second hand. About the sleep mode-if I put it to sleep I cannot wake the laptop,it gets stuck with keyboard lights on and black screen.The same thing happens if I try to restart.
Its also strange that I cannot update thethe BIOS,if only I could somehow force bios update or override it manually...
BTW. Thank you all for the help!

 

Have you updated Intel graphics to latest ones? Just type your service tag at Alienware > Support and Downloads. You'll have some warranty left.

 

It says warranty info unavailable. I have updated the latest Intel Drivers as well. I have uploaded 2 videos on Youtube, so here is the laptop restarting and hanging: and here is a video of BIOS save and exit, you see the pattern, it turns off, then on, then a couple of red flashes, then off and on again, then it boots:
The flashing orange is low battery i believe.

 

I updated my nvidia drivers yesterday and although I didn't try restart, I currently also can't close/open the lid. Screen will stay black, however mouse is working...

I think I will try downgrading drivers tomorrow see if it helps. If you are on 384.92 then I probably have the same issue as you.

 

@tuxedo187

Disable FastBoot. This happened all the time until I disabled it and frankly on a SSD Fastboot is not even needed as its about 1 sec diff between boot times. Once it's disabled then do a full reboot and report back.

It will require a FULL reboot for these settings to kick in, so don't expect it to work on the first restart, if it hangs up try rebooting once more

#1 Right click on the Power Battery Icon


#2

#3


#4

 

I turned off fast start and it indeed fixed the issue for me.

That said, I still find it strange that I didn't have this issue before updating the nvidia drivers. But at least now I can just stay at the highest version instead of downgrading.

 

Alot of that has to do with the piss poor way Windows handles shutdowns and reboots with fastboot on. Fastboot keeps the drivers in the memory, the problem with this is it does not always refresh those drivers after a new install. So when Windows trys to bootup and shut down, its stuck with a mix of new and old files that dont match.

Needless to say, fastboot was nice when Windows took 60-90 sec to boot on old hardware, but now adays its worthless and causes more issues then its worth.

 

I spoke too soon, closing the lid and opening it after a while still causes the same issue. ;(

 

Can you disable Intel Rapid storage power saving for SATA/PCIe link?

 

@Fajo
I have completely disabled Hibernation so there is no such option to turn off Fast Startup...

 

Don't know how to help ya then, from everything you are describing it still sounds like a driver recall in the memory. Only thing I can suggest is maybe doing a re enable of hibernation, Uncheck fastboot then reboot, re disable hibernation and see if it fix's. Sorry cant be of more assistance to ya.

 

Try hitting Fn + F7 key to switch between GFX. Use CCleaner to clean out junk files and may I know the page file size?

 

I have tried the Fn+F7, however it says that the function is unsupported on GSync LCD. As far as junk files go, i have previously added a 512GB ssd and freshly reinstalled Windows but the issue persisted. I believe something is wrong with the BIOS or the motherboard itself. I wonder why can't i force overwrite the BIOS, it always tries to restart no matter what. The BIOS version is outdated, there are like 4 newer versions.

@Fajo thanks for the help buddy.

 

Are you running CPU performance mode? I get similar issues if I use that particular option in the bios. Disabling it and just running stock alleviates most issues for me. This Cassini lineup is a nightmare...so many ghosts in the machine it isn't even funny.

 

@MogRules I did not see an option of "Performance mode" in bios. I will double check that. Thanks

 

Any luck?

@tuxedo187

 

@MogRules
Thanks for asking, but i'm afraid no. Still can play all the games and etc. I have freshly reinstalled Windows to no avail, so it lies deeper i guess...

 

Did this, didn't help.

I'm not convinced is the nvidia drivers anymore either. It's a little bit annoying

 

Check Tobii Aware app installed on your PC, it might be mis-configured. So when you look away PC thinks its time to shutdown or restart.

 

For me the problem is, the computer comes 'out of sleep' (or standby or whatever), AlienFX turns on (although a little strange, first flickering after that normal), my mouse is visible, sometimes with the loading 'O' under it. And I can press the control key to see the rings around it (the 'find my cursor' feature, dont ask why I have it on ) (I can also move my mouse cursor). Just the screen stays black, no windows logon, the tobii leds also don't turn on. It gets 'stuck' somewhere loading (the rest of) windows.

Also the windows event viewer doesn't seem to record anything, so it's not helping me debug this issue.

 

I would go into device manager and start disabling devices one by one. Start with the Tobii eye tracker and work your way through any other secondary devices. Disable device - put the PC to sleep - test if you still have the problem.
It sounds like a dodgy driver to me.

 

Try removing Dell apps like Foundation services, Update service, Support Assist etc.

 

I have sold the laptop, probably a hardware issue. I will buy one with warranty next time though. Thank you all for thr help

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