M17x R2 Bad LCD or motherboard? Thoughts?

Ok so I just bought an M17x R2 on the forums here and so far its an amazing piece of hardware! Problem is I bought it non-functioning. So here's where I'm looking for a second opinion or someone who has experience with this issue.

Specs are:
M17x R2
920xm ES Stock clocks
8gb 1866 Corsair DDR3
Dual 7970m xfire with Vbios 015.017.000.001.042717 (Gpu-z reads both cards as Dell but they could be just flashed this way for all I know)
240W PSU
windows 7 ultimate 64 bit
RGBLED 1900x1200 display.
Heres the link to the 3dmark result if you need more spec info.
AMD Radeon HD 7970M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-920XM Processor,Alienware

The problem is very simple. The machine works with external monitor through VGA perfecty. However the laptop display seems to turn on at boot, flashes very bright (usually white or grey with colored lines throughout for about 1 second. Then slowly fades to black. (does not show alienhead at boot) I will try to post a video of this later when Im not falling asleep at the keyboard.
So far I have tried:
1 repasting and proper thermal pads on the gpus.
2 Reseating the gpus.
3 reseating the display output cable.
4 wiggling the display cable wiring before during and after boot to see if its a short in the cable.

Basically Im hoping someone else has had the same issue so they can let me know if it was the motherboard, the display cable or the display itself. If not any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Heres the link to whats happening.

 

If its the common bleach bootup phenomena then you probably have v1.1G 7970m inside.(see stickers under 7970m cards to check)
I get it randomly and to work around it when it happens I turn r2 off attach vga cable to external monitor bootup with r2 screen closed and wait for external monitor to get me into windows. Once that occurs I open r2 lid and voila she working. Another method is to use sleep mode and never turn r2 off.

Aside from getting another 7970m which is v1.2G there is very little that can be done from prior testing.
Hope this helps.

I assume you do have normal screen when you unplug that vga cable to external monitor looking at your youtube video?

 

unfortunately no, even if I run dual output in windows or turn the screen on in windows it still stays white. I'll try your bootup then flip it open after idea but I think this is a more permanent issue. If the screen is in mirror mode in windows The washed out screen changes colors and does weird things but never actually displays anything useful.
Here is an example of turning on the display within windows and how it reacts.

 

Yeah if it happens all the time probably card has died.
Maybe try baking it?

Mine and the white bleach screen on bootup happens randomly. If for you it occurs all the time then something else more serious is wrong.
Could also be the screen is dead?

 

What does the seller say ? It was always like this or has it ever run as it should ?

 

If the PC runs fine on an external monitor when connected, then it's not the GPU. This seems to be a display issue or cable issue. You can find cables cheap on eBay. If it were the motherboard, you would most likely be experiencing crashes as well. The best thing to do would be to purchase a cable and hope that resolves the issue.

Resource thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-17-m17x/748860-alienware-m17x-r2-screen-replacement.html

Note: Be sure to purchase the correct cable. I do believe there are two different types. Take yours out and match part numbers. :thumbsup:

 

I agree with j.dre.
Replace the cable first and see if that's helps.
The parts number for the RGB Led cable is: HP693 (costs around $15)
Good luck!

 

Ya I have been searching for one of those cables everywhere ( HP693 ) and cant find one for less than $80 shipped to Canada. I can buy the whole 900p screen assembly for that... unfortunately they use different cables like you said so I cant use the cheap screen for troubleshooting. Im really having trouble justifying buying another 1200p rgb screen if the problem ends up being the motherboard then Ive spent over my logical budget on this computer.

 

OK so just found and ordered a cable... I will have to update once I have it to test with! Thanks again everyone for the advice!
On a side note... anyone know why the display port doesn't work? Can I just flash a newer vbios?

 

All I have to say about this deal here is I wish you would have been just a little bit later on sending that pm... I wanted it and i was next in line lol.

Good luck on getting that fixed.

 

A new BIOS may help. Let us know how it goes.

 

Display port doesn't work on 7970m if i am right. Those card are not supossed to go in this laptop so there are some things that do not work like it should.

 

Cable shipped today. Flashing the bios to the stock A10 one only made the ram run at 1333 instead of 1866 so i guess it was a modded bios. Screen issues are still the same. If i get bored ill try the 7970m from my R4 and see what happens. Hopefully I'll have good news to post when the new cable shows up.

 

Haha ya I couldnt pass up the deal. Even had to upset the wife a bit. If I have to find another rgb screen you probably wont feel so bad missing out. Its hard to find a used laptop like this in canada. and now i have 2 Everyone here wonders why their $500 wal-mart garbage wont run world of warcraft. lol

 

I just bought my first r2 just a few days before with the 1920x1200 screen for $300 and was wanting to buy that one for the gpu's only and extra parts. Just wasn't quite quick enough. Hope you get it to where you get some enjoyment out of it.

 

So, did the cable solve your problems?

 

Sadly no. I am still needing a new display from the looks of it. Just received the new cable today and installed it now and the screen issue seems to be the same as it was before. Still blinks grey at boot. it seems to be brighter and stay grey now where before it would fade to black. I don't know if I should try a screen or motherboard next...?

 

I would think since it is working fine with an external monitor it would be a bad display rather than a bad motherboard. Sometimes its hard to tell on a laptop though so just have to keep replacing parts until you find the right one that's bad.

 

Most likely a display issue.

 

Just a final update! Got it to work! It was the display after all. New RGB LED solved it. Bad news is now I'm having power issues so its not loading the gpus fully. its throttling just like my m15x did. Temps are all under control so its gotta be power related.
Gonna try some undervolting vbios next. I have a 330w powersupply but I haven't been brave enough to tear it open and its hard to justify ripping apart a good 240w one just for the id chip.
Anyways. thanks to everyone that helped and hopefully this helps someone else in the future if they run into the same issue.

 

Just a final update! Got it to work! It was the display after all. New RGB LED solved it. Bad news is now I'm having power issues so its not loading the gpus fully. its throttling just like my m15x did. Temps are all under control so its gotta be power related.
Gonna try some undervolting vbios next. I have a 330w powersupply but I haven't been brave enough to tear it open and its hard to justify ripping apart a good 240w one just for the id chip.
Anyways. thanks to everyone that helped and hopefully this helps someone else in the future if they run into the same issue.

 

Thanks for the update it would help solve same r2 problem in future without messing with other components.