m17x-R1 SLI enabled goes black from Boot

The Laptop Specs are below and had this laptop for awhile. I used to be a tech so Ive taken it apart before to clean out the fans.

But my problem is I updated the nvidia drivers to 285.62 for windows vista 32x for both my 9800m gt vids, DirectX v10. After a few days my screen started to flicker and pixelate then lockup like it was overheating or had a memory problem. Then it got to the point where everytime I would start the laptop there was absolutely no image.

Unplugging the laptop wasnt enough, I had to drain the battery too. Only then could I get an image when I rebooted it after plugging it back in. I rolled back the driver to 176.10 and it worked fine for awhile until I enabled SLI again. Then it went black and stayed that way.

Right now SLI is disabled and Im running 176.10 again. I only use it to watch movies via HDMI and play civilization 5 in DirectX 9 because 10 is too slow.

Any suggestions to getting my SLI too work is greatly appreciated. thank you

--SYS NFO--
System Model m17x - R1 Series
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9300 @ 2.50GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 306, 7/23/2008
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 2.00 GB
Available Physical Memory 825 MB
Total Virtual Memory 4.23 GB
Available Virtual Memory 2.62 GB
Page File Space 2.29 GB


AREA-51 M17X 17" WUXGA W/CAM BLK-RIP-PNT REV. 2
INTEL 2.50GHZ T9300 6M SCREENED M15-17
ELPIDA 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 SO-DIMM 667MHZ Y9540
M17X / M15X NVIDIA 9800M-GT2 512MB FOX
M17X SLI CABLE GTX (NB8EGTX-ONLY)
M17X THERMAL MODULE 3600GLM3 512MB AND GT2
M17X PRIMARY 12 CELL BATTERY-ACCESS
M17X PRIMARY 230W AC ADAPTER-ACCESS
WINDOWS VISTA ULTIMATE SP1 COA

--DX Diag--

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 2/18/2012, 12:51:49
Machine name: CASPAH-PC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Ultimate (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.111025-0338)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Alienware
System Model: m17x - R1 Series
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9300 @ 2.50GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.5GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 1647MB used, 2681MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: The file nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll is not digitally signed, which means that it has not been tested by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). You may be able to get a WHQL logo'd driver from the hardware manufacturer.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Sound Tab 3: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 9800M GT
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_060B&SUBSYS_12221043&REV_A2
Display Memory: 1269 MB
Dedicated Memory: 501 MB
Shared Memory: 767 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (59Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
Driver Version: 7.15.0011.7610 (English)
DDI Version: 10
BGRA Supported: Yes
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 7/8/2008 08:58:00, 5890048 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: No
WHQL Date Stamp: None
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-454B-11CF-496E-293202C2CA35}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x060B
SubSys ID: 0x12221043
Revision ID: 0x00A2
Revision ID: 0x00A2
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeVC1_C ModeWMV9_C ModeVC1_B ModeWMV9_B ModeVC1_A ModeWMV9_A

 

fixed it, problem was the SLI cable was damaged since it sits so close to the bottom of the laptop. I pulled off the cable. Laptop is fine now. New SLI cable is only $27, relatively cheap fix

 

Welcome to NBR, Caspah and good to hear that you already figured it out.