Alienware Aurora R4 Power Button Bypass?

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subgeniuschick

Reputable
Aug 19, 2015
1
0
4,510
So the little cheap silver plastic power button broke literally 2 days after warranty expired. Initially I wasn't too worried as I could still power up using the little black button underneath. Some how, and I honestly haven't a clue how since the system doesn't move and sits on a desk, but suddenly the little black button is gone. All you see when you peer into the hole are the two contacts. I manged to fish out the black button, the copper connector disk and the rubber seating, but there's no way it's going back in. I tried for hours and hours.

I called Tech support, all I wanted was a schematic for the MOBO so I can find the pins to boot my computer. I wont' get into a long story here because overall it's irrelevant. But I will say that after 20 mins with Tech #1, he sent me a PDF of the owners manual which doesn't have a schematic of the MOBO, then he suggested I look into getting a new chassis .... what? A new chassis, are you kidding me? At the very outside I might (and that's a big might) need a new front I/O assembly. At that point I asked for either and L2 or supervisor. I got a supervisor and asked the same question several different ways, we didn't get anywhere. They don't have that information. I also discovered that the nearest place to get the system fixed is hours away.

So anyone, if you can please help me, I desperately need to power up this system to get something off my main drive.

MOBO Dell part # is C5D9P
 
Solution
WyomingKnott
You could always
1) Run the wires out the hole and put on a pushbutton switch
2) Start the machine once, set the BIOS to always boot on power-on, and turn the power off physically after each shutdown
3) Tell tech support that you are going to publish this ridiculous story unless they are kind enough to replace your power button.
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WyomingKnott

WyomingKnott

Legenda in Aeternum
Aug 29, 2006
13,249
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51,960
You could always
1) Run the wires out the hole and put on a pushbutton switch
2) Start the machine once, set the BIOS to always boot on power-on, and turn the power off physically after each shutdown
3) Tell tech support that you are going to publish this ridiculous story unless they are kind enough to replace your power button.
 
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Solution
M

MrSpaak

Commendable
May 16, 2016
1
0
1,510
Hi guys,

I have experienced the same problem with my R1 Aurora. The power button fell apart and after forcing the switch underneath on/off with a pointy object (usually a pen or sth similar) finally it also gave in.

I have followed the advice of WyomingKnott and also searched for specific answer on different forums and came up with a solution that worked for me. Step by step instructions are as follows:
1. For Alienware Auroras you need to identify the FRONT_PANEL connector
2. Remove the plug to expose the pins
3. I'm not certain whether the pinout is exactly the same for all Auroras motherboards so my answer is for MS-7591 (4VWF2) motherboard
4. There are four top and five bottom pins. To power on I had to short the 3rd and 4th TOP pins (yellow and black) Unfortunately the standard & service manuals do not give any details about the pinout of individual connectors. I suggest you try to identify the right pair of power-on/ground before attempting to short.
5. After the machine is powered on, restart and go into BIOS.
6. In BIOS go to Power Management and select AC Recovery to On/Enabled (This will force your machine to power up every time you disconnect it from power supply)
7. In Windows (tested on Win 10 but the solution I have found was intended for Win 7) access the Command Prompt AS AN ADMINISTRATOR (this is critical as your command will be refused if the Admin rights are not recognized). To access the CP in Win 7 simply right-click on the icon in the Accessories menu and select as Admin, in Win 10 open the Task Manager, go into File and while holding CRTL press Run New Task.
8. You should be in the Windows/system32 directory if not you do not have Admin rights
9. Input: bcdedit /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreshutdownfailures
10. This will prevent windows to boot into safe mode upon 'power failure'
11. Every time when you shut down your machine make sure you disconnect from the power supply to simulate 'power failure'
12. Your PC will now boot normally when you restore the power supply
13. Yes I also think that this is ridiculous to have a cheap power button installed in an expensive PC which is a part of a front panel that houses several ports and requires almost complete deconstruction of your PC to be exchanged.

Also I might share that since my machine is the first generation of Auroras I was out of warranty and Dell Customer Support was completely useless. They were asking for money for premium support and blatantly refused to guide me to a solution. Moreover I was informed that should I wish to exchange the front panel I would have to shop around internet as the parts Dell stocks are ONLY for customers with warranty... I will definitely take this experience on board when I will be looking for an upgrade and I suggest you too consider this.

Good luck!
 
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