m17 R4, beeping on startup, black screen

Hi @LENlighten welcome to this free user-to-user Alienware laptop discussion forum. 

Trouble booting into the windows operating system might be fixed by reseating the SSD (C:) boot drive. Remove dust and debris using can of dry air to ensure good electrical connection. If another Storage slot is available, check if other slot gives good SSD electrical connection. 

Please visit Device Manager to check that all plug-and-play drivers are good, or moved to the right with yellow warning triangle that indicates it requires a fix. 5 Ways to Open Device Manager on Windows 10 (howtogeek.com).  How to Update Drivers on Windows 11 (howtogeek.com).  

Please click on and run Intel® Driver & Support Assistant to identify system products and get driver and software updates for most of your Intel hardware. 

Please run windows Reliability Manager and wait for creation of Event timeline. How to use Windows Reliability Monitor to identify software issues | Dell US. Look for recurring critical Event associated with being unable to launch the windows operating system. Open this Event which should have Root Cause and Microsoft error code. 

Please click on Diagnostics to run the 40 minutes Full Test to thoroughly analyse your PC and detect any hardware problems. 

The m17 R4 should use diagnostic light codes rather than the older beep codes so that's a little odd, maybe this one uses a combination of both. Does the Power Button flash in a sequence of red/blue while you're having this issue?

You'll find the diagnostic light code table for your laptop in the link below

https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-ae/alienware-m17-r4-laptop/alienware-m17-r4-service-manual/system-diagnostic-lights?guid=guid-2817a066-7b62-481a-8425-29bb34388d20&lang=en-us

Thank you mattyb3 for the suggestion!

I am used to the older beep codes indicators for Alienware products and neglected that the LED could represent diagnostic light codes. The Power Button does flash in a sequence of red/blue while I'm having this issue. I will try using the diagnostic light code table provided and see what could the sequence represent. I will update you as soon as possible if there is any changes or any additional information!

Best

Thank you very much for the response Crimson.

As suggested, I have used the Device Manager, Intel® Driver & Support Assistant, Windows Reliability Monitor and Diagnostic; however, there seems to be no problems identified (no warning yellow warning triangles, drivers and software is up-to-date and there no error codes).

Later on, I will try to reseating the SSD (C:) boot drive as well as cleaning for dust and debris and see if it has any effect on the beeping on startup and black screen. I will inform you know how it goes!

Best

Hello again,

I have finished up with your suggestion and it has not fixed the occasional black screen, flashing LEDs, and beeping noise. I removed the SSD card, cleaned the pins or any obstructions, reseated and unfortunately it still occurs.

After listening to another commentor's reminder, I recorded the flashing LEDs red and blue sequence (3,1). According to the Diagnostic-light LED codes, it is a coin cell battery failure; however, the Alienware M17 R4 is designed without a coin-cell battery.

I am a little lost at the moment. At least there is no problems with the RAM module (Ram module is soldered into the motherboard) at the moment.

Looking forward to feedback!

Just followed up with your suggestion.

After following through on your comment about the Diagnostic-light code (3,1) it seems that the problem is a coin-cell battery failure; however, the Alienware m17 R4 is designed without one. Unless I am remembering incorrectly, since there is no coin-cell battery, could the problem lie in the lithium-ion battery?

Please let me know and thanks for the reminder!

Hmmm, not quite sure about this one but you could try a Power/CMOS reset. You have to unplug the laptop adapter and also unplug the system battery and then hold down the power button for 15-20 seconds. 

Hi @LENlighten thank you for sharing update. 

Although the Alienware m17 R4 is designed without an RTC coin cell-battery. After the battery is disconnected or when the battery is fully discharged, an RTC reset cycle will occur when you restart the computer (giving a false Diagnostic-light LED code 3,1). The computer turns on and off three times. An "Invalid Configuration" error message is displayed prompting you to enter the BIOS and configure the date and time. The computer starts functioning normally after setting the date and time. (Disconnecting the battery cable resets the BIOS setup program’s settings to default. It is recommended to note the BIOS setup program’s settings before removing/disconnecting the battery.)  

Having disconnected or removed battery, always perform Hard Reset (Drain residual flea power). 

Please use HDMI cable to connect laptop to external TV or monitor. If the external display is good, the laptop screen backlight or screen cable might be the problem. When this issue occurs, shine bright light at angle to screen. If faint image on laptop screen, the screen backlight is starting to fail, the fix is to replace the screen assembly. If there is no image, the fix is to replace the screen cable. Moving the laptop lid might tension and disconnect the screen cable. 

Please run the LCD built-in self-test (BIST) diagnostics. How to Run the LCD Built-in Self-Test on a Dell Laptop | Dell US. 

@LENlighten fingers crossed that it has sorted the issue out for you. Let us know how it's going in a few days. Good luck!

Hello,

Been busy with work, thanks for the response again. I tried doing the Power/CMOS reset as suggested. It seems to be the correct solution so far. Want to give it a couple of days and see if this problem pops up again. Nonetheless, thanks for the solution. Will let you know as soon as possible.

Best

Hello,

Been busy with work, thanks for the response again. I tried doing the Power/CMOS (Hard) reset as suggested. It seems to be doing fine; although, I would like to give a couple of days and see if this pops up again. Nonetheless, I would like to give thanks to mattyb3 and yourself. Will let you know as soon as possible.

Best