This gave me the courage to restore my mom's Acer travelmate P257-MG with an Nvidia 940m. All I had to do was restore the thermal paste and clean it and buy a new battery and screen. Thank u
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew It was necessary to change the video card to Nvidia 2060, or to the worst option for 1050, because. it has the same performance as 580m, but consumes much less electricity.
Man! That HDMI input feature is so under-rated! Wish it would've caught on as a standard feature for all laptops. Who needs a sketchy external GPU setup when you can just plug in a console? Takes about the same amount of desk space.
Im sure for consumers it was catching on, but it wasn’t catching on with manufacturers, for the very same reason you pointed out. If you can upgrade your setup with a cheap console every 5 years, you have less incentive to buy another laptop. Same reason they no longer offer a removable gpu.
@@techviewer8379 a new generation console from Sony and Microsoft tends to drop every 8-10 years, at least that's how it's been since the PS3 and Xbox 360. We wait a long time nowadays before we get a new console.
@@anonymousguy1029 Ps1 to Ps2 was 5 years. Ps2 to Ps3 was 6 years. Ps3 to Ps4 was 7 years. Ps4 to Ps5 was 7 years. So thats average like 6 years. Xbox is a similar story. But anyway I was talking about upgrading your system, not just console generations. In the modern era we now can expect "Pro" systems. So Ps4 to Ps4 Pro was 3 years, Ps4 Pro to Ps5 5 was 4 years. That brings our average down to 5. so yeah my original comment stands.
I agree, the HDMI-In needs to almost any laptop, not only for consoles, even other stuff can be connected, almost anything same as on TV or Desktop monitor including android box or tv box
Cat and Andrew! As an OG Alienware owner all my life, I appreciate your taking the time and energy to restore these beautiful machines. I've had many Alienware laptops including several 2010-2014 models over the years. My latest ones are from 2016 and 2019. This is very theraputic to see. Keep up this excellent work!!!
My 980m in my m17x r4 just died a week ago, the seller wasn’t willing to refund me either. Sucks but your videos are what inspired me to start repairing these devices. Don’t stop what your doing, your such an awesome person and inspire so many of us!
These original Alienware designs were truely ahead of their time and very unique 👽🛸👾. It’s a shame many newer laptops are sadly lacking in the connector department 😭😢. As an owner of the M15 featuring i7-2670QM w/ GTX460m, I appreciate you Andrew taking the time to beautifully restore this laptop to its ultimate glory 🥰🥳. Job well done! 🍻 cheers.
That suede type paint that starts out almost indestructible and then after some years becomes very soft and sticky is something I used in the early 80s. I think it was Dupont Nextel and it was made of urethane with ground up synthetic rubber of some type in it. A huge disappointment when we saw how it lost its desirable properties after some time.
This was an excellent upgrade and restoration, really love what you did! I now want one of these myself as this laptop is one of the best I've seen, in terms of features. Never did I think HDMI input would be possible! Hopefully you get some luck in the future with a better GPU (return the old one for a refund). Also great that Windows 11 works fine without issues. Hopefully more laptops get Windows 11 working on them, since Windows 11 doesn't support many laptops (officially). Only things I'd have done differently would have been: RAM: used the 2 slots under the keyboard immediately and maxed out at 32GB. Not many laptops have the capability for 32GB RAM, and with Windows 11 using more RAM than Windows 10 (and Windows 10 using more RAM than Windows 7), the more, the better. Disks: two 2.5in disk drive slots means filling them both up is better. It's also not advised to have data on the same disk as the OS if you have multiple drive slots: what happens if the OS disk fails, and you lose your data too? For that reason I would go with 1TB SSD (OS'es - allows for dual, or triple, booting) and either 1TB SSD or 2TB HDD in the other slot.
Excellent job. I love seeing old tech being brought back to life . Too many videos on RUclips with people with unlimited budgets building new builds ! So much rewarding to give an old top spec machine a new lease of life 👍
You handled the laptop with care. Great work bro. I have an Alienware m17x R3. It turns on and loads up to the windows logo but beeps. Removed several parts but still the same. I didn't do the reverse dissembling. I didn't use the device for almost 2 years and it was in my warehouse.
Seeing laptops like these coming back to life is really satisfying. The gpu messed up a bit but the igpu was doing a great job there which is surprising to see. And also seeing laptops like alienware being restored feels very nice because the 2010s alienware laptops looks very interesting to me these days. And the customization also look way better than todays laptops. At the end I just want to say that your videos makes my day😃😃
Amazing video. depending on whether this laptop has legacy or UEFI bios, there might be a modded bios out there for it that would allow for newer cards to run. My M18x R2 has a Quadro P4000 (GTX 1070) in it for example with the ability to go higher since it has the required UEFI features needed by 9 series and up and the modded bios with the ability to enable SG/Optimus. However my M18x R1 (the 1st revision) only has legacy bios so it will only support upto GTX 880m. My R1 had GTX 580m like yours and had the same issue, its now running a GTX 780m with no issue. Hope this helps in regards to maybe getting a much more powerful GPU in that machine that people would think otherwise would not work.
I have a p4000 also, I got a dell precision 7720 for free it had a amd wx 4130 (rx550) and I upgraded to the p4000. Great card. It’s in the middle of a gtx 1060/1070. Only issue I will say is the clock speed is holding it back a bit.
@@shittyboxBuilds yeah its between the two for sure, i just say gtx 1070 for simplicity sake since it has the same amount of vram. does me well tho, i can run cyberpunk pretty nicely with it either at 1080p medium or 720p ultra (should update my vids on this since those are pretty out of date lol)
This is wild and coincidental, Andrew. I was thinking about this very machine the other day as this was the first gaming laptop that was purchased for me back in 2011, albeit it had an i7-2630QM and a GTX 560M. I eventually contacted Alienware support and somehow they sent me a GTX 580M for me to put into the laptop myself.
Still using an m17x r4. Thankfully no stickiness. The I7 is still capable though the gtx 660M isn't capable of much modern gaming. Primary use is for zoom and teams so I can still work on my desktop whilst in a dull meeting 😀
This is great Laptop, I had m17x r4 but with 680m, Incredible performances, btw I have video about this laptop also ruclips.net/video/SITw2qpg3lE/видео.html
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew I still have this model running windows 7. I've been hesitant to try win 10 on it due to known issues of either win10 or nvidia driver bricking the screen :S.
I recently used windex and it worked great . I applied by using a small amount on a foam brush in small sections of the sticky rubber I allowed it to set for 5 minutes and the rubber will slightly whiten and be ready for scraping. I used a cricket brand scraper to remove the sticky rubber. The computer has a black hard plastic underneath and looks great without the rubber. So no need to paint and the Alienware will look brand new.
Alienware were my dreaming notebook while I was at the high school! Your videos always give me inspiration to mod and repair old but good electronics! Thanks Andrew!!!
Good work! I like how you approach and solve the problem. I can imagine how you felt after installing the new gpu! But also after you found out that it is just dirt and a screw that were the problem. In parts we have a comparable working flow, but you are much more thorough and I admire your modding skills. Greetings from Cologne
Hi Andrew, first of all congratulations for the content you create on this channel, it is as extraordinary as it is inspiring. A question that I would like to ask you: what do you do with the laptops and consoles that you restore? A big greeting and I hope you can answer me.
Hi bro, some stuff isn't mine, I just restore, repair and return but something which is mine, something I will keep but mostly I give to someone who really needs, and 2 times I have changed restored things with something trashy :D
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew Thanks for the reply. I really hope to have the opportunity to one day meet you and learn more about your work. Keep it up, I hope I can support you for a long time.
This is the video I was wating for. I´m the guy who emailed you about a year ago describing the exact same issue. I tried with clean installs of all the nvidia compatible drivers without success. Now I know it´s a graphics card issue (even though my original card is not damaged and the replacement acts exactly the same). I am also unable to install Alienware Command Center. Hope you find a non-expensive way of fixing it. Will definitely be waiting for part 2 of this video. Greetings from Mexico.
I got the first version of the Alienware 18 with two GTX 770m in SLI. Worked like a dream for 8 and a half years till three weeks ago, the graphics card died. I wish I had the know-how to fix it like you did! This was very satisfying to watch, thank you.
the meticulous care you give to these older but very cool.machines is incredible. I have an m11x which has come back from the dead 3 times now...wish I could give it this much care some day.
Your videos have inspired me to get my old Alienware M18X R2 working again. I originally thought it was a bad motherboard, but turns out it was just a corrupt bios. A simple force flash of the A03 bios and it’s back up and running. So I tore it down and gave it a good clean and added a ssd and a faster wifi card. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to more videos.
The big gripe about the R3 is the limited options for mxm upgrades beyond that it is still a good machine especially on the cheap plus the build quality is higher than most modern laptops. For those who wish to upgrade theirs a Quadro K5000m or a K5100m for ngreedia or a R9 M290M as the 2gb that is common to the gtx 680m just doesn't cut it. Even for the R1 and R2 Kepler is a proven option while the R4 can use pretty much whatever one wants even an RTX 3000 should they find rare mxm version.
How much alienware do you have? You should do an auction or you shoud sell used laptop for less e waste tech. Salam Alaikum. Now, altough windows 11 are not supported for older tpm's, you should teach viewers for installing windows 11 iso files as well how we can find the drivers.
@@YasinVanDoorsen maybe. But, who knows later if he is a reseller, maybe he can sell on ebay. Definitely everyone in the middle is scrambling for the limited edition.
Hi bro, installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware is easy, you can download windows 11 from Microsoft website for a free :D, and you have a lot tutorials how to install on unsupported hardware, it's very easy. The Drivers are some basic that Windows 11 will find automatically, the others are from Windows 7 64 bit downloaded from the official Dell Website and GPU drivers are for Windows 10 64 bit, downloaded from Nvidia website. But in some cases if I cannot find some driver I search the google using Hardware using Hardware IDS from the missing driver, not hard to find, just basic. About laptops, I have 2 one Alienware 13 R2 and this one M17x R3, I had R4 and one 15" before but I give it, I do not sell, I just give it to somebody that really needs and really cannot afford, but I do not share that because I don't want these people to fill bad, and I don't like that type of giving, if I give something I will do because I want not because to benefit something
The DNA painting job is awesome, this is by far my favorite of your restoration videos. Also, you inspired my to purchase and restore my first 17.3 inch laptop, the awesome Dell Precision M6600, I am actually commenting using it right now. Thank you for your uploads!
Wish I could triple like your videos!! Since I started watching you I haven't been able to watch much of the other restoration channels because of how thorough you are especially the cleaning and modification parts. Thanks for keeping our psycho OCDs well satisfied:)
Great video. I appreciate the fact that you recognized the malfunctions after repair. Your honesty gives added value to your channel. Definetly it is an inspiration. Thanks. Best wishes from Panama 🇵🇦
I love watching these videos! You put so much care into restoration! I have been cleaning and repairing computer components, even repairing an old asus k55vm gaming laptop! (with a gt 630m) awesome work!
Siiiick! I'll be the first to admit I'm back on Team Alienware since deciding to go with them for my latest laptop(these babies arent cheap new as we all know, but the build quality and aesthetic is second to none(which you dont even come close to when comparing other bands). I wanted a desktop replacement as weight doesn't really bother me, since wherever I might take it I know it more than likely won't be a school or somewhere I would have to walk with it constantly all day long. Even if on occasion my destination is a place where it needs to be carried alot I still don't mind carrying the 10+lbs around. TBH actually the key is a really nice quality laptop backpack, preferably one with a waist strap. I have an Asus one that does this and will handle 17"+ laptops with plenty of compartments and room to spare. Wound up with an Area-51m R2 10700k,2080Super 330hz screen. It's a beast really is, it keeps up with my desktop 9900k 2080ti all day long because the graphics card inside is more so a desktop variant dialed down a little. Overstocked I get atleast similar and sometimes higher scores than a 3060ti. I can even run a 5.2 all core and the highest Temps are usually around 85-90c which is absolutely respectable on a damn laptop. I baby it so much and always cleaning when it need, looks like the day I got it.
Hey Andrew nice video and mods you have done to your R3! I got the exact same laptop and had it for years! Upgrades on mine is max 32GB RAM, GTX 880M 8GB GPU Card, i7 Extreme 2960XM and W10 seems to be the best OS for this laptop. Since the GPU drivers are stable on W10. Also got 2x 2TB Samsung Evo 760 SSD’s as well as Unlocked A11 BIOS too. Once I’ve got a replacement GPU as I’ve put it into my Mid 2011 iMac 27’. I’ll test W11 Pro and see if it’s stable :)
With all those ports and the build quality of the laptop, it's literally like a tank. Love seeing old hardware like this getting repaired and showing how usable they still are. I wonder how long I'll be able to use my current gaming laptop for. If possible for a long time I hope
i have an R4 version of this laptop. I am the original owner and I've taken care of this thing and kept it clean, has very few scratches. It was my first gaming computer. Only thing that doesn't work is the battery. I put 32gb of ram and 4tb of SSD storage in it when it used to be my main computer so its still kicking really good. The display is still really good on it.
Wow I didn't even feel that almost 40 minute video, it was that satisfying. Got an M17x R1, still in good condition but drivers are far too outdated. Great vid!
Nice job. I've restored a bunch of these laptops and they are a lot of fun to pull apart and upgrade. They don't make them like this anymore unfortunately.
This is my first time seeing this guys channel. I am just shocked by the extreme level of detail this man puts into refurbishing computers. My mind is blown! You would never be able to tell that it was ever used. Absolutely amazing beyond words! How talented this guy is! incredible!🤯
Friend, you could show in the videos from now on how the system state is in the task manager before upgrading, always remembering what processor you were using, and how much memory it was too. It's good to show users how the windows10/11 system behaves. It's pretty cool this tip to make comparison with task manager for there you will see how much consumption the applications consume processing and memory.
This notebook is my dream even nowdays =/ but here in brazil besides the huge price is almost impossible to have ;-; btw nice video the songs and the edit was lit!! great job
To this day, I still have my Alienware M17xR4 which I custom ordered back in 2012 with the GTX 680M. Its battery is the only issue, otherwise it still plays. I even played Metro Exodus with it, finished the game with it 2 yrs. ago. I now keep my AW M17 as a spare laptop. But now comparing it to my 2.5 yr. old 17" MSI GS75 Stealth Ultra Thin with the RTX 2070 MQ, ...The Alienware M17 is so freaking THICK and HEAVY !!!!!
I always liked the design of Alienware, but also I like the others like ASUS, MSI and others. I have one ASUS G70 with SLI Graphics 2 Nvidia GT 9600, I've tried to repair but still no success, and I'm still trying 😂
great! i can't believe you made such a profound restoration. i restored a few laptop myself but not to your level. i have learned a lot from this video.
Amazingly restored, was planning on buying one. But even the older gaming laptops in bad condition are legit over 300 eur here in Sweden. Like wtf are people thinking
This is awesome. I also have an Alienware that has that nasty rubbery finish that only gets sticky overtime. I did not know you could get a result like this. I will definitely look into fixing mine like you.
Damn! Restore my Alienware 18!!!! It used to be dual 880M (SLI), but one of the video cards are gone, so, I think it can be upgraded to GTX 1070. Funny story is that when this happened, I took my laptop for maintenance, as it would not even turn on. I was told the laptop was gone, and that the motherboard was gone. I could not get over it and studied the hardware, just to figure out that the reason why the input power capacitor was triggering, is because the burned GPU was short-circuiting the board. All I had to do, was removing one GPU, say good bye to the SLI and that's it! I purchased it in 2014 and still using it, even though I can't run my favorite game anymore (The witcher 3).
Your videos are very satisfying to watch. You gave me the inspiration to open my old HP Pavilion G7 and thoroughly clean it and upgrade the HDD to a SSD. It works great again. I gave it to my son to use for school.
Won't lie, I almost skipped this one as another boring textbook restoration... and I'm REALLY glad I didn't! That troubleshooting session was worth the proverbial price of admission... VERY meticulous job, sir O7
Close friend of mine has one and still games on it daily. On a side note - I had been doing repairs behind a local shady repair shop and come to find out that they were purposely leaving internal screws only halfway in so eventually moving around your laptop would cause them to fall out and short something out. I was so angry, I made it a mission to put them out of business.
Yes I can see when you was cleaning the fans had some pieces break off is very good tip be careful when working with light material you did other great work thanks alot for the videos
I have the M17x R4 (uses intel ivy bridge cpus) and I use it as my daily driver and it's been really a great system :D I did many upgrades such as windows 11, GTX 980M, 1TB SSD and 32GB of RAM. This is the last FULLY upgradeable laptop IMHO. (You can also upgrade to a 1070 or even a 1080 MXM GPU)
It is a pity that the GPU does not work; however, it is an excellent restore, repair and MOD of a good laptop. Kind regards from Bogota, Colombia @Cat and Andrew
Oh man! I still have the smaller sibling of this beast! the M14X in Mars Red from 2011! And it's still fully functioning! (555m and I5 Cpu - I can't really remember the number) Just seeing this laptop is like Wow... Alienware baby and when it was alien and out of this planet :) The newer laptops are still awesome, but nothing makes me think more Alienware than this!!! I really hope you will find a proper working 580M GPU - the VRAM thing seems very fishy and I bet why the drivers don't work right! It sounds like a re-flashed GPU... Check to see if you can restore it to the original VBIOS even if it's something older... Kudos for this video and awesome work, as always!!!!
Thanks for sharing this very well executed refurbish. Love the DNA pattern you did on the lid. It’s very satisfying to see damaged hardware being brought to life. Shame about the GPU. Quite like the HDMI input so it is still usable for games. And with the Xbox One S, which is a very nice machine, it works well.
This gave me the courage to restore my mom's Acer travelmate P257-MG with an Nvidia 940m. All I had to do was restore the thermal paste and clean it and buy a new battery and screen. Thank u
These Acer laptops are still good laptops, why not to restore it
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew It was necessary to change the video card to Nvidia 2060, or to the worst option for 1050, because. it has the same performance as 580m, but consumes much less electricity.
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew The laptop is same to the Acer E5 you restored some time ago although the CPU is i7-5500U
@@cabbage-stories how a 2060 can have the same performance as a 580m they are like 3-4 generations apart
@@siontheodorus1501 I think he meant the 580m and 1050
Hello Andrew, you do not publish videos as much as others do, but yours are always entertaining and educational. I truly enjoy watching.
Hi bro, I'm working on building a small studio where I can do more videos and better as well, more educational, creative and more stuff
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew Where is the cat? I want the cat!!
@@aytekaksu9743 best he can do is an Andrew, take it or leave it
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew where is the cat?
@@aytekaksu9743 show cat. lol
Man why modern laptops do not come with detachable cpu and gpu .. its so cool to see older laptops coming back to life
I miss this customization also, miss to have upgradable laptops
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew Hey Andrew, can you make a video about the best laptop with the most upgradable hardware? Thanks!
some do
Its a rare thing nowdays and its cos they want you to buy a new laptop which is sad
@@YasinVanDoorsen yeah… they just solder stuff and make the environment even more damaged.
Man! That HDMI input feature is so under-rated! Wish it would've caught on as a standard feature for all laptops. Who needs a sketchy external GPU setup when you can just plug in a console? Takes about the same amount of desk space.
And cheaper than buying an external GPU caddy and GPU!
Im sure for consumers it was catching on, but it wasn’t catching on with manufacturers, for the very same reason you pointed out. If you can upgrade your setup with a cheap console every 5 years, you have less incentive to buy another laptop. Same reason they no longer offer a removable gpu.
@@techviewer8379 a new generation console from Sony and Microsoft tends to drop every 8-10 years, at least that's how it's been since the PS3 and Xbox 360. We wait a long time nowadays before we get a new console.
@@anonymousguy1029 Ps1 to Ps2 was 5 years. Ps2 to Ps3 was 6 years. Ps3 to Ps4 was 7 years. Ps4 to Ps5 was 7 years. So thats average like 6 years. Xbox is a similar story. But anyway I was talking about upgrading your system, not just console generations. In the modern era we now can expect "Pro" systems. So Ps4 to Ps4 Pro was 3 years, Ps4 Pro to Ps5 5 was 4 years. That brings our average down to 5. so yeah my original comment stands.
I agree, the HDMI-In needs to almost any laptop, not only for consoles, even other stuff can be connected, almost anything same as on TV or Desktop monitor including android box or tv box
Cat and Andrew! As an OG Alienware owner all my life, I appreciate your taking the time and energy to restore these beautiful machines. I've had many Alienware laptops including several 2010-2014 models over the years. My latest ones are from 2016 and 2019. This is very theraputic to see. Keep up this excellent work!!!
Thank youu bro 😀
I like the older Alienwares a lot, to this day not one of them have port wobble. Love the asthetic they have.
Msi is better LOL
@@abbashaider5307 but… who asked?
@@superpork1superboy771 msi fanboy here dont be mad LOL
The cleaning part after disassembly was so Satisfying to watch. Love to see the care shown for the machine 💯
Hey hi!didnt expect u to be here xD
@@stutterx6183 XD
Thank youu bro :D
My 980m in my m17x r4 just died a week ago, the seller wasn’t willing to refund me either. Sucks but your videos are what inspired me to start repairing these devices. Don’t stop what your doing, your such an awesome person and inspire so many of us!
These original Alienware designs were truely ahead of their time and very unique 👽🛸👾. It’s a shame many newer laptops are sadly lacking in the connector department 😭😢. As an owner of the M15 featuring i7-2670QM w/ GTX460m, I appreciate you Andrew taking the time to beautifully restore this laptop to its ultimate glory 🥰🥳. Job well done! 🍻 cheers.
I wasn't expecting the HDMI input, nice restoration!
HDMI input should be in almost any laptop, so useful feature, not only to connect consoles and other stuff as well
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew so can i use the HDMI port to turn my old laptop into a tv? like a common tv that use antenna ?
A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one
@@m.vi4064 It will depend if your laptop supports HDMI INPUT, most laptops only support HDMI OUTPUT.
Please never give up, Andrew; you give out hope, technical knowledge and a sense that we can all do this. Nothing has failed here. 🙏
That suede type paint that starts out almost indestructible and then after some years becomes very soft and sticky is something I used in the early 80s. I think it was Dupont Nextel and it was made of urethane with ground up synthetic rubber of some type in it. A huge disappointment when we saw how it lost its desirable properties after some time.
I totally agree, at first is okay, but later is sticky, hard to clean, easy to damage, nasty
This was an excellent upgrade and restoration, really love what you did! I now want one of these myself as this laptop is one of the best I've seen, in terms of features. Never did I think HDMI input would be possible!
Hopefully you get some luck in the future with a better GPU (return the old one for a refund).
Also great that Windows 11 works fine without issues. Hopefully more laptops get Windows 11 working on them, since Windows 11 doesn't support many laptops (officially).
Only things I'd have done differently would have been:
RAM: used the 2 slots under the keyboard immediately and maxed out at 32GB. Not many laptops have the capability for 32GB RAM, and with Windows 11 using more RAM than Windows 10 (and Windows 10 using more RAM than Windows 7), the more, the better.
Disks: two 2.5in disk drive slots means filling them both up is better. It's also not advised to have data on the same disk as the OS if you have multiple drive slots: what happens if the OS disk fails, and you lose your data too? For that reason I would go with 1TB SSD (OS'es - allows for dual, or triple, booting) and either 1TB SSD or 2TB HDD in the other slot.
Excellent job. I love seeing old tech being brought back to life . Too many videos on RUclips with people with unlimited budgets building new builds ! So much rewarding to give an old top spec machine a new lease of life 👍
You handled the laptop with care. Great work bro. I have an Alienware m17x R3. It turns on and loads up to the windows logo but beeps. Removed several parts but still the same. I didn't do the reverse dissembling. I didn't use the device for almost 2 years and it was in my warehouse.
Seeing laptops like these coming back to life is really satisfying. The gpu messed up a bit but the igpu was doing a great job there which is surprising to see. And also seeing laptops like alienware being restored feels very nice because the 2010s alienware laptops looks very interesting to me these days. And the customization also look way better than todays laptops. At the end I just want to say that your videos makes my day😃😃
I am from vietnam and i so impress about the way u upgrade your laptop and i very happy to receive ur knowledge about laptop
It makes me sooo happy whenever Andrew uploads a video! So satisfying and fulfilling to watch!!
Thank youu bro 😀
The patience and attention to detail, something I personally would struggle with, just so satisfying to watch. Great job, laptop looks brand new
That machine looks amazing! I'm always so impressed by how thorough you are with your work! I'm glad you are working to give these machines new life!
My favorite laptop is the Alienware m18x r2. I hope someday laptops like that will return❤
When Dell acquired Alienware in 2009, this helped NVIDIA gain further recognition. Restoring an old laptop surely takes practice, patience, and time.
Uh, no?
I have this exact model do you know if I would be able to load windows 11 through a workaround
I check daily to see if you're uploading a video and boom you have one today ☺️ thank bro 👍
Amazing video. depending on whether this laptop has legacy or UEFI bios, there might be a modded bios out there for it that would allow for newer cards to run. My M18x R2 has a Quadro P4000 (GTX 1070) in it for example with the ability to go higher since it has the required UEFI features needed by 9 series and up and the modded bios with the ability to enable SG/Optimus. However my M18x R1 (the 1st revision) only has legacy bios so it will only support upto GTX 880m. My R1 had GTX 580m like yours and had the same issue, its now running a GTX 780m with no issue. Hope this helps in regards to maybe getting a much more powerful GPU in that machine that people would think otherwise would not work.
I have a p4000 also, I got a dell precision 7720 for free it had a amd wx 4130 (rx550) and I upgraded to the p4000. Great card. It’s in the middle of a gtx 1060/1070. Only issue I will say is the clock speed is holding it back a bit.
@@shittyboxBuilds yeah its between the two for sure, i just say gtx 1070 for simplicity sake since it has the same amount of vram. does me well tho, i can run cyberpunk pretty nicely with it either at 1080p medium or 720p ultra (should update my vids on this since those are pretty out of date lol)
This is wild and coincidental, Andrew. I was thinking about this very machine the other day as this was the first gaming laptop that was purchased for me back in 2011, albeit it had an i7-2630QM and a GTX 560M.
I eventually contacted Alienware support and somehow they sent me a GTX 580M for me to put into the laptop myself.
Still using an m17x r4. Thankfully no stickiness. The I7 is still capable though the gtx 660M isn't capable of much modern gaming. Primary use is for zoom and teams so I can still work on my desktop whilst in a dull meeting 😀
This is great Laptop, I had m17x r4 but with 680m, Incredible performances, btw I have video about this laptop also ruclips.net/video/SITw2qpg3lE/видео.html
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew I still have this model running windows 7. I've been hesitant to try win 10 on it due to known issues of either win10 or nvidia driver bricking the screen :S.
I recently used windex and it worked great . I applied by using a small amount on a foam brush in small sections of the sticky rubber I allowed it to set for 5 minutes and the rubber will slightly whiten and be ready for scraping. I used a cricket brand scraper to remove the sticky rubber. The computer has a black hard plastic underneath and looks great without the rubber. So no need to paint and the Alienware will look brand new.
21:45 The PC being an Alienware and the glue being a UFO is just a perfect thing lol
Alienware were my dreaming notebook while I was at the high school! Your videos always give me inspiration to mod and repair old but good electronics! Thanks Andrew!!!
The most cleanest and coolest laptop I've ever seen, it's a work of arts great job
Good work! I like how you approach and solve the problem. I can imagine how you felt after installing the new gpu! But also after you found out that it is just dirt and a screw that were the problem. In parts we have a comparable working flow, but you are much more thorough and I admire your modding skills. Greetings from Cologne
Hi Andrew, first of all congratulations for the content you create on this channel, it is as extraordinary as it is inspiring. A question that I would like to ask you: what do you do with the laptops and consoles that you restore? A big greeting and I hope you can answer me.
Hi bro, some stuff isn't mine, I just restore, repair and return but something which is mine, something I will keep but mostly I give to someone who really needs, and 2 times I have changed restored things with something trashy :D
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew Thanks for the reply. I really hope to have the opportunity to one day meet you and learn more about your work. Keep it up, I hope I can support you for a long time.
This is the video I was wating for. I´m the guy who emailed you about a year ago describing the exact same issue. I tried with clean installs of all the nvidia compatible drivers without success. Now I know it´s a graphics card issue (even though my original card is not damaged and the replacement acts exactly the same). I am also unable to install Alienware Command Center. Hope you find a non-expensive way of fixing it. Will definitely be waiting for part 2 of this video. Greetings from Mexico.
I really admire how much time and effort you put into these videos. I would never be patient enough for this 😄
Actually this is very short version of all 😄 usually all clips are about 250-400GB data
I got the first version of the Alienware 18 with two GTX 770m in SLI. Worked like a dream for 8 and a half years till three weeks ago, the graphics card died.
I wish I had the know-how to fix it like you did! This was very satisfying to watch, thank you.
Your creativity is through the roof man
Thank youu bro 😀
the meticulous care you give to these older but very cool.machines is incredible. I have an m11x which has come back from the dead 3 times now...wish I could give it this much care some day.
Admiro la pasión y el esmero de tu trabajo, eres asombroso!
Gracias :D
Your videos have inspired me to get my old Alienware M18X R2 working again. I originally thought it was a bad motherboard, but turns out it was just a corrupt bios. A simple force flash of the A03 bios and it’s back up and running. So I tore it down and gave it a good clean and added a ssd and a faster wifi card. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to more videos.
This is what were waiting for!! , love the restoration , quik question do you sell the laptops or keep them?? :)
Thank youu bro 😀 some will keep but some I give, this one I will keep for now, the last one is gone 😀
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew I see cant wait for another great video as always! :)
The big gripe about the R3 is the limited options for mxm upgrades beyond that it is still a good machine especially on the cheap plus the build quality is higher than most modern laptops. For those who wish to upgrade theirs a Quadro K5000m or a K5100m for ngreedia or a R9 M290M as the 2gb that is common to the gtx 680m just doesn't cut it. Even for the R1 and R2 Kepler is a proven option while the R4 can use pretty much whatever one wants even an RTX 3000 should they find rare mxm version.
I had two of these and fitted a gt980 in one and a gt1060 in the other you just have to change a setting in the bios and use modded drivers.
This is Great Upgrade, especially if you have R4 models
GT 980 and 1060??? Do you mean gtx
Hey Rob where were you able to find drivers for the 1060? I've got one coming for a M18x R2.
Nice restoration keep it up
Love from Tamil Nadu India
How much alienware do you have? You should do an auction or you shoud sell used laptop for less e waste tech. Salam Alaikum.
Now, altough windows 11 are not supported for older tpm's, you should teach viewers for installing windows 11 iso files as well how we can find the drivers.
He keeps some and others he gives away to friends and family
@@YasinVanDoorsen maybe. But, who knows later if he is a reseller, maybe he can sell on ebay. Definitely everyone in the middle is scrambling for the limited edition.
@@YasinVanDoorsen i think we should tell him about windows 11 iso & drivers.
@@hadifjamalluddin3319 That someone is me lol
Hi bro, installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware is easy, you can download windows 11 from Microsoft website for a free :D, and you have a lot tutorials how to install on unsupported hardware, it's very easy. The Drivers are some basic that Windows 11 will find automatically, the others are from Windows 7 64 bit downloaded from the official Dell Website and GPU drivers are for Windows 10 64 bit, downloaded from Nvidia website. But in some cases if I cannot find some driver I search the google using Hardware using Hardware IDS from the missing driver, not hard to find, just basic. About laptops, I have 2 one Alienware 13 R2 and this one M17x R3, I had R4 and one 15" before but I give it, I do not sell, I just give it to somebody that really needs and really cannot afford, but I do not share that because I don't want these people to fill bad, and I don't like that type of giving, if I give something I will do because I want not because to benefit something
The DNA painting job is awesome, this is by far my favorite of your restoration videos. Also, you inspired my to purchase and restore my first 17.3 inch laptop, the awesome Dell Precision M6600, I am actually commenting using it right now. Thank you for your uploads!
Wish I could triple like your videos!! Since I started watching you I haven't been able to watch much of the other restoration channels because of how thorough you are especially the cleaning and modification parts. Thanks for keeping our psycho OCDs well satisfied:)
So very satisfying to watch! Love how you sort the screws and that you explain very to the point with what you are doing in this video. Great work!
Great video. I appreciate the fact that you recognized the malfunctions after repair. Your honesty gives added value to your channel. Definetly it is an inspiration. Thanks. Best wishes from Panama 🇵🇦
I love watching these videos! You put so much care into restoration! I have been cleaning and repairing computer components, even repairing an old asus k55vm gaming laptop! (with a gt 630m) awesome work!
Siiiick! I'll be the first to admit I'm back on Team Alienware since deciding to go with them for my latest laptop(these babies arent cheap new as we all know, but the build quality and aesthetic is second to none(which you dont even come close to when comparing other bands). I wanted a desktop replacement as weight doesn't really bother me, since wherever I might take it I know it more than likely won't be a school or somewhere I would have to walk with it constantly all day long. Even if on occasion my destination is a place where it needs to be carried alot I still don't mind carrying the 10+lbs around. TBH actually the key is a really nice quality laptop backpack, preferably one with a waist strap. I have an Asus one that does this and will handle 17"+ laptops with plenty of compartments and room to spare. Wound up with an Area-51m R2 10700k,2080Super 330hz screen. It's a beast really is, it keeps up with my desktop 9900k 2080ti all day long because the graphics card inside is more so a desktop variant dialed down a little. Overstocked I get atleast similar and sometimes higher scores than a 3060ti. I can even run a 5.2 all core and the highest Temps are usually around 85-90c which is absolutely respectable on a damn laptop. I baby it so much and always cleaning when it need, looks like the day I got it.
Hey Andrew nice video and mods you have done to your R3! I got the exact same laptop and had it for years! Upgrades on mine is max 32GB RAM, GTX 880M 8GB GPU Card, i7 Extreme 2960XM and W10 seems to be the best OS for this laptop. Since the GPU drivers are stable on W10. Also got 2x 2TB Samsung Evo 760 SSD’s as well as Unlocked A11 BIOS too. Once I’ve got a replacement GPU as I’ve put it into my Mid 2011 iMac 27’. I’ll test W11 Pro and see if it’s stable :)
I have this laptop still too. I saw someone else talk about an 880 but everyone in the comments of that video had issues.
Your way of improving and designing these laptops really adds a huge level of improvement.
With all those ports and the build quality of the laptop, it's literally like a tank. Love seeing old hardware like this getting repaired and showing how usable they still are. I wonder how long I'll be able to use my current gaming laptop for. If possible for a long time I hope
i have an R4 version of this laptop. I am the original owner and I've taken care of this thing and kept it clean, has very few scratches. It was my first gaming computer. Only thing that doesn't work is the battery. I put 32gb of ram and 4tb of SSD storage in it when it used to be my main computer so its still kicking really good. The display is still really good on it.
The old Alienware laptops were so great in terms of modularity. My 17 R5 has 3 layers of parts removal just to clean the fans.
much love in this machine man . great job , and never give up . greetings from Argentina . I truly enjoy watching.
Wow I didn't even feel that almost 40 minute video, it was that satisfying. Got an M17x R1, still in good condition but drivers are far too outdated. Great vid!
Nice job. I've restored a bunch of these laptops and they are a lot of fun to pull apart and upgrade. They don't make them like this anymore unfortunately.
Im suprised how a 10 year old laptop (brand new no damage) looks way better than the laptops we see kn ads today
This is my first time seeing this guys channel. I am just shocked by the extreme level of detail this man puts into refurbishing computers. My mind is blown! You would never be able to tell that it was ever used. Absolutely amazing beyond words! How talented this guy is! incredible!🤯
Best part is always seeing you have fun with the device in the end
Friend, you could show in the videos from now on how the system state is in the task manager before upgrading, always remembering what processor you were using, and how much memory it was too. It's good to show users how the windows10/11 system behaves. It's pretty cool this tip to make comparison with task manager for there you will see how much consumption the applications consume processing and memory.
When Andrew posts a latest video about computer restoration, it felt so good. It's incredibly impressive to hear!
Dope stuff Andrew mate! I'm currently restoring and upgrading my old Lenovo Y500 and your videos have been highly helpful! Cheers!
This notebook is my dream even nowdays =/ but here in brazil besides the huge price is almost impossible to have ;-;
btw nice video the songs and the edit was lit!! great job
To this day, I still have my Alienware M17xR4 which I custom ordered back in 2012 with the GTX 680M. Its battery is the only issue, otherwise it still plays. I even played Metro Exodus with it, finished the game with it 2 yrs. ago. I now keep my AW M17 as a spare laptop. But now comparing it to my 2.5 yr. old 17" MSI GS75 Stealth Ultra Thin with the RTX 2070 MQ, ...The Alienware M17 is so freaking THICK and HEAVY !!!!!
Andrew continuing 'old but gold' challenge, thanks for effort :)
I know you're very very fans of Alienware.
Because every restoring this one, always so excited.
I always liked the design of Alienware, but also I like the others like ASUS, MSI and others. I have one ASUS G70 with SLI Graphics 2 Nvidia GT 9600, I've tried to repair but still no success, and I'm still trying 😂
@@ComputersAndTechAndAndrew : don't surrender bro, maybe you can find another thing that make it's working great.
Andrew It always good to see your videos
great! i can't believe you made such a profound restoration. i restored a few laptop myself but not to your level. i have learned a lot from this video.
Ive never seen such a calm, cool and dedicated restoration of a gaming latop.Very educational . This is true techie intertainment :)
Ive got a m15x sitting around for 10 years working but very outdated this video made me go and see if i could do the same things you did. Good job.
Amazingly restored, was planning on buying one. But even the older gaming laptops in bad condition are legit over 300 eur here in Sweden. Like wtf are people thinking
Every restoration on every laptop looking totally Awesome 💯 I really enjoy watching your videos .Keep up the Good Work 💪🏾
When I saw how much work you did just for that DNA paint effect, I knew this guy was taking to some serious level! Pants off to you sir!
This is awesome. I also have an Alienware that has that nasty rubbery finish that only gets sticky overtime. I did not know you could get a result like this. I will definitely look into fixing mine like you.
Bro love to see that you put so much effort into this ! Definitely my favorite laptop channel ^^
i love the background music
Love these videos!
Restoring The Old/ Non-Functional Devices!
Damn! Restore my Alienware 18!!!! It used to be dual 880M (SLI), but one of the video cards are gone, so, I think it can be upgraded to GTX 1070. Funny story is that when this happened, I took my laptop for maintenance, as it would not even turn on. I was told the laptop was gone, and that the motherboard was gone. I could not get over it and studied the hardware, just to figure out that the reason why the input power capacitor was triggering, is because the burned GPU was short-circuiting the board. All I had to do, was removing one GPU, say good bye to the SLI and that's it! I purchased it in 2014 and still using it, even though I can't run my favorite game anymore (The witcher 3).
Your videos are very satisfying to watch. You gave me the inspiration to open my old HP Pavilion G7 and thoroughly clean it and upgrade the HDD to a SSD. It works great again. I gave it to my son to use for school.
Video name should be "Restoring 10 year old Alienware - Better than most ( m17x R3 - Upgrades - Windows 11 )"
Love the video!
Won't lie, I almost skipped this one as another boring textbook restoration... and I'm REALLY glad I didn't! That troubleshooting session was worth the proverbial price of admission... VERY meticulous job, sir O7
Awesome video, love Alienware laptops and have been collecting them since the M5500. Only thing I would change is the terrible background music.
You put in so much details man... amazing job🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
I don't know any tech stuff but I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!
Man i just started watching ur videos and i love how u create something now much love❤️
Close friend of mine has one and still games on it daily. On a side note - I had been doing repairs behind a local shady repair shop and come to find out that they were purposely leaving internal screws only halfway in so eventually moving around your laptop would cause them to fall out and short something out. I was so angry, I made it a mission to put them out of business.
I always look forward to your videos! Thank you for everything you do. :)
It's really awesome man, that you are working hard rescuing a old tech. 👍👍👍
What a restoration. Absolutely brilliant. Hats off ❣️❣️
Hi Andrew! I really enjoy your videos! Greetings from Philippines!
Yes I can see when you was cleaning the fans had some pieces break off is very good tip be careful when working with light material you did other great work thanks alot for the videos
Even professionals cant do your job especially the cleaning process .. Great work !
I have the M17x R4 (uses intel ivy bridge cpus) and I use it as my daily driver and it's been really a great system :D
I did many upgrades such as windows 11, GTX 980M, 1TB SSD and 32GB of RAM.
This is the last FULLY upgradeable laptop IMHO.
(You can also upgrade to a 1070 or even a 1080 MXM GPU)
It is a pity that the GPU does not work; however, it is an excellent restore, repair and MOD of a good laptop. Kind regards from Bogota, Colombia @Cat and Andrew
Damn fella. You don't stuff around when it comes to disassembly lol. I've never seen such a thorough job. And a fantastic result. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Oh man! I still have the smaller sibling of this beast! the M14X in Mars Red from 2011! And it's still fully functioning! (555m and I5 Cpu - I can't really remember the number)
Just seeing this laptop is like Wow... Alienware baby and when it was alien and out of this planet :) The newer laptops are still awesome, but nothing makes me think more Alienware than this!!!
I really hope you will find a proper working 580M GPU - the VRAM thing seems very fishy and I bet why the drivers don't work right! It sounds like a re-flashed GPU... Check to see if you can restore it to the original VBIOS even if it's something older...
Kudos for this video and awesome work, as always!!!!
Thanks for sharing this very well executed refurbish. Love the DNA pattern you did on the lid. It’s very satisfying to see damaged hardware being brought to life. Shame about the GPU. Quite like the HDMI input so it is still usable for games. And with the Xbox One S, which is a very nice machine, it works well.
Cow
This was my first AW, and I still have it tucked away. It was a beast for it's day.
i loved this video man, so much patience, but at the end the result is something as good as new