Alienware m15x Issues

[Noveed]

So I purchased an Alienware Laptop on the 28/04/09, it was the m15x with half decent specs. I grew tired with my Dell XPS M1530 the performance just wasnt there and I needed something with a bit more kick. The specs I went for were:

C2D T9300 (2.5GHz)

8GB Ram

120GB SSD

512MB 9800M GT

Blu Ray Drive

1200p Screen

It cost in excess of ?2500

The laptop arrived and it seemed to work fine for the first few days, I didnt really install anything or change any of the factory settings as I was unwell at the time, was in and out of hostpital constantly. Eventually when I did get a chance to have a bash on it I noticed a few strange things.

First problem I came accross was the keyboard. It was lagging so to speak, it could not keep up with the speed of my typing. For instance I would type google and on screen would sho gogle, apple would become aple and so on. I managed to get around this issue by following this guide so it was no biggie to be honest just a minor inconvinience.

The next issue was annoying, really annoying. I took the laptop to a friends house to show him it. When I got to his house he wanted to see the quality of the screen and so he played a HQ movie he when he tried to turn the volume up via the touch volume slider it did not work. The slider did not even light up to show that it senced the touch. I then noticed that the bluetooth light was switching on and off without me even touching it and to reflect that the screen would display the OSD showing bluetooth going on and off aswell. I found this bizzard and restarted the laptop. To much dismay I could not get those keys working again. My friend was laughing at me telling me that I had made a mistake going to Alienware I told him its probably just teething problems and I would eventually give Alienware a ring to sort it out. A few days passed and I thought why not test some games on the machine, the touch buttons eventually started to work again on thier own which I found strange, I tested Crysis, WoW and C&C RA3. I was shocked when i noticed that WoW was crashing and the laptop was freezing in the middle of raids/instances, to top that off RA3 would do the same thing. This was pretty much the last straw so I rang up Alienware and spoke to them about this. They arranged for the laptop to be sent back to the Depot however I was taken back into hostpital so I did not have the chance to get it sent back. When I eventually got out of hostpital I stopped using the Alienware and went back to Usnig the Dell. I just totally forgot about the Alienware laptop until Christmas when I had some time off work to have another mess about on it.

I did eventually get the laptop sent to the Depot stating the 2 issues with the crashing and wit the touch keys. 2 weeks later in January this year I got the laptop back and it had exactly the same issues. When I spoke to Alienware they advised that the CPU was replaced however thier service invoice numbers seems to contradict this as it only shows labour and not parts. Anyways I got it sent back again at the end of January because it had exactly the same issues and this time they replaced the GPU (this was shown on the invoice so it definitly was replaced) but found not fault with the touch keys, they were unable to replicate the issue in thier depot with the touch keys so therefore it was not an issue (I was apparently lying about it).

I have spoke to many different techinical support people since then (none of them who speak fluent Enlgish and none of them who can understand the issue) and have been passed from pillar to post. Alienware seem to think there is no issue what so ever. I have told them them I can record a video of the problem and send it to them on DVD or upload it on youtube for them to see howeve they laughed off this claim. In addition to that I have had the laptop checked from a local computer shop and the shop has confirmed there is an issue with the hardware, in specific the Touch Mechanism. Alienware now say its due to some software I installed thats why the toch stopped working but I beg to differ. Through the MSDNAA that I had with the university I have got copies of windows xp, vista and 7. I have installed all three of them to see if I could rule out the OS and everytime I was able to replicate the problem where the touch buttons stopped working. According to Alienware if I send them an independant engineers diagnostics report on the issue then its a waste as it means nothing to them.

I sent a complain email to [email protected] on the 13/03/2010 but I have yet to recieve a reply. I rang up today to ask what the complaints procedure was and I was told that there was non, however I was given a different email to voice my concerns to ([email protected]). I grew tired of being passed from pillar to post so I though I would ring dell, I got the laptop from Alienware website when it was not integrated to the dell one, when I rang Dell, they simply said they could not help me ... even though Dell owns Alienware. I asked if there were any departments that dealt with complaints and I was advised there were none.

After frustration I went to visit my local trading standards shop thing and they have advised me to write a letter quoting the "Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)" and see where that gets me, in addition to posting the letter I am going to email them it aswell, fingers crossed I should be able to get somewhere as I am sick and tired of this, I wish I had never bought an Alienware their service is pure **** its absolutly appauling. Dont get me wrong I cant fault the laptop for performance when it actually works but when it doesnt and you need to speak to someone then the level of service you will recieve is not exactly going to be A grade, also if you have a problem which they can not replicate at their depot then according to them there is not problem and you are classed as a liar.

Fingers crossed i should get a response within 7-14 days of sending the letter, if not then trading standards have said they will take over the case and deal with the directly. All I want is a repair/replacement, I am happy with the model etc and it thats not possible then a full refund! :angry:

[Raa]

I feel your pain, brother. I'm on my second (paid for) m15x. Great specs, cheap production. Ahh well!

Keep me updated on how this goes. I've got my first m15x still sitting here - it needs some repairs, and i've had no luck getting anyone from Alienware/Dell to go near the thing. It didn't help that Dell bought Alienware out and then promptly shut down the local AW team here in Aus, and Dell aren't interested in helping "old Alienware customers" now.

Post 6000 marked!

[DrewJW]

I'd be after a refund, I just could not deal with a company who screws around a customer like that.

[Nicholas P.]

I feel you as I also had to call Dell regarding some issues I had with my laptop.

Hope everything to go well both your health and your mx.

Alieware was a top rated company until Dell 'bought' it.

gl

[Noveed]

I feel your pain, brother. I'm on my second (paid for) m15x. Great specs, cheap production. Ahh well!

Keep me updated on how this goes. I've got my first m15x still sitting here - it needs some repairs, and i've had no luck getting anyone from Alienware/Dell to go near the thing. It didn't help that Dell bought Alienware out and then promptly shut down the local AW team here in Aus, and Dell aren't interested in helping "old Alienware customers" now.

Post 6000 marked!

Yes thats exactly what happening when I rang Dell, they said they would put be back through to Alienware. If the laptop does not have a Dell service tag then Dell customer/Technical Support can not deal with the issue, I was a bit cheeky and I gave them the service Tag for my Dell XPS M1530 but they still were not having any of it. Ideally if there was an Alienware Head Office in the UK that I could directly contact via Telephone then the would be speaking to them directly to get this resolved however it seems to be in Ireland and calling Ireland costs a hell of a lot of money from a Mobile :(

The most annoying thing is you can not really "complain" to anyone on the phone, it has to be done via email and you are not guaranteed to get a response from them. I have drafted up the letter that I am going to send to Alienware, it seems the only address I have for them is at thier corporate offices...

Alienware Ltd.

Unit 1 Blyry Court

Blyry Industrial Estate

Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland

Now this is exactly the same address as the Alienware Depot where my laptop has been a number of times for repair. If the management are ignorant as the depot technicians then I am not sure what else I or the Trading Standards can do, I just got off the phone from Alienware again and they have agreed to do another Depot repair so it is going back again for the 3rd or 4th time. Before I send it back I am going to record some video evidence and upload it to youtube and also burn it to a DVD and send it along with the laptop. In addition to that I am also going to send of a letter from the computer shop that I go the laptop tested from, its not a letter headed report as that would set me back ?50 its just a confirmation letter stating that there is an issue with the Touch mechanism.

Not sure what the law is in Australia but here is an extract of the letter that I am sending to them with the relevant UK law.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states that when a consumer buys goods from a trader they must be: as described; of a satisfactory quality; and fit for any purpose made known at the time of sale to the seller.

This legislation also states that the seller, not the manufacturer, is legally obliged to sort out a problem if the goods do not meet these requirements.

The law also says I have six years from the date of purchase to claim damages for faulty goods.

Now the only thing that has me worried is that Alienware has been taken over by Dell, so how this would play out I am not sure, does the law still apply if the company is under new ownership? My warrenty seemed to have ran out yesterday I just realised but Alienware have still agreed to a depot repair which i find quite odd. I did mention on the phone to the techincal agent that I would persue this until it was resolved and if that meant getting legal advise/taking legal action or getting trading standards involved them I would do so.

As things stand the letter is going to be addressed to Alienware however I may consider sending it to Dell's UK HQ and also send out emails to both customer support teams just so I have covererd my back I was advised to send the letter recorded delviery so there is proof of them recieving it. Trading standards did mention that they should reply back within 14 days or so and if they do not then Trading Standards will take ownership of the case and deal with them directly.

I was considering purchasing a M11x this year, I would have done so had I not had these issues. Seems like the luck of the draw the laptops are top notch if they work but getting the fixed or seeking support if they break down is a royal pain up the bum :(

I think this will be my first and last Alienware laptop after this saga I do not want anything to do with the company. (the only downside is there are not a lot of other companies out there who will compete with Alienware on laptop specs :( )

[RandomX]

a lot of major retailers in Australia have just given Dell the axe, because of their poor customer service and poor margins for the retailers.

if there is a fault with a Dell/Alienware in Australia all we do is call them, establish there is an issue and they send out a contracted technician to fix it.

the best thing is that the contracted technicians are paid when the job is completed, so even if you convince the Dell Tech Support people there is an issue, when actually there isn't, the techies will still replace the part... its no skin off their backs... and another quick note, Dell's contracted tech's earn $25 per job, with no allowance for people they have to call on their mobiles or an allowance for fuel for the car they drive to and from jobs...

pretty poor if you ask me...

[Noveed]

They should hopefully have recieved my letter by today or tomorrow, still have not had a reply via email. I will ring them up tomorrow to see if they have recieved my letter and get some sort of confirmation, I checked the tracking number I was given and it still has not been signed for yet.

[Noveed]

So it has been a while since I last updated this post, some things have moved on since then.

The laptop went back to the depot for "repair" for the 4th time came back yesterday and again as soon as I switched it on the problem with the touch mechanism was apparent. Volume slider not working, wifi, blue-tooth, stealth mode and command centre all not working. Great!

I sent off a nice email to Alienware again and I have had a reply this morning asking me how to proceed. I have requested that they either replace the laptop with a working one or provide me with a full refund. They have only got to this stage as I threatened legal action having already been in touch with trading standards who advised I had a really strong case.

I shall let you know of the outcome :)

Things are finally looking better, can put an end to this issue that has been ongoing since April last year.

[sw1tch..]

Thanks for posting this. I was considering a new laptop soon and a Dell was on the list. Maybe not after hearing a horror story like this. I hope it all gets sorted out for you.

[Lord Zog]

Since Dell took over Alienware, their machines haven't been up to par to old AW standards.. I myself have a M17x-R2 that replaced a XPS m1730 and its plagued with problems.. Bought in March 2010 and has been replaced twice already.. And the first one they sent me didn't even power up, so this is technically my 3rd machine... My touchbar barely works also.. I have to touch it in a certain spot to get it to register a click.. If I want my volume to go up more than one bar, I have to find the spot and touch it more than once.. Latest bios and drivers and such also.. This is a hardware issue.. :( This is the least of my probs. :)

[witalit]

So it has been a while since I last updated this post, some things have moved on since then.

The laptop went back to the depot for "repair" for the 4th time came back yesterday and again as soon as I switched it on the problem with the touch mechanism was apparent. Volume slider not working, wifi, blue-tooth, stealth mode and command centre all not working. Great!

I sent off a nice email to Alienware again and I have had a reply this morning asking me how to proceed. I have requested that they either replace the laptop with a working one or provide me with a full refund. They have only got to this stage as I threatened legal action having already been in touch with trading standards who advised I had a really strong case.

I shall let you know of the outcome :)

Things are finally looking better, can put an end to this issue that has been ongoing since April last year.

For the price you paid I hope you get a full refund !! I would want one after all this crap that has happened as well.

[Teebor]

Great news you are making progress, Good luck I hope you get what you want. Be that working laptop or your money back

[TEX4S]

I tried to buy one for my father last summer, and they gave me such a problem over the damned billing address of my AMEX card, and the shipping address of the computer - that after talking to some idiot in Miami which sounded like they just pulled some cuban off the streets in South Beach - I got fed up with the whole thing and just bought him a Studio 15 and he was happy with it.

I have a machine on our bench right now, an Area 51, which cost $3000 new, he is on his 3rd mobo now...

[Vice]

Seriously at this point just get a refund. I can't believe you sent it back 4 times and it still isn't fixed. I would have requested a refund after receiving it back the first time still broken.

[WelshBluebird]

Just carry on threatening legal action if they still don't do anything. The law is on your side here, so they should really be kissing your behind so you don't take them to court.

[Noveed]

They agreed to replace the laptop with one of their new models instead of giving me a full refund (I had a feeling they would)

They said that it would be a like for like replacement so here was me getting happy, when I was sent the first quote of the "Baseline" system I was somewhat underwhelmed. I instantly replied back objecting to the specifications of this new system.

My current laptop although its faulty had 8GB Ram, it had a Blu-Ray copier(It had one, even though I have never used it and probably never will it still had one lol), I had a smart media bay with an extra 250GB smart media bay hdd. It also had things what you expect as standard like bluetooth etc.

The quote I was given was only 4GB ram, no Blu-Ray copier, no Bluetooth, No personal name plate engraving and only a 128GB solid state hard drive, they did not even compensate me for taking out the extra 250GB media bay Hard drive.

As anyone in the right mind would I objected and managed to get a revised quote, I demanded that it was a like for like or else I wanted a full refund. I was offered to upgrade the CPU from i5 to i7 so I chose the quad for an extra small amount.

The Specs I was finally quoted were

Alienware M15x MLK : Base Cosmic Black

Processor : Intel i7-840QM(1.86GHz,8MB) Mobile CPU

Display : 15.6in Wide Full HD (1920 x 1080) WLED

Resource DVD : Alienware M15x

Ship Accessory : English Docs

Memory : 8192MB (2x4096) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel

Hard Drive : 256GB Solid State Hard Drive

Optical Drive : Slot Load Blu-Ray RW (Blu-Ray, DVD and CD read & WRITE) Optical

Drive with Software

Power Supply : Alienware 150W AC Adapter

Power Cord : UK 220V

Battery : Primary 6-cell 56W/HR LI-ION

Graphics : 1GB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 5850

Wireless : ROW Intel WiFi Link 5300 (a/g/n) Wireless LAN Card

Wireless : Europe Dell Bluetooth 370 Card

Keyboard : Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard

Operating System : English Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate (64 BIT)

Software : Datasafe Local 2.0 Basic

Avatar : Alienhead 3D

AutoMatic Updates : AutoMatic updates - On

No Software Anti-Virus

Name Plate Engraving : Generic

Standard Service - 1 year of Next Business Day coverage included with your PC

No Warranty Upgrade

No Accidental Damage Support

Alienware M15x Order - UK

..... This bad boy should be arriving in the next few days/weeks. Will definitely be posting feedback on how this goes, I am really looking forward to it as from the reviews I have read most of the faults are ironed out in this new model.

[Xenmike77]

They agreed to replace the laptop with one of their new models instead of giving me a full refund (I had a feeling they would)

They said that it would be a like for like replacement so here was me getting happy, when I was sent the first quote of the "Baseline" system I was somewhat underwhelmed. I instantly replied back objecting to the specifications of this new system.

My current laptop although its faulty had 8GB Ram, it had a Blu-Ray copier(It had one, even though I have never used it and probably never will it still had one lol), I had a smart media bay with an extra 250GB smart media bay hdd. It also had things what you expect as standard like bluetooth etc.

The quote I was given was only 4GB ram, no Blu-Ray copier, no Bluetooth, No personal name plate engraving and only a 128GB solid state hard drive, they did not even compensate me for taking out the extra 250GB media bay Hard drive.

As anyone in the right mind would I objected and managed to get a revised quote, I demanded that it was a like for like or else I wanted a full refund. I was offered to upgrade the CPU from i5 to i7 so I chose the quad for an extra small amount.

The Specs I was finally quoted were

Alienware M15x MLK : Base Cosmic Black

Processor : Intel i7-840QM(1.86GHz,8MB) Mobile CPU

Display : 15.6in Wide Full HD (1920 x 1080) WLED

Resource DVD : Alienware M15x

Ship Accessory : English Docs

Memory : 8192MB (2x4096) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel

Hard Drive : 256GB Solid State Hard Drive

Optical Drive : Slot Load Blu-Ray RW (Blu-Ray, DVD and CD read & WRITE) Optical

Drive with Software

Power Supply : Alienware 150W AC Adapter

Power Cord : UK 220V

Battery : Primary 6-cell 56W/HR LI-ION

Graphics : 1GB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 5850

Wireless : ROW Intel WiFi Link 5300 (a/g/n) Wireless LAN Card

Wireless : Europe Dell Bluetooth 370 Card

Keyboard : Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard

Operating System : English Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate (64 BIT)

Software : Datasafe Local 2.0 Basic

Avatar : Alienhead 3D

AutoMatic Updates : AutoMatic updates - On

No Software Anti-Virus

Name Plate Engraving : Generic

Standard Service - 1 year of Next Business Day coverage included with your PC

No Warranty Upgrade

No Accidental Damage Support

Alienware M15x Order - UK

..... This bad boy should be arriving in the next few days/weeks. Will definitely be posting feedback on how this goes, I am really looking forward to it as from the reviews I have read most of the faults are ironed out in this new model.

Hi Noveed.

I am so glad that i actually found this post.

So i bought my alienware M15x in the Christmas of 2009, and i must say that i am INTENSELY DISAPPOINTED with their product. It is actually distressing and whats the word..... UPSETTING..... when you know that ive paid so much money for a laptop, not only for gaming but for work as well, just for it NOT to work how i want it to. So i will state the problems that i encountered, and i must say alot of them are similar to your problems. Note that i live outside the USA and it would be an extreme inconvenience for me to send it back to them to repair. SO here goes:

1.) When i now received the laptop and proceeded to open programs like WINDOWS MEDIA CENTRE and others which i cannot remember, The laptop would just freeze and i would have to reboot to solve the issue. This freezing also occured for other instances. Such as when i put my laptop to hibernate, and re open it, as i start to type ANYTHING, it would just freeze. This is a major hindrance to my work when i have to keep rebooting ALL THE TIME when i start it from hibernation. Really annoying.

2.) Sometimes when i close down the laptop for it to go into hibernation, it doesnt even go into hibernation mode,or even, sometimes it would go into hiberantion and then a few seconds later it would start up without me even opening the screen. Very Glitchy.

3.) My volume touch also only works when it feels like working, one day it will be fine, the next day it will work sometimes, the next day it wont work at all, and this goes for all other touch buttons like, "stealth mode" and the "eject" button.

4.) Very recently ive been having OVERHEATING problems.....really really bad overheating problems... this really annoys me when im playing games like battlefield bad company 2. When it overheats (within 15 mins of gameplay), the game starts to frame and id have to give it a break. It Still overheats even though i have a fan blowing on it at full speed with the vents way off the surface of the table, allowing maximal air flow... i am yet to buy a cooling pad, so well see how that turns out.

5.) The Power adapter is rediculous. Mine shorted out and now i have some clips holding it in place to keep the power running. I am yet to buy another power supply... but at a price of 50 dollars, i think im going to hold out on that for now.

6.) Heck right before i started to type this message , my keyboard stopped working, i had to restart. It just does what it feels like doing. Its so Frustrating.

7.) sometimes when it comes out of hibernation, it takes really long to load simple things like word docs, powerpoints etc. Sometimes it works fine, no problem. but ALOT of times its slow .

8.) THE TOUCHPAD........SUCKS . its not smooth at ALL.

All in all, i really regret that i bought an alienware and wished i could get my money back. So much money paid for a laptop with great specs, but with SOO many bugs and glitches that just makes it unbearable and PAINFUL to use. I thought it was just me alone... but after doing my research i found that there are actually alot of disgruntled m15x users and im not alone.

[witalit]

I remember this thread! What happened Noveed I bet your new laptop is LIGHTNING! I never see your post about new laptop until now. Specs look super sweet!!