HP EliteBook 8770w and 970M 6GB and 980M 8GB - they work!

you must turn fast boot of under power options and you need UEFI without CSM based OS for best results.

 

Ok, I was already running in UEFI without CSM, but fast boot was enabled. I disabled fast boot but still get the black screen.
By the way, I posted a whole list of driver versions I was trying, but are there specific ones known to be more stable than others that I should focus on testing/troubleshooting with?

 

No, driver version doesn't matter as long as you have modified the right .inf file.
I think you should experiment with different vbioses. The one you have now is obviously the culprit for your problem.
You need Dell's or Clevo's vbios.

 

Ok will give it a try. Found these two on the techpowerup site:

https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/206300/206300
DELL GTX 970M 6 GB BIOS
VBIOS Info
Filename: 206300.rom
VBIOS Version: 84.04.22.00.11
UEFI Supported: Yes
BIOS Build date: 2014-09-05 00:00:00
Date added: 2018-12-15 10:25:43
VBIOS Size: 181 KB
MD5 Hash: 553b006577a8b1b4abf99f004070e008
SHA1 Hash: ef9e8ddb390e09cce6b785eafa6b154b9845a447
Same Bios: Clevo GTX 970M, NVIDIA GTX 970M, MSI GTX 970M, Colorful GTX 970M, Alienware GTX 970M

https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/165701/clevo-gtx970m-6144-140905
Clevo GTX 970M 6 GB BIOS
VBIOS Info
Filename: Clevo.GTX970M.6144.140905.rom
VBIOS Version: 84.04.22.00.11
UEFI Supported: Yes
BIOS Build date: 2014-09-05 00:00:00
Date added: 2014-12-16 19:26:24
VBIOS Size: 181 KB
MD5 Hash: 553b006577a8b1b4abf99f004070e008
SHA1 Hash: ef9e8ddb390e09cce6b785eafa6b154b9845a447
Same Bios: NVIDIA GTX 970M, MSI GTX 970M, Colorful GTX 970M, DELL GTX 970M, Alienware GTX 970M

 

Ok tried the Clevo vbios but no change, and the Dell vbios was obviously the same thing, so no luck with that either. I saw some additional unverified Dell vbios' out there on techpowerup, but not willing to take the risk with those. It would appear there are not too many vbios options readily available for 970m.

Will keep troubleshooting, but if anyone has any additional recommendations, please let me know. Thanks.

 

I put an M3000M in my 8770W using the nvcli trick. I've been able to modify and flash the bios using Maxwell II BIOS Tweaker and NVFlash Maxwell.

Sorry bout the colors, I'm running Win7 and a custom theme cause Win10 sucks and doesn't work with the fingerprint sensor.

 

Hey @RogueLizard , thanks for the info. I am almost at the point where I may just try going back to Windows 7 myself.

Since I have not been able to get a hold of a recommended working vbios for my GTX970M, I started playing around with the clock values and voltage values based on bits and pieces of info from other posts and websites I have found. Using Maxwell II BIOS Tweaker and nvflash I finally got my system to boot up again with the windows update nvidia drivers installed. It's still not 100% stable though as my screen sometimes still freezes up and I have to reboot, so I still have some work to do.

So @mirage_bg , I think you were definitely on to something there when you pointed out the the VBIOS may be the culprit, but I just don't understand why my system became so unstable recently since I have been using the origingal MSI vbios since January/February.

If anyone one else has any recommended GTX970M vbios values that would give me more stability, please shoot them my way. Thanks.

 

If it's unstable, bump the power limit and voltages. My Quadro crashes if GPU Boost 2.0 throws the clocks too high when temps are too low, as I've tuned mine for higher operating temperature. Higher voltage would fix this but I am not going above 1.2v.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/8770w-problems-dreamcolor2.833770/
(I have the same problem (GTX980M & DC2) ....

 

AFAIK, 10b output does not work for the "desktop" under Windows 10 and using the latest Nvidia drivers.

It does work, for example, in MPC player. It also works under Windows 7 and/or old(er) drivers.