M17xR3 Owners - **Driver Updates**

M17xR3 drivers which still have not been updated on support.dell.com.

Below updates are from the M18x driver page. It is perfectly fine to use these as they are the same device.

1. Intel HM67 Cougar Point chipset v9.2.0.1019 (versus 17xR3 driver v9.2.0.1015)
Drivers and Downloads

2. USB 3.0 Driver v2.0.34.0 (versus 17xR3 driver v2.0.26.0)
Drivers and Downloads

3. Intel Management Engine Interface v7.0.4.1197 (versus 17xR3 driver v7.0.1.1141)
Drivers and Downloads

4. Intel Rapid Storage Technology v10.1.2.1004 (versus 17xR3 driver v10.0.0.1046)
Drivers and Downloads

5. Realtek Card Reader Driver v6.1.7600.77 (versus 17xR3 driver v6.1.7600.64)
Drivers and Downloads

--------------------------------------------

Also, if you are an NV GPU owner and encountering a device connect/disconnect sound, a black screen with only mouse pointer visible or a delay in the system after resuming from S3 - consider the following (especially on a 3D R3),

1. Either roll back to 266.08
Drivers and Downloads

or,

2. Try 275.27
Download the 275.27 driver from NV (mobile of course). Download Darcoder's mod from his megaupload link, extract his archive and then copy and paste the entire directory 'Driver.Display' into the 275.27 NV directory. You should be prompted to overwrite, say yes. Run the setup.exe.

If you are not prompted to overwrite when pasting his modded directory, you did something wrong and the directory was not copied to the write location within the NV driver directory.

--------------------------------------------

If you are an AMD 6870 or 6970 owner, give the M18x AMD Driver a try -
Drivers and Downloads
-
-

 

thanks batboy..will update the above mentioned drivers once i get home..

I have AMD 6970M..is it ok to install all the above mentioned driver updates?

EDIT: Have you noticed any increase in performance?

 

Yes, you can update the 1 - 5 drivers I mentioned. The only difference for you would obviously be you wouldn't need to worry about the NV driver

 

thanks again for the detailed info!

 

are you sure the driver isnt 275.27 not 275.21? I don't see a 275.21 on nvidias site.

 

typo - fixed and link added to .27.

 

I'm still getting bsod when installing the nvidia driver. currently using 460m with 1900x1080 60hz screen. The installing was ok but after restart, bsod. Did I do I wrong?

 

Did you install the Intel HD Graphics driver? If not, always install it prior to installing the NV driver. On Optimus based systems, this order: Intel HD Driver ----> NV Driver.

See if that helps.

If not, I suggest checking with Darcoder since its his mod. If you rather just stick with 266.08, thats fine also.

The main purpose of this thread was I wanted to get the word out on the updated drivers.

 

Ok. Thanks for the other drivers anyway.

 

I thought i saw a post the other day of a driver installation order for the R3 someone just put together that got alot of praise but i cant seem to find it ?..

I guess i am blind or just not searching properly since i rarely comment about this stuff but i have one coming in a couple days and figured i may as well have all my ducks in a row .

 

Not sure which you saw Quad. There are a couple of threads. The one I created is here -
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html

As for the drivers above, its not necessary (IMO) to install them in the 'clean-install order' if the system is already up and running and you are just 'updating the driver'. The drivers listed in post#1 can be installed over the existing driver.

If performing a clean install, just sub out these drivers over the 17xR3 version. Everyone has their own preference on driver install order when clean installing.

 

Yeah i was just more concerned about the whole IGP driver thing and ill be doing a fresh install on a new drive so i was not sure what might have changed with the new machines .

I remember though someone outlined the exact order to install drivers on the R3 as to not have issues but ill just have to do some more digging but yeah it should be similar to all the other machines from the past .

Thanks .

 

Hey BB,

I've been posting about my HDMI-In issue on NBR... do you think it could be a driver issue? Or is it a hardware problem?

 

PM me the link to the starting point of your HDMI-IN posts and I'll take a look.

@Quad, perhaps it was the SSD issue thread. I too recall someone posting an order for this. Not sure what came of it. If its verfiable, let me know and I'll link it in the General Info sticky.

 

**Added M18x OSD suggestion** - see this thread for details:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ng-volume-button-keep-sending-me-windows.html

Apparently, in certain game titles, depressing the volume controls will steal focus from the game and cause the title to minimize. Confirmed M18x OSD resolves this. See linked thread for more info.

 

Thanks for the great info

 

Great resource here BB, should sticky imo. Helps the new comers (myself included) with knowing where to find the latest and greatest for Drivers.

 

These will work for any config. correct?

 

Its important to note that it may not always be necessary to use a 'more recent' version. If your system is running fine and you are satisfied with performance, then by all means, leave it alone.

Looking at other Dell driver releases is fine - as long as they are for the same device. This has always been the #1 issue relating to Dell released drivers in my opinion. As far back as I can recall, drivers are not always updated for one system even if a given driver update is compatible. So, this is one of those tricks I employ. Also check other systems which have the same devices on a regular basis. If you find you run into trouble and something glitches, just uninstall and reinstall the appropriate driver released for your system.

Yes. As long as your system has the device, it will work. Some drivers, like the Intel Wireless drivers, are multi-device installers. Meaning, they support many flavors of the wireless card. The drivers I listed above will be find on a NV or AMD based system, with the exception of the GPU driver of course.

 

Hey batboy, add the M18x AMD 6970 driver to the list of newer drivers that work on the R3! Its working great for me....install over the top of stock.

 

When I have installed everything, I got a problem with the following:

4. Intel Rapid Storage Technology v10.1.2.1004 (versus 17xR3 driver v10.0.0.1046)

Lucky me, I have a copy made with Acronis and I could revert everything within 10 minutes.

I've realised with the ssd installed as masterboot (operating system) and intel drivers, once the system boots, completely the system is frozen / locked.

If I do not install this driver at all, I do not have such problems with the system what-so-ever. Strange...

 

I found the problem with the driver. It is because I have the OCZ ssd vertex 2 installed. The firmware 1.33 of the OCZ SSD has a problem with the latest drivers of intel.

OCZ Toolbox version 2.36
------------------------
- Firmware update is allowed on Windows XP OS
- Firmware update is not allowed on Vertex 3 drives containing firmware version prior to 2.02
- Secure erase is not allowed on primary drive

Known Issues:
- Update Firmware feature prohibited for primary drives with 1500 & 2000 controller
- Secure Erase is not working on LSI driver SCSI drives
- Intel Driver 10.1.0.1008 prohibits SSD detection

 

Done. Thanks!

Juliant, please create a new thread for this - if you can, recap the issue you were seeing and then include the above as the root cause. I will get it stickied as this I believe has been playing into many folks having issues with their OCZ drives. Were you able to confirm this is indeed just an issue with OCZ and the Intel Driver or SSD's across the board?

Thanks, great info!

 

Couple of official driver releases today - links:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...dio-driver-v6330-update-released-05-25-a.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-osd-v0-31-0-14c-update-released-05-25-a.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...15-21-13-64-2342-update-released-05-25-a.html

Discussion in the linked threads of course. Thanks.

 

You can also install the new Alienware Command Center Notebook from dell M18X website.

Please follow those steps:

1. Download Alienware Command Center Notebook from here http://support.dell.com/support/dow...dateid=-1&formatid=-1&source=-1&fileid=448452

2. Remove / uninstall the old Alienware Command Center Notebook;

3. Restart / Install the new Alienware Command Center Notebook / Restart;

4. As soon as you start Alienware Command Center Notebook it will probably notice on the screen some soft update, then you will also realise that none of the functions work. However do not panic. Shut down your system, remove power cord, battery and do a power drain by holding the power button for about 2 minutes.

5. Start the system and voila, everything will function just fine with the new Alienware Command Center Notebook.

Please note: I did not find any changes compared to the original Alienware Command Center Notebook

 

updates to the Centrino 1000,BigFoot LAN and wifi, and the 6300 WLANs supported by the M17Xr3
Drivers and Downloads

posted link will take u to the 6300....

 

Do you guys have this installed in your r3's? Intel HM67 Cougar Point chipset v9.2.0.1019 (versus 17xR3 driver v9.2.0.1015)

 

^ yup....no appreciable difference

 

While excitedly awaiting the delivery of my first ever Alienware (M17x R3, 6970M, preinstalled Windows) and, once it eventually arrives, wanting it to handle the newest games with the ease it’s no doubt capable of, I would like to ask you guys a question on updating of drivers, and particularly, Video drivers.

As you are all well aware, DELL support web in their Drivers Installation Instructions don’t mention the use of Safe Mode, CCleaner, DriverSweeper etc.

Does this mean that DELL instructions are somewhat, or totally flawed, or simply that there are better and worse ways of updating Video (and other) drivers.

For your reference, I’ve copied below DELL instructions:

After Downloading

Install

1.Double-click the new icon on the desktop labeled AMD_BLACKCOMBXT_A00_R291070.exe.
2.The Self-Extracting window appears and prompts you to extract or
unzip to C:\DELL\DRIVERS\R291070. Write down this path so the executable (I.e.
Setup.exe) file can be found later.
3.The Self-Extractor window appears.
4.Click OK.
5.After completing the file extraction, if the Self-Extractor
window is still open, close it.
6.Click the Start button and then click Run.
7.Type C:\DELL\DRIVERS\R291070 in the Open textbox and then click OK.
8.Follow the on-screen installation instructions.

 

Currently using the suggested 6970m driver for the m18x, installed fine and working great so far.

 

Is there an install order for M17xR3 using M18x driver updates?

 

You can even install the ATi drivers. Once the default Dell driver is installed (even the m18x driver from Dell will do), switch to the dedicated GPU (ATi) and install ATi driver on top of the Dell driver. It will not affect your switch between the integrated and dedicated GPU (it will still work).

I guess if you are so much after a 'latest' driver and if specially ATi improves the performance of their cards by providing a better driver, while Dell will not provide a latest update, you can still install the latest / fastest / sometimes even worst driver from ATi website, but always remember not to remove / uninstall the Dell graphic driver, otherwise will affect your switching option between the integrated and dedicated cards.

You can always, uninstall the driver, start in save mode (by pressing the F8 at the boot of your windows), do a 'cleaning' with ccleaner and driver sweeper and you can reinstall the default Dell driver, if needed to do so.

 

Thanks juliant for the info.

So, to make sure I’m on the same page as you, if you were soon to take delivery of a new M17 (as is in my case; 31 May), what Video driver (6970) would you update your machine with?

Also, would you update the new Video driver over the existing DELL Video driver or would you first uninstall DELL’s ‘old’ driver, restart in Safe Mode, use CCleaner and install whatever the newest Video driver DELL offers.

Furthermore, regarding other drivers (BIOS, sound etc), does one use Safe Mode, CCcleaner etc for those too or is using CCleaner etc exclusively reserved for Video drivers (apologies for asking again 'almost' the same question but do really want to get this right)?

Many thanks in advance.

 

No, I already own the M17X R3 for over a month now (and other alienware as well, please see my sign).

Question 1:

Use the m18x driver, is stable and no issues so far.

Question 2:

If you make a clean install of a DELL driver, is better you uninstall the old one, start in safe mode / ccleaner/ driver sweeper / restart / install the new DELL driver. For ATi driver, you do not need to uninstall the driver, just switch to dedicated card (ATi) and install over it.

Question 3:

You do not need to start in safe mode for other devices which you may need in your system to be updated (drivers for audio, bios, etc.).

However, it is safe and better to unintall any old driver, restart your system and install a new driver once your system is back in windows.

Many users have here adviced that you do not really need to remove the old driver and just make an update over it. In my opinion, I prefer to remove the old driver (sometimes you may get some conflict and you may end up with BSOD without knowing the actual reason), and make a clean installation of the new driver.

Hope this helped...

 

thanks juliant, that clarifies the matter for me

 

hope I'm asking this within the right part of the forum: what's the best Video driver at present for gaming (Witcher 2) for M17xR3, 6970?

 

Unfortunately I do not have 'Witcher 2' and cannot help you in regards to this issue.

But what I can tell you is, that I can play any game at max settings without any issues, including Dirt 3 & Crysis 2...

 

Great.

And which Video driver (6970) are you using for those games?

Also, have you installed that particular driver over the DELL stock driver?

 

Already mentioned earlier which driver I use (when you asked me a day back). Dell M18X driver; even the stock driver should be just fine...

I've also installed 11.5 driver over the stock driver and not much change. I mean, you have a very powerful GPU, so far stands every challenge!

 

Apologies for asking all over again regarding the driver, but as my M17 has just arrived (some days earlier than expected), and am just about to start updating it, I wanted to make sure.

Big thanks for the info, and rock-solid patience (greatly appreciated)



M17X-R3 l i7 2720QM | 6970 l 6GB RAM l 1920X1080 l 320GB HD l Win 7 P

BaByliss Pro BABNT6610 | Portofino 6600 | 2000-Watt Nano | Titanium Ionic

 

Im trying to update the nvidia driver to Beta Release 275.27, but it cannot for some reason..

"This graphics driver could not find compatible graphics hardware."

 

You'll need to use a modded install. See the link I listed in post#1 to Darcoder's thread. Check in there for assistance

 

Just an update on the Beta 275.27 drivers. The resume to black screen was gone for about a week. then its just come back in the last two days.

 

Had to restore from a backup. One of the m18x drivers on this page may be causing aero to be stuck in basic mode after switching off, would like to know for sure.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/582331-windows-7-aero-clean-install.html

 

I do not know about that, I do not get such problem with aero. Except RST driver, I've updated everything, including the Command Center from M18X Dell website and I do not face any problems with Aero. I regularly switch between integrated and dedicated GPU and still nothing happens. I do not know why some of you guys have this issue?!

 

Hi, I don't see an Infrared driver for M17X-R3 in Dell Driver Download page.
(Does M17X-R3 even have an infrared installed? Im on AMD 6970m if that helps.)
Can anyone advise?

 

There should be an infrared installed in the system. I think windows itself does the 'driver install'. I've seen someone on this forum providing an 'detailed explanation' on how you can install and use I think an HP remote with most of Alienware laptops... You can do a google for such info (please include in your search notebookreview.com). Maybe here more info http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/489219-remote-control.html

 

OR HERE http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/471528-infrared-m17x.html

 

I followed that fresh SSD R3 install guide along with Batboys newer driver links and have not had any issues to speak of.

I avoided the RST drivers since i know they can cause issues .

 

Nah, someone had a thread last month about it. Don't remember what the thread was called though. It was in reference to the R3 though, so try a google search.