M17x R3 8 beeps no post.

This afternoon i was in the middle of some web surfing when out of no where my m17x blacks out and powers off. I attempted to turn the system back on and i am presented with a black screen and nothing. Then i get 8 short beeps, a pause then repeats. Looking online i can see that it could be multiple things that would cause this. I have tried the following to no avail. Hope someone can help me.

1. Removed the power pack and re inserted
2. Removed the CMOS battery, held the power button for 1 minute, waited 30 minutes, held the power button for 30 seconds, installed the CMOS battery, held the power button again for 30 seconds. Installed the power pack, waited 2 minutes and powered on. No help.
3 Tried blind flash to the most current BIOS ( Method in this thread) No help.
4. Removed GPU and attempted start up, screen came on (back light) but didnt post, 8 beeps yet again.

I'm out of warranty (by about 30 days, go figure....) If anyone has any ideas, or atleast can help me narrow it down to more that 5 different parts i would appreciate it very much.

Thanks,
HC

 

You seem to have tried everything I know about, but as you have the 120hz display taking out the GPU will still cause 8 beeps if the NV card has gone bad. The intel is not available to start it.

 

I thought 8 beeps was an LCD faliure?

Peehaps remove the keyboard and disconnect the screen and link up an external via hdmi and see if it boots?

 

It can be either, the video POST has failed, but worth a try.

 

I didnt think about removing the LCD cable. I forgot to mention i did plug in an external monitor to the VGA port and nothing happened.

 

I am aware that the onboard video is unavailable with the 120Hz screen. Is it possible to startup the onboard? Or is it not available at all?

 

Not at all. The 120hz display is plugged into a different port on the MB since the intel cannot drive a 120hz-only display before a driver is loaded (at POST).

It (the whole machine) might work with an external IF the onboard panel is unplugged but I have seen a couple of people try this without success .

 

/

Im going to give this a try when i get home next weekend. If the system boots with an external is it safe to assume that the GPU is good and the LCD is bad? And if it doesnt boot should i assume the GPU is bad or is there more testing i can do to determine the cause?

 

If it does boot then it's almost certainly the panel. Otherwise it looks very much like the GPU but I wouldn't like to guarantee it with such an expensive part. Do you know anyone hat could loan you one to test? (long shot!).

 

Unfortunately no.... I did undo the LCD cable and it did not boot (not to HDMI nor to VGA, I got kinda excited in my hotel room ) Ive checked ebay and i can get a used 580m for about 350 dollars. Im wondering, since i believe it to be the GPU, can i just bite the bullet and get a 680m? I have the 3D screen, but if the 3D doesn't work im not entirely saddened.

 

Yeah, I was thinking about this. You could just go for whatever cheap NV card you can find just to prove it, but throw that money away when getting what you want, or go the whole hog stratght away .

It is really sounding like the GPU. The only other thing that could cause this is a bios problem, and you've reset it and reflashed it so unlikely - unless that introduced it's own problem. I made a stupid mistake when I first got my R3 3D. Thought I could make the intel GPU work. Got a modded bios and set it to use the on-board Doh! AW Noob mistake, 8 beeps like yours. I blind flashed to get it back.

You're right you won't get 3D with a 680m unless a bios mod comes along, but if you don't mind that you could go for the 680m. Resell it if there is some other problem. It will work at 120hz so picture quality won't be compromised. just the 3D components won't load.

You'll also need a modded driver. I get mine here: LaptopVideo2Go: Drivers . It's the inf file that is important. More details if you go down that road

 

Ive also looked, there is a cheap 460m on ebay i could buy just to make sure the gpu is fried. if so, i think ill install the 460, then when i can ill install the 680m and go from there. Thanks a lot sir, you've been a lot of help.

 

You're very welcome. I think that is the best course of action. You might even be able to recover some of the cost reselling it

Good Luck n let us know how it goes.

 

Yeah thats what i plan on doing. Ill update everyone when i have more details.

 

*UPDATE*

Just wanted to update everyone. Dropped a 460m in and the machine posted no problems. I did manage to figure out what went wrong, when i first got the system, i overclocked and overvolted it (the over volting is what killed it. ) Its my fault so im not mad hahaha. I hope if possible this can help someone who is having the same issue. And as a side note, if you overvolt, beware

 

Thanks for the update :thumbsup: Good to hear you are up and running again

I have seen pothers with the 580 frying them with an OV so I steer clear of that mod

 

Oh no you guys, don't replace anything! It's a very simple fix, I had this issues twice and the first time around I got my computer replaced but when it happened again I just followed this link Re: [Solution] M18x R2 Fails POST with 8 Beeps Switching Graphics Mode from IGFX to PEG - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community and everything works again. It turns out it has something to do with the non-turbo flex settings in bios.