Not POSTing

Okay so this is a bit of a last resort thing as I can usually fix things like this myself, but I've been trying various things for over a month and can not get this to work at all.

I have an Alienware M17x R3 with an i7 and GTX 460m which came with Nvidia Optimus. A few months after purchasing this I had flashed some hacked BIOS to disable Optimus and the laptop has been running like a dream ever since. A couple months ago I actually wanted to re-enable GPU switching so I booted up into BIOS and changed an incorrect setting. The laptop no longer POSTs and instead I only get the 8 beeps.

I've tried removing CMOS battery and clearing CMOS by bridging the pins, yet this gave me 5 beeps then upon the next boot 8 beeps again. Next, I had found this place and how to blind flash the BIOS. I tried that with official BIOS directly from dell using my Service Tag #, I tried blind flashing with different versions of the hacked BIOS, I've tried removing the GPU and blind flashing with official + hacked BIOS...and nothing worked. I've also tried connecting an external monitor via VGA cable and pushing FN+F6 to switch to the external monitor. The monitor receives signal but stays black while doing the 8 beeps over and over.

I'm completely out of ideas as I can not get this thing to POST with or without the GPU. Everything was working fine until I decided to try re-enabling BIOS and making one wrong move. Any help is appreciated and thanks in advanced!

 

When you say 'nothing worked' when trying a blind flash did you get the multiple restarts and a massive (around 30) beeps while blind flashing?

If not then you are chasing getting the blind flash to work.

I managed to get my first R3 bricked on an unlocked bios by messing up the fact it had a 120hz panel!

Things I remember about getting it to work.

I found a utility that gave me the correct rename for the bios file - it was different between the R3 and R4 and has to be exactly the name and extension supplied.

The USB stick has to be bootable FAT32.

There is a very specific startup sequence that I can't remember that forces the search for the bios file on the USB.

When it did kick in it's a terrifying ride of about 5 minutes of the fans blasting and a load of beeps and restarts , but finally I had a cleared down stock bios loaded. All good finally.

HTH

 

Yes I have also used that utility to find the correct rename for the BIOS. It does go through all of the beeps while flashing but only one restart.

The odd thing is the extension tells me to rename it to "PAR00X64.f?" which I assume to just be "PAR00X64.fd".

The USB is bootable FAT32. I've also tried holding the end key the entire time but it just endlessly reboots after the long period of beeping.

 

If you got those string of beeps and a restart it sounds like I remember when it worked. The '.fd' also rings true. I did follow a thread from this site but that's about all the help I can remember .

Did you extract the .bin or whatever from the stock dell bios .exe file? That was the one that worked for me.

I also recall someone using a wrong bios version (incompatible downgrade IIRC) and that stuffed the MB completely

 

I downloaded the BIOS as a .exe file (M17XR3_A12_W32_X64.exe) then right clicked to unzip using 7zip. Out of that I found the "PAR00MEC.fd" and renamed it to "PAR00X64.fd"

Hopefully I did not damage the MB, the fact that the thing turns on and beeps to me would seem like I haven't done that (yet...).

 

Nah, sorry for the scare, I believe it would no longer access the USB.

Sounds perfect to me. That is what I did I'm sure.

Just desperation stakes but you could try removing a memory module as well? Then go through the blind flash again. Screwed up stuck memory settings can get in the way of a POST. Kinda out-there but you are clued-up as you said, and I am out of ideas after that .

 

I did try removing them a few hours ago and got 2 beeps as expected but did not try flashing with them out. Should I remove the GPU as well for this?

Edit: Did not work. Tried with each stick of RAM.

 

Worth a shot, this is strange.

I'd go with the GPU out just to take it out of the equation.

Here is a thought; the on-board GPU has failed some time ago. The machine was set to use the NV for boot and disabled the on-board. Now the machine is stuck without the boot GPU?

Could also be something to do with the panel. Research the panel getting bricked by win 10 (if you use it).

Do you recall the settings change that bricked it? Might give me an idea?

Another thought, do you have a monitor you can connect to the VGA port? This should (could?) take the panel out of the equation. I'm unsure if external monitor boot is possible but if it's going to work you want to try to start it and quickly close the lid to see if there is any output. The HDMI port will not be active until after the OS loads so this is not an option BUT the VGA port should be 'live' as it's part of the POST specs.


Good luck.