M17x R3 constantly BSOD

Hello.

I own an Alienware M17x R3 since November 2011 and since then I am struggling with BSOD's, my guess from different reasons since I have noticed that the text it's not the same everytime. Lately though I'm getting Blue screens every time I try play anything, basically 1-2 minutes I join the game and start playing. I manage to take a photo of my screen, it's not very eligible but it's readable. I have been snooping around the forum and my theory is that these BSOD's are coming either from my battery or my video card.

Also when I'm trying to start the laptop it freezes right before the start screen, so I get stuck with a black screen unable to do anything but to close the laptop and try to open it again. Just before posting this I tried opening my laptop about 10 times, every time freezing with this black screen before windows welcoming me.

Specs: Processor : Intel Core i7 Processor 2670QM (2.20Ghz, 6MB, 4C)
Display : 17.3in WideHD+ (1600 x 900) WLED LCD 1 SR
Memory : 8192MB (2x4096) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel 1 SR
Hard Drive: 320GB (7,200rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Power Supply : Alienware 240W AC Adapter 1 SR
Battery : Primary 9-cell 93W/HR LI-ION 1 SR
Graphics : 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M

If anyone can come up with something to solve these issues or has any idea what I should do in order to get rid of these errors it would be highly appreciated.
(I'm sorry if my grammar is bad or if I misspelled anything, I'm not a native English speaker but I tried my best)

Regards,

Catalin Munteanu

 

Hi there, I'm afraid you are ANOTHER R3/580m owner with serious video issues. They have reached an age where they seem to be dropping on a daily basis.

As you don't have the 120hz model you can just remove the video card and heatsink assembly (very easy if you can use a screwdriver - 7 screws total). It should then start on on the iGPU. Confirm it is all working fine now and use DDU ( Display Driver Uninstaller Download version 12.9.4.0) to remove all the nvidia settings. Get a copy of driver version 314.22 - this driver seems to stress the chip less. Reinstall the card and the new driver.

You may get a working machine for a while but it will probably fail again. Since the 580m was the top GPU for the R3 you are a little screwed for a better replacement. If you get a 680m (awesome card IMO) then you have work to do to disable the on-board as optimus gets messed up and you need a modified driver or the NV/Dell released ones will not install. I don't know what the top-of-th-line AMD was for the R3 or how it performs in comparison the the 580m but worth investigating.

 

Hi again. I just need to understand correctly. I have to take out my video card, start up my laptop, run DDU and remove nVidia drivers, put back the video card in the laptop and install the stable driver version? I don't want to mess anything up that's why I'm asking again. And thank you for taking your time to help me

 

Yup, you've got it . Don't remove the four screws holding the GPU and heatsink together, just the fan and the two screws holding the card down. You can then liftt the whole assembly and not get involved with pads or paste!

Just to explain, these problems can be just driver corruption or settings but sadly the 580m (and the 675m) are already pushed beyond their capability to have a long life .

Good Luck.

Edit: you may have to reconnect the fan for the machine to start!

 

I imagined it wouldn't start without the fan on so I did it from the start. I'm installing DDU now and I will keep you posted. I will come back with an update when I'm done here

 

Good stuff. Fingers crossed....

 

It seems to work fine now but there is another problem. It doesn't let me play on driver version 314.22. I have attached a photo.

Edit: If I click ok, the laptop goes black screen and the game is instantly gives me the not responding error.

 

Hmm, probably that card messing around again! I have seen this in the past and the game -BF4, played just fine (on my 675m). Some game authors do this to ensure you get the full feature set.

Give it a thrashing in a recent title to be sure it works OK then go for a driver update

 

I ran the game in administrator mode, clicked ok and it's working now. No BSOD yet Hopefully it will stay like this. Thank you very much for your help ! If I will have any problems I will post them here.

Have a very nice day!

 

You're very welcome, happy you have a result. If you don't need it to stick with that Driver. I got another couple of months before it black screened as soon as windows started and safe mode was the only way back in - I don't have the option to remove the card on a 120hz model.

You have a great day also!

 

Hi again. So the problem came back again...after a couple of days without any BSOD, it started again. I guess I will have to upgrade my video card to a GTX 680m/780m right? And also if I change the video card do I also have to change the motherboard as well? Can GTX 680m/780m have any compatibility issues with my laptop in terms of drivers or battery power or I don't know anything else?

 

You can use a 680M/780M in the R3. You will have to use modded drivers though, and I'm not sure how switchable graphics/optimus will work on that configuration.

 

So there is no way that I can know for sure if 680M/780M would work well with my laptop? I am concerned that I would buy a video card that is not really cheap and it will not work...That is why I want to make sure, if this is possible.

 

I was afraid that was going to happen, typical behaviour of this card failing .

For Nvidia drivers to install the card and machine combination must be one sold by dell originally. An 'invalid' combination means that you need to turn off the iGPU in the BIOS so the machine boots from the NV card, and use a modified driver file.

The R3 needs an unlocked (A12) bios to access the display feature. See ALIENWARE M17x M18x VGA Upgrade Kit; NEW NVIDIA GTX 780M; 4GB DDR5; MXM 3.0b | eBay. These guys are confusing me though as when you read their instructions it says an unlocked bios for the R2 - which is not needed as this machine has all the options available to change the primary display .

So, 680m or 780m are your choices and performance wise are very close - but my 680m runs WAY cooler than what I see from 780m users - Never hits 70c, overclocked and running Watch Dogs pretty much maxed out! I also think that the IDT issue covered in the ad only applies to the 780m but I can't be sure?

The inf flies for the driver can be found at laptopvideo2go ( LaptopVideo2Go: Drivers). Or search out posts from j95. He posts them and instructions on how to modify them yourself.

Sanity Check: Is this a 60hz or 120hz (3d) model?

 

Why not buy a 6970M/6990M or another 580M? That way you know it will work 100%

 

It is a 60hz MickyD. So a 6970M/6990M or another 580M would not require any modifications in terms of drivers or whatsoever? I'm not that good with components, drivers and everything that's why I'm asking about all of these details, I want to make sure that I will invest in something that will not give me any headache anymore. Is there a chance that changing the 580M that I have now with a new one could result is constant BSOD's when playing?

 

Gotcha, the 120hz model only needs a modified driver as the intel GPU that you need to disable on the 60hz model is already unavailable. Correct re the 6990m/580m being plug and play.

The 680m is a very popular upgrade for the r3 and you'll find a lot of threads here of success stories. Not so much the 780m which has issues with the IDT soundcard in the R3 - fixable so I read but a PITA to get the install sequence correct. Again, mentioned by that reseller ad I posted. Downside is that you always need a modified driver when a new one is released.

I don't know about the performance of the 6990m against the 580m but if it's close then this may be your best (least aggravation!) option. You could be lucky and get a good 580m but it's a risk right from the get-go .

Not having used AMD for over 10 years I have no idea if they require special consideration if you were to fit say a 7990m in an R3?? Heatsinks and mounting brackets can be fun sorting out but you've got that covered.

Does anyone else know if you have to disable the iGPU to fit a non-standard AMD dGPU?

 

I sent you a private message MickyD. Maybe I will understand better that way or if anybody else has an opinion they can say it here.

So you're saying that it would be a risk to try with a 580M? I mean it could BSOD again when the video card would be used?

And with the 680M do I need to change something from BIOS or just install the modified driver?

 

6990m is comperable/equivalent to the 580M and can beat it stock in certain games. It is very overlock friendly and undervolt friendly. I've had 3 and one of them failed due to my laptop not entering sleep mode properly, I put it in my backpack without checking (shame on me), and it overheated and died inside my backpack. They are great cards, but other users have mixed reviews with them. But then again, the 580M also has a craptastic failure rate, so what have you to lose?

The 6990M is going to be cheaper than the 580M for same performance. You will need a different x-bracket for the 6970/6990M cards, but thats about it. You can use stock dell drivers or use AMD's drivers just fine. My (biased) vote is for the 6990M. I've had more luck with them than with nVidia cards.

 

So I can get a 6990m without any fear that it will do the same thing as my current 580m? And I can just use the drivers from Dell or AMD without any other adjustments than the bracket?

 

Yes. As long as you use the 69xx that was sold with the R3 then it's stock drivers and more reliable (I believe).

Padding might need to be adjusted due to differing thickness of components but any decent builder will be able to figure that out. X-bracket with whatever card (except another 580m) is important but again someone familiar with this stuff may be able to use the existing one - but not recommended for a first time build!

 

Thank you again for the amount of information !

 

Sure, happy to help.

One other thing I thought of, if you go for another 580m then get a new heatsink from dell. It has new pads and paste already applied and since a lot of the 580m problems back in the day were related to poor heatsink contact, it would be wise.