Yellow Light Of Death / Failed Boot Issues - Cause Found! [Windows Only Fix]

[Auryn]

Hey Guys

I've been using the Alienware Alpha for about 8mths and in this time have had the YLOD nearly weekly and after testing all components in depth, including testing parts in other machine I have found its NOT Dell/Alienwares fault! Its STEAMS fault!

Long story short Steam causes the failure/YLOD when it forces shut down (shutting down the machine via steam big picture). Booting after this forced/bad shut down results in YLOD/Failed boot.

While I cannot offer a complete fix (only Valve/Steam can do this) I can help you avoid this issue!

Where ever you want to shut down your steam machine Exit big picture mode and use the Steam controller to do a normal PC shut down via the start menu! Simple as that no more YLOD.

Steams big picture forced shut down effects not only this product, it effects any machine on different levels - my custom build PC has issues with it too. I have managed to test and replicate this issue on around 7 difference PC's/setups and all can suffer from failed boots or limited boots after Steams Big Picture forced shutdown. Seems motherboard bios sees the forced shutdown as a failure/issue of some sort.

I'm not sure how to contact Steam about this issue but I'm now running 2weeks clean on all steam machines/PC's with not YLOD/boot failures

This issue also is caused when a steam link shut down its host PC in big picture using the same forced shut down protocol and the host PC can have issues on boot


PS for anyone wondering this has been tested on SteamOS also and can be reproduced in the same fashion, but I cant offer a solution in how to shut down your Os with Big Picture (im not really Linux savy im sorry). If anyone is more versed in linux and can offer people a solution please feels free to post is below and ill update the post (but i wont be able to test sorry!)

TD;LR Do not shut via Big Picute - instead Exit BigPicture and use the normal windows shut down. You could also make a bat file that your add to steam that will perfom a normal/full shutdown use google to figure this out :P

If anyone knows how to brind this to steams attention I would love some help makign some noise to help fix this issue!

[Amateur Linux Gamer]

good find. if the problem is steam related, that's better than hardware related.

if it's a matter of properly shutting down Linux, there are several ways this can be done outside of BPM.

in a terminal, type one of:
- sudo shutdown now
- sudo poweroff
- sudo halt
- (and possibly) sudo init 0
- sudo systemctl halt
- sudo systemctl poweroff

you'll want to be root for this, hence the sudo.

I have not tested if properly shutting down SteamOS resolves this issue vs. the BPM method, am just providing the various equivalent Linux shutdown commands. more testing is probably warranted.

[Auryn]

Originally posted by 🐧 Even You Could Linux 🐧:

I have not tested if properly shutting down SteamOS resolves this issue vs. the BPM method, am just providing the various equivalent Linux shutdown command. more testing is probably warranted.

Thanks for the reply, im just hoping to make some noise and maybe also find out if the issue is also the same for Linux based machines (since its the bios that seems to be effected rather than OS)

I cant currently Test linux but since you have given the infor how to i might infact take some time to look into it!

How does someone get the the terminal in linux, exit BPM in the same fashion as windows?

[soft_as_snow]

This is most definitely an Alienware problem. I have a Zotac Nen and shut down in Big Picture all the time (almost a year now) and have never had a problem.

I had the Alienware Steam Machine and it turned into a yellow blinking alien head nightmare after just one week.

[Amateur Linux Gamer]

Originally posted by AurynGaming:

Originally posted by 🐧 Even You Could Linux 🐧:

I have not tested if properly shutting down SteamOS resolves this issue vs. the BPM method, am just providing the various equivalent Linux shutdown command. more testing is probably warranted.

Thanks for the reply, im just hoping to make some noise and maybe also find out if the issue is also the same for Linux based machines (since its the bios that seems to be effected rather than OS)

I cant currently Test linux but since you have given the infor how to i might infact take some time to look into it!

How does someone get the the terminal in linux, exit BPM in the same fashion as windows?

There's a setting in BPM on SteamOS under "interface" to allow exiting BPM to desktop mode. Look for that. exit BPM to desktop mode, and then you'll be at a basic GNOME desktop (blech), you can find a terminal from there.

if you're new to GNOME, just put the mouse in the far upper left corner of the screen and you'll get a menu, just start typing "terminal", you should see an icon for it.

cheers,
-m

[HollowFLCL]

Yea none of that works. Exited normally from windows and I still got the yellow blinking light.

[Auryn]

Originally posted by Hollow56:

Yea none of that works. Exited normally from windows and I still got the yellow blinking light.

Its been working us on 2 machines since this post tbh, not sure if i also did something else as well but apart from the rear USBs being a ♥♥♥♥♥ its been running sweet as i could ask.

little thing is a beast its been playing GTA 5 (GTA:N mod) at 40-55fps on med/high for a few weeks now

[Taorakis]

I reseated the Ram after blowing the Ram slots clean and my Steam Machine is now booting again after giving me the 5 blinking lights yellow lights (of death) over and over.

I hope someone will find this post and maybe, if you're lucky, this will help you as much as it helped me, someone in a Youtube Video mentioned it might be a Mainboard or Ram Issue even if 5 blinking lights, per manual, means CMOS issue. But i thought it's worth a shot to try the Ram as this is literally the only part I can manipulate, aside form reseating the CPU.
Oh right, also make sure your CMOS Battery is actually working.

The "Do not use Big Picture Shutdown" also did not apply for me as i am using the Steam Machine with Windows These day, as a Media Station. Steam's just running in the backgound.

[Scientist Dog]

I just resurrected mine. I replaced the CMOS battery a few months ago, but just that didn't work. Now I started it up without the jumper on the reset password pins and it did the work! I boot it again with the jumper and set the bios date and now is working!