Help: M17x R2 - my LCD quit working

My first post!

Before I get started, let me thank all of you for your help through the years. I've read thousands of posts about upgrading graphics, troubleshooting problems, and so many other things. I am an IT pro, but my skills don't even come close to yours. This is clearly the best forum to visit as an Alienware owner.

My problem:
My LCD will not display anything. No faint images, no mouse, no POST, no nothing. I can, however, use an external monitor with no problems. I'm trying to figure out if I need a new LCD, new GPU, or just some extra-fancy software maneuvers to get back on track. I have the 1200p RGB LED if that makes any difference.

Background:
A few weeks ago, I started to see little red and green squares in a checkerboard pattern (sometimes black and white) popping up around my screen while web browsing and doing other low-load stuff. Games were actually working great, no problems, high to max settings, good fps, etc. I only saw the dots during very low intensity usage.

I thought my card was nearing end of life. That's when I started reading THIS huge thread about upgrading to a 6970M (or 7970M!). I have so far read about 400 of the 500 pages, as well as hundreds of other posts in other threads on this forum.

But I'm typing this post on my M17x R2 with an external monitor, so now I'm not so sure. Since we don't have integrated graphics, does this mean my 5870 is healthy?

Quick Stats:
M17x R2
i7-920XM
Single 5870M, standard Dell vBIOS (A01)
4 GB RAM (see note below)
500GB HDD (see note below)
A10 (unmodified)
No overclocking other than factory "Turbo mode"

NOTE: I just finished ordering parts for a new desktop build, and tacked on a few upgrades for my M17x since my cart was already full. They came in today.

Everything was working "normally" (fine, except intermittent minor screen artifacts) this morning. This afternoon, I received my Samsung 830 SSD (256 GB) and Corsair 16 GB (8GBx2) RAM package. I proceeded to install them with great excitement. [By the way, the 16GB RAM shows up as 0 GB in BIOS, as others have stated, but works great in Windows.]

Since my fans/ports were a bit clogged, I went ahead and cleaned out all the dust while I had the back of the case open. After picking out as much as I could, I used compressed air to blow out the rest. ALL of this work was done with a proper anti-static mat/bracelet, grounded to my desktop CPU case.

When I put it back together and turned it on, I had no LCD. Windows boots up fine, and I can use the external VGA port with no problem (and no artifacts!). HDMI out to my TV also works without a flaw. I don't have a DisplayPort cable handy, so I couldn't test that. I can get into BIOS, connect to the internet, and flash my 5870 without issue. All peripherals work fine. The 5870 shows all details in GPU-Z with no problems. Since losing the LCD, I've reverted to pre-upgrade condition, but the result is the same.

I have the SCROLL and NUM lights flashing, with the CAPS light steady. According to THIS Dell page, this means:

"The LCD encountered a problem during initialization."

The Next Steps they list are:
"1. Reseat the LCD cable.
2. Replace the LCD panel.
3. Replace the video card."

I didn't even touch the cable when upgrading and cleaning out the system earlier. I tried reseating the motherboard end of the cable several times, but it doesn't "click" when I press it in. Should it?

I don't mind spending a little to get this fixed, because the M17x is my baby, but I can't afford to chase this problem with parts that may or may not fix it. I think my LCD or its cable is blown, but I'm hoping for confirmation before digging into that.

What I've tried so far, with no success:
- All combinations of original RAM, HDD, new RAM, new SSD, etc.
- Onboard diagnostics (all passed)
- Reseating the motherboard end of the LCD cable several times.
- Removing all traces of AMD drivers and reverting back to Dell drivers, then reflashing with the current Dell vBIOS
- Several different AMD driver versions
- Pulled plug, battery, and CMOS battery, and held power button for 30 seconds
- Googled my off trying to find a solution

Any recommendations? My lappy looks so sad with its blank screen.

Thanks again for ALL of your help!

 

You have done pretty much everything that can be done.
Seems like you will need a replacement screen. You can get that from DELL by sending an e-mail to [email protected] with your tag and phone number.

 

Thanks for the confirmation. I thought so.

Last night I ran FurMark, watched a movie, and played some games on my HDTV, and for the most part everything was great.

There was one stretch during the movie that I did see a few of those green squares sprinkling around the black formatting bars as I moved my mouse around, though. They are about 15 pixels square and only seem to appear only while the graphics card is at low temp/low usage. Do you think my 5870 might be on its way out, too? I may have to wait for it to die so I can budget for a 7970...

I may need to look for a used screen, but I'll see what Dell can come up with for me. I also looked into reestablishing my warranty, and it was only about $400. Can anyone comment on that? Would that cover the screen and 5870 (if needed)?

Thanks again!

 

Hey SloMoHolic,

I have a M17x R2 (5870 ATI board)as well and had almost identical symptoms as you...external monitor worked, no LCD, and occasional blockiness on the screen. I'm still working with Dell to see what the issue might be but I'll definitely update the forum when find out more. I'd appreciate any updates on your end as well.

Best and thanks,

Trey

 

Hi Trey, I look forward to hearing what Dell says about this. I'll certainly update the thread when I have any new info.

For now, I removed the screen assembly and set up my external LCD behind the base. I'm getting the same flashing lights as when the screen first quit working (SCROLL and NUM lights flashing, with the CAPS light steady).

 

Hey SloMoHolic,

Thought you this might be of some help to this thread.

Since my laptop was still covered under warranty, Dell sent over a new LCD and LED strip (the bar with the numlock, CAPS, scroll indicators). They came and installed the new LCD and LED bar on my M17x. Unfortunately, the LCD was still coming up blank and the Scroll/Num lights were now flashing with the CAPS light steady.

We checked to make sure that the LCD was seated properly and it was. To get the blinking lights to stop, Dell just used my original LED bar and the issue went away. But ultimately, we weren't able to get the flashing lights to stop on the new LED.

Dell said that their next step is to send a new motherboard which apparently in this model hooks directly to the LCD rather than through the video board. They said they would send a new LCD along with it just to make sure that it wasn't a case of 2 bad LCD's. Even though we are still working on a resolution to the problem, I've been very happy with the prompt customer support from Dell.

I'll keep you updated on what happens with the Motherboard.

Best,

Trey

 

This. It should snap into place. I had the same problem when I repasted my GPU's and CPU. I was afraid to exert too much force and didn't align the connector properly the first time around. If I remember correctly there is a little metal flip hinge that locks it into place once seated properly. There was a tiny snap/click so that you know its in place. Make sure the metal hinge is in the "up" position, seat the connector properly and then move the hinge down to lock it in place. .

I could be remembering the metal hinge part incorrectly since its been a while but give it another go, its worth another try.

Edit: Forgot to say, "Welcome! "

 

Brilliant!

I put it all back together, and indeed, the display cable WILL NOT snap into place unless the metal bar is is the "up" position! For reference, "up" means up and towards the front of the laptop. Once I "raised the bar" and plugged it in, I knew instantly from the click that you had solved my problem!!! I then lowered the bar and anxiously reassembled the rest.

Sure enough, I turned it on and saw the most beautiful Alien head on my screen! It works perfectly!

Wow! I cannot thank you guys enough!

Trey, I would definitely give this a shot. Thanks for your help, too! Your post stopped me from buying another screen. I hope this solves your problem, too! Keep us updated...

Nospheratu, what a memory you have. Awesome catch! Thanks a million!

EDIT: +1 Rep for Nospheratu!!!

 

Awesome news! Glad I could help man.

I see that you picked up an SSD (great choice btw). Our mobo has some issues with 4K reads and writes but there's a workaround. Check my post here for links.

 

Awesome! Glad to hear that you got your LCD in working.

When the Dell technicians were initially replacing the monitor, I noticed those flaps that Nosphertu was talking about. When they put it back together, I didn't see whether all of the flaps were really secure.

I got word that the motherboard and LCD have arrived and they'll be installing either tomorrow or the weekend. I'm definitely going to keep a look out for everything that Nosph. explained. I'm thinking that just overtime the motherboard's connection to the LCD could have just gotten loose.

Thanks for all the information. It's been most helpful and I'll keep yall updated.

Peace

Trey

Hey All,

I have an update from my 2nd dell technician visit today and was hoping to get some feedback.

As a foot note, prior to the Dell tech checking the system, the LCD had suddenly been working intermittently so there was no real way to truly gauge whether what he did worked or not since it was already kind of working.

I mentioned to the dell tech that the LCD connection may not have been seated correctly and sure enough there was a slight extra click when he checked.

However, even though the LCD connection was fixed, the technician still went forward with installing the 2nd new LCD that Dell sent over. After he was done, the LCD worked and there were no blinking lights on the LED. He ran some diagnostic tests on the LCD to ensure that everything was in proper. The computer passed all tests.

However, 20 minutes after the tech left, the LCD went out again and upon rebooting, the scroll and num lock lights began blinking with the CAPS steady. Also, my screen has gotten extra blocky meaning that random patches of blocks would flicker in different areas of the screen. This happened on both my LCD and my external monitor so it's not a monitor issue.

My next step in this process is replace the video board. Any feedback would be of great help at this point. Thanks again in advance!

Trey

 

These are just my observations and notes - I'm certainly not the expert on the M17x, but maybe my ideas will help you or someone else here solve this problem...

It's a tricky connection, isn't it? The plug can only click if the bar is all the way up and back. Only after the snap can the bar be lowered into the locking position. Even though my problem was fixed, I pulled off the keyboard and tried it a few more times to be sure. Works like a charm now.

With a new LCD screen (2 of them) and (I assume) new cables with each, this makes me think that the cable-to-motherboard connection is still not complete. Maybe the "receiver" on the motherboard is damaged or dirty?

I know exactly what you're talking about. Mine always started as little green squares, and developed into black and white checkerboard patterns. They would flicker and move around as I moved my mouse, scrolled my web browser, etc. A reboot would clear it, but they would keep coming back. This was all before my screen was fixed. I also noticed it when I had an external LCD connected. It was just a tiny blip while watching a movie, but I definitely saw it.

However, it's been several days since I reconnected the cable, and I haven't seen so much as a speck of green. I can't yet say for sure that it is fixed, because it was intermittent to begin with. I also upgraded my RAM, so that may have something to do with it.

I installed Windows 8 on the (secondary) SSD and have been switching back and forth between that and my Win7 HDD installation. No specks at all in both cases since I fixed my screen.

I work with Dell all the time (I manage about 3000 Dell laptops and desktops at work), and in my experience, they tend to do some basic troubleshooting, then throw parts at the problem. I'm not complaining, because that saves me a ton of time at work. But for my personal systems, I don't mind digging deeper to nail down the problem.

Still, I'm not sure if the block artifacts are caused by driver issues, a bad connection to the LCD, or higher (or lower) temperatures.

I have some thoughts that might help us isolate the issue. Depending on the results, it might lead to a solution or another parts replacement from Dell.

Option 1: Start in Safe Mode (with networking) and keep Windows running for a while. Browse around, run a few programs, and look for those blocks. They probably won't be there, as I am almost certain that they are not caused by the LCD itself. Then again, Safe Mode won't push GPU temps very high, and won't use very much RAM, so it won't give us a definitive solution. It could rule out drivers and temps, at least...

Option 2: If you have an extra HDD available, download the Windows 8 preview and install that. It doesn't take long, and it installs pretty quickly. Using the default Windows drivers, run your system for a while and see if there are any signs of the block artifacts.

Option 3: If you don't mind opening up your system a bit, pull the battery and back cover, then the 2 screws for the power button panel. Then pull the panel off, remove the 5 keyboard screws, and pull the keyboard off. Disconnect the LCD signal and LCD power cables from the motherboard. Use some compressed air to clear out any dust in all four plugs (2 cables + 2 motherboard receivers).

Reconnect the cables. The LCD power cable is simple - just push and it will snap in. As you know, the LCD signal cable needs a little extra attention. Put it all back together and see how it goes. My connections certainly did benefit from this. There was a surprising amount of dust in the plugs.

I will certainly keep checking this thread to make sure I don't miss anything. I make my living fixing computers, so between the M17x experts on this site and my general PC troubleshooting skills, I am sure we can either fix this problem or identify exactly what part(s) you will need to solve this once and for all.

Thanks again for your help on my system. Let me know if you have any ideas or other questions that I might be able to answer...

-Blake

 

Well, I saw the green squares again tonight in Win7. Still not sure if it's a software or hardware issue. I'm leaning towards software. I still haven't seen them in Win8...

 

Sorry to bump an old thread...

For anyone having this problem:
After further testing, it was definitely my graphics card (5870). See my new efforts here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=9064421

No more bad video blocks. Still trying to work out the driver and vBios for my new 675mx replacement, but overall I'm pretty happy.

Thanks for the help,

SloMoHolic