Screen goes black after windows boot logo?

So, something odd is happening!

When I turn on my computer, I see the intel rapid storage thing, then the post, then windows logo, then black screen.... nothing... windows it booted up and working, I can hear the start up noise, I can shut it down with windows key + r arrow + enter.

Now whats really odd, is it seems i can make the monitor turn back on again if I close the lid and open it. Booting into safe mode is perfect and fine. Just booting into windows messes up.

I did a fresh install of my gpu driver, but that didnt change anythign.

Any thoughts?

spec - i7 4700mq, 780m and 120hz lcd

 

drivers? possibly the OS itself?

 

Maybe, I dont remember it happening before, but I think it started when I installed intel xtu. I have since removed it.

I did redo my drivers in safe mode.... Wondering if this has anything to do with the flash of light I see when first booting.

I also cant overclock in the bios anymore.... hmmm, is with that. I put it to the factory overclock, computer powers on, stalls for a few minutes then reboots.

 

try everything on default in the BIOS and see if it keeps rebooting.

 

It starts just fine when bios overclock is shut off, but when I turn it on it wont even post.

with it all off, it will boot, but as soon as window loads the screen goes black... like the gpu driver is shutting off.

 

so, if you're running in dedicated mode and the nvidia gpu boots into safe mode fine, then maybe try reinstalling the drivers.

 

did that when I had it booted into safe mode.

I am trying again now that I am in ah... normal mode...

 

reinstalled gpu driver (clean install) in normal windows mode. System seems to boot normal agian. But my bios will not overclock at all anymore (since intel xtu)

Also it has issues booting with my mouse plugged in.

 

what kind of issues? delayed loading of the desktop?

???

 

Wont post with mouse plugged in. But thats only if I try to run the bios overclock.

I reset all the bios settings, reinstalled drivers, and it seems to be booting fine now. But I have not tried the factory overclock yet.... kinda scared too... plus I want to play titanfall now

I am thinking that when I used xtu, I used a profile I found on another forum (for a aw17 with a 4700qm) thats when it all went down hill.

 

fair enough. i think it's best not to have the CPU overclock on.

 

Yeah, was runnin strong with the overclock for awhile. But I read many bad things about the lvl1 oc on these running hot.

I will keep it how it is now and hope for the best... at least till I can pick up a xm cpu and a 980m

 

what's worth getting in terms of CPU replacements?

 

I think it was the 4930mx.. expensive, but powerfull.

 

Wow..
just had this same thing happen with my WinXP desktop the other day.
Looked for a solution until this.

Go into safe mode and uninstall your driver GPU card in device manager.
Then reboot into normal windows and screen/drivers/etc will install so you can see what you are doing.

Good luck

 

newegg has the i7-4800MQ for $380 ...though i doubt it would make the performance any more significant!

they also have the i7-4900MQ for $560.

i also hate installing CPUs cos the last time i installed one it broke one of the pins and it wasn't running properly so i don't know how easy it would be.

repasting i can deal with but not installing CPUs as yet

 

One of the nice features of Alienware's new way of doing the BIOS is having settings stored in NVRAM. It even saves corrupt settings. (Of course, I am be factitious by calling that a nice feature.)

I used to have goofy stuff like this happen fairly often with the 18. I finally found settings that I wanted to leave permanent and haven't had any more issues. Have you tried to clear the CMOS this way?

**Alienware 17 (Ranger) /18 (Viking) Owners** - How to 'Un-Brick' Your Mobo

Whatever leftover settings that did not get properly cleared out when you uninstalled XTU should be flushed after doing this. This should nuke any custom BIOS settings and default to the original factory values for everything. XTU has the ability to change settings that are on hidden menus.

If doing that scares you, you can always try holding down the FN key and power up. Keep holding the FN key until the system powers itself off. You can try that less forceful method first. I think this only only works on the Haswell machines. Powering up with the FN key depressed and continuing to hold it down does nothing on my M18xR2 (it never powers itself off) but it does reset some things on the 18.

 

i wonder if this is what's causing my alienware to crash after changing over to optimus mode?

where the heck is the CMOS battery anyway?

 

Next to the wifi card. I had to kinda pry mine up and out while trying to flex the metal support over it, it's a terrible spot...

 

how you spose to get it out LOL

 

When I still had a 17, I cut out a half circle in the chassis directly above the CMOS battery and it made taking it in and out super easy. Problem is, doing that does not clear the CMOS. I even took the motherboard out and left it on my desk for over a week with no power and no CMOS battery and it still didn't "forget" the messed up BIOS settings that were causing issues. That's the problem with NVRAM. Settings are stored in NVRAM without any power to the board. You have to forcibly flush the data so the BIOS rewrites it and removing the CMOS battery like in the good old days (before NVRAM storing the settings) did nothing for me.

 

then the steps you mentioned don't work for the 17 or are they still ok to use?

 

Removing all memory sticks, letting it beep until it powers off, then slapping one stick in before it powers up again (link in previous post)? Yes, that works on the 17 and 18.

Here's a picture showing how I removed a half circle piece of aluminum above the CMOS battery. I had a close up, but can't find it anywhere.

https://i.imgur.com/AjzR7YP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GPLwzZT.jpg

 

i wonder what material the internal frame and support structure are made of? for some reason i am thinking magnesium or a magnesium alloy and i wonder if i can clip on an anti-ESD band to it to ground me?

 

Yes, it's metal and should work for a ground. I don't know if it is aluminum or magnesium. If I had to guess, I would guess aluminum because it is less expensive. I don't know how to tell. There are also two contacts on the motherboard that you can bridge to partially clear the CMOS like removing the CMOS battery, but they are in a place concealed by the chassis. Those contacts are just to the left of the Philips screwdriver in this photo... (between the RAM slot and system battery connection header) http://i.imgur.com/jNn5QPV.jpg and you can just barely see them through this hole in the chassis http://i.imgur.com/VAHwztp.jpg.

Edit: here is a better photo of those contacts... just found it. http://i.imgur.com/Enm41Sc.jpg