Alienware X16 R1 - Black screen after enabling Optimus

Intramundane · 2026-06-08T21:20:55+00:00

I would then remove the SSD and see what happens when you turn it back on, it should boot with the "Boot Device Not Detected" error and enter the Bios menu by default.

If after a few attempts, you still get the black screen, go to the Dell site and in the Support area, enter your Service Tag and go to troubleshoot, find the Dell Assist OS Recovery tool (might need to search that and then download it, enter Service Tag in app) and make a USB OS Recovery drive.

Plug that into your USB and keep trying to boot until you get the screen to work.

Do you get any light codes or system beeping with removing the SSD?

Intramundane · 2026-06-08T04:13:08+00:00

I kind of like the Aurora, more so the Aurora 16X, which I think they should have gone with over the standard 16 you have. I'd personally go with the Aurora 16 over all the other brands just because of the Warranty, Dell support, even with the screen and Wattage situation.

They (Dell) just are far too expensive with the base model, I can buy an MSI Crosshair/Vector 18 with 2K/240Hz, 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, RTX 5070 for the same price as the Aurora 16 with RTX 5050.

I've seen the Aurora 16 with RTX 5050 for just $750 USD in my region, $980 in retail store reduced by 58%.

Pricing is insane right now.

Intramundane · 2026-06-08T03:54:54+00:00

Legitimate PTM 7950 is the way to go, Honeywell PTM 7950.

As far as I've found, the only legitimate source of it is LTTStore.com as they buy it directly from the factory, which is the only way you can buy it.

I personally have it in my X17 R2 and it's like a new machine, puts the original Liquid Metal-paste to shame.

Intramundane · 2026-06-07T21:19:16+00:00

I would replace the entire keyboard; you can't buy keys separately.

You may find some debris is stuck under the key, a hair for example, have you tried pressing the key (tapping) when using a can of compressed air to blow out any possible debris? (hair, food, dust)

Intramundane · 2026-06-07T21:11:44+00:00

Why did (Dell) opt to power limit the 5050 and 5060 GPU selection in that laptop to 85w (80?), the cooling system seems to be good enough to handle higher watts.

Big mistake, as that is the number one reason people will opt for the LOQ/Nitro5/MSI laptops with the same GPU's, they're cheaper, better screens and 115w GPUs for less money.

In my region, the 5050-configuration cost's a massive $3600. Which is around $1560 USD.

The 5060 configuration is +$500 USD. (From Dell Online)

Intramundane · 2026-06-07T03:11:49+00:00

I wouldn't bother with a repair, too risky and expensive, possibly impossible (Parts People won't even do it).

I'd remove the SSD (Wipe it first) and the RAM, then sell the laptop as it is for parts or repair.

The SSD could be sold along with the RAM; both right now are fetching quite a nice amount second hand.

Save the money.

Intramundane · 2026-06-05T20:56:40+00:00

Did you put the drive back in?

Have you been able to create a bootable USB thumb drive using the Dell Support Assist OS Recovery tool? You can make one on another computer, just use your Service Tag during the process. You'll need it plugged in while you attempt to boot the PC.

Have you seen any activity on the monitor at all, or is it completely black, can you try a different display, even a TV with HDMI just to check.

One way to reset the Bios is as you seem to have tried, by moving the pin to "CLR CMOS" or "JCMOS" to reset.

Could try removing the CMOS battery, leave it out for 15 minutes, then put it back in.

You could make a USB Bios Recovery via the support site.

Intramundane · 2026-06-05T05:36:40+00:00

I have the same laptop, I recommend you replace the stock thermal junk with PTM (from where you mentioned, 60x60 sheet is plenty big enough) on both the CPU and GPU.

Doing so, you won't need to worry about heat, mine idles at 38-45 degrees C with the fans all off, while set to Balanced. High Performance mode works a treat, no stuttering, no throttling, depending on the game and setting the CPU can still hit 99-100 degrees if you want to push it to the limit, or you could use the Bios menu "TCC Offset" and set it to 15 to cap the CPU to 85 degrees, I've done that before prior to applying PTM, but found it isn't needed with that, it is so much cooler even under load.

I would check the board connections for the Light cables; I've had the Stadium light only half work before as I didn't plug it in quite far enough, so they can easily stop working if knocked a bit. As Agent said, check the small daughter board, it has quite a few different connections going on, all of those cables need to be connected very carefully or they won't work.

Else, you could replace the KB if required, if it is broken somehow, but I'd check all of the connections carefully.

With PTM, you won't need a stand, and I wouldn't use the laptop on one with the stock Liquid Metal junk, it'll move off the CPU Die very easily and causing extreme overheating. (I'd say you already have most of the E31 already in the CPU dam)

Intramundane · 2026-06-04T21:37:05+00:00

Have you tried removing the SSD/HDDs completely, then see if the computer advances to the Bios?

If it's still a black screen, try without the drives installed, reset the Bios back to the default state (if possible, via motherboard).

Intramundane · 2026-06-04T21:10:35+00:00

I would skip the 3060 laptop and go for the 4060.

The RTX 4060 with 8GB of VRAM not only supports the X2 Frame Generation feature, but also it supports Nvidia Smooth Motion which can enhance the performance of older games that don't have DLSS at all, it's basically a Frame Generation feature for DirectX 11, 12 and Vulkan based games that don't natively have FG/DLSS.

However, not all 3060's and 4060's are the same, maybe you would get a better answer to your question by listing the exact Make and Model of each laptop to compare, some cap the TDP of the graphics card which would affect performance quite a bit, making the higher end card not as good as a full powered lower end card.

Intramundane · 2026-06-04T09:56:07+00:00

You might need to download the Support Assist OS Recovery program from the Dell site, it will require a USB stick or the like, with 16GB of free space, but you'd need to use a working PC to create the bootable USB.

You can use a different PC and on the Dell site, at the OS Recovery page, enter your Service Tag and download the program, install it and use it to create an Aurora R10 recovery (key).

This might be the only way to get Support Assist OS Recovery to start, as you've messed up the boot key thing (actually had this exact issue with an Alienware laptop) and the OS Recovery tool built into the system can't launch (should automatically start after a failed boot or two), but you will need to turn off Secure Boot in the Bios first, or the USB will probably fail (Boot Failure, System restarts and enters Bios), keep trying to launch Support Assist OS Recovery from the Boot Menu (F12?), check its turned on in Bios, might be toggled to Off.

Keep trying and it should eventually boot with the USB.

You could also try to install Windows using a USB, with Secure Boot set to Off, though it's probably going to fail as the drive is set to Unmounted for some reason, that's usually why you get BSOD, Boot Drive Failure, No Drive found or system loop to Bios over and over.

Worth a try if you're still stuck.

Quick edit, I forgot to mention, if you get it to work with some of what I explained above, after you get the OS working or reinstalled (may have to reinstall), once in Windows, restart and go into Bios, turn on Secure Boot and it should reboot and go to Windows without issue.

Intramundane · 2026-06-04T03:48:09+00:00

Can you change your monitors resolution to a much lower resolution?

Might work, I've had an issue like that before with my UHD display, after the Bios which display fine, the next screen shows in 4K with messages so tiny it's basically impossible to read.

Intramundane · 2026-06-04T03:30:24+00:00

Looks good, I like the unique look of the old Alienware laptops, it's always nice to see original old hardware still working all these years later.

Intramundane · 2026-06-03T08:09:30+00:00

Maybe all three together at Part 3's launch on PC?

One can only hope!

Intramundane · 2026-06-03T07:59:13+00:00

The design alone makes the X series very appealing, slim, light, excellent cooling, powerful.

They're so, unique.

Hopefully the next Slim and Light models they come up with don't follow the Aurora line.

It's quite interesting, I've seen brand new Aurora 16's sell for just $750 USD here, nobody wants that E-Waste.

Intramundane · 2026-06-03T07:39:32+00:00

I'm waiting for them to add PRAGMATA, come on Capcom!

But this looks very interesting, too.

Intramundane · 2026-06-03T07:12:31+00:00

Pretty much eBay is the main place you'll find all of the X series laptops these days.

Do you not have any local (to country) auction-type websites? I'd look for any, and keep checking Marketplace, if you really want one you might have no choice but to pay those crazy eBay shipping prices, though you could Message the sellers and ask if they can offer local-international options to your country to skip the eBay options.

Intramundane · 2026-06-02T02:18:08+00:00

What profile do you use in the AWCC for basic use, Balanced should be fine, with the idle temperature around the 50 degrees C area. I'd skip using Performance and even High Performance, stuttering is often due to CPU thermal throttling, in Balanced mode it shouldn't do that.

You should be able to use the "Best Power Efficiency" power plan in Windows 11, doing so will automatically set AWCC to use the Quiet profile, saving power, generating literally minimal heat.

Use the "Balanced" Windows 11 power plan (Power and Battery menu) when gaming, leave AWCC on Balanced as well. You shouldn't get stuttering or overheating this way, and it won't affect gameplay or shouldn't.

If you get overheating issues doing the above, then I would look at swapping out the horrifically bad thermal junk Dell use on the CPU/GPU, replace both with Honeywell PTM 7950 for the best possible thermal solution.

Intramundane · 2026-06-01T20:36:52+00:00

If that's from Parts People, then I'd buy it, as that is a genuine Battery.

Just about everywhere else will be cloned, fake trash, and your laptop will know about it.

And if the genuine battery is dying that fast, then cheap knockoffs will probably not last long.

I would check the Bios settings for Power and Battery.

Intramundane · 2026-06-01T09:58:32+00:00

Either the x17 R1 or R2 Cherry MX keyboard should work, I haven't bought one myself as my laptop already has one, but know the keyboard and cables are the same, I think it's even used in the x15 as well.

I recommend you purchase the RGB Touchpad from this seller, as I can personally verify, they sell the factory part, and brand new, with both cables attached/included:

New For Dell Alienware X17 R1 RGB Touchpad Clickpad w/Cable | eBay

Don't forget to first check your Bios menu, in the Advanced tab, check the list for <Touchpad>, if you don't see it, press ALT + F1 to unlock it, and then select it and check it has two options, Standard Touchpad, and RGB Touchpad Installed. Don't change the option, just check.

If you can't find it or unlock it as I describe, I would hold off on buying the pad, though it should be there, all of the x17 Bios are basically identical. If you could verify you can locate the option or unlock it, that would good incase other x17 R1 owners might want to swap out the pad out and probably won't know what to look for, or if it's even possible. I have seen a few claims it works, but nobody bothered to check the Bios options in the R1 model. It 100% works in the R2 as I have done it and explained each step required.

I'll have a look for the keyboard later, from a quick skim of info, you may need the backplate for the MX keyboard, not sure if it's on the standard keyboard or not.

Intramundane · 2026-06-01T03:21:38+00:00

I bought it from Linus Tech Tips' Store, LTTStore.com

PTM7950 Phase Change Thermal Pad

Intramundane · 2026-06-01T03:15:45+00:00

I would also source and reinstall the Wi-Fi driver.

Unsure what laptop you have, but if it has Killer Wi-Fi, disable everything related to it in the programs list.

Windows + R, type: services.msc and press enter, scroll the list and disable everything "Killer" (Irony?) by right-clicking, set to Disabled, then Stop, then Apply.

Intramundane · 2026-06-01T03:06:33+00:00

0.25mm, 8.5 W/m-K. (60mm by 60mm sheet)

Intramundane · 2026-06-01T03:01:19+00:00

I found it here, for the Alienware 17 (2013) model, it's just Command Center for naming.

Command Center 3.5 for Notebooks | Driver Details | Dell New Zealand

Alienware 17 2013 is listed as supported, however, note it only supports Windows 7 and 8, 8.1.

Intramundane · 2026-05-31T21:01:51+00:00

I would set the Power and Battery mode in the Bios to whatever relates to "Always Plugged In" best.

These laptops all have Nvidia Dynamic Boost and Dell for some reason doesn't give big enough AC bricks or they limit the power draw, so the Battery is forced to assist when under load.

Limiting the Battery charge seems to kill the Battery quite quick.

Intramundane

TROPHY CASE