Finally, New R2..Problems Already!!

Hey everyone.. FedEx finally delivered my replacement system. First the good. The lunar silver is AWESOME!!!
The performance of the system seems good (although it is brand new)... See Below.. Anyway, I got a message and my screen went blank 4 times already. It keeps saying my AMD display driver has stopped working and has recovered successfully.. I get these weird lines right before it happens... Sound like a driver issue, or hardware?? I know, I know, the message says it all...

 

Post some pics please, in good light. I'm thinking of getting Lunar Silver for my next M17x-R2.

 

Will post pics... Edited OP

 

Lines you say? What color? Try Updating to the ATI Drivers and see if that fixes anything. It could be either a driver issue or hardware; if the Driver update doesn't fix it then its possibly hardware.

 

Well, not really lines.. It's more like a flicker with random red dots. I tried reinstalling the AMD driver from Dell's website.. It didn't work.. Furthermore, I can't install the ATI CCC... Everytime I try to run it, it keeps wanting to install the program.. I don't get it??? Oh, and it won't let me fully uninstall it either..

 

Seems like the driver is glitchy and messing up your GPU. I recommend downloading your desired driver, uninstalling the current driver in control panel, sweeping with Driver Sweeper, booting into safe mode, running Driver Sweeper again for good measure, and installing your desired driver. That should give you a nice and clean GPU driver install.

If that doesn't fix it, try reseating the GPU and if that fails, you'll probably need a new card since that one seems to be bad.

Good luck!

Let us know what happens.

 

Thanks, I will definitly give that a try..

 

Yeah thats the same for me. You have to do a real crappy way to get the ATI CCC running without dells one. Either way try doing this if you want;

Download ATI's 10.4 Drivers in a easy to remember location (I download them into Desktop but thats me)
Extract them etc.
Go to Device Manager>Video Adapter>Right Click>Uninstall>Make sure the box is ticked for deleting the software.
Reboot.
Microsoft drivers should Install now.

Go back to Device Manager>Display Adapter>Right Click>Update Driver Software>Browse My Computer. Give it the link to the 10.4 ATI Driver. and press okay. It should Do the rest by itself. It wont Install CCC so you'll have to find a way to do that. A guy on here had a good way but ill write it up if your having trouble.

 

Thanks for the tip.. I did exactly as you said. I'm crossing my fingers... This laptop is really really nice and I don't want it taken apart for any hardware repairs and I don't want to send it back.. I really hope this works..

Update: That didn't work.. It keeps happening once every min or two. I can't even use the computer without it freezing up on me..

 

Then it isn't a driver issue; probably a dodgey 5870, Call Dell, let them sort it out. You can try one last thing but it wont do much good i think; do a full format Microsoft drivers will auto install after it and do the steps above and see if it fixes it.

 

Thanks for the help.. I will give it a try but have a feeling it won't help either.. I will give Dell a call.. Why won't these damn CF 5870's come out? If I have to call Dell for a new GPU, I should request that it get replaced with the CF 5870's for my troubles.. BUT, I can't request something that isn't out yet.. Bummer..

P.S. It literally took me 10 min to write this post.. My comp froze 4 times just while writing this post. Ridiculous!!!

 

Can you see errors in the event log? It sure looks like a faulty video card. To be sure i'd completely renstall windows, but as I said-most probably it's the video card.

 

No, I don't see anything in the event log.... I've been on the phone with AW tech support for 2hrs, can't fix it.. They say they're sending out a new video card.. AHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I can't take it anymore. This has been going on for a month now.. Gotta take apart my brand new system..

P.S. could a simple windows anytime upgrade from HP to Ultimate have caused this??

 

no, it's not an upgrade issue for sure.
Can you just for the sake of it reinstall windows and check if the problem goes away ? you don't have anything to loose.

 

Open it and try re-seating the card. Keep in mind that the replacement GPU will be a refurb'ed one.

 

I'm hesitant to reinstall windows becuase I will lose all my software, correct?

Hate to sound like a newbie, but I never had to reinstall my OS before.

 

Crocs,

Sorry bro.

Call Dell, as my replacement is not exhibiting any of those symptoms.

Good luck, and let us know what happens.

 

yep, you'll have to reinstall stuff ... guess that if you're not comfortable doing that you better wait for that replacement gpu

 

Read: *Dell/Alienware Replacement Systems - Warranty Repair Issues*
http://forum.notebookreview.com/6250119-post248.html:mad:

 

Yes, do it on your own or else your system would end up like mine.

 

I'm still waiting on those detailed Lunar Silver pics Crocs.

 

Crocs,

If not the CF, then maybe something else?

RAM?

Good luck with that GPU.

 

I still think it might be a driver issue. Just try a complete reformat and reinstall and use drivercleaner before u install the ATI drivers. It's the first thing I did when I got my system

 

Hey Crocs, sorry to hear that your replacement is not working correct Real bad luck man...

 

Have you tried reflashing your bios. Just incase it was a faulty flash.

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.. Pics to come as soon as I find a decent camera... I guess we'll see if the 5870 has the CF connector huh? Anyway, I've reinstalled the graphics driver, chipset driver and flashed the bios. Nothing worked... Dan.. I hinted at them giving me 8GB instead of 6GB of Ram, but they didn't bite.. I just spoke to my rep who placed the order for the replacement system.. I had him double check that the AW tech put the right order in.. My rep tells me.." I don't see any order for a repair, his notes say he reinstalled the driver and it fixed the problem" LOL.. Can you believe this?? AW tech support is HORRRRIBBBLLLEE!!!!!

 

it has crossfire! ive spoken to a dells sales man and asked if i could get it if i buy today, he said yes we are doing crossfire for £345 - same as the 4870 as its replaceing it. They just havent put it up on the website as of yet due to stock. so answer is yes CF will be available soon=)

 

bummer.

I don't think that next time I'd hint. .....gimmee. They can think of it compensation for lack of QC.

Good Luck.

 

I agree 100%.. I'm not done with them yet lol.. As for the CF, when is it going to be available in the US??

Update: I uninstalled the ATI driver agian, ran driver sweeper in safe mode, reinstalled the driver agian. So far so good (typing this messge).. We'll see what happens. I'll keep you guys updated.

 

Well,

Whaddya know? Driver problem?

My fingers are crossed.

Rep goes to Desertf0x9 for the solid advice.

 

Good advice yes, but not a solution.. It was going good for a while, I thought it was fixed and then BAMM, it happend again. I'm still steaming after spending 2 hours on the phone with a rep who said he was placing an order for a new graphics card, only to find out later that he never placed it, saying that the case was closed out and the problem fixed// How do these people have jobs??

 

Quick Update: Here are my most recent steps taken to try to resolve this display driver issue..

Manually uninstall "ALL" ATI/AMD programs,files and folders including all temp and local files.. Restart in Safe Mode.. Run Diver Sweeper, run Registry Mechanic... Restart Computer.. Do a fresh install of ATI CCC and drivers.. We'll see how it goes.. In case anyone is wondering, I'm documenting and posting every step in case anyone else encounters this issue.. Note: As I am typing this message, I just received the same error message and my display driver crashed, so this is NOT a solution.

 

hmm strange, which drivers are you using? Stock Dell ones, those are the ones I'm using. If those don't work try ATI's most recent drivers.

 

5870 is dying then. Call Dell Get a replacement.

 

Thanks for the tip... I've downloaded and installed the latest drivers from Dell, ATI and AMD's websites.. No luck.

After speaking with an AW tech for 2 hours, and ordering a new GPU read below.....

 

Hummmm, ok this is strange.... I was using the computer lastnight and had tons of dispaly driver crahses... Upon shutting it down, windows was installing some updates. I powered up this morning and have been using the computer for about 1 1/2hrs or so......No crash as of yet... Again, keeping my fingers crossed.. Could this possibly been a matter of Windows performing the proper update??? Could it all be this simple??? Probably not! Keep you guys updated..

 

Crocs, I'm sorry you're having so much trouble. Sad to say that I was having the EXACT same problem for a week now since I first received my minty new system. First warning of headaches to come should have been was during the 'setting up desk top for first use' screen. It went black and hard locked. Had to force power off. Anyways after a full week of dealing with black screens, grey screens, grey screens with white vertical lines, and the 'your video driver stopped responding and has been recovered' message I believe I found a solution ... at least its working for me, but from what I've read you're not going to be real keen on the idea. I tried reinstalling the video driver, recovery disk, recovery partition, and using the included bare Alienware windows disc using the Dell site drivers. Each attempt didn't fix the problem.

So what I did was I used a Windows 7 Home Premium OEM disc that I got from Newegg to use on my Shuttle system. I used Intel drivers from their site and I used ATI 10.3 drivers from their site. So far the only thing that I have used from Dell's download site has been the wireless network drivers. I haven't tried to re-install any of the preloaded software as I'm trying to confirm if this problem was due to software conflict. Obviously by doing this I eliminated any changes that Dell may have made to the OS. I've loaded up Crysis and Metro 2033 and have been able to play them the past two days with out any issue. I've even been able to close the lid and let it sleep. When I've opened the lid it's come out of sleep mode properly which it wouldn't do before either. That move ALWAYS gave me a black screen and hard lock.

Bottom line: I can live with this as long as the system is staying stable. I've had it like this 2 days out of 11 days of ownership. I may slowly re-install some of the preloaded software one by one, but I'm in no rush to do it. Hope this helps...and yeah I know this is long winded

BTW: I also updated Bios to A05

 

So you dont wanna do a reinstall because youre not sure how to do that but you want to replace the GPU yourself?

 

I noticed your getting a WEI score of 7.4 for your processor. Mine is only at 5.6 is there something wrong with my processor? It's also a i920xm. 5% overclock vcore set at 150

 

Sounds like some bad luck with your replacement. If it were me and I was crashing that frequently one of the first things I'd have tried is a fresh install to completely eliminate the possibility of a software issue.

It's not very difficult at all and the installation will prompt you for action/details you need to supply. If you're still concerned I daresay that you'd be able to find a Dell tech to talk you through the process.

That's strange. So you spoke to your rep and there was conveniently no mention of a replacement video card... did your rep organise one for you or refer you to someone who could help? What's happening there? I'd focus on reinstalling and getting the single video card replaced before you go off asking for dual cards that don't seem to be available yet. Let us know how you go with the reinstall.

 

even my t8300 in my Compaq scores a 5.9 and my lowly i7 620m is scoring a 7.2. You might want to look into that.

 

I don't want to jack croc's thread so I will post it somewhere else.

 

I'm not quite sure I said I didn't know how, but I did say I didn't want to go through the trouble of doing it. However, I took everyone's advice and did a fresh install.. The problem persists.. As far as changing the GPU myself, that's the easy part. I'm much better with hardware than software... I just replaced my motherboard on my XPS M1330 and getting to the GPU on the M17x is really easy.. Take out battery, take off back cover, touch strip, keyboard, left bracket and you're there..

As far as speaking to my rep. I spoke to him after I spoke to AW tech support for 2 hours. When he asked how I was liking the new system, I explained the GPU problem. I told him that the AW tech ordered me a new one, and I couldn't believe the computer needed a repair already. He looked up my account and said there is no order here for a new GPU.. "The tech's notes say he installed a new driver and that fixed the issue". You could imagine my reaction when I heard that... Obviously I'm still having the issue. So, the rep said he would call me Mon, and address this.. No mention of what he planned on offering me as a solution.

Thanks for the post man... I'm gonna give this a try and let you know how it works out.

 

Sorry if I'm so "newbie" or dummy that I don't get it: From one side I read in this forum (and it's multiple threads) great expectations and great opinions on the AW products. From the other side I read in this same forum great dissapointments and a myriad of multiple problems with brand new systems...
So, what's is the meaning of all this? what are the conclusions of the more experienced people contributing to this forum?
I have been reading carefully through this rocking forum and I'm olding my decision to buy an M17x since I don't understand clearly from the reading here, if this is a reliable system and a reliable purchase.
Can some one explain further in a non-technical language?
Thanks a lot in advance

 

Bottom line... AW is a great system. We're talking about the newest and latest in laptop components and technology.. Like any product that strives to raise the bar, there are bound to be kinks and faults along the way.. Unfortunately "We" the customers, are somewhat like test subjects and you just don't know when you're gonna get a system with a fault.. This is not to say it can't be fixed, and it's also not the norm... I wouldn't let these threads and posts hold you back from buying a system. This is coming from someone who is having problems currently..


Update: I installed ATI driver version 10.3 dirctly from ATI's site. I'll keep you guys updated.

I just ran Heaven 3D benchark, and I noticed with the older 10.3 driver, my FPS drasctically dropped, I'm getting between 5-13 now.. Before I was getting 13-30's.. Is this becuase of the old driver?

 

my 920xm gets 7.4 also. sorry crocs for jacking the thread.

 

Well most people should not have an issue when buying this machine, but many people go to this forum for help for time to other and the ones who have a fine working machine will perhaps never even take notice of this forum(perhaps I am wrong as we have benchmarks threads as well ). While the R1 system had issues but from what I can read around here(as well as my own experience) then the R2 system which is the new system that Dell sells now is not really having any major issues. However, the probability of hardware failures will always exists and these people will try to search the web for advice/help and probably end up here or on other forums as well. In other words a lot of people have bought the m17x R2 system without any issues and I would therefore say that buying a R2 system should be pretty save

 

You're awfully patient. If my new laptop (or replacement) was having issues like yours I'd have been on the phone regularly until a video card replacement arrived as it doesn't sound like it is usable at all. It's shocking that tech support lied and falsified notes on the system, escalate a complaint as that's not acceptable.

Instead of focusing on dual 5870s which may not be released for ??? days/months I'd focus on getting a usable system first. Your rep can't 'offer something for your inconvenience' if it isn't available yet.

 

I agree go for the repair! And demand it the same day you call or the day after It is your right to get a system that works without flaws as soon as the system arrives at your doorstep

 

I'll be speaking to my rep first thing Monday.. There better be a new GPU at my door Tuesday..