M17X R4 - 7970M needs a restart EVERY time

Dear forum,

First I was OK with this after battling with many random driver issues. But now I'm getting tired of it, so I was wondering if there is a solution to my problem.

EVERY single time I power up the computer from shutdown stage, the 7970M works at significantly reduced performance. i.e., I get 3DMark2011 scores in the 3000s compared to 6500s and my frame rates in games are reduced to half or lower. (IGFX is disabled)

And EVERY time I restart the computer after this, it is back to normal. So like a ritual, I power up the computer and immediately after Windows logon I restart before I can start using it.

I am using the latest performance drivers from AMD - 12.11p and Win8. Can someone help me with this? Should I try using the very latest beta drivers (though I'm afraid that will cause further instability) ?

 

It could be a problem with the power adapter.. I was experiancing issues with my m14x where I would have to switch outlets sometimes or else my system would perform like sh*t. But in your case it sounds like a driver issue, so i would try the beta drivers if i were you

 

FN+F7. Disable switchable graphics if you already havent. Mine performs horribly trying to switch for itself and I have my games setup for high performance.

 

This will happen occasionally to me when the adapter isn't recognized properly. The card will not run at full power if the adapter isn't working as it should....does the laptop stop on boot and give you a warning about the adapter? or does it tell you with your OSD that the adapter isn't supported?

 

I get absolutely no warnings about the adapter - and like I said - it's not even random.

First start - doesn't work (all the time) - restart - works.

And yes, integrated graphics is disabled - don't know what to do.

 

I'm having the same issue. And it's not an adapter issue. I've tried several drivers. I run MSI Kombuster and note the clocks from GPU-Z. Without a restart every now and then, the clocks are locked to 450MHz as opposed to 1200MHz, until I do restart.

 

I have the same problem except my 7970m isnt even detected after a cold boot.

Daily Routine:
1. Turn on laptop after several hours of it being off
2. ATI GFX not detected
3. Shut down after it has fully booted up.
4. Turn on the laptop again
5. ATI GFX is detected and working again

??

 

What driver are you on currently? Enduro on/off ?

 

13.4 drivers and Enduro on. I can't do the FN+F7 thing and keep it on because nothing happens.

 

1. Uninstall and Reinstall Alienware Command Center (fetch the latest version from Dell)
2. Turning OFF Driver Signature Verification in Windows 8
   
   • cmd -> Run as Administrator
   • Enter "bcdedit /set {current} testsigning yes" without quotes
   • Reboot
   • Note: Repeat process for turning back on with 'no' (after the entire procedure)

   ​
3. Update your graphic card driver (clean install, please)
4. If problem still persists, try a BIOS update from Dell
5. Report back.

 

Make sure you do a "clean install" of the video driver, otherwise most problems will carry on regardless of the version.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...all-amd-ati-not-have-rely-driver-sweeper.html

 

Would doing a re-install of windows 7 and then installing drivers for the 7970m count as a clean video driver install? Because I did that and the problem still persists.

 

It does if you deleted your old partitions

Check C: for a windows.old folder, if it's not there you're good but if it is don't try to delete it just re-install and delete the partitions when you get to the selection screen.

What BIOS version are you running? does this happen as well with Dell's driver?

 

My BIOS is on A11. I had the dell drivers for the 7970m installed before and then i did fn+f7 to use only the 7970m, but then after i shut down the laptop and came back and turned it on 2 hours later, the laptop screen was black and there were 8 beeps.

 

Send me a PM with your service tag and a link to the thread, I'll contact you soon.

 

BTW if fn+f7 isn't working it is because the osd software isn't running. I went over this a couple of weeks ago and found that somehow it disappeared from startup.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

That's usually the case, and a fresh install of the software should get those fn hotkeys working again.

 

For me that didn't work (oddly enough). I had to just readd the program to startup again if I wanted it working every boot or load the program manually when I needed it.