Upgrading from 770m to 970m

So I have red a lot of articles here in NBR and yet I couldn't find a solusion to my particular issue... The issue is:

One morning when I tried to turn on my Alienware 17 R5, the laptop's keyboard turned on, I could hear the hard drive spinning, but the screen was completely black. After a few seconds, I started hearing beeps, 8 in particular, which indicated an LCD issue, according to Dell's beeping scale. I've red the articles on this issue and how to solve, but nothing worked for me: resetting the CMOS battery, draining the power out of the motherboard, trying to boot without a cpu... Eventualy I ended up in a repair shop, where they ran diagnostics and found, that my Nvidia GTX 770m was dead.

So without any doubt, I researched what were my options in either buying the same gpu or upgrading instantly, as of the current one was counting it's third year. I ended up buying a GTX 970m, which is compatible according to Dell as well as a lot of users from these forums, from Nexoc gaming, where more than few bought these parts from them and were more than happy.

The problem is, that after outing the new GTX card in my Alienware, the issue persists. Thensame mechanics suggested an upgrade in BIOS or flashing them, so that my laptop could "recognize" the gpu, but at this point their solution for me is to buy an additional, used 770m, somthat my laptop could boot for starters and so that later they could put up the 970m instead. Is there maybe any other way to enable the new gpu to work on my laptop, since I feel that anadditional 770m, which I will not use, is a complete waste of money.

I also Live in Denmark, so the market in Europe is way smaller than in US, and buying from overseas would result in additional taxes :/

Does anyone have any other ideas or solutions on how to solve this as I am stuck with an expensive gpu, that I do not know how to enable and a laptop, that is down for over 3 weeks already.

P.s. I know stuff about laptops, but at this point I ran out of ideas on how to solve this...

 

Well first things first, I couldn't find in your post whether you tried booting without the GPU (forcing your laptop to boot on the iGPU) or not

If you didn't try that, please do so. This would enable you to log in to Windows at least. Once done, update your BIOS, iGPU driver. Then boot into safe mode, and run DDU to fully uninstall your existing Nvidia driver (with the option to shutdown in order to install a new GPU).
Then put in your 970m and follow instructions on Techninferno for example to mod the 970m vbios and drivers and install them (you will NOT be able to install vanilla drivers anymore as the 970m is not recognized as compatible for the AW 17 R5)

If it still doesn't post, then it might be the mxm connector on your motherboard that is the problem...

 

Unfortunately, I have tried booting without the gpu and that did not led me to a solution... Same thing persists and yet I can not boot or post again. Any other suggestions? :/

 

Have you used EVGA PrecisionX to OC?

If yes, your LCD may have a corrupted EDID. Try connecting a HDMI cable and an external monitor; if that works, you may be able to recover your EDID with a linux boot image from http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...levo-lcd-panels.779449/page-158#post-10090770

Read up on this issue in that thread, and in http://forum.notebookreview.com/posts/10148904/

 

Yes, I used it before on my 770m to oc the gpu a little bit...

I have also tried connecting my laptop to an external monitor, but that did not solve the issue as well.. Unless connecting through the HDMI port is somehow different than the mini display port?

 

there's you're problem: it now means your LCD is completely busted and would require a reflash and the removal of precision x. Your situation has been discussed at length both here and on the nvidia forums, you can ask @Mr. Fox about it as it was him that first broke news of it here.

if you still need to OC then use nvidia inspector: it doesn't actively run so it won't cause issues with the LCD since it doesn't have an LCD OC feature (the believed cause of the LCD bricking).

 

What do you exactly mean by reflashing? I'm not a huge tech geek, so that's why i am asking for more details on that. And probably I will not overclock my gpu, as I have a 970m ready for a replacement... Just that when the new gpu is seated, still same crap happens with the beeps...

 

your screen has a bios so it can talk to other parts of the computer and it has been corrupted....or should i say that the EDID has been corrupted. @Mr. Fox knows more on this.

 

Okay, thanx! AI will try to reach him out and see if he could help me with this thing!

Because as I understand, there is no way to re-flash the bios if the computer's screen is not working... Or am I wrong?

 

You can see if connecting a screen to HDMI still works. If it does, reflash the EDID and remove Precision X.
If connecting a screen to HDMI does not work, you can either source a new screen (make sure to remove PrecisionX from the HDD!) and install that, or see if @t456 or @Mr. Fox can flash the screen (for a fee).

Exchanging the GPU isn't going to help either way. Read both threads I linked above.

 

Well, both threads, that you have linked, look damn complicated for me... But I think the biggest problem is that it neither boots or posts, which means I can not access anything, at all... Isn't that right? And I have tried connecting my laptop to an external monitor through HDMI cable, same problem... And what do you mean by sourcing a bew screen?

 

Any compatible screen that it will boot from. Once booted you can hot-swap and flash the bricked screen. The stand-in panel does not even have to be 17.3" and, presuming you have a 40-pin LVDS display, several dozen panels are possible. Which lcd is this, specifically? And isn't this system Optimus-only? If so, it may be a damaged cable instead; not a single brick has been reported on a system where the Intel HD has exclusive control of the lcd.

There; corrected . Same for Mr. Fox, afaik, unless he's suddenly short of cash due to excessive hardware expenditures .

Speaking of which; ordered a BGA soldering station the other day. Primary motivation is swapping flash storage chips between some $30 smartphones, so ... a pretty valid reason . Then again, it also makes de-soldering tiny eeproms a lot easier.

 

It is a simple 17.3" 1080p Full HD 60 Hz display, nothing fancy about it...

I'm a little bit afraid to do that hot swap and flashibg the screen, since I'm not such a huge tech genious. I might need help from someone, that could do it properly for me, since the flashing of the screen with that Linux part, siunds too hard for a medioker tech person as I am :/

 

He has an Alienware 17 (Ranger); This means it can be switched from optimus to dedicated.

 

One way to do it would be to have your LCD removed by a computer repair shop, ship it to @t456 or @Mr. Fox, and arrange for it to be shipped back; then have your repair shop install it again.

If your laptop is still under warranty, ask Dell for a new screen, if not, see if your local laptop repair shop can order a new one for you. Cost for a new screen would be about €75 or UKP 60, probably not including labour.

 

Ah, thanks. Not good, though ...

Can flash it for you, no problem. But then you'd need to remove the display and there's the small chance that it isn't the lcd proper, only its cable. Yet, using the EVGA tool is a clear indication it really is edid corruption, so ... signs are good it's an easy fix. Send a pm if you're interested; only need access to the lcd connector, so it doesn't have to be separated from the lid et al. I'm in Europe, so shipping should be pretty fast, think 4-5 days each trip.

Do hope you've gotten back your perhaps-not-so-broken-after-all 770M from that 'mechanic' ...

 

Dissambling the laptop is not an issue for me, since I have done it several times in the past and did not had any issues with that at all. Would you need only the screen part with the connector, yes? Because then I might see how much would it cost to ship it to you, depending on where you live in Europe. In case it wouldn't be the screen issue, maybe it would be better to ship the whole laptop, since you are a tech guy and you have more experience with these issues...

And yes, I do have my old gpu, which the mechanic told me was broken... If they ran the diagnostics and assumed a wrong diagnosis, then it is more than retarded... Yet currently I have my laptop at one IT guy's hands, where he is trying to see what is the real problem and how he could fix it, but it's taking already 3 days for that... And he claims also, that my old gpu is dead... Kind a getting frustrated at this point, since my machine broke down on the 20th of March... Almost a month without it -.-

 

And unfortunately, if my laptop would still be ubder warranty, I wiuld definitely call Dell and ask them to fix it.. But it expired around half a year ago and I tried to extend it before expiration yet no one replied to my inquiries from Dell... So I'm stuck with it on my own atm

 

Better keep it under 2kg, then it would be less than €20 both ways. Shipping the entire laptop is a bit expensive; €40-60, depending on the package's final weight. But if you can manage; include the display cable, can test that as well.

 

Btw, this is how you flash it directly via a programmer (with and without using a modded, pseudo-display cable):

Spoiler: B173HW02 V0 - edid-only lvds cable

Spoiler: B173HW02 V0 - programmer

Spoiler: B173HW02 V0 - edid dump

Code:

00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 06 AF 9D 21 00 00 00 00
00 17 01 04 90 26 15 78 02 C8 95 9E 57 54 92 26
0F 50 54 00 00 00 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
01 01 01 01 01 01 E2 36 80 B8 70 38 20 40 30 64
36 00 7D D6 10 00 00 1A E2 36 80 B8 70 38 20 40
30 64 36 00 7D D6 10 00 00 1A 00 00 00 FE 00 50
39 4A 4E 4B 80 42 31 37 33 48 57 30 00 00 00 00
00 00 41 02 96 01 11 00 00 02 01 0A 20 20 00 05

Perhaps @thegh0sts might recognise that part nr.; it's his old panel .

 

I am really considering to ship the whole laptop, since I am 100% not sure what exactly causes this issue and you might be able to help me to fix it for good... And compared to tue Danish prices they charge only for a troubleshoot, the 40-60€ price for shipping is not that bad tbh... Because at this point, I have no clue what causes it, when I read all the possible related erros with my particular issue... At this point, I still have to wait, since it is in a hands of a IT friend, so I do not have the machine with me yet... Maybe then it would be possible to sned the new and the assumed "broken" gpu as well, if you can even swap it afterwards? (If you would be able to eliminate the booting issue first...) cuz I am afraid atm to do anything with my machine, since I am not as good at this...

Btw, in witch country, city you live, so that at least I could see what kibd of shipping options I would have.

 

@Saveikis - sorry for the tardy reply. I got your PM. I have been tied up with a huge project at work that will keep me extremely busy through mid-May and I have not been on the forum very much.

Catching up from then until now, I see Brother @t456 has come to your rescue. You are in great hands with his help. From all appearances, it is very likely EVGA Precision X screwed things up for you and an easy flash will fix it. Be sure to remove Precision X or it will happen again. You can use an old version that does not cause any harm. If you or anyone else want it, here is a link to my copy of EVGA Precision X v4.21 (safe version) that was based on MSI Afterburner, only better because it has MXM GPU voltage control that Afterburner lacks.

If you are going to ship the laptop, it probably would be less expensive to send it to @t456 based on where he is in relation to where you are. A couple of weeks ago I shipped the M18xR1 that I sold on eBay to the new owner in Puerto Rico and it was over $100 USD using USPS Priority Mail one direction with a tracking number and insurance.

 

Sent you a pm.

If you do send the laptop and it turns out it really is a bricked screen then I could write-protect the lcd, if you like. Just finished a test to that extent and it would be nice to have a first victim test subject.

 

remember to uninstall precision x and ab ok!

I do. how did your testing go on that panel btw?

 

Great question. This would be worth doing to any and all notebooks, regardless of whether they are one of the identified affected models. No point in the EDID being writable in any case, and always better safe than sorry. It would also be nice to not have to avoid newer versions of EVGA Precision X, since it is the most elegant GPU overclocking solution available that include MXM voltage controls (MSI Afterburner lacks that critical feature).

 

Well ... it is read-only, that much is certain; if my programmer can't touch it then software hasn't got the slightest chance.

There does remain a small possibility that the now non-functioning lcd edid was also used by the display itself. We've clipped its voltage and clock wires, after all. This is fairly unlikely, though; the display has its own controller, firmware and clock generator, so it hardly needs a puny 128 byte edid to tell it how to do its business. Of course, we could also have T-splitted these wires, except for the edid-data. That would've been fool-proof in both instances, but that'd have required a soldering iron in order to make a good join.

Regardless, will do a check for that 1% off-chance, just to be sure. Though that will be mainly to find out whether an lcd with a seriously corrupted edid (hardware-damaging parameters) can be 'revived' by bypassing the corrupt edid with a functioning version. Unfortunately, only have a single system that is compatible and its lcd cable is hard to reach; need to remove cpu and gpu heatsinks first (Galinstan-ed only recently, too ... pity ... ).

 

I'm just curious how (and if) this is resolved. Could you give us an update?

 

Well, I actually completwly forgot about this thread.

The overal experience is so bad, that I am shocked with dell, tbh... I live in Denmark and after having two technitian servises inspecting my laptop, I had two different outcomes- one said, that my gpu is dead, the other one said, that my motherboard is dead.

Eventualy, I thought that I will spend more money and give it a shot with the Dell service. And what comes to that, if your warranty is gone, you are basically F**ked... It took two weeks to get a decent answer from then that I could bring up my machine just for a check up and mayve possible repairs... Eventualy, after waitibg another 2 weeks of a response from them, I got a message, confirming, that both, my gpu and the motherboard was dead. According to the Danish prices, the repairs were insane to carry out at their place. And actualy, I was told, that it might be impossible to replace the motherboard, since they stopped producing them.

So I have now a laptop, that is worthless and I am considering to sell it either with the broken motherboard or just separately for parts, cuz I do not want this experience again. And also, to sell the new GTX 970m, which I will not be usibg anymore.. Never used it again, though.

Basicaly, the gpu and the motherboard was dead and it caused those 8 beeps, 7 beeps afterwards... The rest seems to be fine.

 

I'm actualy curious right now if it would be possible to sell it for parts, cuz I will not ise them, since Probably 98% I will be buying a new laptop. Not an alienware this time, cuz I am so dissapointed at it. 2 years of usage and it breaks, when paid 2000$ for the machine at the time...