iFixit - Active Questions With Device "Dell Alienware 17 Series"

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 May 28, 2026 at 20:39 MST

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 May 11, 2026 at 6:54 MST

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

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 August 20, 2025 at 17:47 MST

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 August 14, 2025 at 21:29 MST

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 August 11, 2025 at 0:27 MST

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 May 03, 2025 at 17:37 MST

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 April 09, 2025 at 4:12 MST

Dell Alienware m17 R2: Keeps turning off, after a couple of minutes

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 13:18:28 -0700

I'm pretty sure it's turning off, due to overheating. I'd like to repaste the CPU. Anyone have any instructions on that?

⟐ Answer edited December 01, 2024 at 13:18 MST

Alienware 17 R3: Is it still possible to change the parts of my laptop to new parts?

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 02:59:09 -0700

I have had the laptop for years and it feels such a waste to just throw it away. It works fine but when I have tabs open and when I game, sometimes it shuts off which can be quite annoying.

⟐ Answered June 14, 2024 at 2:59 MST

Alienware 17 R3: Why can't my Alienware connect to wifi?

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 14:23:12 -0700

I can only connect to ethernet but when I try troubleshooting or just simply clicking the lower right icon for wifi, nothing but "airplane mode" appears.

⟐ Answered June 13, 2024 at 14:23 MST

Alienware 17 R2: Dell Alienware Beep 7 times while booting (no display)

Mon, 20 May 2024 07:13:34 -0700

this alienware is working just fine except, there is a USB problem (connect and disconnect every seconds). i've check the solder joint and even change the port, but the problem is persist. seeing that i've decided to change the intel PCH.

after changing the PCH, i got 7 beeps and no display

(from just a usb problem into no display problem) :(

the voltage is normal PLT_RST# is present, LPCH_FRAME also present, there is no short circuit at all

then i thought the new pch is faulty, so i replace it with the old one, sadly the beeps still there.

i bought 2 new PCH (each from a different supplier) and the problem still persist.

i make sure that the PCH replacement is good, i use BGA rework station with 220C, i remove the solder on the pad with solder wick, and give small amount of flux to put the new one.

at this point, im sure that the PCH is not the problem,

from dell website, 7 beeps code means the problem is around the CPU or could be something else.

what i've done

replacing the PCH 3 times
checking the short circuit (nothing)
flash bios and EC (did multiple times with different source bios firmware)
reset CMOS battery
change the RAM

when the laptop trying to boot, there is 3 times sequence (fan spin on and off) before the laptop gives the beeps code (the fan is off while the laptop giving beeps code)

and the cpu getting hot while beeping (around 50c)

any help is highly appreciated, thankyou :D

⟐ Answered May 20, 2024 at 7:13 MST

Dell Alienware m17 R3: Why is my battery temporarily disabled? button flashing 4 red 1 blue.

Tue, 07 May 2024 17:17:40 -0700

This issue has been happening for quite a while, however, it’s been progressively getting worse and more frustrating, to where booting up any game immediately causes the issue to flare up again. I am at my wit’s end with this computer and considering replacing it if I can’t solve this issue, as right now, I am unbelievably aggravated with it.

Unplugging the adapter (which immediately turns off the computer when it’s like this) and holding down the power button sometimes makes the issue stop, but all it does is make a temporary fix. I have no idea what to do, so please, if anybody knows anything on how to resolve this issue, please tell me.

To list everything I have done with this thing

Turned it off and turned it back on

Reset the BIOS to optimized settings

Unplug the battery and replug it in

Left it unpowered, shut down, and not touch it for a whole day.

Mess with the battery settings

Disable the battery through device manager of all things, which even that didn’t work.

⟐ Commented May 07, 2024 at 17:17 MST

Dell Alienware m17 R3: Why is the display assembly available for the R2 and not the R3?

Sun, 05 May 2024 18:49:17 -0700

I ordered a display assembly thinking it was the correct one for my laptop. I tried to replace it and found that the display assembly was for an R2 and not an R3. When I looked for the specific correct part, I was not able to find it.

⟐ Answer edited May 05, 2024 at 18:49 MST

Alienware 17 R4: Why my laptop can’t find boot device

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 03:08:05 -0700

When I turn on my laptop it checks for media and says media not found goes to support assist screen and it says no boot device found

⟐ Answered April 02, 2024 at 3:08 MST

Dell Alienware m17 R4: audio card not being detected

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 13:07:17 -0700

Hello.

I am having issues with my laptop not detecting my audio card, neither the speakers, the microphone or the 3.5 jack work, i have seen online that is a known issue with this model's mother board, i have tried unisntalling and re installing the drivers and software but nothing works, by unpligging and pluggin back in the flex connector that connects the audio card to the motherboard fixed the issue temporarily but it does not work anymore. has anyone had this issue and be able to fix it? all help is appreciated.

⟐ Commented December 21, 2023 at 13:07 MST

Alienware 17 R4: Why wont the laptop boot?

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 19:18:21 -0700

When i press the power button my laptop only goes tothe logo screen and the fans are blowing hard and also i cant access the bios when pressing f2...

⟐ Answered July 29, 2023 at 19:18 MST

Dell Alienware m17 R4: Where can I buy ACES 50521-01041-P01 FPC 10P?

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 18:26:26 -0700

I was wondering if there is a place I can buy a connector called ACES 50521-01041-P01 FPC 10P?

⟐ Answer edited June 30, 2023 at 18:26 MST