M17x R3, 120Hz display, 680m - 8 beeps of death...

Hi everyone! I used my modified M17x R3 with 680m 2 years. About five month ago i've updated Win from 7 sp1 to win 10 and installed latest nVidia drivers (with modified inf file). All works fine until this week. After 2-3 hours of watching video on youtube i put laptop into sleep mode, in couple of hours a returned to my laptop and try to wake it up, but can't. After switching it off and on, the laptop starts to beep 8 times. I tried to reset CMOS, holding the fn button, etc..., nothing helps. I have been read this topic *** Windows 10 + NVIDIA WHQL Drivers are Killing Alienware and Clevo LCD Panels *** . It could be the cause of 8 beeps? Can i somehow pass POST by connecting external display via HDMI or DP?

 

You could try re-seatting the Video card and LCD cable. Also, you could try removing the VC completely and turning it on.

 

Already tried to reseat g. card and LCD eDP cable... Still 8 beeps. Turning laptop on without g.card does't help.

 

Did you have Evga Precision X or MSI Afterburner installed by any chance?

 

Yes, MSI Afterburner. I installed it not in this day, but a month or two ago, and used all this time without any problems.

 

See here for tools and step-by-step guide.

If hdmi/dp monitor doesn't work then there's a few work-arounds for that; hot-swap with working panel or flashing the bricked screen directly via programmer. Start reading from that link onwards and you'll run into several (successful) examples of those methods.

 

I can't pass POST with connecting external display (hdmi). Should i disconnect internal display?

 

You could try that and then reconnect it only after it boots, presuming this system can even post without a valid edid reporting for duty. This method is pretty similar to a hot-swap with working panel, so be careful to not to insert the lcd cable slanted; it's quite easy to kill a panel by shorting the wrong pins.

 

No option to pass POST wo working internal display . Someone know how i can fix edid with external programmer? 120Hz 3d display with 50 pins has no i2c SDA and SCL pins...

 

Which panel is it, exactly? Perhaps the edid pins have been labeled 'NC' or 'Factory mode', which is the situation for at least several specification sheets. After all, if there are no I2C wires in the lcd cable then it couldn't have been bricked in the first place.

And sure; either desolder eeprom or solder wires to the edid pads (if it has them). Make some good photos of the pcb, that should suffice to tell us which chip is the eeprom and whether there's any solder pads to hook up to. Mind that the panel swap will be less finicky business. Messing with the eeproms is possible, but it takes a bit of patience and some watch maker's tics:

Spoiler: edid eeprom

 

The panel has been labeled as LP173WF2-TPA1. In datasheet i found only AUX pins, they transmitting information about EDID. In first look i can't find the eeprom chip. It located probably under the plastic hood. I didn't disassemble the display yet, just took back panel apart. Will try in weekend.

P.S. i'm not 100% sure that the display cause 8 beeps, but it happen after WinDooooze 10 update. I have MSI AB installed. I can try to test the graphic card in my second laptop (AW17), but not MB.

 

Yes, but this an eDP panel, so it won't communicate directly in I2C with the panel (although it can still present a faked I2C port to the system). The aux channel is compressed data, doing more than just fetching edid information, so we can't hook up to it directly.

It might be edid bricking, but almost every panel bricked was LVDS and it'd be a first for the TPA1. Then again, the only affected eDP panels were 3D-capable, which applies to the TPA1 as well ...

Checking the card sounds like a good idea; a few months have passed after all, so perhaps a bake or re-ball is in order.