Common problems with Alienware Desktops
Cooling
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One thing I have seen over and over is high GPU temps due to the lack of manually operated fans. Alienware desktops have several fans including a hard drive fan, a PCI fan, and a system Fan which is the radiator fan. The Hard drive fan and the PCI fan can both be turned on a manual setting or set to a temperature curve. The System, or radiator fan, has no manual adjustments as it is fine without human interaction. These fans can be found in the Alienware Command Center under the Thermal Controls tab.
The hard drive fan (Aurora) is located between the hard drives in the hard drive cage. It is fine left on auto with two hard drives or less. When you are running 3 or 4 hard drives you need to up the temperature curve so that it runs at about 40% to 45% at 28* ambient. The reason for this is that the Power supply draws it's fresh air from the area that the hard drive fan feeds. So the more hard drives you have, the more restricted the airflow for the Power Supply. This is simply a precaution to take in order to keep all your components running cool. The PCI fan is located above the hard drive cage in the Aurora, and behind the front bezel in all Alienware Desktop models. It is a 92mm high performance server fan with a maximum of 110cf/m. It should be ran on a curve for idle. Curve should be around 20% fan speed at 28*c. This will help to keep the ambient temperature down and keep your GPU idle temps lower. When you are gaming or running anything graphically intense, you should open up your Command Center and set it to a manual setting of 50% to 80%, depending on your GPU temps. This will force air into the GPU tunnel and allow your graphics cards to draw fresh air. It also feeds fresh air into the CPU area, which your radiator will need also. |
Shown here with GPU Door closed.
With GPU door open.
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Temperature Monitoring
I recommend downloading RealTemp to keep an eye on your CPU and GPU temps. Download it and unzip it into a folder. Open that folder and find the Real Temp GT icon and place it on your desktop. Run the program and click settings. In the bottom right section of the settings select your Graphics Card manufacturer. You can also set the alarm temps for both GPU and CPU while you're in the settings. When you're done, click apply. This software is very light so run it as long as Windows is running.
CPUz is also an essential tool with information on your CPU, motherboard, memory and graphics. Click Here to download CPUz.
HWMonitor is another great application used for monitoring temps and hardware. Click Here to download HWMonitor.
CPUz is also an essential tool with information on your CPU, motherboard, memory and graphics. Click Here to download CPUz.
HWMonitor is another great application used for monitoring temps and hardware. Click Here to download HWMonitor.
Hanging on Boot and Shutdown
A problem I have had and helped a couple of others with is Hanging/freezing on starup and shutdown. This is a frequent problem with Alienware desktops. 9 out of 10 times it is caused by an external USB, firewire, or other external storage device. these devices can be anything from an external HDD, Optical Drive, SD Card(such as used in a media card reader), or even your Cell Phone's internal or expandable storage.
The problem is that these external devices will cause the boot order to be rearranged. The first step in fixing this problem is to disconnect all external media and storage devices before shutting down your computer. I always tend to just use them while I am logged onto windows and disconnect before each shutdown.
When you Restart the computer (sometimes this will require a forced shutdown) hit F2 on the Bios loading screen. Once your Bios is open, scroll down to Boot Configuration. If this is the cause of your computer hanging up, you will see USB device as the first in the boot order. Disable this device. (I leave my main boot drive and the optical drive enabled, and disable the rest.) Make sure your Boot drive is first on this list. Let your computer boot up and then restart once more and the problem should be fixed.
Keep in mind that if this was the cause, and the steps above fixed your problem, it will reoccur every time you shut down your computer with said external media or storage device plugged in.
The problem is that these external devices will cause the boot order to be rearranged. The first step in fixing this problem is to disconnect all external media and storage devices before shutting down your computer. I always tend to just use them while I am logged onto windows and disconnect before each shutdown.
When you Restart the computer (sometimes this will require a forced shutdown) hit F2 on the Bios loading screen. Once your Bios is open, scroll down to Boot Configuration. If this is the cause of your computer hanging up, you will see USB device as the first in the boot order. Disable this device. (I leave my main boot drive and the optical drive enabled, and disable the rest.) Make sure your Boot drive is first on this list. Let your computer boot up and then restart once more and the problem should be fixed.
Keep in mind that if this was the cause, and the steps above fixed your problem, it will reoccur every time you shut down your computer with said external media or storage device plugged in.
Alienware Command Center
I keep backup copies of things of the things that I feel are necessary if I have to reformat my Computer. The Command Center is one of those things.
Things to remember when installing/updating the Command Center. Be sure to uninstall your current version first. Reboot and run CCleaner.
Next make sure that your .NETFramework is up to date. If it's not then the Command center may not work as it should...or may not open at all. Another common problem with not having this up to date is that the Catalyst Control Center will sometimes refuse to open after a fresh GPU driver update/install. So this is an important update.
CCleaner
.NET Framework Version 4
Things to remember when installing/updating the Command Center. Be sure to uninstall your current version first. Reboot and run CCleaner.
Next make sure that your .NETFramework is up to date. If it's not then the Command center may not work as it should...or may not open at all. Another common problem with not having this up to date is that the Catalyst Control Center will sometimes refuse to open after a fresh GPU driver update/install. So this is an important update.
CCleaner
.NET Framework Version 4
| Alienware Command Center Version A03 |
| Alienware Command Center Version A05 |
