M17x R4 refuses to start

I have an M17x R4 with the i7 3610QM and the AMD 7970M. I got it way back in the summer of 2012 and haven't had any issues with it (that I couldn't fix, if any) and it's been a good pal Occasionally while I'd be gaming, my laptop would freeze up and the screen would go all-gray or have rainbow lines all over, and I'd have to manually restart it. It would usually work fine right after that.

Just today though, I was gaming when this issue occurred again, but upon attempting to restart all I get is a black screen and nothing happens. I removed parts and rebooted each time to see what the issue was and it appears to be the video card's (7970m) fault. As soon as I removed the card, my laptop booted up again and worked fine, and upon reinserting the card, it stopped working once more.

I've checked the card for any signs of damage/burning out but it appears to be completely fine. Temperatures on my laptop run around 65-70'C max under full load since I'm in a tropical region with high ambient temperatures, but I believe this isn't too high anyway. Right now I'm using my laptop with the video card removed. Thus, I have two questions:

(a) I happen to be away in India right now for a few months, so there's no way I can get this serviced anytime soon. Is there anything I can do myself to solve the problem? I'm fairly competent with computer hardware, I just wanted some opinions from the community who would know more about the ways of video cards than me.

(b) In the meantime I'd like to use the integrated Intel HD graphics but I can't seem to switch to it either. Fn+F7 gives me the option to reboot but it doesn't actually switch to integrated graphics. I'm only asking about this because I happen to be a student (graphic design) and I need to be working on projects as this is my only work machine and the integrated graphics can suffice for now. Just thought I'd mention that currently, when I r-click desktop->screen resolution->advanced settings->adapter, it just lists my current video adapter as "unavailable".

Any help and advice would be appreciated! I'm really in a fix

 

Im not quite sure what you're asking. There's not even a question in part (b).

You've removed the card, and the laptop is still working fine using the integrated graphics. That's great.

But, in part (b), you say that you'd like to switch to integrated graphics but can't? What am I missing here?

 

"my laptop would freeze up and the screen would go all-gray or have rainbow lines all over"

That was a sign your GPU has been on a slow path to death. I've had my R4 with a similar setup just as long as you and i have never experienced those issues at any point. I'm sure you can pick up a new 7970m for about $350 or.... upgrade to a 980M after confirmed results come in stating that the card will run with our machines.

Simply remove the 7970M and you will run on the integrated HD graphics

 

For (b) do what you mentioned you did previously and remove the 7970m. That will force it to use the integrated graphics which I guess still work as your CPU isn't the issue it would seem.

 

Ah, so sorry, I believe I wasn't clear enough about part (b) :|

The thing is, it works when the card is out, but it isn't running on integrated graphics. I don't quite know how to explain this. It's basically how when you do a fresh install of Windows without installing any video drivers. HD video doesn't work, games don't load up, windows lag/glitch as you're scrolling through them. My question is, how do I get the integrated graphics to work? I've never had a problem with just switching using Fn+F7 before and right now it appears that the removal of the 7970m also removed my integrated HD graphics... I'm so puzzled.

I'll attach a screenshot of dxdiag:
and here is another:

Doing a fresh install of windows is something I completely want to avoid (just to have integrated graphics, for instance), as this is my primary machine right now with a lot of irreplaceable data // the fact that I have an almost basic internet connection right now and can't redownload anything

EDIT: Note that if Integrated HD graphics were running it would identify it in dxdiag and not show up as " n/a "

 

Small *bump* hoping that someone might have an answer as I'm heading to bed now :O

 

If you've removed the 7970m and not put anything else in, then the intel hd 4000 graphics has to be driving the display for you to see anything.

However... that sounds like you've got some sort of driver issue. Something that was recommended to me that I'll recommend you try is Display Driver Uninstaller.

https://code.google.com/p/display-drivers-uninstaller/

Important though - for best results, be sure to run that DDU in Safe Mode. Use it to remove the AMD driver and also the Intel driver.

After that, try installing the latest Intel HD driver (not in safe mode):

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=24329&lang=eng&ProdId=3711

Hopefully you'll get some luck. If you don't, then double check on the Dell support site that you've got the latest chipset drivers too.

 

A terminology misunderstanding? Once the card is out it HAS to be running on integrated (built in) graphics, otherwise you would have no display at all. It seems that the HD graphics has no driver so it's in vga compatibility mode?

Have you tried to install the Intel video drivers?

What does device manager say for the GPU when the dGPU is out?