No BIOS boot, just an 8 Beeps-Sequence

Got my m17xr3 today, with 580m no 3D.
I Followed the steps in http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ttling-m17x-r3-580m-without-120hz-screen.html

Everything seemd to work right:
PAR00X64.fd on fat32 USBdrive in eSATA/USB Comboport
Hold END plug in AC without battery.
Still hold END...
Thumbdrive begins flashing signalling read/write.
still hold END...
Starts Beeping continous about 30 times.
still hold END...
Beeping stops, shutsdown after few seconds.
release END right after shutdown.
Turns back on, after few seconds again R/W on Thumbdrive.
Shutsdown again and stays in power off.

Seemed succesful to me, but after i put the battery back in and turn it on again the lcd backlight turns on, Screen stays dark and starts beeping.
8Beeps-pause-8Beeps-pause-8beeps-pause...

i tried flashing it multiple times after that but no diffrence.

Would like to know what this 8beep error code means and what i could try from here on without sending it back immediatley.

Edit:
I now tried to flash a04 modified a04 a07 a08 and the unlocked a08, but it stays that way.

Edit2:
I Read LVNeptunes guide http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...y-case-you-brick-your-m17xr3.html#post7791370 and found that hint with removing the GPU, but still no luck.
Honestly, i have quite some free time right now, so i dont mind tinkering a bit, but this beeping with every flash and booting... its madness.

Edit3:
Apperently there was a Step involving the CMOS-Battery, but it got removed out of the guide. So i removed it before flashing, after flashing... but didnt help. I Would REALY appreciate some help of those Guys with the "big green bar" like inap, LVNeptune, BatBoy at this point

Edit4:
Just to make this clear: the ownership transfer for this system is still pending, so i kinda have to rely on the forum-collective for some days.
Maybe we get this resolved before i can call a technician

 

Sounds like you're following correct steps.

I would suspect an issue with USB thumb drive you're using.

Try a different one. Preferably 2GB and format to FAT16. It is worth trying a different brand as well in case it is some kind of controler issue with the manufacturer.

I can't tell from your description but it sounds like you're able to flash A04 sucessfully through blind flash but A08 is the one giving the problem, or you can't flash anything at all?

Since blind recovery is failing for you I would suspect the USB thumb drive.

 

for now try a power drain with the cmos battery out.

unplug then take out battery, and remove the cmos battery.
then press and hold the power button for 20-30 sec.
then put back and reboot, see if that does anything.

the only time i got the 8 beeps was when i was messing around with the 120hz screen with the 6970. its like an compatibility error code, i think

try this and get back to me

 

Im not sure if any bios flashes correctly.
I did now about 40 Blindflashes, most of them with a08 and a04.
No matter what bios i choose, the laptop behaves exactly the same everytime.
I tried a Kingston 8GB stick and my other Noname 4GB stick.
For a smaller stick i would have to ask some friends tommorow.

After the flash, no matter wich version, the backlight turns on, screen stays completly black and i get the 8 beeps over and over again.

When it arrived it worked normally and i tried the throttle fix, i didnt even open the laptop until it gave me this error the first time.

Edit: trying inaps procedure now.

Edit2: After refitting the cmos and pressing the powerbutton, it gave me 5 Beep sequence. Probably means bios crc error, should be normal.
I forced it off, waitet 3 seconds and pushed power again.
It powered up and restartet after about 2 seconds and its back to 8 Beeps.

 

i forgot to ad something i found earlyer:
If i connect the screen to the 120hz port, i get a white screen and sometimes colors, but its still starts doing the 8 Beeps.

 

yeah i found that out too, when i was messing around with the 3d panel, when i swapped back that when i had the 8 beep error code. but the power drain fixed it for me.

i'm guessing it didn't for you. prolly best to call dell and tell them you got a defective unit and get a replacement. but during the mean time i would still like to trouble shoot this.

 

so, what to do next then?
Take the GPU out again + Powerdrain + reflash + ???
I realy like how you dont have to do a repaste to reseat the GPU like in the m15x.

 

so you only get the 8 beeps, right? do you see any other light error codes. not really sure if it really even fixable anymore, could of messed it up with a bad flash. have you tried it with no gpu to see if it would boot using the igp.

 

no, all the alienfx lights work normally and the CAPS/NUM/SCRLLOCK lights stay dark.
And i tried booting and flashing without the gpu, but it didnt work.

Edit: gonna try it again now anyway

 

Ive done a bit of digging and it looks like 8 beeps indicated that the display adapter is defective possibly to due a vram read/write error. My only suggestion at this point is to try the laptop with another video card, or your video card with another laptop and find out which one of the two (or both) is fried.

I should also add that when I fried my MB, I had the same symptoms as you're having minus the beeps. I hope there is a simple fix for you, but it looks kinda bad

 

Sadly i dont have any option to test the gpu or the laptop with another gpu. my old m15x belongs to my father now and he took it on travel.
Anyway, im just so curious what could have gone wrong.
Would it be possible (more than 0.01%) to fry my gpu with a bios flash? As i said, i didnt open it until this error occured, and it worked fine 10 minutes before.

 

booting without GPU after cmos powerdrain still gives 8 beeps.
Gonna drain again now and try a flash again.

OT: Is there a way to get that friggin beeping more quite or completly off?

Edit:
Flashing without GPU doesnt change anything.

Edit2:
Gonna get some sleep now, post some ideas, i will try them all and report back.

 

Is this the first known failure when someone tried crashing the bios in order to follow LVNeptune methodology..Yikes..I was just pondering on this today...Do please brief us, because I am sure many would want to do this. The only difference here is , he has the one without 3D. Am I correct?.... Holding end button and flashing via usb is a standard procedure by Dell, right guys?

 

well, im back and have plenty of time to spent again today.
If somone would like another shot at this, go ahead and post. I will report back asap.

 

Did you try formatting your USB stick in Fat16? You have to create smaller partition on USB but you can do it. If there is nothing wrong with your USB drive and there is nothing wrong with the bios file you have than I would speculate your might have one of two issues.

1. Bios flash memory failed. Writing flash has limited count, might be you had poor quality bios that just couldn’t handle one more write cycle.
2. Video card went bad. I don’t see how process of flashing bios would cause any damage so it could be a coincidence that it happened at this time.

Either way, it may be time to call Dell about it. Would be nice if you could narrow it down by replacing the graphic card. If you get a Dell to come over, have them come by with motherboard and video card. Have them just swap video card and see if it works. You don’t want them gutting your laptop if it is not necessary anyway.

The blind recovery method is there to recover from flashing that went bad. It is designed to work when your system is not working. I doubt the process is the cause of your issue. Check everything again. Download the bios file again from Dell. Make sure you rename it properly and try a different brand USB and/or Fat16 formatting. At the end it might be just a hardware issue.

PC Hell: BIOS Error Beep Codes

 

I did manage to borrow a 1GB Thumbdrive today.
What i did now was:
Redownloading A03 A04 A07 A08 from dell, and did the following with every version, starting with A03 until i reach A08.
Put the extracted .fd file on the freshly fat16 formated drive (cluster 64 was the only option), renamed it to PAR00X64.fd and started the blindflash after removing the cmosbattery and doing a powerdrain before putting it back in.
Sadly it didnt help, but not suprising at this point.

And yes, i should call dell to send a tech. I got 3year Advanced care, so it should be no problem.
BUT until the ownershiptransfer gets confirmed by Dell (i bought it at HIDEvolution.com to save 1000€ instead of buying at DellGermany) i really dont have anything else to do at the moment. Im on semester break (hope thats the right translation) right now, and a bit tinkering with the Community couldn't do any harm, infact i could even learn something for my IT Studies.
I dont have enough know-how yet to, for instance, mod a bios file reliably.
I also dont want to dissassemble everything completly and go bug hunting with a multimeter because of warranty.

But nontheless i appreciate all of your effort to try to solve this issue with me.
Else i would be bored to death sitting here with my Netbook

 

at this point i think the original vbios flash prolly fried your card.

 

Can an working m17xr3 actually boot without the dedicated GPU, or does it also lock up inspite of the IGP present?

 

got mine to boot without the 6990, well i just didn't seat it correctly so bios doesn't see it but it booted.

 

Seems strange then that i cant boot without the GPU...
That would point to the 8 beeps being related to the IGP wouldnt it?
Or ofcourse, the mother is just faulty somehow

Also, it doesn't pose a problem to the CustomerCare that i have a diffrent HDD and RAM now, does it? i got these through HIDEvo, so i didnt get the "original" parts with it.

 

I talked to Alienware Support Germany today.
Here are the things i had to try for him after he heard the 8 Beep Error Code (wich he looked up and said it means "LCD Failure"):
1. Do a simple powerdrain without Battery and AC
=No difference.
2. Do a powerdrain with removing the CMOS-Battery
=Switched to 5 Beeps at first start (at this point i had to verify the CMOS-Battery was fitted right) and 8 Beeps again after second Powerup.
3. Dissassemble it until i removed the Keyboard, now reseat the following conectors: The LCD-Cable with the blue little blastic atop (you may remember i did that already), the 3 Antenna cables at the WiFi card and the Webcam connector. Put everything back in place.
=Still 8 Beeps

He said he was sorry, but they have to replace "the Motherboard and maybe 1 or 2 adittional Parts".
Also, because the ownership isnt transfered yet to me, he has to wait to send a Technician until this is resolved, but he noted the Procedures we tried in the Database to speed things up the next time.

Thats my Update for today!

 

Im back and have some news for you:
My Ownership got finnaly transfered to me (i had to ask Telephone support to do that, because the automated system on the website kept rejecting my requests), so i now finally got them to send me a technician.
The guy on the phone said he will call me tomorrow for a specific apointment time and he will bring "a new LCD and a new Motherboard". Not sure why they decided to give him a LCD in addition to a Motherboard, but meh.

If everything goes well, i will give you a (hopefully) last update tommorow that everything works.


Lulzmoment, a bit OT: The nice woman who first answered my Call and later redirected me to a technician had to put me on hold for a moment because her computer stopped working. I couldnt refrain from laughing at that moment

Edit:
Final Response has to wait. Apperently, some "database failures" led to major delays in my support case, i have to wait "up to 5 days" longer. im a bit angry now.

 

Dell Tech was here and it works again, off to some playing.
But for your information, after he replaced the Motherboard, it still didnt work.
Only after replacing the motherboard AND the LCD it worked again.

I hope this thread could help some people in the future.

 

WEIRD! WEIRD ! WEIRD!....Hahahaaha...hmmm. So perhaps it was the LCD panel problem...or connectors..

 

Hmm, same thing just happened to me today when flashing from recovery method. Same exact thing. Hope I don't have to get dell to fix it, would rather not deal with them

 

What do ya mean? Yours too doesnt boot up now? Its important that you remove the pen drive after the computer completely shuts down. Otherwise it will be in the loop again and again beeping.

 

Yep, I did that. It seems my laptop is bricked, and un-recoverable the same exact as the OP.