Aurora R16, power strip, power

It is a normal behavior as your computer detected a power outage every time you turned off the power strip.  Most Dell computers are designed to power on briefly and check the BIOS power management settings and then turn OFF as the default value was set to OFF.  You can verify this information in your BIOS settings, power section. 

For your question, Yes, you can keep the power strip always ON to stop this behavior.

@Chino de Oro​ thank you.  Would it eventually damage the computer if I continue turning my strip off after use?
I had an old (almost 20 years) small desktop that didn’t do that so upgrading to Alienware is new for me and just trying to figure out what I should and shouldn’t be doing. 

@MelRT​ It would be helpful to our users to know which Alienware model you have there. There might be some BIOS options to choose based on your usage. In my opinion, the Alienware Desktop should be Start- Power- Shut down before you turn power off at the power strip.

While frequent turning the power strip on and off does not damage the computer, it will constantly put the system BIOS firmware to run on backup power and depleting the  CMOS battery.  It could cause unwanted behavior when being reset to default due to no power.  It's better to keep the power strip ON.    

@DELL-Chris M​ I have the R16.  Typically I turn on the power strip, then turn on the computer and when I shut down I do start/power/shut down. Wait until I hear it shut off, and then I turn off the power strip. 

There is no issue with your setup.  Your query about the PC behavior and power strip have been answered.  Some other users have the same preference of using power strip to cut off power just like you.  No problem so far.

In other words, no need to fix things that aren't broken.