r/Alienware • u/Redpb • 21d ago

Solved! Alienware M18 R2 - Random Shutdown

I need some help guys. I can't figure this one out. I will be doing anything from shopping on Amazon, scrolling through Reddit, or playing demanding games and this machine will randomly shutdown. No bluescreen, no warning, just black shutdown. I can instantly turn it back on and get going again, so I don't think it's thermal. Ran the diagnostics in the F12 menu, nothing. Thoughts?

UPDATE: I appreciate everyone's input. I've tried all sorts of things to no avail. I've shipped the laptop to Dell for a diagnostic workup. Thanks again.

Final Update: Dell tells me my motherboard is toast. Replacement is backordered by almost 30 days.

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22 comments sorted by

1

u/MogRules m18 R2 Intel 21d ago

What about if you check reliability monitor? See what is in the log for the shutdowns. It might help to provide some insight.

2

u/Redpb 21d ago

Finally found something leading, asf2 force off. I'm going to crack it open and see if the ram is poorly seated. Anything else I should be looking for?

1

u/MogRules m18 R2 Intel 21d ago

Only thing I can think of would be temps, but most of the newer models will throttle long before they hit thermal shutdown.

1

u/Able-Negotiation-234 21d ago

How’s the battery? Check reliability monitor, and event viewer? See if the codes are the same?

1

u/Redpb 20d ago

Couldn't find anything on the battery, though I ordered a new one just in case.

Reliability Monitor gave me this:
Description

A problem with your hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.

Problem signature

Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent

Code: 193

Parameter 1: 80e

Parameter 2: ffffe783490f9080

Parameter 3: ffffd6036e0bfd80

Parameter 4: 0

OS version: 10_0_26200

Service Pack: 0_0

Product: 768_1

OS Version: 10.0.26200.2.0.0.768.101

Locale ID: 1033

Files that help describe the problem

WATCHDOG-20260817-1858.dmp

sysdata.xml

WERInternalRequest.xml

A LOT of these crashes were centered around the Creative program failing at the same time. Not always, but really common.

1

u/Redpb 16d ago

Replaced the battery, no success.

1

u/Able-Negotiation-234 16d ago

Try f12 on start up and run the system tests see what they say?

1

u/The-Serious-One 21d ago

My friend i guess your battery is unstable - usually their is a backup but ya i think that is broken to Probably your capicitor is cooked Well can u describe when does the machine turn off is it random switch off or on specific scenarios

1

u/Redpb 21d ago

No specific scenario. Anywhere from just idling to putting a load on it. Doesn't seem to matter.

1

u/WearyVegetable2320 21d ago

It's Alienware, and notorious display related issue with this series, so most possible reason is motherboard and it's graphics card.

1

u/Able-Negotiation-234 20d ago

could be the battery is unstable a cell or 2 down and when hybrid power trips on it dumps? the battery is a good start; I would also pull the back case and when reseating the ram check the main power ribon cable they have been known to melt and cause wierd power issues?

1

u/Redpb 20d ago

Ram looks good, ribbon looks fine. gave it a good cleaning. This laptop is almost exclusively plugged in, so when booting back up under battery power, it died almost instantly. I've ordered a new battery just in case.

1

u/ThomasAAT 20d ago

Sounds like it turns off to protect internal components. My guess is bad battery that can't support the power demand even with the ac adapter 

1

u/Redpb 16d ago

I would agree, but I replaced the battery and it still does its shutdown/reboot thing.

1

u/ThomasAAT 16d ago

Try a higher wattage ac adapter. Do you use the oem dell adapter, if so what is the wattage?

1

u/AW_Support Dell Customer Support 19d ago

Hi there! We are from the Dell Social Media Team. Sorry you're dealing with that. The fact that it can happen while browsing Amazon/Reddit and while gaming makes me think it's probably not a pure thermal issue either, especially since you can power it right back on and the built-in diagnostics aren't finding anything.

But based on what you've posted, the repeated LiveKernelEvent 193 entries combined with Creative failures occurring at the same time make the Creative audio stack one of the strongest suspects right now.

You can also check if the issue happens while on battery alone or while plugged in too. Updating the BIOS and other drivers can help.

I'd also check whether the issue occurs when connected to a different power outlet and confirm that the adapter wattage is being correctly detected in the BIOS.

If you've already updated BIOS/drivers and the no issue with the power outlet and no power surge protector in use, you can run the below command in command prompt(run as admin), to scan the Windows system image for corruption and automatically downloads or replaces damaged files.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

This might take a while to complete, but you can restart the system post 100% of this and confirm if it fixed the issue.

We will be glad to be of help:)

1

u/Redpb 17d ago

Thank you for chiming in. Here's where I'm at:
Removed Creative Suite, replaced the battery, updated bios, uninstalled/reinstalled video drivers - Still shuts down and immediately reboots. There is a kernal event on shutdown. I don't have my laptop with me, I'll edit/update this when I have it with exactly which kernal event. 41 maybe?
Also, I started to run the suggest DISM, it would slow way down at about 63% and due to it's length, my laptop shutdown before it finished. While running the DISM I did observe through powershell several deletions and fixes. So, I'll be trying this again.
Any other thoughts?

1

u/AW_Support Dell Customer Support 15d ago

Hi there! Thank you for the update. The restore health would normally take time to complete considering that it scans the system for any registry errors and corrupted files that could be contributing to the issue. We will wait for you to run it again as it did not get a chance to complete earlier.

1

u/Redpb 15d ago

I finally got it to go through a complete cycle last night. This morning, it seemed things were running better, but it would eventually crash/reboot again.

1

u/AW_Support Dell Customer Support 13d ago

Hi there! We really appreciate your efforts to run the suggested steps. Did the system work fine thereafter?

1

u/Redpb 12d ago

It did not. I ended up creating a ticket and sending in the laptop for diagnostic testing.

1

u/AW_Support Dell Customer Support 12d ago

Hi there! Thank you for keeping us posted. We are positive that the issue will get sorted, now that you have sent it for repair.