*** Windows 10 + NVIDIA WHQL Drivers are Killing Alienware and Clevo LCD Panels ***

They could but im 99% sure that they dont give a damn about not-newest systems

 

More importantly did you have EVGA precission ? Windows 10 we think creates the vulnerability but doesn't trigure the EDID corruption. if you are one of the EVGA + win10 then yeah you could wipe the drive with a new LCD and avoid EVGA to stop the EDID corruption OR use @t456 method to flash your dead LCD back to life BUT wipe the drive before booting otherwise it will happen again.

 

No. I don't even know what that is mate. My AW just went to sleep one night and never woke up. I had to hard shut down. Restart-->8 beeps

 

Any sort of overclocking, monitoring, or any other software like that? You remember what driver number you had?


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Yes, if you can all the little details would be great as I'm 90% sure one or two people said they never had EVGA so if that is the case maybe you can confirm the other thing or software that triggers it your LCD can be fixed though, but its not an easy journey.

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No. None whatsoever. Everything stock. Win 10 clean install. Drivers downloaded from Dell Suport Page EXCEPT display driver, which was downloaded from Nvidia site exactly one week ago, so 358.50 WHQL. Win 10 found some updated drivers which were newer than on Dell site but none were display-related.

Windows 10 was installed fresh last week. UEFI mode. Legacy disabled. Secure Boot On. BIOS A14. Latest updates all installed. 880M (Dell OEM card) was running on svl7 vBios but never overclocked, modified or benchmarked in any way. Just pure gaming.

So the machine had been running a whole week without a problem. Played games like a beast. 2 days ago laptop was left on overnight because Steam was downloading so I let it run and went to bed. Next morning, the screen was off, which I assumed was just normal idle/standby mode after prolonged inactivity. HOWEVER, moving the mouse or typing on the keyboard only turned screen backlight on. Hard reset. Again. Black screen with backlight on. Hard reset once more. Screen not turned on. No backlight. 8 beeps.

Since I can still boot to Windows using HDMI Iink to my desktop monitor I found out today the Nvidia driver is somehow corrupted. Device Manager showed yellow exclamation mark next to GPU. I purged all traces of Nvidia drivers using DDU just a few hours ago. Display adapter is now showing Microsoft Basic Display Adapter

 

Hmm that's interesting, just to confirm EDID corruption can you download and install MonINFO and that program will show you information about your display, because you'll be running an external monitor make sure in MonINFO you select on the top left your internal LCD. Now it may straight up show on the right hand side corrupt things, if not if you scroll down it will give you a table of data.. Has things like "FF 00" if you copy that and paste it into a website called EDID reader it will tell you if its corrupt .

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@Sspawn26 - your LCD is rocking and ready to go. Will get it out to you later today. The EDID was definitely messed up. Using it right now to post this reply.

Spoiler: Just stuff...

 

Unbelievable that this STILL ISN'T RESOLVED!!!!!!!! M$ or nGreedia are completely ignoring the problem!

 

@Mr. Fox Just an idea. This reflash in Linux might seem too complicated even with written instructions. Could you record a How-To video including downloading and preparing prebuilt linux image or installing required software from repository like on clean Mint?

 

If people need me to, perhaps once I am done with the review on the EUROCOM SKY X9. Between working all day and staying up all night to get that done, I cannot handle any extra stuff at the moment.

 

I'm very excited to get my laptop running and have that EDID corruption behind me. I have no clue what OS I am going to run or anything though. I'm way to scared to have it break again.

If you could provide the community an update with your Windows 10 experiment that would be awesome too. Another corruption occurred and you may be able to find the missing link as to why yours is still running and his died.


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Did someone have another corruption without EVGA Precision X? I must have missed that, if someone can point me to the post.

I have been forcing myself to use Windows 10 for this test for what, about 3 weeks now, (lost track of time,) and I have had no issues. I am using NVIDIA Inspector. MSI Afterburner is worthless because it cannot adjust voltage.

Do a clean OS install whatever one you decide to go with and do not install EVGA Precision X. I am still going to do the other experiment where I start with an older version of Precision X, run it a few days and if nothing happens, move up to the next version, etc. to see if I can isolate it to one version of Precision X where the bricking starts. Will have to wait until I am done with the review. But, so far glad to report no problems.

 

Post 2551 and 2557 better explains his setup. Seems he was running regular drivers and no overclocking software.




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MonINFO did not even show the internal LCD. All I could see are the first 2 entries (Registry-Active & Registry) showing the external monitor. All the rest are [Sample]. Neither did Device Manager. I have the 120Hz screen btw. Could it be the reason? There is no Intel HD Graphics and the LCD is linked up straight to the GPU.

 

Ordered the newest Alienware 18 with 980m sli which should be arriving 11/06. I'll be doing a clean install of Windows 10 right away, since I'll still be in the 21 day refund/replacement territory. Will check EDID info once it's up and running and post the results.

 

you mean the RTSS era of precision x and not the now custom engine that is being used?

 

As Sspawn pointed out yes it would seem that he is one of the very small amount of people who's triggered it without Precision x. And I'd agree a video would be great for everyone on this thread, I pop on now and again and provide help but when it comes to actually flashing the EDID I have to stop because I've not done it myself so a video would be great

Did you try all Nvidia drivers? I'm about to install 358.50 I think it is to get 3d working on GTA .. I still to this day get nervous installing anything haha. I'm glad the other guy mentioned EDID corruption because even after precission x was found to be a culprit there where still people doing it without precision x and I believe if you or someone else discovers this second trigger that may be the complete end to EDID corruption.

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there was a video of an alienware 18 but that video has gone private.

 

So if I couldn't even see my internal LCD how would I know if the EDID is corrupted and potentially fix it? I'm still hopeful thanks to this thread before blowing money on another screen

 

I'm back, all my parts arrived finally

Have booted into Linux with a screen working properly.

How do I figure out which EDID I need for my bricked screen?

 

What I did:
Purchased new screen, an LVDS cable and a USB keyboard to be able to boot up my laptop. Instructions and details are on pages 150 and 151.

 

I just did it my m18x r1 boots again

Thank you for all the help!

 

De-soldered my 860M vbios, programmer outputs the same thing as the nvflash-read-trick:

Spoiler: nvflash full eeprom read vs. programmer read

So far so good, then. But the true validation is whether payload beyond the vbios will be picked up by nvflash or not (it may have simply padded the rest). So wrote some non-FF on the empty section of the eeprom in order to see what it'll do:

Spoiler: Clevo W230SS - 860M vbios mod

Only thing ... kinda need the laptop tomorrow, so re-solder will have to wait until next week. That's one good thing about Optimus, at least; dGPU ( and its vbios) are optional :

Spoiler: never mind the goo; that's what flux cleaner is for

Funny; had to remove heatsink to access eeprom and didn't want to waste good paste on re-assembly, so used a (high-quality) heatpad for the time being ... effin' terrible .

Could you do the same trick, except for the 2nd gpu this time? The voodoo code may exist on one MXM, but not the other.

 

Why most certainly... here you go, friend. Here is both this time.

Code:

C:\[Tools]\NVF>nvflash -i0 --pciblocks

NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.134)

Adapter: N14E-GTX             (10DE,119F,1028,0550) H:--:NRM B:01,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (7F,9D22) : PMC Pm25LD020 2.7-3.6V 2048Kx1S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Location        Size Type
000000:0171FF  94720 x86
017200:0283FF  70144 EFI

C:\[Tools]\NVF>nvflash -i1 --pciblocks

NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.134)

Adapter: N14E-GTX             (10DE,119F,1028,0550) H:--:NRM B:07,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (7F,9D22) : PMC Pm25LD020 2.7-3.6V 2048Kx1S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Location        Size Type
000000:0171FF  94720 x86
017200:0283FF  70144 EFI

C:\[Tools]\NVF>

 

you got me hangin'!

 

I have the 120Hz screen mate. So eDP not LVDS. Also my output to external monitor using HDMI and mDP works fine. But looks like buying a new panel is the only option no? If that's the case then I wouldn't be bothered with EDID or Windows 10 anymore. With a new LCD then just reinstall Windows 7 fresh and wait for new developments in this thread when it is confirmed safe to upgrade. Are you still using Windows 10 or have you downgraded?

 

You are not safe with windows 7 either. I had to buy a new (second hand) AW17 motherboard to get my broken system going again. Installed Win7 as that is what the license code built into the motherboard was for and rebuilt the system. Installed Precision X switched to only boot dedicated discrete GPU and after a restart 8 beeps.

Luckily now I have a programmer so I was able to reflash the EDID very easily and change my boot options to enable Optimus again with no further 8 Beep issues.
99% sure this motherboard has never had win10 on it in a previous life as it was 'reconditioned' with its service tag cleared and the BIOS version was only A05.

 

Which GPU are you running bvermeul?
I get the feeling this issue only effects 8xx and 9xx gpus. I have windows 10 on my R1 that i just bought with a 770m and I have zero issues as well. I intend to upgrade to 980m in the next few weeks so hopefully this is solved by then.

 

It also effects the 770m, that was started me on this tragic doom spiral.

 

GTX880M, stock clocks, stock vbios, stock CPU. Latest nvidia driver, updates on, no Precision X (I have MSI Afterburner installed, but haven't used it in a while)

 

Hey mate where do you get your .inf mod file? For windows 10.

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Don't mean to sound ungrateful guys. Really appreciate the input but my setup has nothing to do with 60Hz, LVDS or Optimus for that matter. I'm sticking with 120Hz and dGPU. If I'm correct the reason why I could still use HDMI and mDP is because I still have UEFI/Secure Boot on. The motherboard is totally healthy too. Trouble is, I can't even see the internal LCD in MonINFO then how can I flash its EDID? Buying a new panel defeats the purpose of fixing the broken one in the first place. I have Linux Mint live U

 

You are totally correct, full EUFI is why you can still boot. Pages 150 and 157 have the information you need to flash your EDID using Linux. @t456 and @Mr. Fox are geniuses.


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I have an Alienware 17, it comes out of the box with a GTX880m. No .inf mod needed for windows 10.

 

I also have an AW17 R1 with GTX770M, and plan to upgrade to GTX980M as well. Nobody knows this issue will drag for how long and if any solution will be available at all.

Probably I will downgrade to Win 8.1 right before the 1 month period to do this, but not sure if the Win 10 upgrade has done some irreversible changes on the system.

 

Why do you always ask? It's 10 minutes to do it by yourself.

 

Im aware and its fairly easy editing the .inf file. Was asking because I thought you were running win10 on the m18xr2 with no dramas so wondered if its a specific driver mod u were using

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If you run win10 on any Alienware laptop currently available = screen destroyed. That's simple.

 

Precision X+ Windows 10= Death

Windows 10 alone may be fine. There may be another program that triggers EDID corruption like Precision X that we haven't found though.

There are Alienware's that have been running W10 without issue. @Mr. Fox has been for a couple weeks now in fact without corruption.

Once we find the other corruption trigger, I believe we can close the book on this. Figuring out how to write protect the EDID would be the better solution of course, but I'm not sure it's possible since cutting the #5 wire on the LVDS cable didn't work.


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That's exactly why I am leaning towards the brave side and want to try my luck with windows 10! Lol. As I've been reading through this forum and found out more.

Hey btw how do I get pass the 980ms not being compatible in windows 10 upgrade checker? How did u guys upgrade?

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Use this tool:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/media-creation-tool-install


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I agree. EDID write-protect is the best solution. Meanwhile I have pulled the trigger on a replacement LCD panel from a local eBay seller. Should be here in a few days. Windows 7 downgrade is definite now. Just pray that Windows 10 did not infect the system too badly. I'm prepared for drastic measure already: get rid of the internal lcd altogether and go external monitor full-time. Acer XB270HU using mDP, quite a step up from the 120hz I'd say.

In my experience. Windows 10 was sweet for a whole week without a single hiccup. Only when I left it overnight and the screen was turned off due to power saving settings that the panel went dead. Come to think of it have you guys looked into the following (common but can be overlooked) sofware:

1/Geforce Experience app.

2/AlienFusion in Command Centre v3.6 (downloaded from Dell - When I tried to change settings in there Win10 gave me error message. Had to configure using Windows built in Power Option. I was on High Performance, plugged in, screen set to 'Turn off after 1 hour). Command Centre 3.6 I believe doesn't play nice with Win10. I never got AlienTouch to work either. AFAIK Power option and graphic drivers can mess up each other badly from my old M17X-R2 days. Prior to this day the I always closed the lid which put the system to sleep, and later it woke up everytime. When it died it WAS NOT in Sleep Mode.

3/Steam, Origin, GOG Galaxy (I had 2 of them running and downloading games at time of death)

 

I have and are using afterburner, origin and uplay but come to think of it, I uninstalled afterburner before I installed the latest nvidia drivers.. Only wanted rivertuner for OSD.

So I'd say those can be ruled out, but definitely worth pointing out all those little softwares because it was overlooking last time that made it take so long to identify the first trigger.


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Right now I'm highly suspecting the Power Option settings vs Nvdia drivers mate. As I described a few pages back the screen did not flat out died. LED backlight was on as the system detected mouse movement/keystrokes, but dark screen. Only after hard reset that the screen went black completely and 8 beeps occurred.

 

I'm using Samsung high performance as my power option and was using for weeks Mr Foxes nvidia drivers.. Just 2 days ago updated to latest nvidia drivers and still no problems.

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Looks like you also have the Samsung 850 EVO SSD. Do you have the Magician Software installed? I used the OS Optimisation function quite extensively, which again interferes with some default Win10 settings. But again just to clarify all of this was Windows 10. I saw in your sig you're still running 8.1 Pro.

 

Yes I used Samsung Magician for RAPID and high performance optimisation.. Other than that I've never touched it again..

See another thing to think about is EVGA did have some sort of tweak for the monitor.. Higher refresh or something? So broadly speaking it can change settings with the monitor.. So I'd be thinking closely about anything else that has any sort of interaction with monitor settings, refresh rates, DPI just anything.

A downfall for me is I haven't had EDID corruption so I can only on a small scale verify that the small amount of applications I have don't trigger.

Rivertuner, Samsung magician, MonINFO, nvidia tweaker, origin, uplay, ds4windows, alienware command center, Razer software and nvidia drivers both new and one old.

No windows updates have been installed, I've disabled by both windows update settings and group policy. That setup is EDID trigger free.

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I had Samsung magician too. Anyone have a brick without Precision X or Samsung magician?


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I wonder how @Mr. Fox is going with his experimental win10 journey?!
If I remember correctly he had it running good for a while

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