Problem: M17x R4 and 680M Random Boots to VGA Mode

My 3D R4 originally came with a 670M but several months ago I opted to upgrade it to a Clevo 680M 4GB. The install went smooth and the BIOS recognized it fine, so did Windows. However, intermittently after a cold or warm boot, the login screen pops up in VGA mode with what looks like 16 colors. When the desktop loads I'm able to pick 1080P and reset the refresh to 120Hz with no apparent problems.

I reflashed the vanilla 680M firmware (it came with a modded firmware) and that process went without incident. The R4 is running the most current (A12) vanilla BIOS as well.

Now I don't remember this problem early on when I was using an older Nvidia driver but after monkeying with Windows 10 for a bit and now back to Windows 7 (fresh install) it's doing it quite frequently.

Could this be a result of the newer drivers? Is there a way to convince them to default to 1080p? Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

 

There is an updated BIOS version for M17x R4 - A13. Try DDU graphics drivers in safe mode and then re-install different versions to see which one works the best for you. DDU each time if the driver is not working properly.

You could also try re-seating the graphics card in the slot.

Link to the latest DDU:
http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html


Link to the BIOS:
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=8RW9V

 

Thanks, mariussx. I updated the BIOS (Why is A13 not on the product page!?!) and started going through the Nvidia driver history. After trying three different versions, it seems v.347 is the ticket. So far it's been booting fine into 1080p. I'll update if that changes, but this looks solved.

Thanks again!

 

I am glad it worked Dell hides A13 under Windows 8.1 OS tag. It can't be seen in W7 downloads page since according to the change log at least it does not bring anything new for W7.