Windows 8 and 6990m

Hi all,
I'm having a frustrating issue.

I installed Windows 8 a couple of days ago and all went well. I actually did an upgrade from Win7 to Win8 (I know, I shouldn't have done this but I did ). No issues. All upgraded in under 20 minutes.

Today, I run a game for the first time and notice that the card detected is the on board Intel 3000 card. I try the switchable graphics card to no avail. So I try to open CCC and I get an error...hummm...so I look around the forums and found a beta8 download ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-010-8-november-12-amd-official-beta-7-a.html) and download it. CCC installs, I get a white screen of death (!!!), reboot manually and windows8 shows me that CCC is well installed.

So I reopen my game but the graphics still suck and it says im on Intel 3000...So I open CCC/System Information, it says my display is AMD Radeon HD 6900m Series. I open dxdiag and Display shows as Intel 3000.

I am so confused...how do I know which graphic card I am on? And if I really am on 3000, how do I install 6990m one? This is so ridiculously not user friendly...

 

Are you able to disable the IGP through bios?

 

CptXabaras. I've never thinkered with the bios. Could you point me in the right direction? Once in bios, what do I need to do?

Note that I just went in Windows's Remove Program and uninstalled AMD CCC. Rebooted my PC. But it seems CCC is still here? Because I see 2 folders under C:/AMD/: (AMD_Catalyst_12.11_Beta8) and (Catalyst_Mobility_64-Bit_Util)

edit:
I checked in the bios, there's no options to disable IGP...Could not find it anyway.

So I uninstalled CCC, rebooted and re downloaded a new version from AMD's website. It says its installing CCC in folder /program files/ATI Technologies; but this folder is empty after installation/reboot as if CCC is not installed...I really don't know what to do...

edit 2:
Downloaded AMD Catalyst 12.10 WHQL from ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...12-11beta-major-driver-update-12-10-cap1.html). It installed CCC successfully. When I enter CCC, I see the following info in System Information:
Driver Packaging Version: Not Available
Provider: Advanced Micro Devices
2D Driver Version: 8.01.01.1266
2D Driver File Path: Not Available
Direct 3D Version: 9.14.10.0926
OpenGL Version: 6.14.10.11931
CCC Version: 2012.0928.1532.26058

But I seem to still be on the Intel IGP...In game, I can only see that IGP as a card. I thought maybe the game has an issue so I went to systemlabrequirements to scan my PC and it also shows the IGP...How the heck do I go back to my 6990m!!!!!

 

Uugggg....So this was pretty bad...Started getting white screens so I just decided to reset W8 using the new W8 reset option (not refresh)...
I know the usual W7 guide to install drivers in certain order...is it the same for W8? Also, which AMD driver should I install? The one on Dell's website (R308386.exe) or the latest beta?

 

Dell drivers first, latest AMD driver on top.

 

Also some games for me anyways show the HD 4000 graphics even if its running on the 680m. Sleeping dogs is one which only sees the integrated graphics, but I doubt it can bench 60FPS on ultra with a HD 4000. Just as long as you think your getting enough FPS it should be fine or use GPU-Z or msi afterburner or similar to detect if the 6990m is under load during that game. I don't think you have a little taskbar icon to show you if the discrete gpu is working on CCC?

 

No I'm sure that the 6990m is not installed.
Yesterday night, I started installing everything based on the order of the Win7 thread. The first time it asked me to reboot after drivers installation was when I installed the Killer Network drivers. It asked me to reboot. On reboot, I was stuck in a white screen of death loop. ....
So I resetted windows yet again and this morning, I'll start reinstalling the drivers. I noticed that most drivers are pre installed though so I think this time I won't install much.

I'm thinking of installing ONLY my 6990m driver. I believe the on board Intel one is packaged with it. Which 6990m driver should I install. Can someone link me to the right one please?

 

i would do a complete driver install and do a clean install using tools like driver sweeper. like my good friend Joe has said dell drivers first then AMD as the Dell drivers have the switchable graphics options. And the reason your not seeing the disable integrated graphics option is because your not running a modded BIOs that has those options


driver sweeper:
or do it manually much better heres a guide How to: Remove your Nvidia GPU Drivers. yes i know it says nivdia drivers it works for both

 

I presume reinstalling Win8 (reset, not refresh) is the same as using the clean method right?
I did this and installed the Dell driver than the AMD one. I used the 13.1 CCC beta (13-1_mobility_vista_win7_win8_64_dd_ccc_whql).
I don't know if my system is running right or not...

How can I check?
I installed GPU-Z and I believe its telling me I have issues...

This is my GPU-Z screenshot: http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/13/01/23/7pw.png GPU Clock 0 MHz?
Sensor info: http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/13/01/23/5qu.png

Should I be worried? The FN + F7 key is not doing anything

 

Maybe you have toggled to igpu only? you need to install .net framework 3.5 and 4 to get the OSD/FN+F7 to work on windows 8, otherwise it corrupts the install I think. Looks like your drivers are having issues.

 

Oh man this is really annoying
Can you give me a step by step guide of what I need to do? I've tried resetting/reformating 3 times now and I was never able to get my 6990m to work...

 

First I would enable .net framework 3.5 and 4 in the windows settings first. Installing the .NET Framework 3.5 on Windows 8 Here, but you need to enable it from control panel will be easier. Then install OSD driver (from dell) as well to make FN+F7 to switch graphics work.

Well I assume windows will have its own driver for the 6990 when you have clean installed. You will need to install the latest dell driver fromthe support page. Then the latest BETA driver direct from ATI ontop of it, (not a clean install).

 

Thanks Denniz. I'll start doing this. Will update this post as I go along.

Step 1: .NET 3.5. --> Using the page you linked, in my CP, I don't see 3.5.1 as shown. I see .NET Framework 3.5, this is already selected.

Step 2: Installed Dell OSD from Dell's website. After reboot, when I hit FN + F7, I get the popup asking me to confirm I want to switch. GPU-Z still shows 0 MhZ on GPU clock though. Don't think anything changed.

so what should my next step be? Btw, in my Device Manager, the 6990m display adapters has a yellow ! as if the driver has issues.

So next step based on your post is the install latest dell driver from the support page and after that, the latest BETA driver from ATI.
Can you tell me what am I looking for on the support page? Under VIDEO category, I have tons of things there..here is a picture : http://s14.postimage.org/mw1y9y7m9/image.png

And finally, installing the BETA drivers. Which one should I install? I installed the 13.1 before all this so I guess they are still there

 

Try this guide

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-graphics-switching-m17x-r4-radeon-7970m.html

IF that does not work then you might need to do as told above and install the DELL Drivers and over them the AMD drivers.

 

Can you confirm which Dell drivers? If you look at my linked image, it seems I have tons of things to install? Does this scan my PC to see what is missing or it's a generic list? I am so confused...

 

My system has a nvidia card so I am not 100% sure about the process btw . But I will try to help. Can you let the dell support website auto detect your service tag? It will narrow down that large list of drivers

 

Picture from my BIOS advanced tab. I have a feeling I have an old bios..what have I done!
My Bios: http://s13.postimage.org/fixjk40x2/photo.jpg

Auto detecting my service tag and choosing "Filtered driver results for your service tag (5 files)" narrows it down indeed:
My choices: http://s9.postimage.org/am1qub8cf/image.png
So I should start with my video only driver to update? (COMPAL; Driver version 8.8.51.2, A00)?

 

Did you filter it by windows 8? there is a specific filter for the BIOS btw. I wouldn't install that driver, looks too old to me. Not 100% sure what to do, for my nvidia card I have to have the intel drivers installed first then the nvidia ones otherwise it won't install the nvidia ones. So you could try that.

 

I don't have Win8 as an option as Win8 is not supported on the M17x (I presume that is the reason?)...

I believe the Intel drivers are already installed...do I have a way to check this?
See my GPU-Z image, it shows the Intel card active: http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/13/01/23/d4h.png
Does this mean it's installed?

What should I do? ><

 

My system was running great till I used driver sweeper to try to wipe my drivers before Installed new ones. It ended up screwing up something in my registry so now I can't even boot with switchable graphics enabled, and have to use the bios toggle. I'm going to do a clean install here soon and hopefully that will fix the issue.

 

I don't mind doing a clean install..I've reformatted (reset) 3 times so far! But it NEVER worked for me...I install the Dell driver (that seems to be pre installed with Win8 anyway) and tried multiple AMD drivers (12, 13, the one on dell) and each time I get some issues...

 

the 12.11 beta 11 drivers worked best for me, not sure what your issue is.

 

Bigtony. Did you do a clean install of win8 or an upgrade from win7?
I will go ahead and use the reset option inside Windows8. This will be similar to a clean install. Can you tell me what drivers you installed in what order? I'm really desperate and don't know what to do...Extremely frustrating not to be able to use my laptop for 2 days now

 

uuuggg..
So this just happened. I decided to install 12.11 beta 11 over everything (I'm pretty sure I tried these before). During the installation, I got a white screen of death. So I hard resetted my PC and once Win8 appeared, I had the "completed" popup of CCC.
So I opened GPU-Z and I have:
http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/13/01/23/c6v.png
and
http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/13/01/23/3zt.png

!!!
Does this mean it worked? What is the best way for me to know if my PC is "complete" now? What easy benchmark can I run to confirm my 6990m is working properly?

 

Yup, it happen to me also.... Upgrade it from Win 7 into 8 with choose the option to keep the previous data. It went crazy as hell. My 6990 driver is missing, system very very slow, CCC not working, everything doesn't look good. However, mine doesn't have problem after doing the clean install. Installing my 12.11 driver directly without install the stock from Dell support, following with caps 2. Everything workings fine. Now my system run on 13.1 driver. Everything normal until now.... No issue whatsoever except for brightness control....

 

Well I guess that did not work afterall.
I launched 3 games. The first one, Metro 2033, did not even launch. Said my graphics are not compatible. I presume this means it's running the IGP.
Second one, GW2, ran unbelievably slow.
Final one, Path Of Exile, it would not let me choose any other card than the IGP one.

During GW2 and PoE, I ran GPU-Z and the Intel HD Graphic card had 100% GPU load while the 6990 had 0.

I guess this means my 6990 is not enabled..Cannot find a way to enable it in bios...FN+F7 isnt doing anything (it asks me if I want to switch but I don't think it actually switches anything...

Is my only option to format back to Win7?

 

If you have not already done so, reboot Windows 8 with Driver Signature Enforcement (DSE) disabled. I suspect Windows 8 is preventing the drivers from properly installing. I MUST do this with Windows 8 every time or my NVIDIA drivers always refuse to install properly. Once Windows has loaded without DSE, reinstall your AMD drivers right over the top of what is already installed.

Disable Driver Signature Enforcement:

1. Go to the Charms bar (side menu)
2. Click on the gear icon labeled "Settings"
3. Select "More PC Settings", then select "General"
4. Choose "Restart now" under "Advanced startup"
5. Select "Troubleshoot", then "Advanced Options"
6. Select "Windows Startup Settings", click on "Restart"
7. When the computer restarts, select option # 7 "Disable driver signature enforcement"

After Windows 8 loads you can install the video driver. After you've installed the driver reboot once again and DSE is automatically re-enabled.

For step-by-step picture instructions, look at this web page.

 

Thanks Mr Fox. I already decided to reformat but this time, using a real reformat. I made a boot USB drive and rebooted using it. Went to the Win8 "dos" screen and formatted my partition. Installed a fresh Win8. I'm there now. I did not install ANY driver so far and when setting up Win8, I made sure to disable the driver updates and Win udpates. I will also do a reboot now with the DSE disabled just in case.

Once I will have this done, I will install the following:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/698890-amd-12-11-beta11-12-11-cap-2-released.html

Second post, second link on that post: AMD Catalyst 12.11 Beta11 Driver for Windows® 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista® - with .NET 4 Support

Can you confirm this is OK? So ZERO, NOTHING, NO drivers installed after fresh install. First step, install that AMd 12.11 Beta 11 driver. Nothing else.

Should this work?

 

It should work fine, eggzeon. I'm glad to see you doing a clean install. That always helps achieve a good outcome and usually minimizes the need for troubleshooting.

It is generally advisable to load chipset drivers first, but Windows 8 should have almost all of the other drivers your system requires natively supported, including the motherboard chipset. Other than the video driver, you may need to install the card reader, free fall sensor, and naturally Alienware Control Center and OSD.

 

Thank you
I am in DSE disabled mode now and will install 12.11. Someone said here (and elsewhere) to install CAP2 after 12.11. What is CAP2 and do I need it? In the thread I linked, the third link is: AMD Catalyst 12.11 CAP2
Do I need this after 12.11 Beta 11?

2 minutes until 12.11 download finishes. We shall see!

 

Go ahead and install the CAP file. It helps to improve gaming performance. You don't "need" it, but you will benefit from having it unless you do not play games.

FYI - once you install the CAP file, you're done. You don't "use" it and there is no program with an icon to launch. The CAP is a game profile configuration file and it works automatically without any user intervention.

 

Alright.
So during the 12.11 installation, towards the end, I got a white screen. I waited a couple of minutes and hard rebooted using the power button.
When Win8 came back, the CCC screen said Complete and the log showed 100% success.

When I open CCC, I see:
Driver Packaging Version: Not Available
Provider: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc
2D Driver Version: 8.01.01.1278
2D Driver File Path: Not Available
Direct3D Version: 9.14.10.0942
OpenGL Version: 6.14.10.11995
Catalyst Control Center Version: 2012.1202.303.5362

My GPU-Z shows the following on IPG: http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/13/01/23/cs3.png
My GPU-Z shows the following on 6990: http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/13/01/23/d64.png

GPU-Z sensors show 8% GPU load for IPG and 0% for 6990m (no programs running).

How can I confirm if it worked? I'd rather not download 10+GB of stuff from Steam just to confirm

Also, in DXDIAG.exe, I don't see any mention of my 6990m. In the Display Tab, at the top, it says:
Device Name: Intel HD Graphics Family.

Should it see the AMD one?

 

yeah something is off.
I downloaded 3DMark11 and when I run it, I get:
3DMark 11 has found DirectX 11 system files, but your graphics adapter reports that it supports only Direct X 10_1.

3DMark 11 requires both DirectX 11 system files and DirectX 11 capable hardware to run. If you are certain that you have DirectX 11 hardware present, there may be a problem with your video drivers. See 3DMark 11 FAQ for more information.

---
edit
----
I rebooted just in case and got a white screen on startup...hard reboot and I'm back to where I was with 3DMark11 not detecting my D11 HW...
I think it's time I go back to win7. How should I do this? I did not touch my recovery partition, how would I call for it?

 

Sorry for the triple bump but some movement!
I went back to clean state, installed Intel's HD IPG and tried 3 things:
Install 13.10 --> Failed (see below)
Install 12.11 --> Failed (see below)
Install 12.10 --> Failed (see below)

Everytime it failed, here is what happened:
During the CCC installation, when it arrives at the "Installing Display Device" (or something like this), I get a white screen. Only way to get out is hard reboot. Every single time this happened. No exceptions. After each attempts, I removed CCC and all AMD drivers using the Remove Program option in Windows.

After removing 12.10, I tried installing the AMD drivers from Dell's website. !!!!!! No errors. No white screens, no crash. DXDiag detects it... What the heck! Why? GPU-Z confirms that there is a GPU Load (low but more than 0!).

When I install CCC from AMD site (the times it failed), right clicking on the desktop would give me an option to open CCC. Now, it does not. I have two new options:
Graphic Properties --> This opens what seems to be an old CCC UI
Configure Switchable Graphics --> This allows me to switch between IGP and 6990m like FN+F7 would

The CCC it installed has the following:
Driver Packaging Version 8.851.2-110609a-120503C-Dell
Catalyst Version 12.10
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.1152
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/Class/{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}/0001
Direct3D Version 7.14.10.0833
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.10765
Catalyst Control Center Version 2011.0609.2331.40394

I am afraid of doing anything now! lol...but I probably need to update my CCC no? I presume lots of improvements came...what should I try now?

Also, is there a way to do a backup of my current state on Windows 8 in case something screws up?

 

Yeah usually the Dell drivers have slight tweaks compared to generic ones thats why they are behind sometimes. But i would install the latest beta ONTOP, not as a clean install and see if it works, maybe enable .net frame work 3.5 and 4 and whatever other version there is out there as well.

Good luck trying to get it to work though

 

Will install the latest one. Is 13.1 the latest beta? I'll try it out (I did enable .net 3.5 and 4).

Should I be installing something else from Dell's page? I heard that the Killer Network program is not working well in Win8. Confirmed? Also, what about all the alienware programs line (like the Command Center, Respawn, Diagnostic, etc)

 

Sorry I couldn't respond sooner, Its been a long busy day. I did an upgrade from windows 7 as I wasn't in the mood to take the time to reinstall everything and It went smoothly minus having to update the Killer card driver (which works flawlessly for me btw). I did a reinstall of the latest 12.11 beta drivers and they worked fine. Have you tried using a modded bios to disable the ipgu and force the 6990m to run? That's what im using at the moment and it works just fine.

 

I think that is good advice, Tony. It seems something is just not working right for eggzeon with switchable graphics enabled.

 

Yea the AMD drivers get really messy with the igpu and I've had all kinds of different issues. getting rid of the igpu just makes things a tad bit easier. I'm Missing the good old Nvidia Drivers and optimus.

 

@eggzeon - what's up, bro? Get it working right yet?

 

Sorry for my lack of replies Dam i have been busy Heres an install guide of things you should install it says windows 7 but it works just as well fior windows 8 http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html

 

I did a system format and Friday and so far Everything is running good including switchable graphics. To get everything to function correctly, you need to install the 6990m video card driver off of the dell site, and then install either the 12.11 beta 11 (It's stable so I'm staying with it because I know it works) or the 13.1 driver. Hope this helps someone!!

 

I have the same problem of white screen of death ..
no matter everything I tried
bios shows ATI but if I disable Intel 300 from windows the 6990 doesn't take charge
if I disable it from unlocked bios the computer doesn't boot just beebs

the device managed shows the 6990 but it is not installed right ..

will post later with more details

 

I had this exact same issue after installing my ssd and doing a fresh install. I had previously been running windows 8 with no issues. After 5 fresh installs I said screw it and stuck with windows 7.

 

Try these modded drivers http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...5-beta-2-13-4-whql-drivers-3.html#post9182224

First disable driver signing.

.1 -Open command prompt (Admin).

.2 -Type "bcdedit /set {current} testsigning yes" (without quotes) enter.

.3 -Type exit> reboot.

.4 -Install>reboot.

.5 - Disable test mode>Type "bcdedit /set {current} testsigning no" enter.

.6 -Type exit>reboot.