Alienware 17 R1 GeForce 860m Code 43

Hi all--

I've on the Dell forum trying to troubleshoot this problem and one of your members helpfully suggested I join you here!

Long and short of it is I suddenly started getting a code 43 out of the GPU about a month ago.

Having had a similar problem before (I believe when I updated to Windows 10), I figured Nvidia tried to update the drivers and screwed something up. I downloaded Guru DDU, did a complete uninstall of the drivers, and tried installing 3 or 4 old versions of the drivers in an attempt to get it to work (including the factory ones).

No dice.

Does anyone have any idea what could be happening? My machine detects the device and recognizes it, but doesn't seem to want to accept the drivers no matter what.

I'm kind of a novice, but am good with directions. Any help you folks could provide would be greatly appreciated.

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OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Version 10.0.18363 Build 18363
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name TELETRAAN1
System Manufacturer Alienware
System Model Alienware 17
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU Alienware 17
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4710MQ CPU @ 2.50GHz, 2501 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Alienware A14, 9/24/2014
SMBIOS Version 2.7
Embedded Controller Version 1.01
BIOS Mode Legacy
BaseBoard Manufacturer Alienware
BaseBoard Product 068R5X
BaseBoard Version A03

Name NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M
PNP Device ID PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_119A&SUBSYS_05AA1028&REV_A1\4&D590A51&0&0008
Adapter Type Not Available, NVIDIA compatible
Adapter Description NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M
Adapter RAM Not Available
Installed Drivers C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nvdmi.inf_amd64_571908e61f0278a1\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nvdmi.inf_amd64_571908e61f0278a1\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nvdmi.inf_amd64_571908e61f0278a1\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nvdmi.inf_amd64_571908e61f0278a1\nvldumdx.dll
Driver Version 25.21.14.1891
INF File oem12.inf (Section056 section)
Color Planes Not Available
Color Table Entries 4294967296
Resolution 1600 x 900 x 60 hertz
Bits/Pixel 32
Memory Address 0xD0000000-0xD1FFFFFF
Memory Address 0xA0000000-0xBFFFFFFF
Memory Address 0xB0000000-0xB1FFFFFF
IRQ Channel IRQ 7
Driver C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERSTORE\FILEREPOSITORY\NVDMI.INF_AMD64_571908E61F0278A1\NVLDDMKM.SYS (25.21.14.1891, 19.75 MB (20,707,744 bytes), 5/8/2020 11:36 AM)

 

Code 43 generally denotes a dead/dying GPU

 

Okay. So, assuming it's dead, what's the easiest replacement option?

I feel like I'd want to go into the 900 range Maxwell cards so I could get Nvidia support again, but I've also seen people in other threads suggest backtracking to the 700s would be a good option.

 

Yes unfortunately it usually means a critical issue with the GPU but I have heard other people fixing it by going into the Device Manager and disabling the card, restarting the machine and then going back an enabling it again. It's a long shot but you never know.
There's an outside chance that the vBIOS has been corrupted. You may want to look into trying to re-flash the card. I am a novice at vBIOS flashing so I'm not much help but it did help me fix the code 43 I was getting when I installed the 1070 in my laptop. You'll need NVFlash and a new vBIOS file from TechPowerUp. You should be able to find a guide on how to do it online. You can find your current vBIOS by removing the current driver and using GPU-Z. When I had a code 43 the vBIOS wouldn't show on GPU-Z until I removed the driver.

 

Easiest is probably the 980m, 1060/1070 also work but require other conditions to be met for functionality.