M17x Drivers thread

Anyone can explain how to install the DOX drivers 196.62?
i have tried the normal and "have disk" methods with no luck. I even tried his "hybrid sli" fix and no go for me. How do you install these on M17x?

 

im still using dell's 186.64 all i do is manually add a sli profile for mass effect 2 and set it to force alternate frame rendering 2 in the control panel. works fine.. 62fps(capped i think) all the way through the entire game.

there isnt always a need to get the latest drivers for their sli profiles. yes they might be more optimised for the game with the profile but if youve found a good stable driver which doesnt have problems and you want to keep it, just add the profile manually and set to AFR2(or something else if you get artifacts).

 

I thought the latest version of the Dell drivers was 186.40? I just checked and didn't see anything higher. Anyway, I still crash to Windows desktop frequently in Dragon Age, and it makes the game unplayable. Not sure what the issue is, but I was hoping updated drivers might solve the issue. And, as I don't ever use the integrated card I figured I could upgrade to more current drivers. I'm just not sure how to set-up the Bios when I install any updated drivers (do I disable both graphics settings?) and which drivers to get.

 

Uninstall your drivers from Computer -> Manager -> Device Manager. Restart and go to BIOS.
Disable integrated and hybrid graphics in the bios, since you don't want to use the onboard.
Restart in safe mode. Run driver sweeper and ccleaner for the registry.
Then reboot in normal mode and install 195.62 dox drivers or the 195.62 drivers from nvidia.
As for Dragon Age, search online for the best settings to use in the nvidia control panel (you can set graphics options globally and for individual programs).

 

how is the performance difference with the new dox driver compared to others?

 

sorry guys for posting here as it must not be the appropriate thread but where to find latest drivers for ATIs on M17X modded or not? of course i dont mean the always old dated drivers on dell website>

 

Can you use the ones for the R2?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=455535

 

I got the ATI cards today for my M17X R1. The Dell tech guy came and replaced them to fix the latency issue.

He left after the install but did not instal any drivers. I installed the Dell ATI driver but the PC does not detect the cards.

I am not sure what needs to be done from here. Also the only resolution available is 1900x1440 which makes no sense to me.

 

Our LCDs cannot do proper vertical 1440. You're right, that is absurd.

Try this link:
http://www.notebookforums.com/thread230061.html - Mandrake's stuff.

 

Thanks, I am going to try

 

Right, grab either the 10.1 beta which includes Mobility 4 series support (the officials dont yet) [iirc it's the January 14th? release, which is driver version 8.70], or grab the 9.12/9.12hotfix/9.11 desktop drivers and use the mobility modder software on them to add mobile card support.
The 10.1 officials currently dont work with the mobility modder as it needs updating.

That should sort you out.
Make sure Nvidia GPU drivers are uninstalled and completely cleaned out before installing the ATI drivers.

Sounds like the Dell ATI drivers are desktop drivers.

 

I tried the modder linked from Mandrake's thread on but it does not work with Win 7.

Not sure if there is another modder out there I can use with Win 7

 

It should work with Win7, it's listed on the site. Would depend on which version and which driver you were using.
Take a look at :
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/modtool.php

That's the official site.
Make sure you're remembering to run the tool with UAC disabled.
It doesn't work with the 10.1s yet, but works with the 9.xx drivers.

There's also those 8.70rc beta drivers you could try.

 

I have 9.12 mob modded working just fine in win 7....

I installed it over the dell driver if that helps

 

gonna need to run driver sweeper on the Nvidia and ATI drivers then install the 9.12's

 

and where do you download 9.12 from?

 

Zenith - please only post this once

 

http://tinyurl.com/yh3bour

 

takes me to a page with 10.1 drivers all over it.

 

I was trying

Oddly, the 'start' for Processor was already 4 and the one for Intelppm was 3. This isn't something I've changed. And I'd done a Vista clean re-install after I got the machine.

Will try some overclocking later to see if this works.

 

I actually could not get the crossfire option in 9.12s unless I installed them over the dell drivers Moo - it was frustrating

 

I was refering to the link to the 9.12 right below it

 

next time ill be sure to point out if it does show a different one then try clicking on the big button that said "previous versions here "

I am not trying to be mean but its not that hard ...

says xp but should still work

If i get my website up and running i will externally start hosting and ill give a few members here a FTP account to add as they will

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/previous/Pages/radeonaiw_xp.aspx

 

Found the drivers for Win7 here:

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1722/ATI_Catalyst_9.12_Software_Suite_Vista7_64-bit.html

One of the links says 10.1, but the other on the page is for 9.12

 

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/9-12/Pages/radeonaiw_vista64.aspx?&lang=English

That's what I was looking for.

 

Anyone notice new R2 drivers out there on the support site? I only ask because the dates of release all seem pretty darn new. No idea if any of them will be compatible with the R1 but thought I would ask.

 

I've compiled a page of drivers for the R-2 based on dell's current offering.

Here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=455535

 

So do dell's stock drivers for the Mobility 4870 X2 have any real issues that are pushing people to use mobility modder on 9.12 drivers or...?

 

they just perform lower and will lack support for newer games

 

thanks for the input, sir. I will be testing both dell stock and mobility modded 9.12 and 10.1 drivers when my machine arrives.

 

all drivers are compatible with R1 except the intel motherboard related ones of course. R2 is an R1 with intel motherboard. thats all. everything else wlan, bluetooth, gpus (if you have ATIs), audio, CIR etc all the same.

i installed all of them. some of them are newer like the IDT audio driver which should be added on R1 drivers anyway. I also noticed that the Ricoh driver on R1 drivers is newer than this on R2, same for OSD application. You have to check version on each driver to select which one to install.


i may buy the intel motherboard as an upgrade when my quarantee is finished. no need anyway as it just supports i7 and my overclocked qx9300 has no problem challenging it.

 

Ok, looks like I might have to go this route. With the current drviers available from Dell, Dragon Age crashes like crazy to desktop. I've read that the 195.62 drivers fix this issue. After I install these drivers, will I still have to worry about the computer switching over the integrated card, or will these drivers effectively ignore it altogether? I'd prefer just using the the 280M cards all the time. What driver sweeper/cleaner do you recommend? Thanks!

 

Are the ATI drivers from dell any good?

 

not really

 

what version are you using scook? 9.12?

 

yes

mob modded and installed over the dell drivers

 

Right now I'm using:
* Driver Sweeper 2.0.5 but can use a current version if there is one.
* CCleaner 2.27.1070 (and just got a pop for version 2.28.1091, so will update now)

Integrated card - I've disabled it in my BIOS since I don't use it. Dox's drivers support Hybrid SLI but he mentions it's possibly still buggy. If better WHQL drivers come along, I might re-enable it but - even if it's enabled, I don't actually switch to it for anything. Did 50+ minutes on batteries with screen at 80% brightness, wi-fi on and an external usb drive (not stick) connected.

Hybrid SLI - the Dox driver let's you select which one you want to use. If you don't plan on using your integrated, then first disable it in the BIOS and then install Dox drivers. Select "Single/Standard SLI" to run on only both your 280Ms.

Not sure about Dragon Age crashes.

 

Thanks! I was just going to use the nVidia drivers. If I do that, I assume it will disregard the integrated card as long as I disable in BIOS. I just wonder what might happen if I accidentally start the computer without it plugged in. Will it still try to enable the integrated card in BIOS as it usually does? By the way, where can you get the dox drivers you mention?

 

Yes. Will be disregarded. But in that case, you might as well install with integrated enabled and then disable it in BIOS afterwards. If you can't change screen brightness after that: re-do the uninstall, uninstall OSD and re-install OSD first, then the drivers.

The problem I generally have is that if I install with integrated enabled and then disable it later, my screen stays at 100% brightness (with the annoying auto-dim which other ppl seem to be ok with) and I can't change it with Fn + F4/F5 or in the Power settings. That's just too bright most of the time.

It will re-enable the integrated. Hybrid in BIOS will remain disabled. I've done that, accidentally 2-3 times. And after that, I never forget to plug it in first. There's no workaround for that. If you happen to boot that way, quickly go to BIOS and disable integrated. IIRC, it will then boot with the 280Ms.

You can find Dox's drivers here: http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/122-doxs-customized-forceware-releases/
The 195.62 are here: http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/26002-forceware-19562/

 

Aneroid, thanks again. What happens if you accidentally start without it plugged in and it reenables the integrated card and Windows loads. Does it just crash? As long as I don't do any damage and I can just turn off and reboot (changing in Bios) I'm not too concerned. Just need to decide on whether to use the nVidia ones or the dox ones.

 

No, it won't crash (shouldn't). If you disabled integrated while installing the drivers, windows will just install the standard VGA drivers as it normally does. If it was enabled during driver install, then it just continues as normal.

Try both nvidia and dox's (separately) for the games you play and see which one works out better. Not all drivers (by version) improve all games and some degrade performance for some games. Dox's usually give better performance than stock nv's of the same version.

 

any one knows the best drivers for the ati cards?

 

My suggestion is to download the drivers of the R2, then download the 9.12, mod them and install them on top. At least that's the way they worked for me.

 

ok tanks ...

 

how do i mod them?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=455535

first post


Modifying ATI Desktop Drivers

You may want to use the DH Mobility Modder tool to "modify" Desktop ATI Catalyst Drivers so that they will install on laptops with Mobility Radeon hardware. One would do this in order to have the most up-to-date drivers with the most support for games. Find it here:


http://www.hardwareheaven.com/modtool.php Install This Program

Next, download and run the .exe driver file from http://www.ati.com for a desktop graphics card like the HD 5970.

(Graphics > Windows 7 64-bit > Radeon > HD 5970)

the most stable version of desktop catalyst software for modding is said to be 9.12, you can download that here: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownloa...?&lang=English

After the files extract to C:\ATI\SUPPORT, cancel the subsequent driver and catalyst installation that follows extraction.

Next, run the mobility modder software and locate the folder in which the driver files were extracted to (usually C:\ati\support). Let the modder add the proper lines of code to the .inf files of the driver so that it will recognize your video cards as compatible and then exit the program.

Finally, run setup.exe from within the respective driver folder in C:\ATI\SUPPORT. If done properly, the catalyst drivers should install without a problem.

 

is anyone getting an 'unknown device' in device manager after doing a format clean install of win 7 ultimate x64 on the M17x r-2? I've installed chipset, ricoh, wireless, lan, bluetooth, webcam, CIR, video, audio, OSD... none of these drivers resolved the unknown device. I honestly am beginning to think there's no driver on the resource dvd or support.dell.com that addresses this thing. I've even tried the regular m17x drivers (because the r-2 drivers page sucks right now) nothing.

 

Zenith, did you install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager driver? Check under your IDE/ATAPI Controllers in Device Manager to confirm.

If not that, what about Command Center? The other possible is the AlienFX board. If not those, I have no idea.

 

I did install those. Even though I have a SSD, im going to try and install the "free fall sensor" driver. as someone on an m15x page complaining about an unknown device (even though they had an SSD) resolved the issue this way.

 

Holy sweet jesus it worked. Turns out the entire computer has an accelerometer in it now, its no longer attached to the hard drive. I don't need it, but i guess its cool to lock up my hard drive if it falls anyways. maybe the fans stop spinning too or somethin...