WEIRD problem

Hey guys i got my m11x about a month ago and have experienced no problems. Still, i really dont. However i have noticed one, SERIOUS thing. For som strang reason... Whenever i flip my laptop over. (say it's sitting on my lap, and a pick it and make the screen horizontal with my eyeline.) It completely reboots. Also if i do it while i am rebooting it will shut me off of windows and take me to safe mode where it does an auto repair.

Anybody ever have this problem? I have a years worth of warranty to get this fixed so it's really not that big of a deal to me as far as getting it fixed goes. However it does seem to be an inconvienence.

Just let me know if you or anyone else has ever had this problem. Thanks guys.

 

I have a feeling its the Accelerometer/Free Fall Sensor. If that is the case, then simply uninstalling it or disabling it should solve your problem.

 

can anyone give me some steps on how to do that? I go to device manager and find the accelerometer, however there is not option to disable it. However, there is an option to unistiall the driver for the accelerometer. But that seems pretty drastic.... Unless there are no consequences? Let me know guys!!

 

thats really not recommended. defeats the purpose of having a free fall sensor.
it could really help in the case of an accidental fall.

@klaydabby
i bet your doing it in a really swift motion, making the free fall sensor trigger. try being more gentle. or, try a different driver for your free fall sensor.

 

actually im not. I cant even hardly move the damn thing now. If i dont keep it relativly level or take baby steps with it, it completely reboots.... WHAT IS HAPPENING?

is it the free fall sensor? Ive been driving alot with my m11x in a neoprene case. Is it possible i broke the sensor? Cause this isnt gonna work out. Im gonna have to do something about this. How do i get rid of the accelerometer?

EDIT: Just bluescreened on me... jesus christ ive enever had a computer do this to me. Somethings telling me that something has possped loose or theres a faulty wire. The screen said something about windows being damaged and completely rebooted itself. Im kinda sad... so im thinking this isnt just a sensor problem... something must be crazy wrong.... time to shell out hundreds of more dollars for dell to come to my house and fail to fix it...

 

its in add remove programs. i am unsure what it is called exactly as i upgraded to an SSD... could also be ram modules not inserted right, open the bottom panel and reinsert the ram chips just in case.

 

It could also be a loose battery. Try reconnecting the battery and pushing in the bottom cover more before tightening it. Maybe there's too much room for the battery to move.

That's how I fixed my problem, but I dunno about your BSOD... That's pretty unusual.

 

it's probably the freefall sensor. disable it in device drivers (temporarily) to see if it fixes the problem. if it does you've diagnosed it correctly. Then call Alienware to replace the motherboard. if it doesn't fix the problem, then it's something else. Try the suggestions above. If they don't work, call Alienware.

 

Even if it's not recommended, I would rather be turn it off and be more careful rather than have the machine reboot every time I move it.

I would try all the above fixes i.e. reseat the RAM, reconnect the battery, disable the sensor. If you are still having problems then a motherboard replacement might be needed.

 

Wow, the M11x has an accelerometer? I did not know that.

 

Well.... Just removed the AccelerometerP11 from the add or remove programs section. I removed it and its drivers.

It SEEMS to have fixed the problem. Im being gentle but i can, however, make sudden moves and turn it upside down. Woo.... i wonder why my accelerometer started tripping out?

 

A faulty accelerometer can cause this. Now that you have all the hard work done, call dell (since its under warrantee), tell them what you have done, and you should end up with a new mother board. Leaving the driver disabled isn't a long term solution, it was placed there for a purpose. They'll fix it up...

 

i thought free fall sensor came inside the HDD and not on the motherboard? guess that explains one of my unknown devices lol

 

Should i contact the alienware tech support or just dell. Also are there any advantages to getting a new motherboard? I really dont want to lose all my installed games :/

 

I always thought the sensor was on the motherboard but it might be on the HDD housing. The advantage of a new motherboard, I guess, is that your sensor should work and it shouldn't mess up your games. However, a backup is highly recommended.

 

Free-fall sensor (aka Accelerometer) should be on the mother board. It is there regardless of which Hard Disk is installed. While most (if not all) hard disks are self parking, the free fall sensor is another lever altogether. Replacing the mother board, however, shouldn't matter on your installed games... You'll keep your same hard disk.

 

get a video of it happening and upload it youtube, the techs will look and can advise you a bit more,

also have you tried f12 during boot and selecting diagnostics? it takes a whee while, but then select " advanced diagnostics " and you may be able to test it there.

 

I didn't think that the accelerometer would reboot the laptop if it detected a fall...I can't get mine to reboot the laptop even if I toss it in the air or let it drop. (catching it of course)