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    Resurrecting old M17x r1

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Cryzer, Dec 21, 2013.

  1. Cryzer

    Cryzer Notebook Consultant

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    Dell forgot to pick up my brother's old M17x R1 after it was replaced with an xps l521x, so, instead of letting it collect dust, I have finally decided to give it a go at fixing it. Before Dell left it at my house, the laptop would turn on but the screen will stay black with no error code from the LCD lights (Scroll, Caps, Num) so I assumed that it was either a faulty GPU or LCD.

    Today I removed both GTX 260m and replaced it with another 260m that I had from my M15x... and viola! it post now, but an error appears saying that The PC needs to be repaired, "a required device isn't connected or can't be accessed" and with an Error code: 0xc000000e. I will try to install windows 8 and see how it goes.

    Another error is that the Scroll and Num are flashing, and Caps is on, which means faulty LCD or GPU but that does not make any sense as the screen is working, the gpu too as it's posting, I have even disabled hybrids and Integrated graphics and it is still posting so it might be drivers. Anyway, any suggestions are appreciated.
     
    Cryzer, Dec 21, 2013
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  2. pinoy_92

    pinoy_92 Notebook Evangelist

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    did you try to put the 260m that was on the m17x r1 on the m15x to see if the gpu is still working? have you tried booting without a a dedicated gpu? maybe its a lose connection on the motherboard to the lcd panel.
     
    pinoy_92, Dec 22, 2013
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  3. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    Reinstalling Windows should help.
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Dec 23, 2013
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  4. Cryzer

    Cryzer Notebook Consultant

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    Update: I reinstalled windows 8.1 and now it works fine... until I decided that it was a good idea to install all the drivers from the Dell M17x R1 page, so now it is giving me blue screens like every few minutes with messages like Memory_Managent and some others I cant remember atm. The Scroll and Num are still flashing plus the Caps is always on thou, so I will try to reset the gpu or lcd and hope for it to dissapear. Besides that, the 1200p is wonderful (except for the whites that look yellowish) , I will reinstall windows 8, reset the stuff and see how it goes.

    Also, thanks for the suggestion, I will test the gpus on my m15x as it is easier to dissasemble.
     
    Cryzer, Dec 23, 2013
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  5. Akimitsui

    Akimitsui Notebook Evangelist

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    WAIT........ Windows 8????? :eek:

    Stay far away from Windows 8 on the M17X R1 - it will not run properly on the R1. I tried Windows 8 on my R1 but quickly went back to Windows 7 because the drivers simply would not work and had constant issues. Do a fresh install of Windows 7 on the R1 and you should be issue free. What I have done is made my Windows 7 look like Windows 8 after because I really love the look of Windows 8, a tutorial for that can be found here if you're interested: Windows 8 Theme for Windows 7 ( RTM Version ) | Windows 8 Theme For Windows 7
     
    Akimitsui, Dec 24, 2013
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