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2335
January 6th, 2019 09:00
X51 R1, GPU upgrade and BIOS update
Hi,
I have an Alienware X51 bought in 2012 and I am looking upgrade my GPU. I have the original GTX 555 that came in the PC and a GTX960 from EVGA that I'm trying to install. When I try to staret the computer with the new card installed, I can't get past the boot screen.
My BIOS version is A03 and from what I have found on other threads, an update is required in order to install a new GPU. However, I only get a "please start application again" when I try to run it from Windows and an error 8714: Firmware update not initialized due to file open or read failure when I boot from a DOS USB key.
I have Windows 10 familly installed and the following specs:
i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz
GTX 555
8Go DDR3 RAM 1600 MHz
Also the power supply is not the original 330W PSU but an internal 500W PSU (I moved all the components to a new case) so power supply to the GPU shouldn't be the issue.
How can I get to update the BIOS (or make my new card work if BIOS isn't the issue)?
leix
2 Posts
0
February 7th, 2019 08:00
I recently moved it to a new case and changed the hard drive so I installed Windows 10 again (Education edition this time). My GTX 555 was not recognized by the system after the first boot with the new OS and was still not recognized even after all the upgrades (fans were running so power shouldn't be the issue and I double checked it was properly plugged in the PCI-E slot). I then tried again the GTX 960 and same problem as before.
I tried to update the BIOS from a flashed USB once again and a miracle happened: no error and the BIOS could upgrade without any trouble. I upgraded to A06 > A07 > A14 and then plugged my screen on the graphic card and it is now working properly.
If anyone has the same problem here are the components that changed from the original build:
-case and case fans
-HDD 1To to Western digital blue 500 Go
-Windows 10 family (upgraded from 7) to Windows 10 Education (clean install): I believe this is what made a difference but I really don't understand why