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    Alienware m17x r4 Display Issues

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Zeratul010, Sep 3, 2014.

  1. Zeratul010

    Zeratul010 Notebook Guru

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    A few months ago, I had to replace the motherboard on my Alienware. Since then, I've had an intermittent issue where the display will, without warning and completely at random, go black. The backlight for the keyboard remains on, and the computer almost always boots back up after a hard power-off. Very rarely, the computer will give an 8-beep code for the LCD, but another reboot results in the machine working as normal. I haven't been able to figure out the problem on my own, so I'm looking for help.

    Potential culprits I've looked at:
    -Corrupted Windows install (re-installed Windows several days ago)
    -misplaced cable from the display running over the 3D monitor jack on the motherboard (rerouted back into the proper cable guide)
    -poor re-install of the graphics card thermal paste overflowing (cleaned up the overflow, did my best to clear old paste from anywhere but the GPU)
    -damage to the graphics card, which had to have the screws holding it in place drilled out when replacing the motherboard (not sure if there's any good way to test this)

    So, does anybody have suggestions/experience with this particular issue?
     
    Zeratul010, Sep 3, 2014
    #1
  2. MickyD1234

    MickyD1234 Notebook Prophet

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    What GPU/display (120hz)?
     
    MickyD1234, Sep 3, 2014
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  3. Zeratul010

    Zeratul010 Notebook Guru

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    D'oh, meant to include that. AMD Radeon 7970m, 60 Hz non-3D display.
     
    Zeratul010, Sep 3, 2014
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  4. Raidriar

    Raidriar ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

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    Sounds like your 7970M may be on its way out. Undervolt/run lower clocks and see if it helps
     
    Raidriar, Sep 3, 2014
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  5. Zeratul010

    Zeratul010 Notebook Guru

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    Is there any way to be certain? Most of my frustration here has come from not being able to track the problem down to a specific source.
     
    Zeratul010, Sep 3, 2014
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  6. MickyD1234

    MickyD1234 Notebook Prophet

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    You could just remove the card altogether and test on the intel only? The 8 beeps can also happen when a GPU is going bad like technos says.
     
    MickyD1234, Sep 4, 2014
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  7. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    Have you tried checking the temperatures of the video card while you are gaming?
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Sep 4, 2014
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  8. Zeratul010

    Zeratul010 Notebook Guru

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    Yeah, heat issues are fine, according to sensors (mid-60s C). Also, the black screen error occurs at random, including while running basic web browsing. Something I noticed today, however - the integrated graphics chip doesn't appear anywhere. Not in device manager, not in BIOS.

    Edit: Integrated graphics show up on Fn+F7 and reboot, but still missing in BIOS.
     
    Zeratul010, Sep 4, 2014
    #8