Apologies for the 'shaky cam' at some of the moments in this video. My new audio and video equipment arrives today and I can't wait to start using them with this channel! Thank you to everyone who's subscribed recently! ❤
Hello, you already probably know about this issue but it is still worth mentioning. DDR3 laptop RAM sticks come in two varieties, DDR3 and DDR3L. Some motherboards take the lower-voltage DDR3L one, while others, especially the earlier ones like this expect regular DDR3. However, in most cases I read that using 3L sticks on a board that expects regular sticks is alright; but not the other way around. Or I'm just mixing up. But still, it might be worth checking whether the expected voltage class by the motherboard and the sticks match up; as I once had this exact bootloop problem in a different laptop from the same era, and changing the stick type solved the issue.
Thank you so much for this information! I did my best to ensure I bought sticks that matched this exact unit's specifications, but it honestly could still be off and that could definitely be the issue. I will dig into this. Thank you for watching!
As I understand it, the confusion stems from some strange inconsistencies in the 1st gen Core-i family. According to the sources that I've seen, a dual-core 1st gen Core-i7 can only take RAM sticks up to 4GB. OTOH, a quad-core 1st gen Core-i7 can take 8GB RAM sticks. Unfortunately, I don't think that Alienware offered a quad-core option on the M11x R2, probably only on the larger models. FWIW, that limitation goes away with the 2nd generation. I have installed 16GB in 2nd gen Core-15 and Core-17 systems with no issues.
Interesting. That makes me wonder if the CPU is upgradable in this model. I don't think it is, when I'm definitely going to check! Appreciate the information, and thanks for watching!
So a year later I caught your video as I found 16 gigs I must have bought some years ago for mine.. Im back to 8 SOOOO im taking it that I played this game already. I run Windows 10 with no probs however I have had to reinstall Windows a few times on it over the years. I have used mine since it hit the market years ago and my wife used it during the pandemic to work from home. Its been a great lil pc even thought it is a Fell,,rrrrrr Dell , The brothers sold out right before this guy hit the market so I think the last of the true AW line was around. My M11 wont handle 16 even with an upgraded power source, With Ubuntu and without.. latest AVAILABLE bios they offered. Its still a great laptop for small projects tho.. if you ever want to sell yours pm me..
Thanks for this info. Good to know I didn't miss any potential solutions. I still use mine, but with Tiny10 OS. Much faster on that version of Windows. Thanks for watching!
@@imgolden06756 interesting! I wonder if it handle up to 12 GB.. 🤔 I think for 16 gigs to work I would have needed to update the BIOS. I simply gave up on this project honestly. I'm going to stick with the 8 gigs and run a formatted version of Windows that it can handle well. It seems to work great now! Thanks for watching!
I have the exact same specs as yours, and honestly, it didn't run Windows 10 very well. It ran windows 11 terribly. I use Tiny10 on it, which is a modified and streamlined version of Windows 10 that works great on older machines, and it seems to be much better. I'd recommend that! Thanks for watching.
I'm literally doing the same thing. I got one at a used store for like $70 bucks. What RAM did you buy? I got a silicon power 16GB sticks but I cannot get it to work.
I can't remember exactly what RAM I had, but all I know is I couldn't get it to work for the life of me. After doing a bit of research, I'm not sure if it's possible. If you have any luck, do let me know! Thanks for watching!
@@RetroPC I hear pulling the CMOS battery might work. Pull let it sit a few minutes and plug it back in along with the ram. Problem is getting to the CMOS battery.
I don't have a way to test it unfortunately, however, the thought had crossed my mind. I feel that it's reading in the Bios means it's good, but I'm looking for additional RAM to test this theory once and for all with as well.
Hi I also still have this one that I'm using as second monitor. But after seeing ur video I think of using it again. I'm planning to use egpu using pcie slot. I know the wlan slot is pciex16 and it has another pcie slot for wwan. Does the wwan one is also pciex16? I tried to look for this online but can't find the answer
I tried the EXP GDC Egpu adapter, but the MXR11 did not like to have a third video display and starts to give beep errors, and I see no option in BIOS to disable any of the video displays
You may want to check and see if Microsoft still allows for you to create a boot tool for Windows 7. I haven't looked in a while, nor have I ever found an ISO for Windows 7 elsewhere.
that's a really interesting problem xD like yeah the BIOS sees the RAM but windows, in this state, dosen't seems to like it. For me it boot loop when it's on Winows so not a BIOS problem for me (could be but more a windows problem imo) Could be a nice try to test a live USB of a linux distro or a key with a Windows installer (whatever version it is), to see how it's reacting Also don't know for Alienware's but for Latitude machines, Dell provide a diag tool to check if the hardware is functionning ok, now with UEFI it's built it but before that they provided it as a bootable iso/floppy that you can download from their website, could be a good idea to check if there is something like that avaliable for your laptop
It is quite baffling! I did attempt a bios update but the only BIOS update available is, of course, not compatible with Windows 11. I will have to look into that diagnostic tool though! Thank you so much for watching and providing this feedback! Truly appreciated.
@@RetroPC with pleasure 😊 btw don't know if you have all your drivers for your PC but on my Latitude laptop, "officially" the drivers stop at Windows 8 (not even 8.1) but i did downloaded the 8 ones and they **all** works well in 10 (even the cursed ones like smartcard reader and GPS xD)
I came across your video from google with the same title ❤😂 I guess ill stay with the 8 gb from factory for now I also replaced the battery today (7/25/23)
I think the low voltage 1.35V ram memory from today was not the standard for 2010, you should try this test with older 1.5V ram sticks
That is great advice! I am definitely going to give that a shot!
Apologies for the 'shaky cam' at some of the moments in this video. My new audio and video equipment arrives today and I can't wait to start using them with this channel! Thank you to everyone who's subscribed recently! ❤
Hello, you already probably know about this issue but it is still worth mentioning.
DDR3 laptop RAM sticks come in two varieties, DDR3 and DDR3L. Some motherboards take the lower-voltage DDR3L one, while others, especially the earlier ones like this expect regular DDR3. However, in most cases I read that using 3L sticks on a board that expects regular sticks is alright; but not the other way around. Or I'm just mixing up. But still, it might be worth checking whether the expected voltage class by the motherboard and the sticks match up; as I once had this exact bootloop problem in a different laptop from the same era, and changing the stick type solved the issue.
Thank you so much for this information! I did my best to ensure I bought sticks that matched this exact unit's specifications, but it honestly could still be off and that could definitely be the issue. I will dig into this. Thank you for watching!
This is the first video of yours ive watched and i really like your enthusiasm
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. And thanks for watching!
@@RetroPC youre welcome. Ill keep an eye out for your future videos 🙂
As I understand it, the confusion stems from some strange inconsistencies in the 1st gen Core-i family. According to the sources that I've seen, a dual-core 1st gen Core-i7 can only take RAM sticks up to 4GB. OTOH, a quad-core 1st gen Core-i7 can take 8GB RAM sticks. Unfortunately, I don't think that Alienware offered a quad-core option on the M11x R2, probably only on the larger models.
FWIW, that limitation goes away with the 2nd generation. I have installed 16GB in 2nd gen Core-15 and Core-17 systems with no issues.
Interesting. That makes me wonder if the CPU is upgradable in this model. I don't think it is, when I'm definitely going to check! Appreciate the information, and thanks for watching!
it's the cpu max ram limits that matter, not people saying which can support how much ram.
Noted! Thanks for watching!
So a year later I caught your video as I found 16 gigs I must have bought some years ago for mine.. Im back to 8 SOOOO im taking it that I played this game already. I run Windows 10 with no probs however I have had to reinstall Windows a few times on it over the years. I have used mine since it hit the market years ago and my wife used it during the pandemic to work from home. Its been a great lil pc even thought it is a Fell,,rrrrrr Dell , The brothers sold out right before this guy hit the market so I think the last of the true AW line was around. My M11 wont handle 16 even with an upgraded power source, With Ubuntu and without.. latest AVAILABLE bios they offered. Its still a great laptop for small projects tho.. if you ever want to sell yours pm me..
Thanks for this info. Good to know I didn't miss any potential solutions. I still use mine, but with Tiny10 OS. Much faster on that version of Windows. Thanks for watching!
I would go back to windows 7😅
Even with them dropping support.
The issue it's the ram, it's the CPU.
Hope it worked fine from then on though😊
Thanks for watching!
I was able to put in 8gb and use the og 2gb together but I wonder if I can actually use both of them to their full potential
@@imgolden06756 interesting! I wonder if it handle up to 12 GB.. 🤔 I think for 16 gigs to work I would have needed to update the BIOS. I simply gave up on this project honestly. I'm going to stick with the 8 gigs and run a formatted version of Windows that it can handle well. It seems to work great now! Thanks for watching!
@RetroPC
I plan to install windows 10 ltsc on my m11x r2. Will your m11x r2 run windows 10 smoothly?
My m11x r2: i5 u520um, 8g ram, 256g ssd sata3
I have the exact same specs as yours, and honestly, it didn't run Windows 10 very well. It ran windows 11 terribly. I use Tiny10 on it, which is a modified and streamlined version of Windows 10 that works great on older machines, and it seems to be much better. I'd recommend that! Thanks for watching.
@@RetroPC I will try it,thank you very much.
I'm literally doing the same thing. I got one at a used store for like $70 bucks. What RAM did you buy? I got a silicon power 16GB sticks but I cannot get it to work.
I can't remember exactly what RAM I had, but all I know is I couldn't get it to work for the life of me.
After doing a bit of research, I'm not sure if it's possible.
If you have any luck, do let me know! Thanks for watching!
@@RetroPC I hear pulling the CMOS battery might work. Pull let it sit a few minutes and plug it back in along with the ram. Problem is getting to the CMOS battery.
@@RetroPC A little more research online and I found out that the R2 has a max at 8GB of ram for some reason.
By the way, do you have a way to test the new ram? Cos they may be faulty. Im no expert, far from it, but it was my first thought.
I don't have a way to test it unfortunately, however, the thought had crossed my mind. I feel that it's reading in the Bios means it's good, but I'm looking for additional RAM to test this theory once and for all with as well.
@@RetroPC its worth a look...i mention it because ive seen Mark from Mark Fixes Stuff use a clever looking machine to check some of his in the past.
Hi I also still have this one that I'm using as second monitor. But after seeing ur video I think of using it again. I'm planning to use egpu using pcie slot. I know the wlan slot is pciex16 and it has another pcie slot for wwan. Does the wwan one is also pciex16? I tried to look for this online but can't find the answer
Oof, that is a question I can't answer. But, if you figure it out please let us know. These are still really fun little laptops! Thanks for watching!
I tried the EXP GDC Egpu adapter, but the MXR11 did not like to have a third video display and starts to give beep errors, and I see no option in BIOS to disable any of the video displays
can this run wow classic ?
Maybe? Thanks for watching!
Hey retro pc cab you please give the window 7 iso that download from Microsoft site, i missed that one..plz
I actually don't have an ISO for Windows 7! I bet if you look around online, you can find one though. 😉
@@RetroPC online there are many but reliable site and iso can't decide 😆
You may want to check and see if Microsoft still allows for you to create a boot tool for Windows 7. I haven't looked in a while, nor have I ever found an ISO for Windows 7 elsewhere.
@@RetroPC no they won't allow
Thanks for the video
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
that's a really interesting problem xD
like yeah the BIOS sees the RAM but windows, in this state, dosen't seems to like it.
For me it boot loop when it's on Winows so not a BIOS problem for me (could be but more a windows problem imo)
Could be a nice try to test a live USB of a linux distro or a key with a Windows installer (whatever version it is), to see how it's reacting
Also don't know for Alienware's but for Latitude machines, Dell provide a diag tool to check if the hardware is functionning ok, now with UEFI it's built it but before that they provided it as a bootable iso/floppy that you can download from their website, could be a good idea to check if there is something like that avaliable for your laptop
It is quite baffling! I did attempt a bios update but the only BIOS update available is, of course, not compatible with Windows 11. I will have to look into that diagnostic tool though! Thank you so much for watching and providing this feedback! Truly appreciated.
@@RetroPC with pleasure 😊
btw don't know if you have all your drivers for your PC but on my Latitude laptop, "officially" the drivers stop at Windows 8 (not even 8.1) but i did downloaded the 8 ones and they **all** works well in 10 (even the cursed ones like smartcard reader and GPS xD)
I came across your video from google with the same title ❤😂
I guess ill stay with the 8 gb from factory for now
I also replaced the battery today (7/25/23)
Yeah, 16GB just doesn't seem possible. If I find out how to do it I'll definitely post an update video! Thanks for watching!
@@RetroPC
Thanks bro I'm currently installing the alienware breed theme for win 7 👽👽