Alienware AlienFX Side Panel Lights Not On

Make a change to your AlienFX profile and Save/Apply it.

Watch the Tray icon. The alien eyes should turn red as the new config is written to the board. Give it plenty of time.

If that doesn't work, delete and re-create your config file (in case it got corrupted).

Hi,

I have the exact same problem but I noticed it only occurs when I turn off my power bar or if I unplug the PSU entirely from the power bar or wall. Strangely enough when I leave the power bar on it boots fine and all the lights turn on.

I tried what you suggested but it changed nothing :( The problem is entirely consistent and it does it even after I restore the original factory image that came with the system.

Alienware Aurora Desktop, Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor (2.8GHz, 8MN Cache), 6GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - (3x 2048MB), Single 1BG GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 5870, 1.5TB - SATA, 3Gb/s, 7,200 RPM, 32MB Cache HDD, 875 w PS, Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit

Hi,   I have the exact same problem but I noticed it only occurs when I turn off my power bar or if I unplug the PSU entirely from the power bar or wall. Strangely enough when I leave the power bar on it boots fine and all the lights turn on.

Interesting find. I think you have figured out why this happens on some systems, but not on others (like mine where the lights start working during BIOS boot).

I have my Aurora connected to my APC 1500 in the "Master" AC socket. That socket monitors amp-draw (to be able to turn some other sockets completely off). For that feature to work, it must be supplying power all the time. The enables me to turn the whole system on/off with the power switch on the top of the Aurora.

We could verify this with some testing, but it seems these Dell-AW Power Supplies are unique. I think they keep the MIO-Board powered up (or partially powered up) while the system is off. This allows them to keep the last config. loaded into it's memory, ready to run.

Great idea, but I ended up in the same place.  The new configuration saves and works fine, but on a subsequent reboot, the side panels no longer flash.  I saved it to a new config.  Other thoughts?

Thx.

Other thoughts?

Not really ... be sure you have done the following:

- Uninstall CC and clean install AW-CC v2.5.52.0 (A08)

- Be sure AlienFX Editor is auto-starting on Windows full boot. Only "Enable 3rd Party Alien-FX Access" should be checked.

- Leave config file named default name. Make one minor color change to one panel to make sure it's loading the proper config file.

- Exit out of AlienFX Editor, and give it plenty of time to write the config to the board. Watch for the Red-Eyed alien head in SysTray.

- Be sure the Aurora is plugged into an "always on" AC power plug.

Also see:

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19338298.aspx

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?c=us&cs=19&docid=125919&doclang=en&l=en&s=dhs

Have you made sure your side panel snaps all the way shut? I few times, mine was not all the way in, even though I snapped it in. When I powered up, the lower side panel lights were off, while the others were on. I had to power off, and resnap the side panel in snug, problem fixed.

Hmmm I dunno if they're that "unique". My old system's modem card would stay lit up as long as the  power bar was on as well.

I don't actually have a "power switch on the top of the aurora" model, so I can't experiment with that unfortunately :S

What I tried doing was unplugging the PSU cord from the system and holding the power button on -the front- of the system down for 30 seconds to see if draining the power from it entirely would make any negative or positive difference. I think I screwed myself because now the front lights don't turn on until I reach Windows and my monitor doesn't want to come out of power saving/sleep mode.

The monitor only initially comes on when it was previously set to RGB mode while shutting down. So it powers up in RGB mode and when it reaches Windows the screen goes black. At which point I have to switch back to DVI in order to wake it up again. I know that complaint belongs on another board but I thought it was worth mentioning since they all seem connected at this point.

I would like to verify your theory with some testing as you mentioned, seeing as how it is just a theory it would seem. And confirming this would be concrete proof as to whether or not it's just a stupid power/FX configuration issue or if it's actually a faulty mobo or something along those lines.

Thx for your time.

Alienware Aurora Desktop, Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor (2.8GHz, 8MB Cache), 6GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - (3x 2048MB), Single 1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 5870, 1.5TB - SATA, 3Gb/s, 7,200 RPM, 32MB Cache HDD, 875 w PS, Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit

My Aurora is plugged into a UPS and is turned off completely when shut down.  Why is it necessary to be always on?  I note that on first boot, the side panels are almost never on.  A reboot makes them work fine.  Changing to a new config didn't make any difference. 

im currently not using a ups   but i plan to get one in the near future    however      when my computer comes out of sleep mode i have no side lights and  no temps show up so i do a restart and then works fine..this usually happens after it comes out of sleep mode a couple of times...sometimes i walk away from the computer for awhile so it goes into sleep mode by it self   i wake it up by tapping the space bar..... im going to install the new cc thisafternoon to see how it works on my machine