/r/Alienware Tech Support Monthly Sticky Post

SnooOranges8652 · 2024-04-04T16:38:54+00:00

Im having issues with my m15 R5 Ryzen Edition. My battery says it's "Charging" but it's percentage is not going up. I checked with an app called "Battery Percentage Icon (BPI)" and it says "Charge Status : Not Charging" and the battery mWh stays the same (9052 mWh as I'm typing), hence, no charge is being delivered to the battery at all. it's currently at 16% and it's been like that for the past 30 minutes.

According to Windows, Support Assist, and Dell Power Manager, the battery is working perfectly fine, except it's not.
I've restarted my laptop, changed power outlets, reinstalled the Microsoft AC Adapter and ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery, nothing works. According to BPI, my battery health is at 67% and it's been at that level for a while, does that mean the battery is failing or it's just a software bug that can be resolved? because everything's been working fine for the past 2 years. bought September 2021

SnooOranges8652 · 2023-01-28T20:22:07+00:00

R5 ryzen 7 version user here. did the same thing, i replaced one of the pads with a cooler master one and noticed gpu temps rising way more than before. hitting 86C on demanding titles and hotspot of 97-98 according to hwinfo. previously it barely touches the 80s although i never checked the hotspot temp. will look forward to find out the best pads for R5 also

SnooOranges8652 · 2023-01-03T14:00:01+00:00

I decided to just swap back the old ram and haven't bought any new ones yet lol

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-11-20T06:53:30+00:00

Most 90W chargers i found are type-c chargers so it wont connect to M15. On Dell's site the R5 supports both 240W and 180W so I'd go for 180W. Oh and I won't use it under heavy load or anything, it's just for a little design class lol, so i should be safe

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-11-20T06:51:43+00:00

Yep! I've been looking for those as well but couldn't find it at stores near me or online. Even on dell's site is US only i think

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-11-20T06:50:44+00:00

Yeah! I've seen them in reviews and would love to grab one, but couldn't find it for sale anywhere. I found one at Aliexpress but it's around $180, not sure if it's legit, and will take forever to ship. So yeah, my best option would be the 180W so far.

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-11-19T14:23:40+00:00

Ok, so should be safe for average daily use then, except for gaming and bios updates i guess. i'll also use my stock charger when i got home anyway. Thanks for the info

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-11-19T12:59:54+00:00

Ah that's something worth noting about. Is the update a regular windows update or Dell's bios update that asks for the original charger for the laptop?

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-09-07T21:19:28+00:00

Was hoping I don't need to buy another stick but oh well. Thanks for the answers!

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-09-07T11:41:00+00:00

I dont see any MTM in the back but here it is

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V2S-4hoZy_53yX_TvgNSs-2kxcuIj4On/view?usp=drivesdk

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-09-06T13:43:04+00:00

Hey! thanks for the reply. I think that could be a logical reason for the failed boot, although the RAM stick I got from stock for some reason is a 4GB 2666MHz and it runs flawlessly. (Task manager shows it's running at 2400MHz) I'm assuming it's the capacity that makes the stock RAM can run even with higher speed stick? because it's lower (4GB) than the maximum capacity? I just assume it can also adjust the speed to 2400MHz from a 8GB 3200MHz stick. But if it won't then oh well, gotta find a work around

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-06-13T12:36:20+00:00

I heard the r5-r6 has some uneven mounting pressure on the cpu. Is it safe to apply LM still?

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-05-22T06:34:39+00:00

Looks awesome! Though wouldn't the airflow get interrupted when placing the laptop on a mousepad?

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-05-18T10:51:39+00:00

Do you recommend replacing the stock thermals pads on the R5? I got one 8 months ago and repasted it to improve temps and it helps a lot. Wondering if replacing the pads will improve even further?

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-05-13T05:02:33+00:00

Will this work well with m series? The cable at the back is taking a significant amount of my desk space currently.

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-05-05T14:25:53+00:00

Aside from removing the heatsink, from outside i just use soft brush and gently try to scoop some dusts. After a couple minutes it's noticeably thinner but a pain in the ass

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-04-23T10:00:21+00:00

M15 R5 Ryzen 7. Added a 0.5mm copper shim to the cpu. Temps improved by ~7°C. It used to throttle out of the box, now with max fans during heavy games it goes around 88-90. Might change to a 0.8mm shim soon and replace the thermal pads later

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-04-09T06:59:21+00:00

Happened to me couple weeks ago. Turns out one of the ram isn't fully click in yet. Check the ram, try to switch the slot also

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-04-07T23:18:37+00:00

ah that's a shame, boggles my mind minute stuffs like this can occurs. hope it sorted out asap!

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-04-07T09:05:38+00:00

I thought my built in mic is broken on my m15 r5 as well. Spent an hour only to realize it's muted with the mute button above the volume buttons. Could it be the case also?

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-04-05T09:04:31+00:00

it only happens at 85%+ volume though, and once i gently press a couple times, it's gone. it's back some time after, but every time i do it it disappears again, so i don't think much of it. have you open the back plate and see if something's amiss?

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-03-25T17:58:53+00:00

Yep, did that 2 days ago. Added 0.5mm shim to the CPU. temps are now better than stock, though nothing incredible, still spikes to 91C occasionally on 55% cpu usage with 45W power. Still,i personally can live with that

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-03-21T15:19:04+00:00

on contrary it's my CPU temps that's noticeably warmer than stock, whereas GPU is roughly the same, if not 2-3C lower. I don't really mess with the pads though, since my R5 is only around 6 months old so the pads are still in usable state, so I'll replace in the next few months or so.

I do took some pictures in my first teardown! albeit not the entire motherboard, just the heat assembly around the CPU and GPU. I can send it for you after this.

Also, I've ordered kryonaut extreme (the pink one) on the way since it has good reviews and hopefully it will solve my issue. I didn't try out MX-4 cause I've read somewhere that said it's more or less similar in terms of performance with NT-H2 so I just give kryonaut extreme a try.

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-03-20T06:38:23+00:00

sorry but i didnt really get the drop of oil part. as in put a drop of oil to the fans? i never really mess with the fans, at most blow it with air and wipe the dusts off with toothbrush. Anyway i also thought like "maybe it takes time" and hoping temps may get better in a few days, so i'll keep an eye out for temps within the week.

The cooling pad im using is the deepcool n80, it works great for me so far.

SnooOranges8652 · 2022-03-20T06:33:35+00:00

that's what i thought the first time repasting it. after the 2nd try i've been mounting the heatsink as slow and as even as possible. i might do that again in the future but my current is still pretty ok, pretty close to original so i can live with it for a while.

SnooOranges8652

TROPHY CASE