Alienware m9750 Geforce m8700 GT SLI not working Windows 7

Hi, this is my first post here, first let me thank this forum users for the great threads!

I recently have purchased an Alienware m9750 Geforce m8700 GT SLI and installed Windows 7 on it.

After some fiddling around with drivers i got everything working except the second video card (also a Geforce m8700 GT) SLI configuration on Windows 7 ultimate.

I tried everything that can be found on the internet like uninstalling Nvidia drivers and after reboot updating the SVGA drivers that replaced the nvidia's to new Nvidia drivers. i tried alienware vista drivers and many Nvidia's (also the modified inf's found on another forum or this one, i don't remember)

on one day i saw an installation of a second card and after reboot a windows note this card can work with SLI. after enabling this i got a BSOD and after a reboot the second video card was gone.

later on i got a SLI config working with the latest Nvidia beta drivers and the reworked inf. this worked for about two reboots after which i only got one card left. since that time i have not been able to get it working again.

bottom line is: can anyone help me with this or does anyone know what's going on in Win 7?

 

Have you tried testing the system with one card at a time? Could be that one of your cards is bad, or maybe even the SLI cable. Also, make sure you have the latest system BIOS. Also, you are aware that Alienware does not support Windows 7 on this system. I remember when I had my m9700 and Vista came out, I could not use SLI on my 7900's because of a lack of driver support from Alienware (which was eventually resolved a few months later with a new driver release). I don't think however that Alienware (Dell) will be releasing any new drivers for that system.

 

You could always try using modded desktop drivers as well.

NVIDIA & Laptop News | Latest NVIDIA drivers and related news | laptopvideo2go.com

 

I have tried many things since this post: i installed windows XP back again: not working so i disassembled the video cards and swapped the master with the slave: after this the computer had no display at all.

So i swapped them back and i got an installation after a reboot of the system of the second card. sadly the installation resulted into a freeze of the machine. after that is have not seen the second card again.

Is this a hardware problem then?

 

This really should be in the alienware forum but i'll chip in here.
If the second card isnt even detected then chances are it's dead. However I would recommend you follow this guide (follow the vista steps):
SLI Guide
If you still have no luck then the second GPU is most likely dead or your motherboard is broken. I had this issue with my 7950's once and it needed a motherboard replacement!

 

i think the second card is dead.. return it and get something else..

 

Sorry OP...I must admit I was tired when I posted and didnt fully read your post...guilty as charged lol.

I see you tried modified .inf and got a BSOD etc etc...second card is bad. You have basically tried everything that can be done to no avail...either return or replace...those are sadly your only two options :/

 

Rereading your second post it actually sounds more like the motherboard connector is broken. You swapped the cards back and forth and it detected it and then froze? Then fails to detect it? Could you try reseating the card again and see if the behaviour repeats itself.

 

I have got an update; this evening at startup is saw an installation of a second video card, and received a message (in the lower right hand corner) i have a SLI capable system. i did some benchmarks and all worked well but... after a reboot i see yet one card and the SLI has gone....... what's this?

 

Possibly a faulty motherboard or loose connection somewhere?

 

might even be the heat up melted the solder in place... try baking ur card in the oven and if it works.. well u had a faulty card.

 

Why so hasty? We don't have total conviction that it's the actual card that is dead yet, so until we determine what's wrong with it, we probably shouldn't potentially kill a perfectly healthy card.

 

Hey guys...I had my video cards go out on me and I'm doing the "baking them in the oven" trick right now. I have the M9750 running the m8700 Master/Slave dual video cards.

Now, as I am letting them cool down, I suddenly realized I don't remember which side was Master and which was Slave. Silly me. Can I get one of you guys to pop the hatch and tell me which is which?

Thanks...