Perhaps due to my request for a refund due to delayed delivery, over the weekend the delivery date for my Alienware computer purchase magically changed from Thursday to Monday - apparently the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
The delivery arrives bright and early at 8:38AM on Monday morning. It's quite a large box - for no good reason I somehow envisioned the R12 as a smaller footprint - regardless, I cheerfully scribble my name on the signature screen and off goes the postman.
I drag the package down the hall and manage to get the Alienware box out of the cardboard shipping box - not as easy as it sounds, it's very much a friction fit situation. I open it, and the first thing I notice is that the cardboard accessories tray contains only a power cord: no mouse and keyboard as per the product listing on Amazon. I lift the tray out, and the computer, which is supposed to be white, is black. This is a bit concerning - is this is fact the right computer? It’s got the right product code on the back, but is the configuration correct?
I quickly borrow a monitor, mouse and keyboard from another system, make the necessary connections, hit the alien head power button, and the system starts up.
Almost.
Instead of the standard boot screen, I see the following:
I'm not a seasoned PC technician, but this seems like a bad thing. With a mental shrug, I click on Continue, and the computer shuts down, which also seems like a bad thing.
Sigh.
I have a moment of regret for not using the QR code when I had my chance, and turn the computer on again. Astonishingly, it instantly boots up and loads the login screen. I click on the Sign In button and the Windows 11 desktop opens up in front of me - success, at least for the moment.
I decide not to worry about the drive error message in the short term in favour of confirming the computer's configuration. To my relief, after checking all the system specifications against the original product description on Amazon, it looks like the only difference is the chassis colour. I connect to our wifi, install Firefox (sorry, Edge, but that's the way it is) download Steam, and decide to install Fallout 4 as a test because I have some confidence that it will run, unlike the game that Karli bought me, which is still a mystery.
It is at this junction in events that our internet decides to become sporadic. It downloads a bit, then stops. Recovers, then stops. The download process takes about twice as long as expected, but finally finishes. I sigh a sigh of long-suffering patience, and click on the Fallout PLAY button in Steam.
And, of course, Fallout won’t start. It
says it’s running for about two seconds, then the RUNNING button reverts to PLAY. I repeat this process a couple of times, nothing.
Hmmm…
When in doubt, reboot. (“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”) No difference.
Hmmm…
Okay,
let’s try a couple of things. First, let’s install a relatively simple game, I have a couple of recent acquisitions that I’ve never
tried. Second, let’s go back to the iMac and log out of Steam in case it's some kind of an account conflict.
Our internet connection is a bit more cooperative for
the second install, and the untried game runs. And, to my surprise, so does
Fallout when I try it, so it may have been an account conflict after all. I still have to add in some mods to get full functionality, but the game does run.
The next step is to finally download Starfield, the new game from Karli, and see if it works. The internet has decided to be uncooperative once again, and it's a substantial 124GB download, so now we wait. Somewhere out there is the unanswered question of the startup drive error message, but in the short term I'm willing to leave that bridge uncrossed.
And, finally, I
e-mail the seller regarding the missing mouse and keyboard. For whatever reason, they ship those parts separately, they should arrive tomorrow.
- Sid
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