1st day with new m11xr2 and had a weird boot issue, please advise.

Hey guys, I have a weird issue here, I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone...

So I received my new m11xr2 last night and today is my first day with it. Fired it up today and all was well. I downloaded Firefox, Microsoft Security Essentials, and a few games off of Steam. I had to leave for a bit so I went to shut it down and noticed that there were windows updates. So I hit shut down and left the m11x on so it could update itself. I came back a few hours later and turned it on, only to have a black screen, and 4 consecutive beeps over and over, The LED lights were lit, but the screen was black. I let it beep at me for a minute or so before doing a forced shutdown.... Started it back up and it applied the updates, and is running like nothing ever happened.

Just wondering if that has ever happened to anyone before, I'm sure it was just a random glitch, but I just want to be sure. I haven't updated any drivers yet, everything is still stock on this computer.

i5/320gbHDD/4gbRAM

Any info would be appreciated.

 

Probably just an odd glitch. Keep a sharp eye on your system.

Also, if you remember the beep sequence, you could also look up beep codes.

 

There have been threads on black screens after Windows Update as well as downloading over wireless (prompting the question, are you using wireless?), so you're not alone.

Here's one that's quite similar http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/510666-fresh-install-windows-7-freezing.html

 

Interesting corwinicre, I didn't find that through the search. I couldn't have been installing anything else during the updates since the system was mid-shutdown... and the "freezing" happened after the updates finished, after the computer shut down fully, and during the first boot sequence.... Though it had to still work with the updates during that first boot back, so there may be a connection, and I do in fact use wireless, so I don't know.

Very random.

 

I have exactly the same problem with my M11xR2. This happened to me the first day I had it and has been an intermittent proglem ever since. I've only had the laptop a week and already I think buying this laptop was a very big mistake. My service tag is not recognised on the DELL website so I cannot go further than entering that on the Tech support page. You cannot find the beep codesa any where as the BIOS is called Alienware BIOS, not something normal that you could look up like AMIBios. It's a nightmare. I phoned the Tech support and they said try resitting the RAM. That didn't work. Now they are telling me to operate the laptop with only 1 stick of RAM at a time to see if its a particular stick....I am not being funny but I payed over £1000 for this laptop, I dont expect to have to take it apart and fault find it less than a week after I receive it. I will NEVER buy anything from DELL again this whole experence has been a nightmare and still it goes on. I was given a link yesterday to the supposed BIOS beep codes from someone on the DELL forum and that said 4 short beeps was something to do with a cache error which means a dodgy CPU. Unfortunatley that link doesn't work today I will let you know if I find out anything else, but I wouldn't hold my breath.....Supposed to be 24hr hardware support!!!

 

Thats no good for you. When ever you are thinking you would rather not have the laptop and be pained by it messing with you, its time to call support lol. Id get a replacement right away, you shouldn't have to put up with that at all! Maybee get a upgrade or two by explaining to them your hardship with it and it might turn out to be ok afterall.

 

It has happened to me one other time since... Actually like 3 days ago.

I've noticed that it has something to do with the charger... I'm not sure why, but it kept beeping at me when I tried to boot. The only thing that made it boot was unplugging the charger, then booting.

Since then, I haven't been able to make it do that. I've left the charger plugged in purposely every time I boot it to get it to do it again, and it wont.

What I know about the issue...

-It's 4 beeps then a pause, then 4 beeps etc.
-It has something to do with the charger during boot.
-Unplugging the charger, during the initial bios load, and plugging back in when the windows screen appears, bipasses the error.
-It seems random, and only happens during maybe 1% of boots.

 

Has anyone ever found beep codes documented anywhere for the R1 or R2?

 

I've the same damn problem, with the same damn symptoms.

my set-up is the same too i5/320gbHDD/4gbRAM

I found these infos, no alienware beeps, different brands
1. 4 short System timer failure: Bad clock IC or bad RAM in the first bank of memory
2. 4 short Keyboard communication failure: Bad keyboard controller or keyboard
3. 4 short Keyboard error: Keyboard itself might be bad, or the controller IC on the motherboard

and still looking for solutions...

 

I Have The Same Problem With My Alienware M17x R3, I72630qm, 8gb Ram, Amd Hd6970..

It Sometimes Boots With 4 Beeps, I Think It Has Something With The Charger Too,

It Just Happened To Me Today For The Third Or Fourth Time,

Today When It Happened

-I Removed The Battery ,
-Mount It Again , Nothing Happened , Same Problem..
-After That I Removed The Battery
-I Plugged In The Cable And It Started,

As I'm Writing These Words I'm On A/c Power Without Battery..

Any Ideas To What's Happening, Should I Worry ?!

Thanks

 

Maybe the socket you are using to plug the laptop into are faulty or producing too much voltage for the charger to handle, OR could just be a crap charger or battery, it's not always about an issue with the laptop itself. Just call support, and make sure you get an experienced associate!

 

ok, but it works perfectly after i succeed in starting windows.. what could be the issue, and the problem keeps on going with the battery , without the battery , plugged in with the battery and so on.. it is just a temporary solution, im really disapointed

 

These are the beep codes for Dell notebooks.