M18x R1 won't start, 8 beeps

My M18x R1 has dual AMD 6990s.

Recently I was having graphics issues with the screen getting distorted and staticy. Then I got hit with the blue screen of death.
Computer restarted and worked fine for a while, just performance was very low.
Today I realized I was on integrated graphics and attempted to switch back to my 6990s. Restart failed with 8 beeps on multiple tries.
I removed power cable, battery, back panel, and disconnected cmos battery. Held down power button for 30 seconds before reconnecting cmos and attempting restart with power cable.
First attempt failed with 5 beeps. Powered off and attempted restart again. Second and all further attempts failed with 8 beeps.
I tried this process several times with same 5 beeps / 8 beep results.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
Or are my graphics cards probably dead?

 

Sounds like dead gpu. You can to switch them and try one at a time to see which one.

 

How would I do that? I've never taken the computer apart more than cleaning out the cooling fans.

 

Easiest way to find out if one of your 6990M cards died is to remove them and see if the machine will POST without 8-beeps using Intel HD Graphics and no GPU installed. If it does, do as @pathfindercod suggested. Try with just the primary GPU installed with the secondary PCIe slot empty. If it gets 8-beep, swap the heat sinks and try secondary GPU 6990M in the primary slot with nothing in the secondary slot. If that works, the one GPU is dead. If both GPUs do it, and Intel HD Graphics does not, you may have an extreme rare case of both GPUs dying.

If you still get 8-beeps with Intel HD Graphics and no MXM cards installed, read on below...

If you have all current Windows Updates installed for Windows 7/8/8.1, or you have Windows 10 installed, then your LCD might be corrupted like what has happened to a bunch of other people already. The symptom is 8 beeps and there are about 50 reported 18" Alienware systems that have ruined LCD panels since Windows 10 went RTM on July 29. Windows Updates that make Windows 7/8/8.1 ready for a Windows 10 upgrade appear to be causing the same damage. So far, all reported failures involve systems with NVIDIA MXM cards, but it cannot be ignored as a possibility with AMD. We still do not have a definitive answer on the cause yet, other than it all appears tied to Windows 10 and Windows 10-readiness Updated.

See this thread for more information:
*** Windows 10 + NVIDIA WHQL Drivers are Killing Alienware and Clevo LCD Panels ***

 

I can pretty much guarantee it is a dead 6990M and not the nVidia LCD megadeath problem. It's incredible his 6990Ms have made it this far, they're way past their expiration date.

 

How difficult is it to get to the graphics cards? Is this something someone inexperienced can do? Or should I seek out professional help?

 

You can use the instructions from http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/a...ptops/alienware-m18x_service manual_en-us.pdf to do it. It's not that hard, just make sure to follow all instructions (including the one about being grounded).

 

My advice would be to just take it slow. Have a fairly large work area cleared. I use my entire kitchen table. Note what screws came from where. Although the vast majority are the same size, there are some larger ones for the lid hinges, and some smaller ones for the keyboard and WiFi card.

If a part seems like it should be coming part, but won't, check to see if there are more screws that need to be removed. This is especially true of the bezel around the keyboard. It has tiny plastic fasteners that 'click' into place and are extremely easy to break.

The M18x is also one of the only models I've owned where the lid of the laptop had to come off to get to the graphics cards and CPU. Again, take it slow and be careful with the WiFi and inverter wires, and note their routing.

Lastly, be EXTREMELY careful with the connector for the hard drive caddy. If you break that, your laptop will be down until you get a new one. Mr. Fox had the great idea of not putting the screws under the hard drive caddy back in. This makes it so you don't need to mess with the hard drive connector again after the initial tear down, and therefore you don't run the risk of having that down time. Same of the keyboard connectors and your Cross Fire cable. Be careful with the little clips that hold them in. They're pretty fragile.

 

Oh man, welcome to the club - http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/awm18xr1-radeon-hd6990m-fail-without-a-cause.757747/

 

I'm 99.999% certain it only affects NVIDIA because we haven't seen a single example from AMD. You're probably correct. The fact that he has AMD GPUs is reason enough all by itself to suspect it is a GPU failure since they are notoriously unreliable, and he definitely got his money's worth, and then some, from that golden pair of Radeons.

I do not consider it to be an NVIDIA problem, however. It's a Micro$loth Windows 10 problem that seems to only affect customers with NVIDIA GPUs. But, considering the number of symptomatic systems is less than 1% of all M18xR1/R2/18 sold, and the number of them that are GeForce powered totally eclipses AMD's sales, there's always that slim chance that it's not isolated to NVIDIA and simply don't know any better due to the statistical insignificance of AMD. In fact, there may be many systems that have been adversely affected by Windows 10 that haven't manifested any symptoms only because circumstances haven't caused the EDID corruption yet.

 

For what it's worth, I have not had any EDID corruption in Win 10 on my M18x R2 + Dual 7970Ms. I keep a test partition on the mSATA drive and I periodically boot into it and play around with Win10

 

Since I'm expecting to find a dead gpu, can anyone suggest a current gpu to replace my 6990s with? Can't afford a high end card right now so something budget friendly that can still keep up with current graphics. I'm sure any current card or cards will outperform my old 6990s.

 

A single 780M would be excellent, even if you can only afford one. That would be your best option, although two would be better. 880M is no good and Maxwell GPUs will not work in the M18xR1 at all (won't boot... will have 8 beeps like you have right now). You are going to need to buy a 100W 680M or 7970M (either will work) M18xR2 heat sink and an NVIDIA support plate (x-bracket) for each 780M card you install, and a SLI bridge cable if you want SLI. The CrossFire cable only works for AMD and the 6990M heat sinks are not adequate to cool the more powerful GPU. Some components that need to be cooled through contact with the heat sink are uncovered and not cooled at all by the 6990M heat sinks. If you use a 7970M heat sink, in addition to the NVIDIA support plate (x-bracket) you will need to peel off the adhesive black plastic shield that is stuck to the copper heat plate. It will contact the die on the NVIDIA GPU and cause problems with overheating. The plastic shield is not needed, so just toss it in the garbage.