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Question Laptop black screens and then boots back in to Windows ?

Apr 25, 2022
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My Dell G15 5515 is having this issue.
At first I just thought it was a thermal issue so I checked all cooling solutions in the laptop- CPU, GPU, SSD and they seemed fine, along with setting a stronger fan profile. When that didn't work I reset the CMOS. Then, I reinstalled my chipset drivers along with the Vega 8 and RTX 3060 drivers, then Alienware Control Command Center.

This issue also persists in a Linux USB, but RGB and thermal profiles carry over to other os's once set, so I figure reinstalling AWCC at least may have done it. What do I do now?

I feel scared to use my laptop now because I don't know when it will next do it. It could be hours or just seconds away. As a last thought, this happens less when I use it unplugged on power savings or play games. This could suggest a power issue I suppose, but I am unsure of where to start with that. Any help is appreciated!
 
Black screens are common when there is a hardware failure. It could be your gpu crashing or a capacitor failing. If it black screens both plugged and unplugged i would leave the power supply the last to check. If you re a bit tech savvy you could remove the back panel and dust-off the laptop. Dust could easily mess things up due to it's property of being conductive. You d be better off having your laptop checked since Dell are well known for their excellent support services.
 
Black screens are common when there is a hardware failure. It could be your gpu crashing or a capacitor failing. If it black screens both plugged and unplugged i would leave the power supply the last to check. If you re a bit tech savvy you could remove the back panel and dust-off the laptop. Dust could easily mess things up due to it's property of being conductive. You d be better off having your laptop checked since Dell are well known for their excellent support services.

Hi, and thank you for the reply. I have checked for dust already and there is none to little in the machine. The GPU probably is not dying as I can play games for hours on end without issue.
Aside from those two things though, I've found that the computer has been much more stable with more diagnosing. I have found that unplugged it's been working like a charm, and plugged in on battery saver works too. If I use full power mode, that's when I run into issues. If I'm putting load on the laptop- per say using CEMU to play Breath of the Wild, it doesn't crash, but if I leave it idle, maybe close the lid, it just randomly does the whole black screen reboot thing. While I can use the laptop, it's very annoying when this happens.
 
Hi, and thank you for the reply. I have checked for dust already and there is none to little in the machine. The GPU probably is not dying as I can play games for hours on end without issue.
Aside from those two things though, I've found that the computer has been much more stable with more diagnosing. I have found that unplugged it's been working like a charm, and plugged in on battery saver works too. If I use full power mode, that's when I run into issues. If I'm putting load on the laptop- per say using CEMU to play Breath of the Wild, it doesn't crash, but if I leave it idle, maybe close the lid, it just randomly does the whole black screen reboot thing. While I can use the laptop, it's very annoying when this happens.

It doesn;t look like a hardware issue. Maybe you want to inspect your power options under control panel. There you will find options to define what the power button does, or what closing the lid does and also change your power plans. Where do you find this "full power mode"? If it is a Dell thing i wouldn't be surprised it messes things up
 
It doesn;t look like a hardware issue. Maybe you want to inspect your power options under control panel. There you will find options to define what the power button does, or what closing the lid does and also change your power plans. Where do you find this "full power mode"? If it is a Dell thing i wouldn't be surprised it messes things up

Well, this full power mode I mentioned was just the slider in the Windows battery section. However! There is a Dell "G" mode in the Alienware software, and there's also a toggle for it in form of a keyboard function key. This essentially optimizes performance for gaming and turns the fan up to 100%. It's a handy feature. I have not experienced a crash with this mode on while gaming though, it's been pretty reliable. Though I only keep it on while gaming and nothing else, and since idle/low load are the times it crashes, it may still cause them.