Very weird problem with the m17xr2 monitor.

Today, when I booted up windows on my m17xr2, there's nothing. Absolutely nothing on the monitor. But I can hear the machine whirring and starting up. It even got into the login screen (but I can't see it) and the webcam turned on for the face login thing.

I got in and after waiting for like 5min, the screen just came back on. No flickering, no fuzzy lines. It just turned on, like I pressed the power switch or something. Odd. So I browsed Facebook and played a video.

Halfway into the video, the monitor just went... off. The power light isn't flashing, the keyboard isn't flashing. Nothing is. But the monitor is just off. But I can hear the video playing. No critical error sound fx or anything like it. Everything seems fine except the monitor is .... off.

Could it be the monitor's cable or something went loose? Or is my graphics card faulty?

Also, I thought my m17x is done for, but when I turned it on today. The monitor came back to life when it entered the login screen. Prior to that, the booting up thing, with all the lines of code and the windows logo, there are just not there. As in, monitor is off.

This is really troubling me. I have a lot of data on my PC and I'm using it to finish my university assignment. If someone can help me pinpoint the problem I would be eternally grateful!

(Sorry for the wall of text, trying to describe it as accurately as I can)

Oh crap. Typo at the title. =.=

 

It really could be either one. Usually if it's the wire to the display if you move the display up and down you'll be able to get it to turn on and off. There could also be a loose connection. Try taking it apart and looking at it.

 

The cable may be the cause however if you have not been inside the system lately (or at all), I doubt it. The display cable snaps into place and the connection is rather solid. I doubt it can disconnect on its own.

Could be the GPU
Could be the inverter

**If you are still under warranty and the behavior persists, definitely get on the phone and start the troubleshooting process with support. If it is a component failing, its going to take some time to run through the process with support and get the ball rolling on part dispatches.**

You can try a couple of things on your own -

1. Boot into the diagnostic partition and run the display/video related tests. These are very basic - may not pick up on anything.
2. Download and install this to a USB flash drive - AW 32bit Diagnostics
Drivers and Downloads

Use the install to USB FLASH drive or optical media option. Boot using F12 @ BIOS and select the option you used.

You can enter the symptom tree or custom test option and select the display/video.

Finally, if you recently changed video drivers, revert back to stock or whatever you were running before. See if that is a factor.

 

I think it's the GPU, though I'm not sure which one. The monitor came back to life again but when I tried to disable crossfire, it just turned off permanently.

I talked to the out-of-warranty team on AW support (Sigh. I should have extended mine), but they said they can't do anything until I transfer the ownership to the UK (since that is where I am now) and from what I've read on the support website, it says it might take up to 15 working days for the database to be updated and an email sent to my inbox.

So for now, I'm just going to wait until that happens and call back asap. I'm asking for a tech to be sent here. Desperately need my laptop to be working again.

Meanwhile, I'll try to get a working USB thumb drive and run the diagnostic as suggested.

(They recommended that I take my unit to the nearest service centre as it is free, but takes up to 2 weeks to fix, but from what I've heard people who send their units there often get them back scratched or something, so I'm not risking mine. >.<)

 

Hmm. The monitor is still off even when I move it here and there. And I'm not going to take it apart, the last time I tried I almost broke the indicator panel...

 

Hi fellow malaysian!
I think there is one way to make sure whether the GPU or the monitor is the cause of the trouble.
If you have any external monitor, I think you could try to connect to it, if the monitor displays everything normally, then it should be something wrong with the monitor itself, although unlikely to happen.

Hope your problem will be sorted quickly.

 

hidz hit it on the money (+1 bud!).

Output to an external - if you see the same issue, its definitely the GPU. If not, explore other options.

 

I'm not sure how to do that though~ I hear you need a HDMI cable or something and those come in different varieties..? Can I plug it into an old TV set? Or do I need an LCD with HD capabilities?

Also, I think I should add that when my monitor goes 'off', the backlight goes off as well. Oh, and the 'on-off' thing is an intermittent problem.

This morning, the monitor was alright. I even ran Mass Effect 2 and (almost) finished Chapter 1, when the screen goes 'off'. But I can still move around, shoot, activate my skills and such. Keyboard and audio fully functional. The only thing is, I can't see what I'm doing.

 

This probably isn't relevant, but my fan revs up at the weirdest time. When I'm idling, mostly. It just revs up then goes down. Pretty sure it isn't hot, UK is so cold... compared to Malaysia. And the breeze coming out from laptop feels cold too. o.o

(Oh, and I just cleaned the vents 2 weeks ago. Plenty of dust came out.)

 

For connecting to old tv set I think you need an adapter.
Don't you have any friend who owns a monitor?
That would be much easier.

You can use VGA or HDMI cable, as both ports are available on our M17x.

 

Still working on finding an external monitor.

And strangely, my monitor is up and running, for now. In fact, I was using the laptop to do my assignments and stuff for the entire night. Surprisingly it didn't go nuts this time. BUT, when I moved it a teeeeny tiny bit, the monitor went dead. O.O?!

I shined my lamp on it, but I don't see a dim image of my deskptop or anything. So the backlight probably isn't the cause of all this headache.

Also, I tried switching crossfirex off, and to my surprise it worked fine this time. I even ran some old school game (Baldur's Gate 2 for about 45min and nothing happened, that was before I moved it).

Do you think it's an LCD inverter problem?

 

Oh, and everytime my laptop plays 'dead'. I have to force shutdown it, remove the battery, hold power button for about 30seconds, plug it back in and voila, it works again! (This method works for about 70% of the time. Odd I know. >.>)

 

So many possibilities. Could be the GPU, or the monitor, or it could be your crossfire cable?
But I am not very sure about that, just guessing.

Wow that's bad if you always need to force shutdown it, you might damage other hardware as well.

 

Agreed - Try to limit the 'force shutdown'. When you interrupt power like that, you risk damaging the HDD - at the very least, risk corruption of the Array.

 

I found a temporary solution to my problem, tapping the power icon once to initiate sleep mode, then retapping it to bring it back. I'm beginning to suspect my GPU is faulty or something, because the monitor shutting off thing happens almost all the time when I run something graphics intensive, like Mass Effect 2.

 

Now... this is just odd. My laptop's random blackout fits have stopped. It just stopped. Even when I nudge it, the monitor doesn't blackout. How very strange...

Prior to all this, I used to dump my laptop into my big luggage and lock it in before going to uni (not taking any chances). But after the blackout fits, I left it on my study desk untouched, even when I go out. A few days later (now), it seems to have recovered. It feels like its trying to tell me not to put it into the luggage. =.="

 

Luggage?
I think that is not a good place to keep your laptop wherever you go, find a suitable bagpack to carry that.
I have a friend who put his desktop inside his check-in luggage, and now his desktop won't even start.