M17x r3 freezing. Can't install Windows.

So I made a post a couple days ago detailing how I got a new video card (gtx 780m) and after installing it, I was getting major and minor freezes. The minor freezes just hang my mouse for a second whereas the major freezes cause my program to stop responding and then causes everything I click on the become unresponsive (the mouse still moves and there is no bsod or error notice). I am forced to use the power button to restart. This wouldn't occur at all while playing games and generally would happen while going through folders, installing a program, extracting something. Sometimes it would happen on boot before I had a chance to even open anything.

I decided to reformat to rule out any software issues so I reinstalled my old 6970m. On startup I had another freeze. So I inserted my windows 7 disk and rebooted from the cd. Wiped my SSD and started the windows 7 install. But my computer just froze on the install (stuck at Expanding Windows files 5%).

So I'm thinking that this is hardware related and because it has persisted through both video cards now, I don't know hat to look at next. I removed the SSD and inserted it back into place. Not sure what else to try at this point or how to troubleshoot this problem.

I'm going to keep trying to install windows for now. Any help would be greatly appreciated. My warranty ran out a couple years back unfortunately.

 

Run the hardware diags from the F12 menu at boot and maybe install without any video card as a starting point?

 

Will try the diagnostic. I tried starting the laptop with no video card in, but it just made beeping noises and wouldn't boot up so I'm not sure it's possible to do. ARe there any programs I can run to test my HDD and SSD/RAM without being able to install windows?

I will try the diagnostic now.

Btw the "crashes" don't completely freeze up. In the widows install screen for example, there are 3 dots that spawn 1 at a time at the end of the line it's current yo working out "Expanding Windows files (0%) ..." With no dots, one dot, two dots, three dots, no dots, etc. so it still shows that it's alive but the fan and drive stopped making noise and the % will never go up.

 

Hmm, it should work on the intel GPU, you did default the BIOS back to original settings?

The built in diags will test the memory and HDD.

Good luck.

 

I did go into the bios and turn the intel card back on (supposed to be disabled for the gtx 780m so I had it disabled), but I may have re-enabled it after trying to start without a card. I will try again.

Diagnostic came back clean. The battery is nearing the end of its life, but I've had that issue fr a while and I just don't use the laptop without being plugged in.

Also, the diag only tested the intel card and not the AMD card which is currently in. But I never had problems with my AMD card. They all started when I installed the 780m. I also flashed the unlocked a12 bios around the same time as installing the new card so maybe that has something to do with it?

 

Okay so I went back to default settings in my bios (unlocked a12) and disconnected my video card. Windows installed successfully.

So now what do you suggest? My AMD card was fine > installed 780m and problems came > put back AMD card as problems remained.
Could I have screwed up the PCI port when I was installing the 780m in the beginning?

I'm open to any suggestions because I am now at a loss. I think I will use this fresh windows install and try to reconnect the 780m to see what happens.

 

Ahhh I spoke too soon. Fortunately windows installed, but the freezing crashes are still present. Just tried installing some basic drivers off the stock disc and my computer froze on the first one.

I could try installing windows on my HDD instead of the SSD to see if the SSD is the problem. Would you recommend I try that?

 

It seems you did something when removing/installing video card, so maybe you should start there. stupid question: do you monitor your cpu/gpu temp? something like disconnecting fan could cause cpu to overheat/throttle and then error out. also clean connectors etc.

 

Worth a try but grabbing at straws at this point. If it stayed OK with just the intel then I would go for the original card. Just to be sure the 780m was not 'dragging it down'. If it still does the same cardless then it's a dice roll as to whether it's simply a memory stick (you can just use a single one and swap them), a CPU flaking out, or the MB (like the pci)?

 

Thanks for your help. I don't have a clue what to do now though to weed out the cause. How would I go about testing each individual component?

The freeze happening without a card in can cross off the video card / PCI. Installing windows on the HDD instead could cross off the SSD as the problem. Not sure how I would test anything else considering the diagnostics came up clean.

 

TBH there is no way to test all the separate components without having spares to swap.

Since it started when you opened it up something got zapped. Leave the video cards out and go for checking/cleaning all connectors, even the CPU. Maybe just disturbing something triggered a borderline connection?

Good luck.

 

Forgot to ask, did you get a new heatsink with the 780 or reuse your AMD one?

 

It came with a new heatsink. I'm not sure how to go about checking the connectors. I already went back in and unplugged both the HDD and SSD, I removed the heat sink off the CPU and put it back on. Everything is pretty clean in there and the fans are working correctly.

 

I was also wearing a static protecting wristband the whole time I've had the case opened, but it's definitely possible I screwed something up in there.


It's taking a really long time to boot now. Probably 4-5x as long as it used to. Hangs at the screen with the alien + the f2 and f12 options.

 

That now sounds like a disk problem and it's not finding it?

You might have to track down a teardown video and simply strip and rebuild.

I was asking about the heatsink in case it seriously overheated the first time you tried it but since you had a new one that is unlikely.

If you get some alcohol pads to clean connectors as well that could help. Injection site swabs available from any pharmacy do the job well.

 

So somehow I am running stable on the 780m now with 0 freezes so far. Fast boot up on restarts.

I don't exactly know what I did that fixed it (if it's even fixed), but around the time it got better, I installed a driver from the stock disc (it was a SATA driver that I would have had installed before the reformat) and I also installed the locked A12 bios. I need the unlocked bios for the 780m to work though so I reinstalled that and plugged my 780m back in. Managed to get the drivers installed with no hassle and have been reinstalling all of my programs / drivers with no problems.

Thanks for your help guys. I will post tomorrow acknowledging that I have had no issues, if I have had no issues.

Crossing my fingers!


PS: What program do you recommend for monitoring temps? I've used hwinfo before, but not exactly sure what part of it I should be running and/or looking at when I go to look at something.

 

Ooooo have everything running smoothly, except I just went to re-enable the IDT (internal sound card that you have to disable to install the 780m) and with it enabled, I can no longer load windows. So I have it disabled for now and I'm assuming I can still use my USB headset since the USB doesn't go through the soundcard as far as I know. But this shouldn't be a problem. ?

 

Computer is running amazing right now except I can't get the soundcard enabled. Any time that I enable it in the BIOS, the screen will go a full on random colour on startup. Once it was orange, once it was blue (lighter blue than bsod), once it was yellow. I tried updating the sound drivers, but that didn't solve it. Don't want to mess around too much because I have the GPU and everything else running flawlessly, but it would be nice to be able to listen to sound through the speakers when I don't want to use my headset.

 

HWinfo is what I use. it should show cpu temp, each core separate, if you have large difference between cores while they're all under load, could indicate crooked mounting of heat sink, make sure under load temps don't go much above 90c, for nvidia temp, probably msi afterburner . But since you indicated some program, driver issues, maybe you should look at event viewer (control panel/administrative ), also maybe check for IRQ, I/O conflicts under device manager, are all devices fine or do you have some question marks?.Sounds like you have conflict, either wrong driver, or improperly assigned resources.

 

Good news, well sort of !

I agree worth pete962 as to the diagnosis of the root cause for the sound problem. It's the one warning I give R3 owners when looking to upgrade. Most people do not have any sound issue but those that do have a hell of a lot of messing around to get it working. Some just give up and accept USB headphones .

What I would try is:

Start the machine in safe mode (tap F8 when the bios screen is about to switch to the windows loading screen and select safe mode with networking. Have the on-board sound enabled, safe mode will not use it.

Go to device manager and delete the IDT sound device, tick the box to delete the software. Restart normally and see what happens. Windows may install a default sound driver that works. Otherwise track down the latest driver directly from IDT and install that.

I saw this being fixed by removing the NV software, re-installing the IDT released version and then re-installing the NV driver/software (or some combination thereof). With all the problems this seems a little risky though.

Good luck

 

Tried the first one and it didn't work. Still got a blank screen on startup after restarting out of safe mode. No big deal for now though. I will reinstall the GPU drivers another time once I've given myself a break from issues.

I have been using msi afterburner while playing games and my GPU will max out at 78 degrees whereas my CPUs will get up to 86 at times. As far as I understand, these numbers aren't awful, but they are on the high side. I think I will get some thermal paste and re-apply to my GPU and CPU heatsinks.

 

Yeah, although the CPU temps are normal (as long as it bounces up and down) the GPU could do with some attention. You should not see higher than around 72c at stock clocks, preferably in the high 60's most of the time. It might be close to throttling but still fine.

Good luck.

 

Got some new paste on the CPU and GPU and also cleaned the dust out of the fans (wasn't much). CPU numbers dropped to max 79, but GPU didn't drop much and maxed out at 78. Should be fine though, I'll keep monitoring them.

 

Yeah, at the top-end but still acceptable for that card as far as posts I've seen. My 980m often hit mid 80s but that's common from what I've seen. As long as you don't have any clock throttling you're good to play .

 

So my laptop was taken last night. I don't want to say stolen, because i accidentally left it in its backpack against the back of my grandma's fence. Someone came by and grabbed it then asked the neighbor if it was hers. Apparently he said he would ask us if it was ours but we were out for a walk at the time .

I put up some flyers offering a reward and am hopeful he might see them or just come by the house today to see if we're home, but I'm realistic that it might be gone. (****).

Anyway, if I don't hear anything in a week or so then I'm going to be shopping for a new laptop. Would you have any suggestions? Specific laptops / specific sellers / things to look for. I make decent money and gaming is my only hobby that I'm willing to spend it on so my price range isn't too strict. I would like it to be upgradable(gpu) and have a good CPU. I move around a lot otherwise I would build a desktop.

Thanks.

 

Fingers crossed for you man!

I can recommend Eurocom for their Clevo/Sager builds (see sig). Easy and fast to deal with and they even do their own upgrade kits ( http://www.eurocom.com/ec/vgas(1)ec) with all those bits you are tracking down when upgrading like pads and screws. Not the cheapest for sure but I got a bunch of free upgrades just for asking.

They were the only builder offering a 120hz display which comes into it's own when the GPU's can often run triple digit FPS .

Performance is one of the best around, for example I'm playing GTA V maxed out and still see the FPS cap at 120fps during play (no vegetation areas).

Very happy as a replacement for my R4.

Good luck.

 

Hello, I posted a separate thread but got no luck in anyone answering so gonna try my luck here as the thread description matches my problem. I also got alienware m17 r3 (3D screen and I read somewhere that those dont need unlocked BIOS) upgraded with 870m. I changed cards and everything was fine until I formatted my HD and tried installing a new copy of Windows. Screen dies (goes white) at the very end of the installation and keeps going white after windows starting up screen. If the card was working fine before, what could stop it from working after windows reinstall? Do I need to unlock BIOS? Any other ideas? This case has been worked on by 2 computer fixing services and I have posted on 4 forums without any results, however here I see people that really know how to solve this type of stuff. Thanks in advance.

 

Hi,

Although I can't say for sure a fix I can offer some ideas.

At the end of the windows install (and during the windows logo during start-up) windows switches from compatibility mode that works with most any hardware to the OEM's drivers. It is at this point your machine fails.

Often with the R3 the install (if not the AW Win CD) uses a basic disk driver so the machine crashes at the same point when the windows selected driver switches in. The fix for this is to load a different disk driver at the start of the install, you need the IRST drivers on a USB to do this. Another easy way to remove this from the equation is to set the drive access in the bios to AHCI. This turns off the RAID bios. Be aware though this cannot be changed later so RAID and caching is no longer available. Windows needs reinstalling now.

More likely with your problem is the windows selected NV driver having problems. A couple of ways to try to fix this is:

1. Tap F8 during the bios screen and select safe mode with networking. If it starts OK try to install the same driver you was using. Might work?

2. Reinstall windows BUT do not go on-line for updates. Keep it off the internet and turn off Windows Update before connecting it. If it then runs, again install the previous working NV driver. Restart and now let windows update - take deserved break! If widows is not being allowed to update before the install starts then plug it directly into your router so it can and try that.

I assume win7, win 8 has it's own issues on older hardware....

Oh yeah, forgot to add, go into the bios and select the option at the bottom of the screen to load defaults (Disk mode will be defaulted RAID). Just in case you accidentally changed something else. You are correct, the 3D model needs no bios work to use a later card.

Ask away if any of this is confusing, it is a tricky situation to explain clearly .

Good luck and post results

 

Hi, finally someone who is trying to help me . Gonna try to analyse everything as good as I can. First off I have tried installing Windows 7 from the disc I got from alienware + services that tried to help me used different copies of WIndows 7 and even 8. Second, I have never heard of IRST drivers (sorry for my ignorance), but I can read more about this if needed. My sata operation setting in BIOS is AHCI already (never changed it). Next for point 1 I cannot get into safe mode as it says that the Windows cannot finish its installation in safe mode. For point number 2 I never even got to the stage where I can see my desktop so I dont think I can work on any of these. Last thing, I changed BIOS settings to default and it indeed changed sata operation to RAID. The bad thing about it is that now just after starting windows screen there is a quick blue screen with white letters too fast to read before it restarts. Same thing happens for safe mode now. Tried to describe everything as well as I can and hopefully this can ring any bells to you. You actually gave me new hope after I was getting desperate with everyone telling me they cant help me .

 

No problem, I kinda was a little vague in places since some people just want a set of key presses to fix their problem. That's for my day job, here I just like to help people prepared to help themselves .

Anyhoo, good answers and it clears some things up for me. At some point somebody changed it to AHCI. This can be done by people that think it will speed up the machine or simply following generic instructions when replacing a HD (and not know what they are doing!). I believe you can get away with changing FROM RAID but changing TO it will cause the blue-screen you saw.

Now you need to re-install windows from the start using the AW CD that came with the machine. This recognizes the RAID and uses the correct drivers. These will be updated when you re-install all the dell drivers. One of them will be IRST and this gives you a windows interface to set up RAID and caching should you wish to.

The windows update/NV driver is probably the root cause of your problems but best to get the machine to 'stock' so problem solving is a little easier.

1. Do you still have your original GPU? 2. I assume you used a modified driver with the 870m?

Good luck.

 

I had a previous issue that caused me to change old GPU. Basically the screen was freezing after some periods that were reduced as time progressed into random colors and that was not an issue that could be solved. Reflowing the card didnt help and I was finally (again after 2 different services, spent way too much on those together with the ones I used recently ) advised to buy a new card. You could say that the issue could be somewhere else outside of GPU since the problem seems similar however swapping the cards fixed everything until I uninstalled windows (was using it for over a month). The driver I used (as I had popular Standard VGA adapter issue and NV driver unable to install) was a modified driver that I found on this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/17x-r3-460m-to-870m-install-issue.752893/
From j95 post who advised to change few digits in inf file, this worked for me.
Edit: One of the services told me that they have tried installing the Windows on differnt HD so I guess thats why they might have changed that SATA operation. Installing the windows again with the RAID setting now and gonna see if it helps with the blue screen issue.

 

Ok. So as you said the reinstall fixed the blue screen. However same issue as before stays so I cant access windows or safe mode. I can describe how exactly this looks like. On completing installation stage, computer restarts (I think thats normal) and after it comes back to completing installation screen. Now screen suddenly turns white. After about 10-15 secs it goes black. After about another 20 secs you can hear motherboard single beeb that repeats like each 20secs. I then restart with the power button. Computer restarts now and when it reaches windows starting up screen same thing as described above happens. Dont think I can describe this issue in a more detailed way so hopefully this helps.

 

Ahh, I see we tried before! Was it gaming well?

That's showing that the problem is clearly with the video sub-system somewhere and as soon as windows tries to switch to the full driver (and not in VGA compatibility mode) it fails.

Since you had problems which the replacement appeared to fix we are into trying some more esoteric things.

First, clean the edge connector with alcohol and reseat the card. Get a can of compressed air and and blow out the socket. You do not need to separate the card from the heatsink. Just remove the fan and the two card retaining screws and the complete unit can come out. The services may have already tried this but it's easy enough to try again.

Did windows install ask to go on-line to update? see my first post on this .

Do you have a 60hz monitor you can plug in and start the install again with the lid closed. No idea if this will help but worth a try?

The fact is that I haven't seen anyone else use an 870m in an R3, but because it worked with the modded inf it says it's not incompatible, just finicky. Kinda a chicken and egg situation, the installer needs to finish so you can install a modded driver and the 120hz model cannot run on the intel to get past this point.

You might be into throwing more money at it - the cheapest way to decide if the card is now causing issues it to track down a cheap 580m and use that? If it still plays up then it's time to save the pennies and look for a replacement. The money pit may need walking away from - sorry to be so pessimistic but it's of an age now where high performance parts start to fail so it could be anywhere on the motherboard as well .

Fingers crossed!

 

Yeah, performance boost coming out of this update was enormous. I could play pretty much anything I tried on high settings without any problems.

As for cleaning hardware, I am really not convinced that there is any way this could cause the issue and here is why. At first laptop works totally fine no problem whatsoever. Then I decide to reinstall windows and things starts fail on the same moment (without me ever opening laptop to change hardware). This simple reason makes me think the problem is not hardware related at least not in the way any components are faulty. Even though everyone turned me down, I was and am still sure there exists a possible software solution (or at least this is my mentality towards this problem) and I keep looking for it without any greater success.

As for your second question, I do not think windows installer ever asked for network connection to update anything at this stage. Even if there would be something in the installer trying to update anything automatically, the Ethernet cable is not connected and wireless needs drivers so there is no way.

I have seen people even on this forum doing same upgrade and they gave positive results however I did not find anyone posting about reinstalling OS on it. But yeah like you say this is what I imagine the problem to be: chicken and egg situation. That is why I thought that maybe there is some to modify windows installer to install driver straight away or just to eliminate the element that stops the system from accepting new card.

Of course if we cannot come up with anything else that could be a possible software solution I am going to try most of the points you mentioned including test on old GPU (hopefully it gives me enough time to install windows before it freezes), however like I said before I doubt it will help (I know my knowledge is nothing compared to yours but the reasons I gave somehow make sense to me, maybe I am wrong).

Also one last thing. Is starting a laptop and closing the lid as well as connecting outside screen gonna automatically use that screen? Without any drivers or anything? Thanks for your time spent on this so far.

 

, that's why I used the word esoteric (maybe incorrectly). Sometimes logic needs to be bypassed in an attempt to do something that does not appear to be the cause.

I have had my R3 fail to start twice just out-of-the-blue. First time I reseated the GPU and all was fine for a couple of months. Then it happened again and this time I cleaned and blew out the socket - no more issues, until the card totally failed four months later. Who knows if what I did helped or just moving it did the trick. Deff try the old card to see if you can get win to install.

As for windows update it depends if your wireless card 'talks' to a generic driver the installer uses. My R4 asked to connect and the password the last time I re-installed. So, it can detect a connection but I would try it with an Ethernet cable connected. Maybe a later driver than the one on the install CD will help?

Software really looks like the cause but it can't hurt to try cleaning.

It should see the external display and work, easy enough to see if it boots to the external and re-install (but the problem may still be there) - not a fix in any way just trying to get win up and running...

 

Ok then, my next step is going to be cleaning and try installation with old card once I get back to my family house in few days. Hopefully any of these can help, gonna come back here for an update on the situation once I try those.

 

Cool, good luck .

 

Ok then. During those few days I have solved few issues however not everything and I am slowly running out of ideas.

So first off, I have managed to run windows xp 32 bit without any problem. It installed most of drivers however I could not install nvidia driver given by j95 which I posted earlier because of the driver not recognising OS. However this only proves that the 870m card I possess works.

Next I have opened up the laptop and mounted up 560m card. It worked and allowed me to finish installation of windows 7. I was able to reach desktop and I would be able to install drivers, however I wanted to do that on the other card since I remember you need to install drivers for a given card anyway. So I swapped cards again hoping for the best however the screen went white just after windows starting up screen as always.

This time however I have managed to open safe mode with networking. I have managed to download all of the drivers and was able to install even the modifed driver for 870m card. However all that didnt help and I still get dead screen after windows starting up.

Right now I have swapped cards again, and I am using 560m card now and its working (even tho I have currently the GeForce 337.88 WHQL for 870m installed) however I do not know how long will it take before this card dies. Thats why I need to get my 870m to work as fast as possible.

Any ideas on what should be the next step? I think I have proven that all the hardware is working however there is something that creates conflict between 870m card and windows 7. Maybe I need some basic nvidia software to first run the 870m card and then download the driver? I dont know I am out of ideas

 

Man it's getting confusing!

You don't need to install a driver specific to the 870m though. If it works with the original then just swapping the card should work. It might start in low res but that is easily changed. I've never removed any NV driver when changing the card, it figures it out.

Just remind me, you did load the dell bios and default it? It might even be some weird incompatibility from the modified inf? Get one from www.laptopvideo2go/drivers that matches the driver version (drill down on the driver and you'll get offered the inf) and try that also (win 8 is the same as win 7).

First though go with a non-modified driver install with the original card and then just swap it out if you haven't done that combo already?

 

Ok so I did as you said and uninstalled drivers for 870m and installed them for 560m with 560m inside. I have also set BIOS settings to default. Still getting the same issue after swapping cards.

One intresting thing I have noticed is that when I open in safe mode and go to device manager I can see that the card changes to 870M whenever I change cards. I remember that when I was first installing the new card few months back, I had that Standard VGA adapter in there and laptop was not recognising the card until I installed the modified driver from j95.

Could this be caused by some updates made by the services (like vBIOS update - dont know how those things work) or is it just me installing things differently than few months ago? I just remember removing a lot of NVIDIA folders before I changed cards back then fowever I cant find the guide to removal of all old NVIDIA software components. Maybe that would help in getting Standard VGA adapter again and maybe solve the issue and allow the usage of 870M in non-safe mode operation.

Edit: Also I have used this site you gave me in last post and it told me to change nv_dspi where j95 only modified nvdmi so things stopped making sense to me . Unless you wanted me to install totally new driver with inf modification using that site.

 

Hmm, this is way harder than it should be !

The 'Standard VGA' adapter thing is normal when the driver is completely removed from the system. Both Device Manager and the bios no longer recognize the card model. You'd think that since the bios reads the hardware it would show the correct card, but the driver install somehow sets the bios to read correctly .

For the inf from laptopvideo2go, they often use different inf's with the same result, there are around 36 inf files in the display.driver folder and from what I can figure out there is a lot of duplication. Just keep all the original driver install and use their inf to replace whichever they offer for your driver version. Confusing? You bet!

Getting desperate here but have you tried DDU ( http://www.wagnardmobile.com/DDU/) to strip out the driver completely? I'm not optimistic but this will reset the machine to display 'standard VGA Adaptor'.

 

So a little update. Things still not solved . Used ddu to clean all of driver software and got standard vga like you said. That still did not allow me to use card in non safe mode, installed drivers still no change. I think that proves that it is not the drivers fault if even without any software card fails.

Different question maybe a bit silly, but I am not such a pro as you might have noticed (just a guy trying as hard as he can to fix his computer after professional guys told me they cant help). The windows starts up in safe mode. Does it mean that the card is fully functional (it also reached 1080p in win xp) ? Can I take hardware out of equation and focus in 100% on the possible software to make win7 compatible with the card?

Also one more thing which I have not mentioned yet as I thought that it cannot influance gpu, but now I am not that sure anymore. There are some issues with power. Although at first it showed when I was still using previous card, it showed only few times when now I can not get rid of the problem. Anytime I open windows, just before the logo screen there is a error telling me to connect 150watt adapter as its not recognising dell equipment (or something like that). Also the battery is connected but not charging at all times now and windows is advising to change battery. However to be honest I am not even sure if its the battery as I took it out and still got the same error on startup. Does it mean the power adapter is faulty? One of the services was offering change of power port on motherboard as they said its designed to to take less power than needed or something like that... I know this messes things up but I am not sure if it would affect gpu operation.

 

In safe mode a microsoft VGA driver is used. This is the lowest possible usage of the card and relies on the card having VGA compatible microcode on-board (hence no need for a specific driver). I've had cards that work fine in VGA but fail as soon as an NV driver is loaded. It's looking very much like a hardware fault or strange incompatibility?

The power supply could potentially be a cause but it's very unlikely IMO. The card does draw a considerable amount of power when pushed, up to 100W in theory. If the PSU cannot supply enough power the card automatically throttles back and never reaches full speed. If you have some weird problem where the PSU supplying very low power or messing up and dipping trying to charge a bad battery then theoretically it could be a cause. Way 'out there' as a cause and difficult to say if investing in this area would be useful, but we are struggling to find the root cause.

 

This info makes me think that this might be the faulty 'fresh' card I bought for 300EUR... However the card worked once I got it and on windows xp 32 bit in normal 1080p (dunno if its possible without the use of any driver). Right now I am trying to work out what could have been different back when I run it successfully on win 7 months ago.

Firstly, the OS as this is the point at which I put my highest hopes. Why? Because from the moment I installed 870m successfully to the moment it failed the only change I remember making was uninstalling old OS and formatting drives. The copy I was using at that time was given by one of the services that was fixing my old card (pirate copy as I started getting windows not genuine message in the corner). I do not know how different versions may impact new cards. I dont even know if there even exist different versions. All I know is that my computer had something at that point that it doesnt have now and that brings me to my second point: some program or driver which was put there to help my old GPU. Dont know if such software could exist, if so any ideas?

Another thing that could be changed is BIOS. I know for a fact that the first guy I gave my laptop to was flashing the BIOS and he told me he tried using unlocked versions (although when I check it now it seems locked), but who knows maybe he messed something up? Also I dont exactly know how vBIOS works but maybe someone messed up something with that?

Outside of that I am slowly starting to run out of ideas and hope its not a faulty hardware where card wont be able to run NV driver. What I have done today was installing everything I could on 560m card (drivers for everything and all windows updates it allowed me to) and that still gave the same issue after swapping cards back .

 

I see where you're coming from. All you did was an OS install and now it shows up as a likely hardware issue.

The only logic I can offer is that I have had just a driver install trash a card so rolling back did not work, and I've seen a lot of people on the NV forum saying their card failed after a driver update. Of course in many cases (mine also) a borderline card works fine until something like a driver messes with the voltages. In my case I proved that the driver in question was overvolting the card over the designed reference voltage. The 580m being such an unreliable card this was enough to kill it.

I'm not saying this is your issue just that hardware can become troublesome after installs.

For the bios play safe and install the latest one from the dell site. It's a simple windows program just be prepared for it to auto-run and reboot the machine. It should then be defaulted but just check by going in and select the 'deafult' option F key.

If someone has messed with the vbios then all sorts of problems could arise, but since the problem started before anyone got their hands on it, this is unlikely.

Nothing I am aware of program-wise supporting the GPU but the pirate windows will certainly not have updated with the latest drivers. Again not sure this has any bearing depending on the exact sequence of testing but you using a legit one will have got around that if it was an issue.

Kinda stumped now, like the others

 

Hi, I am looking to invest in a 780m for my m17x R3 as my 6990m died, did yours work afterall?