Alienware 18 Discrete GPUs (both of GPUs) Not Detected in Bios

Greetings,

My Alienware 18 suddenly not displaying both graphic cards in bios. I disassembled the unit and found both cards warm (meaning they work) but they are not detected in windows and in bios. I tried a new bios flash and that didnt help.

Any suggestions?

If I need to buy a new motherboard, whats the motherboard model ? thanks guys

 

Sounds like you need a new motherboard. Good luck imo... I tried buying a new motherboard off ebay and got 3 duds in a row. You need DELL Alienware M18x R3 Intel Motherboard LA-9332P 4703X CN-04703X
Please let us know your results and what seller you buy from.


-imest

 

Thanks, I think I might get one.

 

I understand that your laptop is working with intel graphics.May be you must try to boot in OS and try to switch to discrete graphic cards Fn+F5?

 

In IGPU/IGFX mode the system will power off both mxm slots so the cards will not be detected if using intel graphics. Use graphics switch to go back to PEG mode to use dGPU

 

that didn’t work for me, it shows no response

 

I load default bios settings in case something went wrong. At this point do you recommend a fresh windows install or trying to boot Linux off usb ?

 

You have to install the Alienware OSD to make the function keys for GPU switching to work.

 

Just bought and AW 18 real cheap ! and i was cleaning the whole mess it had inside and removed the GPU as well to repaste it later and switched to IGPU for a while. Later when i installed the GPU it didnt showed in BIOS or WINDOWS .It was still working on INTEL GRAPHICS. I even did the bios reset from the bios settings but that didnt helped. Later i removed the CMOS cell and SHORTED the + and - Pins where the CELL sits for 4-5 seconds and then powered on my laptop and it gave 5 beeps .. I waited for like 5-10 seconds and then forcefully shut down my laptop and the power it up and then my laptop powered up with the NVIDIA GFX automatically

 

The 18 and M18x don't natively use SG (Optimus) so it's either iGFX or PEG and you swap between the two by using a Function key (maybe F5 on the 18...). When you remove the dedicated card it will automatically switch to iGFX and when you plug the card back in it will still be set to iGFX. The BIOS default would be PEG so when you reset the CMOS it went back to default, allowing the Nvidia card to be used. I would imagine that if you used the Function key and restarted it would have had the same effect.

 

Exactly but he said his cards were warm when he opened the system. I remember i checked the gpu while it was not detecting in bios nor windows and it was cold as ice

 

It won't detect the GPU in the BIOS or Device Manager when it's set to iGFX, unlike a machine using Optimus that will show the Integrated and Discrete. I'm assuming that all power to the MXM slots is cut when iGFX is active. The moment you removed the card the BIOS was changed.
Awesome that you picked it up nice and cheap!

 

yeah i came to learn that when i had to go through the same problem and the reason i got it cheap because the owner said that the AW 18 used to shut down automatically when the windows boot up but it used to work fine in SAFE MODE. I searched alot before buying it and alot of people here and on other forums said that it was because of the MOSFETS which used to fail in this laptop over time . I searched schematics and found that both AW 18 and AW 17 R1 used the same MOSFETS and luckily i had a faulty 17 R1 board so i just removed the mosfets and installed in aw 18 and the issue was still there. I jused removed the CPU heatsink and repasted it and lol ... It booted fine and no problem so far

 

Awesome. I wish I had the skills to change MOSFETS. Where are they located on the 17 board? What are the 4 chips on the opposite side of the board where the DC jack cable connects to the board?

I have one 17 board with these completely exploded off and another board where they look fine but they smell burnt. I was assuming they were the MOSFETS.

 

Yeap those are the main power MOSFETS i used them in my AW 18 and installed AW 18's MOSFETS in that faulty board. Both power up perfectly. I heard from @Raidriar that the MOSFETS used in AW18 are not reliable and they tend to blow up any time so i thought why take a risk, just swapped the MOSFETS from 17 R1 board ( BOTH have the same part number in SCHEMATICS but different in REAL PICTURES) . Hopefully they wont betray me lol.
If i used to live nearby ( Country or City) i would have replaced your faulty MOSFETS free of cost

 

One of my boards is pretty bad so I don’t think it’s repairable but the other one should be. Not many repairers in Australia though and the labour usually is more expensive than a new board.


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Ahh i see .. I would like to know if are willing to give away that board xD mine does not switches to DEDICATED GPU . I inserted a faulty GPU which burned infront of me and laptop powered off itself and after that it didnt detected any GPU with 120HZ screen and never switched from IGPU to DGPU with 60HZ Screen. Rest works fine so i might be able to salvage mine to make yours work MAYBE

 

Here’s the one that caught on fire, literally. Hahaha




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Opposite end of my Alienware 18 board, never seen one in this location before. Mine blew up very close to the DC jack right under the left MXM slot. It is a very poorly designed system to the point that I firmly believe the Alienware 18 marked the start of decline for Alienware.

 

I would have to agree with you. The 17 and 18 boards were so fragile compared to the previous generation. These MOSFETS are directly beneath the DC connector on the 17 board but I haven't had a good look at the 18. The 18 has a soldered jack, right?

 

Yes it is soldered to the main board

 

woah that blew up really bad :O what about the other mobo ? whats the issue with that?

 

No power. The chips look good but they have a distinct burnt smell. Must have blown internally rather than caught fire


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Most probably one of them or all of them might have blown up