M14x Issues and Fixes

I have had several issues with my M14x as have some of you. I love the system but it is not perfect. I use my M14x primarily for Microsoft ASP.NET software development with Visual Studio 2010 and occaisional gaming.

Here are some issues and solutions:

1. Fan Noise/Heat

I upgraded the BIOS from A04 to A05

Alienware M14x BIOS A05

this update has quieted my M14x down and it seems to run cooler.

2. Desktop Aero/Business Graphics performance and stability. I have had some issues with browser crashes and visual studio crashes as well as sluggish Win7 desktop performance. Desktop performance is controlled by the Intel HD 3000 graphics embedded in my CPU. I did not find an updated driver on the Dell website so I went to

Intel Driver Update Utility

I downloaded and installed the driver recommended by Intel. My destop aero score jumped from 5.6 to 6.9. This update has made my M14x feel significantly faster.

3. Game compatability with the latest games and performance. I have had sluggish game performance and incompatability with some games such as BF3. I went to nvidia.com and got the latest recommended driver

Verde 295.73 Driver

My 3DMark 11 score incrased from P1443 up to P1452 about a 1% improvement.

Now my M14x runs like it should. I am looking forward to programming and gaming on it. I hope this helps

 

I am running BIOS a06 and it runs really quiet, Although i have noticed somewhat sluggish performance SOMETIMES with Windows Explorer, I'll check out that Intel driver update utility and go ahead and download the latest Verde driver . Loving the system, Money well spent.

 

There is a video driver of the same version on the Dell website. However it is a significantly larger download (about 70MB) which leads me to belive that there is extra beta code in the driver which could harm your performance.

Windows Explorer, IE9 and business app performance are significantly snappier with the new Intel HD 3000 driver.

 

if you dont use a SSD remember to defrag witha real defrag prog like O&O.. windows tools is useless. absolutely.

Most people underestimate the massive performance loss of a full partition and the resulting fragmentation.


keep your system clean

 

My M15x has a 750 MB eSATA drive. I use Norton 360 to defrag it. Great suggestion!

 

On my new Alienware M14x, I am having the following problem:

1. I launch wow for the first time, that works fine.

2. The second or third time I launch wow, the launcer gets stuck on "Initializing. please wait."

3. When I click play, nothing happens, wow does not launch.

4. The launcher will no longer start.

5. I have to use the Windows Task Manager to end the Launcher process so that I can launch it again.

6. I go back to #2.

7. I delete the , Interface and Cache Folders, then go back to #1 and the process repeats itself.

8. I reinstall the entire game and end up back at #1, the cycle repeats itself.

9. I remove the Curse Client and I still end up at #1.

10. I go to the World of Warcraft Folder and double-click on wow.exe and wow launches and runs fine.

Basically, the launcher is hosed on my M14x no matter what I do. I have two other Alienware computers, all with a similar configuration:

Windows 7 Ultimate x64
8 GB RAM
Aurora R3: i7 2600k/GTX 460 SLI
M15x: i7 940XM/Radeon 5850
M14x: i7 2760QM/GT 555M

On the M14X there is one big difference, the i7 2760QM cpu has an on-board GPU and there is also an Nvidia GT 555M 1.5 GB. The on-board GPU runs windows and the GT 555M runs games.

I only have this problem on the M14x, not the other two systems. I run curse client on the other two systems with no problems. I think there is an incompatability between the dual-gpu handoff on the M14x and WoW 4.2. None of the stock solutions will fix this permanently (ie. delete /Interface/Cache). The problem ALWAYS returns.

I have created a thread in the wow forums for this issue

Launcher: Initializing. please wait. - Forums - World of Warcraft

 

I have a06 and although quieter,after some gaming i got shutdowns and stuttereing,I was so happy for a little while.I think the cooling design is just not good enough on the m14x,could you imagine a 560gtx or 580gtx.....It would explode.lol

 

Notebooks always have their limitations. Heat and power are the two biggest. If you want to run a 580 GTX, get an Aurora R3. I have one, dual GTX 460 SLI. It is about 4x faster than my M14x.

I usually go for mid to just over midrange settings in games on a notebook, or just defaults usually work.

 

I understand that I have 3 aliens,and another custom desktop,my issue is what I was promised would be fixed,that's all.I already have my gaming monster the m14x was for between my m11 and m18.There are alot of threads on other forums also on here with the same heat issues and others.But I know what your saying I just wish something wasn't promised me.It's not the worst thing in the world.Thanks for the suggestions blackwebb.I do appreciate any input.

 

Thank you for this =]

 

Noob cuestion:

If a download and install that driver, my old driver will be uninstalled or a I have todo it? if I have to, is before or after the installation of the new driver (Verde 285.62 Driver)?

Thanks Guys

PS: quick quesiont, why I can't OC the GPU with MSI AfetrB. using a previous profile that I used before. I mean, yesterday I OCed the GPU with X profile and now I can't. thanks again.

 

Also, the page of intel says that's unable, what's the name of the update to search it in other place? thanks

 

Does anyone have Alienware M14x BIOS A05? I checked on the link but it doesn't work.

 

Go to the dell support website and just narrow it down to the m14x. It should be under bios

 

There is no drop downs for me, I've tried on FF, Chrome and IE on 2 different computers. Can someone upload it to a file sharing site?



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

Hmmm thats odd...

Luckily I still have the original file before i updated my bios to a05 unlock

M14xR1A05.exe - 4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download

 

the intel thing effed up my desktop! :s anyone know how to fix it? the aero doesnt work, its somewhat more slow

 

I'm using A06 but when gaming, the fan noise is quite big, lol ...

But normally the gaming bgm is larger than the fan though.

 

Thanks, I'll give it a try tonight when I get home.

 

A06 is already come out? mine still A05, where do you get it?

You can directly go this link Dell - Search - Small & Medium Business
I have the same problem with you when try to downloading driver form dell, just google it and I got this one

 

I just got mine. Is on A06 already. Did Intel update and it had one. Redid the test and still at 5.9 Didn't go up to 6.9

 

Thanks, my Desktop Aero score jumped to 6.9 after updating with Intel!

 

where did you guys find the A06 BIOS? I only see A05 in the drivers section of dell's page.

 

Has anyone been able to get the BIOS (A05) to unlock the ability to shutdown the integrated gfx? I know that all of the other mxxx laptops have bios that allow for the intel chip to be disabled.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

What is the a05 unlock? Does it allow you to shut off the intel gfx card completely?

 

I just got My m14x last week and it came with a07 bios.

Just wanted to share that's all.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

Hey guys, So I just got this laptop about a week ago now and yesterday I decided to try out one of the new beta drivers (290.36). When I chose to install them I chose clean install which first deleted my initial drivers completely before trying to install the new ones. The problem is that while the drivers were completely uninstalled there was an error given that the setup could not detect my NVIDIA graphics hardware. Now all I see is Standard VGA Graphics Adapter in my device manager with the yellow exclamation point on it. I have tried using my resource cd that came with the laptop to try reinstalling the original drivers as well as reflashing the bios as I heard that works but both have not allowed me to reinstall the drivers. It is as if the graphics card has disappeared completely and not even detected by the hardware. Please help guys

 

I upgraded from A01 to A05 today along with downloading a bunch of driver upgrades from Dell including the video card. The fan is much quieter although it seems to run somewhat more often but makes far less of a racket. The Aero desktop performance went from 5.9 to 6.9, the memory performance dropped a tad from 7.7 to 7.6. The hard drive performance is still 5.9 but the new Dell driver (which I didn't download) was from Seagate and I have a Western Digital drive and I didn't want to risk a compatibility issue.

i7-2630QM 2.0 GHZ
6 GB memory
GT555M 1.5 GB

 

After installing the new drivers, I got an unknown device in the Device Manager. Turned out it is the micro accelerometer. I reinstalled the driver with the download installation file again and it still wasn't working. So I pointed the driver to the folder where the files were unpacked by the installation program and immediately the problem was fixed. So the moral is: Don't trust Dell's installation programs/files to do the job correctly.

 

Its a common and known problem. Alienware is working on it, as well as "we" do.
LINK

 

Well 5.9 points is a max for HDDs, you can only get higher with an SSD.

 

currently have the a05 bios and have no problems should i update to the latest bios?

 

I installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 Ultimate & Now I have the BIOS A08. Is that gonna be a problem?

 

You shouldn't be having any problems. The only problem for a08 as of the moment is that it limits ssd's to sata 2 speeds. But like most problems you'll never know until you've used your pc for some time.

One thing you should be worried about is updating your gt 555m drivers. There are plenty of informative threads to read on that. Maybe someone can make a guide to updating. I wan't to make one but since i haven't personally had the problem and fixed it, people who have would be better suited for the task.

 

Games on my m14x are a bit laggy and slower than the msi.

m14x has 3 GB & msi has 1 GB. Help me out

 

i don't think th 3gb and 1gb card gives a definitive difference in performance while playing games. try opening a new thread and provide more information such as your gpu drivers, the game, game setting, framerates, etc.

 

what graphics card is on ur msi?

 

I have downloaded the A08 bios but I am not sure I should install it. I am not having any issues with my M14x.

Suggestions?

Did you uninstall the previous driver?

 

i can seem to get zone 7 to light up which is the Alienware logo in the screen's lower bezel is there a on/off switch for this zone??

 

The AlienFX should be the only way for that... if it really doesn't light up, you better call tech support... sometimes the LEDs are effed up...

 

I have downloaded and installed the Verde 295.73 Driver I have noticed increased stability, especially in SWTOR. I have also noticed slightly decreased frame rates and 3DMark11 scores. I will trade stability for a few fps any day.

 

I noticed that as well tonight after a 3 hour gaming session, minus the stability (never had a problem with that).

My performance in SWTOR has decreased, but not by much (a few FPS) maxed out minus shadows.

If it gets worse, I might just rewind and go back to the driver I was originally using since it's the only new game I play regularly besides Heroes 6.

Kind of lost interest in BF3 (which the new driver helps) since I spend 90% of my time getting to the enemy. BF2 was much more fun/entertaining lol.

 

I have 2 questions about drivers and updates:

1) Should I delete my current drivers before updating or can I just update on top of them? (especially for gpu)

2) Are the M14x drivers on alienware support site up to date or should I use some other site to find the latest drivers?

 

1. a clean install is always preferred so you should uninstall all nvidia first.

2. you can get new drivers from nvidia

 

I bought an used alienware m14x. I had a m15x before. I notice that the Alienhead doesnt glow or 'Breathe" went lid is closed anymore like my m15x.
It this an issue or it has always been like that?
thanks.

 

Yes, it only turns on when your monitor is on. It can't change color also.

 

There is a new Intel® Processor Graphics 3000 driver available. Go to

Intel® Processor Graphics 3000 15.26.5.64.2656 (8.15.10.2656)

to download it. I am installing it now. Please give feedback here as to its quality and stability.

 

The Glow from the Alien Head on the lid is the glow from the back light on the screen. If you close the lid and the screen goes off, the head goes off too.

 

My fn+f8 and fn+f9 commands are not working in a game (volume increase and decrease). When I return to desktop they work. Strangely mute command fn+f7 works in a game too. How can I fix it, this starts to be annoying because each time I need to change my volume setting, I need to return to windows.

 

It's probably the game's code blocking that command or probably those keys have different functions in game.

What's the title in question?