Dell Alienware 13 Troubleshooting

You have the device plugged into a power source but no charging takes place.

Ensure that the charging cable is plugged into a working outlet and properly connected to the device. If the device is dead and unresponsive consider replacing the charging cable.

Check to see if the device only turns on using the charging cable. If the device only operates while connected to the charging cable or won’t hold a charge for a long period of time consider replacing the battery using this guide.

You hear a crackling or distortion when listening to audio through the speakers.

To check speaker configuration right click on the speaker icon in the lower right hand side of the screen. Then click playback devices. Right click on your speakers. Click configure speakers. At this point follow the setup wizard to complete speaker configuration.

If distorted sound is emitted from the speakers, or no sound is made, try using external speakers or headphones. If clear sound works through either headphones or external speakers consider replacing the device speakers using this guide.

The touchpad is suddenly unresponsive or the cursor moves erratically.

Shut the computer down, and disconnect all devices attached including cameras, printers, USB devices, and all other devices except for the charging cable. After about 60 seconds turn the device back on. If the issue still remains then reset the touchpad by turning it off and then back on again. To reset the touchpad go to System Settings and click Mouse and Touchpad Settings. Click touchpad to turn off and then back on. If the touch pad continues to fail, consider replacing the touchpad.

If the touch pad is cracked, damaged, or is inoperable consider replacing the touchpad using this guide.

Your Dell Alienware 13 system overheats.

Use compressed air to blow out dust from the internals of the device. These cooling vent are located on the bottom, back portion of the device. The fan blades can been seen through these vent. Perform this in a ventilated area where dust won’t be harmful to the surroundings. When blowing the dust avoid directly spraying internal components that could cause damage.

If your Dell Alienware 13 system randomly shuts down, freezes, or reboots; your heatsink and cooling fan may be broken and need to be replaced. Consider using this guide to replace the heatsink and cooling fan assembly.

Webcam displays blurry, dark, or no images and has stopped functioning properly.

Can be caused by low light conditions or the computer is in the wrong mode. Make sure to use the webcam in a well lighted area. Place something white in front of the webcam. When the white object is visible but the screen is dark, click settings in the upper right corner. Move the slider bars under Back light to adjust Brightness and Gamma. Adjust Brightness and Gamma to the right to make objects in front of the webcam more visible.

Close all programs that involve video streaming. Video issues can be resolved by uninstalling, reinstalling, or updating the webcam driver. The process for uninstalling and reinstalling the webcam driver depends on which operating system is installed on the computer. The following step will be for Windows 10 users: Search device manager in the control panel, then select imaging devices, right click either integrated webcam or USB camera. Then click uninstall. After uninstalling, restart the computer. Upon start up the webcam drivers should automatically be reinstalled. If this doesn't fix the problem consider replacing the webcam.