M17xR3 8 Beeps of Death

So I made a foolish mistake... after installing the unlocked A12 BIOS, I changed the PowerXpress setting from Muxed to muxless, in an attempt to switch to Integrated Graphics only - I didn't wanna bother getting the bloody intel/ati switcher working.

Subsequent boots failed to show anything on the screen. It went black (no backlight), no beeps, and it didn't POST.
I figured ok fine, I'll just pull the CMOS battery, wait a while and it'll be back to defaults and then it'll be fine; I was wrong.

My next course was to blind flash the official A12.
I followed the sticky on blind flashing BIOS recovery, and it didn't work. Tried another USB stick; didn't work.
Then I discovered that if I pulled the GFX card out it magically worked!
33 beeps later and then a new problem came up after the reboots: 5 beeps and still no POST.

Naturally I assumed the GFX card needed to go back in, so I got it back in and BAM... 8 beeps.

Interestingly I now still get 8 beeps regardless of whether the GFX card is in or not. I can however get the 5 beeps back if I flash a BIOS with the GFX card out and then reboot with it in (subsequent reboots go back to 8 beeps though).

So far I've tried the following combinations unsuccessfully: (+/- means with and without)

• A12 +/-
• GFX card
• A12 Unlocked +/- GFX card
• A09 +/- GFX card
• A08 +/- GFX card
• A04 +/- GFX card

I've also tried

• Removing the CMOS battery before/after a flash.
• Holding the FN key with Power Button: This only did anything when I'm in the 5 beep failure mode, and all it does is pause a bit and then reboot; still no POST.
• Running the display test diagnostic mode (Power + Hold D) and it does 5 quick beeps then back to the 8.
• Reseating the LCD cable (I doubt it's an issue, but I wanted to be sure)
• Plugging in a VGA cable

It should be noted that everything was perfectly fine before I flashed the A12 Unlocked BIOS.
As far as I can tell, I've done all I can find that's known to fix this issue (short of replacing mobo/gfx card).

Has anyone got any ideas? My guess is I've corrupted the BIOS somehow and I need a new motherboard.

I'm at the end of my tether here, any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers guys!


Oh and here's the specs:
Alienware M17xR3
Intel Core i7 2820QM 2.30GHz
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M
16GB (4x4GB Kit) Corsair Vengeance
Full HD (1920x1080) LCD Panel (not 3D)
Blu-ray BD-ROM / DVD + /-RW Combo Drive
1x Samsung 830 256GB SSD
1x WD Scorpio Black 750GB HDD

 

Hey Dude..

I got same problem with yours before.. 8 beeps, no back light, no start but with different twist that is it is intermittent.. sometimes it does sometimes it doesnt.. i got another problem that is my graphic card is causing lot of heat maybe heat transfer not working well or my mobo doesnt give out correct temp readings because the gfx fan is just working normal mode not maxing out the speed to reduce heat. i found out that 8 beeps normally point out to LCD screen not working so i call Dell ask for extended 2 years warranty as it was alrdy 6 months out of warranty..

Dell engineer (so they say) came and replace they LCD screen and same thing happen.. replace the gfx.. same thing happen.. last resort replace mobo.. and it works.. problem solved.. so even though it pints out that the 8 beeps refer to LCD screen it may just be your mobo going dead.. so call them dude.. they replace mine no question asked so I got 3 brand new items and if it happens again within these 2 years.. replace again.. or ask replacement unit.. LOL..

P/S: 1 thing strange is that the engineer doesnt know about thermal paste.. Luckily i was prepared.. i got Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste so when he change the gfx card and CPU I did the cleaning w alcohol solution and put some AS5 paste on the gfx and CPU die and he did the reattachement and since then the temps are looking like brand new..

 

derry, have you done a complete power drain? i.e., remove the power cord, remove the battery (main battery, not cmos battery), hold the power button for 20 secs?

When you flashed to another bios version, can you post into the bios screen?

You shouldn't have touched the mux/muxless setting. If you want instructions on how to disable integrated graphics, look at my 7970m install guide. i have pics and instructions. Do just the minimum and don't get too adventurous with the settings

 

Yes, I've tried leaving it overnight

Nope, 8 beeps, backlight on, no POST.

You don't say...

 

Also, just to be 100% sure: Can the R3 run on the integrated graphics only i.e. without the 6970M installed?
I've heard you cannot with the 3D model; this is definitely not the 3D model.

 

Yes it can

 

So to sum up my options, I need to either:
Get an extended warranty from Dell and get them to repair it (~$500)
Get a new/reconditioned motherboard (~$300)
Find a repair shop that can reflash the BIOS directly (~$100+)

I'd like to add that this is the most ridiculous BIOS I've ever come across. Why the hell doesn't the blind flash wipe all the previous BIOS settings? Why doesn't removing the CMOS battery wipe the settings? This is all against what I've encountered on any other computer.

I've done nothing other than change a BIOS setting (admittedly, one Dell hid from the stock BIOS) and I've been left with a brick.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, but I guess I'm outta luck!

 

When you flashed the new A12 bios did you remove the graphics card before? as ive heard leaving the gpu in when you flash can sometimes cause problems.

Also another option is re seting the ram, when my gpu when out i tried all kinds of stuff to get the thing going again, to find out it was the gpu, i thoguht it was the cpu and i have the 3d version so i couldent do jack LOL

 

We lock the BIOS's so that things like this won't happen all the time. I would suggest getting the computer to the repair shop and see if they can do that for you or suggest the motherboard replacement.

 

I flashed the Unlocked A12 straight from Windows.

Interesting.. I didn't consider the possibility of RAM being an issue (will try it tonight)

 

RAM reseat did nothing. I've decided to buy an extended warranty ($299) so I'll get Dell to fix this.
Thanks everyone for your input!

 

Interesting ending to this one..

The Dell tech swapped out the motherboard and it DIDN'T fix it; still 8 beeps.
He swapped out the screen and it did.
I am absolutely baffled as to how a screen which was perfectly fine can be busted by a BIOS setting.

Unfortunately I'm still not done. The idiot tech swapped the screen with the wrong resolution (1600x900 instead of 1920x1080 - I'm surprised it even came in 1600x900) and it also had a bright spot in the middle of the screen!