Alienware M17xR4 Not Fuctioning. AMD 7970M Issue?

Alright guys, so I have been dealing with trying to fix this for 2 days now and cannot get it going.

I am trying to fix a M17xR4 I bought off a friend, and there seems to be an issue with the GPU. I have tried clean installs of Windows 7 and 8.1, follow driver install orders, completely wiped the laptop, I've tried so much now and the same issue keeps occurring.

I CANNOT GET THE LAPTOP TO USE THE 7970M IN ANY WAY.

I can't install drivers without the laptop crashing.
I can't open CCC without the laptop crashing.
I can't switch the system to use the GPU rather than the onboard graphics, without crashing!

Its just getting ridiculous. I have follow nearly all the forum posts I could find here with similar issues and none of the fixes have worked.
So I basically have a completely useless $2,500 Gaming Laptop, that only lasted just over a year and a half. Dell Technical support won't help me so I have decided to finally make a post and hope I can get this fixed.

So please, if anyone has any ideas, please tell me them! Help me save this laptop!

 

Honestly sounds like the 7970m has died. If you have done all of that and it still won't work , or rather just crashes whenever it kicks in then I would say your looking at a dead 7970m. Unfortunately this is a pretty common issue, the 7970m's were not holding up all that well

 

Yeah, my last resort was going to be buying a new Mobile GPU... I think I might take it to a repair shop and see what they can do, and then might have to replace the 7970M.
What would work better than the 7970M but not require any other parts to be changed?

Such a disappointment, a product that cost this much really should last longer. I'm hoping I can find my Proof of Ownership, might be able to get Dell to replace/repair the system for no cost (The Consumer Rights in Australia are amazing!)

 

Yeah try your best to get a hold of that ownership. It'll make everything less painful. It really does sound like the GPU is dead. I would pull it so it doesn't cause any other issues....just to be safe.

As for replacement GPUs, there are newer AMDs that can use the same heatsink. You should be able to find them here in our Markerplace or on eBay.

 

Thats a good idea actually, I'll do that as soon as I can, should at least make it useable until a new GPU is sorted, that said though, should I leave it in just in case I can send it back to Dell?

Might take a look at the new AMDs, but will the nVIDIA stuff work too? I've always been a GTX guy for desktop.

 

congrats on your new R4! sorry to hear you're having a problem already.

my R4 has been running great for 2 years now and still going strong. i'm sure you'll have it up and running in no time!

just purchase a new gpu online and install it yourself. i'd recommend just getting a nvidia gpu. you can google search teardown vids..

while you're at it, don't forget to apply some thermal paste to new gpu, regularly clean dust out of fans/vents, and always try to use your R4 in a ventilated position (don't block fan vents below & behind)

goodluck!

 

NV GPUs will definitely work in the R4. You'll just need the NV version of the heatsink and backplate (x-bracket). As for leaving the card in, I'd take it out for now. It's easy plug n play so you can always just plop it back in if you need to send it in. The trick is to remove the GPU fan, so you can remove the entire GPU/heatsink as one piece.

 

If you want to get something better then the 7970m then you may want to look at the 680m. It will be compatible with your R4 although you will need to replace the Xbracket and heat sink I believe, but those can be bought as a package deal.

 

+1 .

680m from ebay (make sure they include the x-bracket). Heatsink from dell. All pasted and padded ready to just screw it together. The captive screws on AMD are a different size so you will need to find those as well, I did see a supplier on ebay selling these cheap though...

Good luck.

 

I have to say that your hd7970m is dying, change your GPU.

 

The 7970m is just as good as the 680m and half the price. It gets just as good frame rates on games the only thing that the 680m is better for is overclocking

 

Couldn't say it better.. Sure the 680M doesn't die as often asthe 7970M but you can buy 2 7970M's for that price and even if 1 dies, you'll still have 1 more.. The 7970M easily plays most games and hell I play BF4 on ultra

 

I said it was just as good and your right you can buy 2 7970m for the price of the 680m. I have had mine 3 years and it plays any game on high to ultra and I haven't had any problems with my card I've had a few freezes on crysis 3 but only after an all nighter on ultra. I have overcloked my card but only a few times as it's not as stable for overclocking as the 680m but as Tom said you can buy 2 7970m for the price of the 680m. I would go for the 7970m as I think you have been unlucky with your card. But if you want an Nvidia card and have the money go for the 780m or wait until the 880m as it's easy done with modded drivers

 

In the same boat as the OP. I am extremely angry and disappointed because I'm afraid that my 7970m on my M17xR4 has died as well. It started two weeks ago when the display crashed. After reformatting the OS (win 8 and 8.1) and my SSD, updating, recovering, and downloading many (many) times, everything is once again operational minus the 7970 card.

I was looking at google maps of all things when the display crashed. I played Skyrim for about 400 hours on ultra settings, and insurgency on steam for about the same time, and a lot of SC2, but really, I never really pushed the card too much. I also had a Cooler Master underneath the machine since day one. When I opened up the computer to look, I had virtually no dust or anything around the card or spaces and just a tiny bit of residual dust on the fans (nothing even close to detrimental I would imagine).

Currently, I have uninstalled all of the drivers for the card and the basic microsoft display adapter is read. I can use the AMD Catalyst system detect and it shows that I have a 7XXX class card, and prompts me to the install. But regardless of whether I obtain the drivers from AMD, Dell, or Windows the display always crashes in the same exact spot: I get one flicker of the screen, recovery, and then crash to black screen during display driver installation.

If I would have known that the flagship piece of hardware on this laptop would crash in two years, I would not have bought it. This is my first gaming laptop and unfortunately it has been a debacle.

I seriously wonder if one of Dell's automatic updates with Support Assist Agent (which caused many of us M17xR4 users critical errors and incessant GPU fans spinning) played a part, because the computer never felt like it ran quite as well afterwards, even after I deleted the Support Assist.