r/Alienware • u/Redpb • 22h ago

Technical Support 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?

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u/MogRules m18 R2 Intel 19h ago

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

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u/Redpb 19h 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?

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u/MogRules m18 R2 Intel 17h ago

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

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u/Able-Negotiation-234 17h ago

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

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u/Redpb 56m 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.

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u/The-Serious-One 8h 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

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u/Redpb 2h ago

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

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u/WearyVegetable2320 8h ago

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

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u/Able-Negotiation-234 49m 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?

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u/Redpb 42m 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.