m17x r3 6970M problem

Hi,
All of a sudden my laptop white screened. When I rebooted it, it booted to a black screen, no mouse nothing. Anyway I disabled my main Graphics card, and my laptop works fine using the Intel one. So, I tried reinstalling the driver for my 6970M Graphics card (several times) but I keep getting same problem. When I ran ePSA diagnostics I was presented with the error code 2000-0123. Which relates to bad ram, I have identified the bad stick. Anyway nothing shows up for the graphics card on ePSA so I'm guessing the problem is software? Anyone any suggestions on what might be the problem? Would a fresh install sort it? Also, do you think the bad stick or RAM had something to do with it or contributed to it?

EDIT: Could it be bios related?



Also, if I fix the problem with my graphics card I will need some new RAM what's the best brand to get? Can I put 1600mhz in? Any recommendations. Is 32gb overkill, was thinking of just putting 16gb in 8gb x 2.

Thanks.

My laptop stats:
Alienware M17xR3
PIntel Core i7 Processor 2720QM (2.20Ghz, 6MB, 4C)
Display : 17.3in WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD)
Memory : 8192MB (2x4096) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
Graphics : 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M w/ PowerXpress
Wireless : European Intel Wireless LAN 6300 3x3 (802.11a/b/g/n) Card
Operating System : English Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Hard Drive : 750GB Serial ATA (7200RPM) {one hybrid and one standard}

 

2000-0123 is usually referring to RAM.
The video card may need a replacement. If you have any relatives or friends that have a card that is supported by the m17x R3 you could use it for troubleshooting.
32Gb is just too much if you are planning to use it for gaming only. Also, to get the best out of it you need to fill all 4 slots... so 4x4 would be the ideal setup.

 

Hi,
Thanks for you reply. I discovered (via Google) what 2000-0123 related to. I identified the bad RAM stick and I am now running it on 4gb. The video card may need replacement really? How can I be certain? I ran ePSA and everything seems good but I did noticed it shows no results for the AMD card just the intel one. I wasn't particularly hard on the card just some occasional gaming. I tried a fresh windows install and when installing the AMD driver my computer black screens during the installation process. I then have to boot in safe mode and uninstall it.

I don't have any friends that would let me take their computer apart I'm afraid.

 

UPDATE: was just messing around with a fresh install tried with the latest version of the driver from Dell. It seems to install but I get a black screen on reboot. So, I disabled the Intel drivers, I think they're automatically installed with the AMD drivers. And my 6970m seems to be working fine. So, why can't I get both cards working? Problem only occurs when drivers for both cards are installed at the same time.

 

Another Update:
So, I flashed my BIOS to A12 (the latest one) to see if it would make a difference, it didn't. But what I was able to do was go into the BIOS and change display mode to PEG rather than SG. When I rebooted I got a blue screen with vertical black lines going through it. What the hell? Anyway I ran ePSA again, this time it did test the AMD card rather than the integrated Intel one. And it threw up the following - Error code 2000-0332. With the help of google I discovered it indicates GPU memory failure. Fantastic. Just to be sure, I read some of dells tips or fixes. Which was to flash the BIOS, which I done again, tried an older version then A12 again. Same error code. I also tried re-sitting the GPU and blowing some dust of it. (As if that was going to work). So, still no joy. So, I think I am safe in saying my GPU is bolloxed.

So, I'm a little worried why did both a ram stick and my GPU fail at the same time?? Could my motherboard be on its way out? Then I found this: Dell offers free motherboard replacement for faulty Sandy Bridge chipsets - Techworld.com will have to check when I bought my yoke but was around then. So, should I invest some money into a new GPU and ram? Or will my motherboard die?

OR would dell offer a discount an a new alienware 18? Considering my €3000 laptop only lasted about 3 years.

Any help greatly appreciated, since I'm not getting too many replies.