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    In serious need of help! M17xR1 one or both graphics dead - can I pull one card and have it still work?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Ethrem, Jun 26, 2012.

  1. Ethrem

    Ethrem Notebook Prophet

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    So I have been having hell with my M17x. My right graphics card's fan died, which I replaced. My internal wireless chip no longer holds a signal. My Bluray drive is toast (doesn't spin up).

    Today in order to get internet access out to my cottage (its about 500 feet and four walls from the wireless router and even two 9dBi antennae didn't get a stable connection) I set up a Trendnet TPL-304E powerline adapter configuration. The laptop was working fine but there were issues connecting with the main house so I carefully packed it in my laptop bag and brought it to the main house for troubleshooting. It worked fine there as well.

    When I brought it back out to the cottage the tell-tale signs of a video card dying - text sliding to the side, colors being inverted and downgraded, etc., started immediately. It also gave me a warning in the BIOS that my A/C adapter (which came with the notebook) was not providing enough current) so I plugged it into a different outlet and it started to boot up but then the sliding text and before I could shut the thing off (was holding the power button) the screen filled with multicolored lines and, of course, upon powering it back up the screen turned white rapidly.

    I have two 260M GTX cards - is it safe to disconnect the SLi cable, remove one of them, and test to see if it will boot? I am hoping it is the right card that died on me, not the left because I don't have any thermal compound handy for switching the heatsinks.

    I am currently running it on the 9400M but as we all know as soon as the computer reboots its going to attempt to initialize the GTXs as long as the power cord is plugged in.

    If all else fails can I just remove them altogether and run off the onboard only? I am really not willing to invest anymore money in this machine. I have had it 3 years, it has served me well, but I need it to serve me a while longer until I can get a job and buy a new machine. Any help is greatly appreciated!

    Thank you
     
    Ethrem, Jun 26, 2012
    #1