This looks like a boot issue, i would first boot from a windows installer usb, you should be able to run a repair from that. if that still does not work, you may be able to install over top of your existing installation to get things going again. if this doesnt work, then your SSD might be borked. the good news is you can pick up a new one on the cheap, pop the bottom panel off and it should just be one screw securing it right above the battery. you may need to reinstall dell drivers if you do a reinstall, you can get them from their support page., dont forget your gpu drivers from AMD/NVIDIA site. i hope this helps.

@crowmaniac wrote: I have an [Aurora} r9 The alienware preparing automatic repair screen comes up. Sounds like hardware failure. Good chance it's your bootable C-drive (HDD or SSD). It's bad to see that message and action since the drive should have never failed in the first place. If you have important things on this computer, hopefully you have a recent backup. Did you Shut-Down properly last night, or was it just Sleeping ?

@Alienware Area-51 ALX 2006​ Hi, im also having the same exact issue. I just found out how to boot it up (for me since I have a external hard drive) i just removed it and it immediatley boots up. So what does this mean? Is my hard drive corrupt?

Thanks for your prompt response. Resetting RTC by hard reset (power button for 30 seconds/ discharge flea) only temporarily takes away the loading freeze and gets to the desktop until i restart the system again. At every restart the issue still persists. Support Assist on board diagnostics (ePSA) all tests PASS successfully (Both quick test and advanced test) result code (2000000) Validation code.Went through all the dell epsa checks all are fine. My observation is i am not sure Not sure how bios got updated initally to 1.5 (maybe windows updates pushed it directly) but its an issue with Gpu's and bios So far what i did has been as follows 1) (Thought it was App issue) Checked Windows Reliability monitor and Windows event viewer to review all the critical issues that had been happening at every restart/ power on. Found AWCC and Killer Wifi causing problems so completely removed them and their registry entries > Issue persists 2)(Thought its a amd chipset driver issue) Removed amd chipset drivers latest (dell website manual install) by amd chipset driver uninstall utility. Then reflashed latest bios from bios recovery tool and installed old amd chipset drivers from dell. > Issue persists 3) Removed amd gpu drivers and nvidia drivers + nvidia physx (dell website manual install) by ddu uninstaller to microsoft adapter drivers and issue is gone now. Which tells me Its one of gpu drivers or bios conflicting. So, i ll downgrade bios to earliest version and try both old and new drivers combinations and maybe systematically upgrade. Any observations or suggestions are welcomed

Hello there,

My cousin has an older Alienware computer that would not boot to Windows. It would get stuck on the Windows logo screen with the spinning dots. I downloaded the windows 10 media creation tool on a USB and boot it to advance settings. I suspected a Windows 10 update was issue. I was able to do a system restore and it booted up just fine.

This computer is extremely slow, btw. I was looking in ways to increase the computer’s performance. I think some of the sluggishness is due to the age and the fact that it’s not using an SSD for the Hard drive.

The next day I went to work on it, back to the spinning circle. I tried to perform another system restore, try rolling back Windows updates which did not work. My last resort was going to reset the pc, but that option isn’t available anymore.

Any suggestions on what I should try next?

Backup your data (if applicable) then clean install windows.

WOW. customer support that actually works!!!  I did the disconnect and it worked with mine as well.  my issue was that it would get the loading screen, offer to hit F2 or F12, but no matter what it would not respond.  works fine now. i will do the virus scan, as well as the diagnostics as you suggested to another user, but wanted to thank you again.  MVPete.

Hi @pungo120 welcome to this free user to user Alienware laptop discussion forum. This is not Dell Support.  Thank you for a good opening post. Guess the Alienware 17 R3 is now having the normal problem of an old battery retaining a low charge capacity compared to its high design capacity. Please create windows Battery Report Windows 10 Battery Report: What It Is And How to Use It (lifewire.com)  For the typical user, noticeable reduction in run time generally will be observed after 18 to 24 months. For a power user, reduction in run time generally may be experienced within 18 months. Dell recommends buying a new OEM laptop battery when the run time does not meet your needs. Dell Laptop Battery - Frequently Asked Questions | Dell US  The new OEM replacement Alienware 17 R2 / R3 Original 8-cell Laptop Battery 92Wh is DP/N 6JHDV. Getting a good OEM replacement battery is getting difficult. Advocate purchase from Amazon, eBay, etc. that provide additional purchase protection. Always check that battery has white label with correct DP/N, and that manufacture year/month date beneath square matrix is less that 6 months old. If check fails, return defective battery in accordance with additional purchase protection, for full refund.  Alienware 17 R2, R3 Battery 92Wh DP/N 6JHDV