iFixit - Active Questions With Device "Alienware"

Dell Alienware m17 R3: Battery Temporarily Disabled, but no apparent issue

Thu, 28 May 2026 20:39:06 -0700

I get this in the BIOS menu when booting my computer up: "Your battery is temporarily disabled. Please turn off your computer & try again when the unit is back to operational temperature."
Normally, I would just assume that the battery is old and failing, but when I check stuff on AC, the thermals and voltage are both good, and it's holding 100% charge. I almost never use it off of AC, but this is becoming an issue with applications that exceed the capacity of the 240W power brick, where it would previously supplement with some of the 90W battery, but now just throttles frames. Would replacing the battery help? If it's a motherboard/connector/capacitor problem, would getting a heftier AC power brick help?

⟐ Commented мая 28, 2026 at 20:39 GMT-7

Dell Alienware M15 R4: Keys needing hard presses to activate after "never" using the keyboard

Tue, 19 May 2026 12:08:44 -0700

I have an M15 R4 that sat int he corner of my cubicle at work and I would remote into it using Windows Remote Desktop. About the only time I ever "used" it as a computer was during a few weeks when my Dell was in the shop. Beyond that, I have barely ever even typed on the keyboard.

Now that I go to try (getting ready to sell it), I find many keys do not respond. I have to really press forcefully to get them to show up. I assume this may have been caused by dust settling in over the years. It is the only laptop I have ever had that this has happened to (and my first laptop was purchased in 1995).

I don't even eat Cheetos while typing on it.

Is this a common issue with Dell keyboards?

Dell Alienware 17 R5: Alienware 17 R5 won't turn on with new iFixit battery - single red flash

Mon, 11 May 2026 06:54:30 -0700

I recently purchased a replacement MG2YH battery from iFixit for my Alienware 17 R5. The laptop works perfectly fine with the old battery, but it will not turn on at all with the new one installed, even when the AC adapter is plugged in. When I first installed it, the power button flashed red once, but now there are no lights or response.

I have already tried:

1. A flea power release (holding the power button for 15-30 seconds with battery/AC disconnected).

2. An RTC/CMOS reset (disconnecting the coin-cell battery and holding the power button).

3. Attempting to boot with AC power only (which this model apparently does not support without a recognized battery).

Are there any specific BIOS settings or Alienware-specific "handshake" procedures I'm missing to get the motherboard to recognize this new battery, or is it likely a hardware defect in the new unit?

Any chance that the battery is in some kind of locked mode, or it's not working due to 0% charge?

⟐ Edited мая 11, 2026 at 6:54 GMT-7

Dell Alienware m15 R7: My Dell Alienware m15 R7 shows black screen on AC boot, as OS boots

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:47:56 -0700

Alienware laptop shows a black screen (backlight on) while system continues running (audio plays, fans active).

More likely when powering on with AC adapter connected
Less frequent when booting on battery first
Occurs during normal use (e.g., video playback)

Boot on battery
Wait briefly
Plug in AC after system stabilizes

This significantly reduces the issue.

Updated drivers via Dell SupportAssist
Reinstalled graphics drivers
Ran hardware diagnostics (no issues)
Disabled sleep / adjusted power settings
Replaced battery

Issue started after heavy GPU usage with Topaz Video AI.

Question

Has anyone encountered this behavior?

Is this a known hybrid GPU / power-state issue?
Did factory reset resolve it?
Any permanent fix besides the workaround?

⟐ Edited by author апреля 20, 2026 at 9:47 GMT-7

alienware x15 r1: What is this shielding?

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:02:16 -0700

Hi all!

I’m helping a friend with cleaning her laptop, but it looks like there is supposed to be some metal shielding here or something? It is definitely disintegrating here as there are little flaky parts all over the system. I want to replace it for her or something so it’s not a hazard.

Alienware 17 R4: Why is it suddenly asking for a system password

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:01:57 -0700

Why you go to power it up a little box pops up asking for a system password and that's as far as it goes if you get the password wrong 3 times it says shuting down in 5 mins and it does can't get past this password. Im wondering if I remove the cmos battery will that reset it like for a desktop

Alienware M17x: Alienware M17x SSD Replacement

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 12:10:11 -0700

any guides on what to do and what I am looking for, looks like the drive is in deep in the machine run out of data room after installing high data programmes

Dell Alienware m15 R7: My Gpu fan kick to 100% everytime

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 10:44:23 -0700

hey my dell alienware gpu fan is spinning at 100% all the time. i try to reset the windows, its not working. it kick to 100% right when i press power button

Alienware: will not load windows on battery mode.

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 11:23:20 -0700

I have a similar issue.

My Alienware X17 R2 will not load windows if its on battery mode.

I can use the laptop fine once it is on, if I put it to sleep it wakes up fine. If I dissconnect the AC adapter will I am working the laptop does stay on for hours without any issues.

If I shut down or do a restart without the AC adapter connected and machine most times reaches the windows logon screen for a slit second and just powers off.

I have already done a clean OS install.

⟐ Commented февраля 09, 2026 at 11:23 GMT-7

Alienware: Video cable Alienware 15 r7

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 07:08:28 -0700

Hi all,

This is a bit of a long one but I would really appreciate some advice, it may be a common error or something I'm just doing wrong!

My dog pulled my Alienware 15 r7 off the table (got foot caught in wire) and bent one of the hinges quite badly. I ordered the new hinge and fitted it no problem. Turned laptop back on, no dispolay at all. So I though maybe I damaged the screen taking it apart. I ordered a new screen which had the same problem. Next I orderd a new video cable. I fitted it and the screen finally came on, as soon as I tried to shut the laptop, the screen went off again. Moving the hinges seems to affect the cable, flickering off and on etc. Maybe a faulty wire? I tried a second new wire and had the same problem.

I clipped the wire in all the way round the correct route, nothing sticking out or getting caught. I'm at a loss as this is a good laptop and everything else works finw.

Any ideas or things I can try?

Many thanks

Demi

⟐ Commented ноября 21, 2025 at 7:08 GMT-7

Alienware 17 R3: laptop heating up and having blue screen when poer cord removed

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 07:59:45 -0700

hi ,

I have two issues with my laptop

sometimes it heats up
when I remove my power , on battery it shows either blue screen or hangs up ut after i restart my laptop with plugged in its ok

Alienware 17 R4: Alienware 14 Monitor stopped working.

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 17:47:13 -0700

Hello. So I own an Alienware 14 laptop with a broken screen so for me to use it I have to connect an HDMI cable from the laptop to a television.

I was in the middle of Streaming Pluto TV, googling random articles and playing a video game, and all the sudden my screen froze while I had the game up and then my screen went black, and the icon had come up where the TV monitor was searching for an adapter. Which usually happens only when I unplug my laptop from the TV, but this time it just stopped working by it's self.

My laptop is able to power up, or at least I see where it power ups. So I'm thinking maybe there is an issue with one or both of the Ram sticks or possibly the video card which in this case is sautered to the motherboard.

Now I'm worried that I might lose all of my saved information, like family photos, videogames, and all kinds of other data.

My question is if I change out the Ram and possibly the motherboard, will it effect any of my saved data? Like once I replace either one of those parts, will my computer boot up like normal as if nothing had happened in the first place? If not then what am I able to do for that to happen?

Thank you!

⟐ Commented августа 20, 2025 at 17:47 GMT-7

Dell Alienware 17 R5: Why is my laptop connecting to wifi but gains no access to internet

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 21:29:39 -0700

when connected to wifi, the laptop cannot open pages like gmail and google for example. but when i connect it with a lan cable it works just fine. the laptop is basically useless without the lan cable (internet wise). everything else works spot on, this happened suddenly i did not upgrade any software or hardware. tried resetting to factory settings multiple times but still no luck any suggestions? thanks in advance

⟐ Answered августа 14, 2025 at 21:29 GMT-7

Alienware 17 R2: Just replaced the battery and its already dead/dying

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:27:03 -0700

So over my christmas break I replaced the battery in my dads Alienware laptop, its a 17 something but I don’t remember the specifics. I swapped the battery out and followed the procedure for training it, charge it all the way up, then let it slowly die, then charge it again. Now a month later the battery apparently won’t hold a charge, the laptop says it at 40% but instantly dies when the power cord is unplugged. Any ideas?

⟐ Answered августа 11, 2025 at 0:27 GMT-7

Dell Alienware 15 R3: Battery is not working

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 08:04:09 -0700

My laptop is not working on charge.When I plug out my charger from my laptop,my laptop automatic shut down.I have to open my laptop with my charger plug in.Is it possible to fix?

⟐ Answer accepted июля 14, 2025 at 8:04 GMT-7

Alienware 17 R4: Tobii Eye Tracker is not connected due to eyechip not recognized

Sat, 03 May 2025 17:37:59 -0700

After using Alienware for a while, Tobii Eye Tracker began to not connect in Tobii Eye Software and in device manager, eyechip is missing. I have contacted support and they told me that my problem is hardware issue. Have any one experience this kind of problem? I have searched internet, it seemly only had this problem. USB error in Device Manager caused Tobii Eye Tracker not connected

⟐ Commented мая 03, 2025 at 17:37 GMT-7

Alienware 17 R3: Why I cant connect to gmail?

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 04:12:21 -0700

I was having alot of problems with my laptop now . I cant access to any things but i was connected to wifi . I have tried many methods but none of them works for me. For example , i can’t connect to gmail , i cant download anything in microsoft store , and i cant even drag an image to here . LOL . ERR_SSL_BAD_RECORD_MAC_ALERT , 0x800704cf and more things is stopping me . HELPPP PLSSS

⟐ Answered апреля 09, 2025 at 4:12 GMT-7

Dell Alienware M14x: Testing for bad display connector on motherboard~

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 09:58:29 -0700

So, a while back the hinges on my laptop broke. I ignored the problem and kept it open to not disturb any of the wires bridging the hinges. Long story short, the LCD finally hit the dust (damage to some of the ribbon cables and WiFi wires).

I ordered an entire 1600x900 factory replacement monitor (casing, webcam, LCD, etc) and took 'er apart and plugged it up, but there is nothing posting to the new monitor. note: the laptop WILL output both HDMI and rbg to an external monitor.

Anyways, as far as I can tell and multiple passovers, there is nothing damaged on the board. I've taken it apart and checked multiple times to the best of my ability, reseating the LCD connection to the motherboard and internally on the new display..

Now I know, it's possible that the new unit is faulty, but for some reason I want to believe it's more likely not than is.

So guys, what do? Is there any way I can test the power coming from the 40 pins on the mother and make sure it isn't goof'd somehow? Are there diagram showing the voltages coming from each pin and how would I go about testing that? Any help would be appreciated.

Edit : I have tested for backlight issue with a flashlight

⟐ Commented марта 14, 2025 at 9:58 GMT-7

Dell Alienware m15 R7 AMD: Touch is not working properly

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 02:14:32 -0700

Touch is not working properly,it have some issue on touching 2 fingers parallel its give no response

Dell Alienware 13 R3: Is it normal for my new battery to be a little squishy?

Sat, 07 Dec 2024 10:23:43 -0700

I bought a new battery from ifixit, the center is slightly squishy. Is this normal, or should I send it back?

⟐ Commented декабря 07, 2024 at 10:23 GMT-7