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    AMD hardware shut off by itself on my Alienware m17x R3?

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by cktran, Jul 3, 2013.

  1. cktran

    cktran Notebook Guru

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    Some background info: Alienware m17x runs on two graphics cards, for mines it is AMD Radeon 6970 (i think it was called) and HD Intel Graphics

    Well recently, AMD kept shutting off I think, and what would happen is that I would see HD Intel Graphics in the control panel. It seems to pop up when the laptop detects that the AMD hardware is no longer the dominant driver up and running.

    I figured out that pulling out the battery and putting it back in would fix this issue, but this no longer works... everytime I do it the hardware won't turn back on, and I keep seeing HD Inte graphics driver in the control panel when it should not be seen.

    Just yesterday, I had some BSOD and after restarting AMD worked again! I put the laptop to sleep mode over night and today AMD failed and intel is back on the control menu...

    Someone please... how do I fix this?


    (I hope im not using the wrong term when i called it hardware instead of driver, though it could be that the driver failed to start up and intel acted as a backup-type thing)
     
    cktran, Jul 3, 2013
    #1
  2. sangemaru

    sangemaru Notebook Deity

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    I could be talking stupid, but I'm pretty sure what you're seeing is Enduro disabling the dedicated GPU when it's not needed, just like optimus does for nVidia.
    You shouldn't be trying to 'fix' this issue, because it's not an issue per-se.
    Sure, if you have trouble running games on the dedicated card because enduro is active, that's when you start trying to fix things.
     
    sangemaru, Jul 3, 2013
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  3. cktran

    cktran Notebook Guru

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    I can't play any of the games on high settings anymore because of this issue.
    And I never heard of enduro either, i googled it and all i get is irrelevant material?

    Sorry that I'm so retarded when it comes to computers... how should i try to fix this regarding enduro?
     
    cktran, Jul 3, 2013
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  4. Cloudfire

    Cloudfire (Really odd person)

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    Well for starters, you don`t have Enduro (PowerXpress 5.5). You have the early versions of AMDs graphic switching system. You have PowerXpress 4.0. Learn about the difference HERE.

    Maybe one of the cards is failing?. You see the "cards falling out", meaning the system switch over to IGP because it cannot see the GPUs anymore

    The other possible problem could be software issue. Somehow the system don`t switch over to the 6970Ms when its suppose to and rather use IGP to preserve power because it doesn`t understand that you actually need the power on the 6970Ms.
    Have you tried deleting the AMD drivers (all of them), and reinstalling the newest? In control panel, under system where you can see all the hardware listed, is the 6970M listed there?
     
    Cloudfire, Jul 3, 2013
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  5. cktran

    cktran Notebook Guru

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    Hey thans for the response.
    I have tried deleting and reinstallling but it doesn't work

    And no, it is not, here is a screenshot of the only stuff avaialble: e10613b6c67a4b3d226a8b170ceff3be.png
     
    cktran, Jul 3, 2013
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  6. Cloudfire

    Cloudfire (Really odd person)

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    You must go further in the settings than that. Click on the "Device manager" in that picture. Look under VGA or Display and see if the 6970Ms are listed there
     
    Cloudfire, Jul 3, 2013
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  7. cktran

    cktran Notebook Guru

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    cktran, Jul 3, 2013
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  8. ryzeki

    ryzeki Super Moderator Super Moderator

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    Seems like the GPU might have died out?
     
    ryzeki, Jul 3, 2013
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  9. Cloudfire

    Cloudfire (Really odd person)

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    The 6970M should be listed under the Intel HD Graphics there.

    It means two things:
    You dont have any 6970M drivers installed. If no, install them.
    You don't have any 6970M GPUs installed. It might be dead, or maybe have bad connection.
     
    Cloudfire, Jul 3, 2013
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  10. cktran

    cktran Notebook Guru

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    When I try to install the driver with the AMD failing, it only attemps to install the runtime and takes only 5 seconds or soand makes no difference.
    I recall installing the AMD driver when it still worked, and it was more seeming of a full install.
     
    cktran, Jul 4, 2013
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  11. cktran

    cktran Notebook Guru

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    When I try to install the driver with the AMD failing, it only attemps to install the runtime and takes only 5 seconds or soand makes no difference.
    I recall installing the AMD driver when it still worked, and it was more seeming of a full install.
     
    cktran, Jul 4, 2013
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  12. sangemaru

    sangemaru Notebook Deity

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    So, there's a chance the GPU may have died. Can you try it out in somebody else's machine?
     
    sangemaru, Jul 5, 2013
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  13. cktran

    cktran Notebook Guru

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    Before I do anything like that, I found a method to intentionally BSOD the laptop with the error: Driver _something) less th than equal

    Just like I mentioned before, it miraculously works again, AMD up and running once again, so it definitely isn't dead.

    What the hell?!


    AMD radeon also shows up in device manager since its working again: http://gyazo.com/b91f489a3075421e14defb6d7d50fb23
    It disappears when it fails


    I expect it to fail again if I put the laptop on sleep mode or shut down... so still hoping for a fix.
     
    cktran, Jul 5, 2013
    #13