M17x-r1 Problem driving me crazy plz help!!!!!

I keep getting the black screen on boot in sli and i'm pretty sure i've tried everything.

I'm running W7

I have re-installed windows countless times, ensured that all drivers were the best possible and that they were installed in the correct order.

I thought this last time i had cracked as all was working really well after last nights windows reinstall.

But i was just playing on Bad Company 2 for about 30mins then the game just went to a black screen and i heard the fans power down, Had to power off manually then on system restart i get the black screen at the login screen. Before the re-install i had the exact same screen but it was after login???

The mouse cursor still displays and things still work behind it but it's just black.

i really need help with this as dell don't no what the problem is either they have already replaced the motherboard and the 280m, there coming again on monday to replace the motherboard again and the fans

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Lucca

 

RAM is the most common cause of BSOD's, and since they've already replaced the mainboard and graphics card, unless they were installed incorrectly I would look at that and the processor next. A ground somewhere in the computer could also cause the same symptoms, but is far less likely.

 

Does it sound like it could be a processor problem?

 

that's really rather impossible to tell, unforunatly with the complexity of compters today the best course of action is to exchange parts 1 at a time. The Chances of 2 mainboards and 2 280M's going bad is very small. Did they replace both 280s or just the primary card?

 

I'm not sure what they replaced to be honest they just said they were replacing the GFX card.

I have literally tried everything i know to try and solve the problem but it still persists.

Occasionly the system will start up in Hybrid without the black screen but it lasts for about 5mins then freezes forcing me to manually reboot then back to the black screen.

 

I would say, if the problem is not resolved with the the next 'round' of replacement parts, a new refurbished system is in order. It sounds like they only replaced the primary graphics card, however to Their credit, the system would not behave that way even if the 2nd card were completely dead. Does the computer only BSOD when loading windows? Can you stay in the BIOS or install windows all day long or does it crash there too? Very generally if the system is stable doing certain tasks but unstable in others, memory or PSU functions are to blame, since different tasks load the computer in different ways when in regard to those components.

 

Can i just demand a new system from them if fail to sort it this time? Like i say there replacing the motherboard for the 2nd time and the system niether of which will solve the problem i would guess.

 

if the second mainboard replacement does nothing, I would say yes, it's totally within reason to ask for a new refurb. They'll probably offer it to you anyway.

 

Thx for the info Lozz, I've seen quite a few posts around the net about people with the same or similar problem, but there are never any solutions posted, it's so frustrating lol

 

Which display driver are you running? Have you tried 197.84?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6408615-post1.html

 

Am currently running 197.16, will try them now

 

Ohhh there the beta drivers, yeah there the 1's i installed originally, they worked perfect til the black screen crash i described above

 

try a clean install of the 197.84 driver.

See my notes on how to do this here (Option 1 notes):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/6436054-post15.html

 

Have done the clean install thing, which i have done numerous times prior in the exact sameway. Re-installed the Beta drivers and hey presto it's working again, this will last until my 1st crash then the entire process will repeat itself.

What could be altered during a crash that could cause this?

 

Check the event log and analyze the crash dmp. See where that points you next. BSOD's/Crashes can be caused by a number of different items... only way to really get to the bottom of it is to start looking at logs.

for more info:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx

 

And now the system has gone back to the same old problem after a crash while playing, I'm guessing this must be a hardware problem for sure right?

 

I was recently having very similar BSOD problems. It turned out to be a defective memory card. I would suggest running a memory diagnostic tool like memtest86+. You can get it at Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool. I ran the diagnostic on one card at a time (i.e. physically remove one card from the laptop). Doing so I was able to isolate which one was bad. Before removing any cards, I'd suggest running it on your full memory to see if any errors pop up. If they do, start doing it on one card at a time until you can hopefully isolate the bad one. Dell replaced my memory without asking many questions.

 

Ran the test and it scanned L1 cache and L2 cache and said it was a pass with no errors, so am guessing that rules out ram problems do you think?

 

Did you check the event log yet? What about the dump file from the crash?

 

Did you let it run through all the tests? I believe there are 8 tests in total. I attached a picture I took of my failed run. If you let it do all the tests and you don't see any red errors like this, then I think it means your memory is OK.

 

No it did 1 test then said somthing like test completed no errors found press escape to exit, it took about 30mins to complete how do i get it to do 8 tests? Do i just let run?

Thx for the help

 

In the upper right hand corner of the screen it shows the test number it is on. It'll go through each test one by one automatically - each does something different to the memory to test it.

From what you're describing, it sounds like it completed all 8 tests without any errors.

 

Well the engineer has just left after another failed attempt at resolving my Hybrid problems, He replaced the motherboard again and two fans, 1 of which was faulty again.

They are coming to collect the system 2moz and take it into there diagnostic center for testing apparently.

To top things off i found somthing on the floor after the engineer had left about the size of a penny all black with a small wire and connecter on the end i'm guessing this should be inside my laptop not on the floor, any1 no what it is?

This issue will have soon been going on for a month this is my 3rd engineer visit in that time, what are my rights as to demanding some kind of replacement or upgrade on the system? because this is really not accpetable

 

Heres somthing new, i'm getting large amounts of heat on the hand side of the laptop near the touchpad on top and much more underneath the system, also i keep getting slowdowns where typing on screen doesn't keep up on screen with typing.

Is this to do with the missing part that i found on the floor?

 

Another update, i just spent 30mins talking to 1 of there technicians about the problem hoping they were just gonna staright out agree to replace the system but he was a hard and wouldn't budge lol

It's being collected to go into there repair center 2moz, to see if they can sort the problem. The laptop is used for work so this going to cause me serious problems for a while, any1 have any idea how long this takes?

 

That black penny size thing is your CMOS battery it goes in beside your hard drive . Just take off bottom cover you should see were it goes

 

Would it cause my unusual heat problems?

 

I'm pretty sure it just saves your bios settings

 

Should i send it off to the repair center with the laptop or just leave it?