Please Help- M17X black static screen upon startup

Hello,
up untill now I have not had any real serious problems with my M17X. However this morning when I turn my laptop on the screen immediatly appears as black with static-ey horizontal lines blinking across it, either as white or orange. I cannot get to even the BIOS screen or login, so it seems impossible for me to change anything. The laptop was fine before and no changes were made to it recently, I did play some GTA4 for a few hours last night, but the temps and everything were pefectly fine. I keep my laptop in good shape and take good care of it.
What might the problem be, graphics related, how serious is it, and what can be done to fix it. Should I call the techs?
Thank you so much for any help.

 

Release the power (remove the battery, press&hold the power button for 20sec). If it doesn't help try cleaning and reseating the GPUs and the SLI cable.
Also try removing the BIOS battery, then placing it back.
If nothing helps - call Dell.

 

When I release the power, should it still be plugged into the wall or no, im just trying to get the specifics right.
Thanks!

 

unplug the power cord prior doing it.

 

that has been a issue with overclocking the q9000.....for SOME not all.....the cpu cant handle being at the clock he has listed in his sig for too long

 

Could it be an OC issue? I hadn't heard that would be a problem, someone said on here that the harm that OCing would cause would come into play far after the useful life of the CPU had expired anyway.
It might be though b/c I was playing GTA4 overclocked pretty much all day yesterday.

So anyway I did the battery reset thing and this is what happened.
After I reset it and turned the laptop on with battery power it started up perfectly fine without problem. Then I plugged it into the wall, turned on hybrid graphics and this time it started up fine up until the Windows login screen appeared, that's when the static started again.
So I'm thinking maybe its a SLI problem. I would rather not touch the GPUs myself if I can avoid it, but this is the first time I've had a serious problem with my M17X.
What do you guys think about the cause, and solution?
Thank you all so much for the help.

 

ok do the reset thing all over again.....PLUG it in again before you turn it on.....start up the system with no overclock....uninstall the drivers for you graphics card and reinstall them...then ..turn on the hybrid graphics it will be fine

 

try booting on just the GPU's and then see what happens. Then try just the 9400m

that will tell you which one is affecting the display

 

I had some really interesting video driver problems when running with the 9400m enabled. Portal (which came WITH THE MACHINE) would not even run with hybrid sli enabled which, by the way, is the DEFAULT CONFIGURATION that the machine ships with!

It was simple to fix, and I just leave it off now, but honestly? Really Alienware? Does nobody test these things?

 

Do you mean like boot with just the 9400 and then try just the SLI Moo?

 

Yeah I think he means disable the discreet cards, and enable the integrated and boot. Then disable the integrated (and hybrid sli) and enable the discreets and boot.

 

yup...but also do the driver reinstall...get the latest from the website and mke sure u have the updated chipset drivers..it worked for me

 

yes ^^ those are what i mean . It honestly sounds like your Slave GPU is going bad

 

Yeah the chipset drivers worked wonders for my wireless connectivity. Well, that and the broadcomm drivers...

Point is drivers are important. Mmkay?

 

mmkay.....lol...that was funny

 

Ok Moo here's what I got.
When I just have the 9400 enabled its 100% perfectly fine, I can login, get on the web, etc with no problem. With hybrid enabled I can get to just the Windows7 login screen then it does the static thing. Now when just the 280s are enabled (not the 9400) I cant even get to the BIOS screen, I turn it on and the static is immediate.
Do you suggest I do the drivers thing, or is there anything else you think? Does it sound like the slave GPU to you?
Thanks for the help btw guys!

 

i had that issue before i am telling you what you should do ...also recheck your settings in your bios and make sure there correct.....also you may want to even go as far as calling tech support because if they cant help you figure it out your warrenty will kick in to assist...

 

Thank you for your help. I did uninstall and reinstalled the drivers like you said, and I still have the problem.
I think i'm going to call tech support tomorrow, is there anything I should be specific about with the rep? What do you all think?
Thanks so much!

 

Yep, like Moo said it's probably one of your 280s going slightly bad...

 

That's what I'm thinking as well.
:/
Is this common in the M17X?

 

why dont you call them now since ts 24hr support and see how the check it out

 

call it in tonight and they should have a tech by wednesday

 

A few months ago I had a decent tech replace a faulty CPU fan, and the guy told me to just contact his company (Unisystems) before I went to dell if any future probles arose. So I just sent his manager an email about it. If I dont hear back soon, Im just going to say screw it and just call Dell themselves.
Of course this happens now when I JUST get GTA4 and have 3 weeks to kill before next semester starts.....
:/
Thanks for all of your help though. I think it's a riot how people on here, who volunteer their time for free are far more helpful then paid employees on the phone who ARE "tech support"

 

Need a reply ASAP please.
On the phone right now with dell tech support about sending me new 280s. He says their system is going through an "update" and he cant check which of the cards is broke untill their systems update. My question is how in the world can they tell which of my cards is bad (if they need to send just one or 2) without an actual technicial coming to my house and physically looking.
I would theink theyd send two and have the tech figure out if one or both needs to be installed.
Is this dell tech guy on the phone full of it or not??
I feel like hes just trying to stall me, Ive been on hold twice forever now.... I really dont wanna be jerked around. Is there such a thing as a Dell update thing which can physically detect if 1 or 2 of my cards is busted??
Need an answer asap PLEASE.

 

you could disable SLI in control panel then run test on the master GPU and if no static then its the slave

 

I would think id have to do something like that in the BIOS, no? Because the only way i get even get into my pc, much less the control panel is to have it all off except the 9400.....
and if I do that, the option for SLI doesnt pop up in the cntrol panel.
:/

 

if he connected remotely it may display correctly


that is something i am not sure on ,.... But i could walk you through it myself

 

Moo just out of curiosity, how do you know so much?
hahahhaha

 

way to much reading and doing

you just need to unplug a cable to test which GPU it is and its only like 6 screws

 

But how could I do this with just the 9400 on though?
I cant get to the box to unclick SLI without the discrete cards being on in the first place. Its like a vicious circle lol.

 

yea i misunderstood your results sorry

its really the only way without physically unplugging the cable. I have a video showing it and i can be available on the phone ...

 

Its just that Ive never heard of a company being able to remotely detect if a card in your computer is bad, especially when said card is turned off. I would think the only way to tell is to stick a new card in, and if it doesnt work, stick a new one in the other side. I didnt want to tell the dell tech hes full of it and to give me the manager, if the problem was just the update is down.....
oh the corporate rigimaroll
....... Dells sending the 2 cards, after some direct conversation. Thanks for your help again Moo!

 

yea to my knowledge there is no way to truly test it without running it

 

Ok....
So the tech finally arrived with the two NVIDIA GTX 280 replacements, after installing them both it didnt work. We then tried just installing the one GTX 280, it didnt work. then we uninstalled the drivers and started it in safe mode, the discrete card still wouldnt work. The tech then called a Dell tech on the phone and we tried pretty much the same things over again with the same results. Finally Dell ordered me a new motherboard.
My question is; does replacing the motherboard sound like it will fix the problem? It sounds like Dell is just trying stuff without thinking, I could be wrong though. I still don't freakin understand what the problem is.

Also the Dell phone guy said we could try to update to A03 to see if it would fix it, but I said absolutely not (thinking it was the newer horrid M15X bricking BIOS) because I was unaware that they just released one for the M17X yesterday. Once the tech left, I found on here what Dell meant. I was also thinking to upgrade the firmware on my Samsung SSD? I have no clue what will help.
Thoughts? Please?

Again my results:
Integrated 9400 on: works perfectly
Hybrid Enabled: works fine until Win7 logon then the screen immediatly goes black with fuzzy static lines going horizontally across the screen. Also sometimes i get past the login screen and it goes goes black with no static and i can see the cursor and thats it.
Just Descrete enabled: the static is instantaneous upon startup.

 

just get it working first man

 

i would go for the new bios first .....you have nothing to lose there replacing it any way

 

Im planning on doing the SSD stuff after of course, but I didnt know if it might help the problem or not. If i misinterpreted you, it does work, just on the 9400s.
If this new mobo doesnt work.... I really don't know what to do next. i really don't understand how it would help (im a learning noob).

 

the motherboard is the heart of the system imo....dude i would try the ao3 bios....and if all this they are trying to do .dosent work they will replace it

 

Just updated to A03.....

no luck.

If it unfortunatly does come down to a total replacement, is it appropriate for me to ask for some upgrade (maybe qx9300 if they are now "out of date") or swag of somesort. What should I expect or say? Winter Holiday has been my only break from work AND school for 2 years now, and now this....
Only to me.......

thanks for everyones help btw, its REALLY appreciated. hope this new mobo works out!
Also does anyone know if theres a video floating around somewhere of how to get to/remove the mobo? I like to know what to do in case the tech doesnt.

 

I dont believe asking for an upgrade is warranted, however you be the judge of that and ask away. Don't give them grief if they say no. Sometimes a system has a failure straight from the factory - they will resolve the issue. Now, if the motherboard is DOA then I would ask for a replacement system to be sent out as they have already tried 2x to resolve the issue. Typically, if a problem is unresolved after 3 attempts, Dell will consider a replacement system.

Download the service manual for an overview and step by step instructions for removal/replacing components.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/M17x/