AlienWare laptop & discrete grahics problem...

Question

Help!    There's something fundamental that I'm missing here, that pertains specifically to Dell's Alienware laptops...  I've lost the ability to make a.)Windows and  b.)Other apps   happy in the presence of two sets of video hardware:  Intel HD4000 and  NVIDIA discrete graphics.    I've read that there's a function-F7 keystroke you can hit, that switches between Integrated and Discrete graphics.   I've pressed this key, but it doesn't seem to do anything at all.  --Does this require driver-support?Any-hoo, here's the crazyness I'm seeing:**I installed the latest NVIDIA driver set, and disabled Intel HD video in Device manager, thinking I'd force everything to use the NVIDIA hardware.  Trying to bring up the NVIDIA control panel yields, 'You are not using an NVIDIA GPU'.  Trying to bring up my application yields, 'you are using incompatible video hardware, please contact support'.**I install the Intel HD4000 drivers from the Intel website.  I get this LOVELY  strobe effect on the display, as if someone turning a lightswitch on and off.  Not recommended for anyone prone to seizures.  I un-install, and at least the display is back to normal.**Trying to install the HD4000 drivers from WindowsUpdate yields hex errors that resolve to, 'trying to install duplicate drivers.. etc etc'.  When I first started, I actually had the proper HD4000 drivers installed; when I would enable this hardware,  the NVIDIA control pannel worked, and my application actually worked.  I un-installed these drivers, and I can't seem to install any HD4000 drivers that don't result in that strobe effect.There's something I'm not understanding here, about how life works with two sets of video HW in an Alienware laptop....  oh, and what is that function-F7 supposed to do?

purple397 · Answer

Not sure about your Laptop, but with my Alienware 14 it is thought that Windows Update Video Drivers can cause crashes. I am guessing the Alienware gurus will come along here and offer a link to Video Drivers from either Nividia itself, or the Dell site.

Also the order in which drivers are installed can cause problems (I did not say it made sense) In my guess, it is more likely a Windows thing than a Dell problem, altho Dell has to fix these issues.

I am also guessing that they M$ guys who might have fixed these issues, are now working on Windows 10.

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Also the order in which drivers are installed can cause problems (I did not say it made sense) In my guess, it is more likely a Windows thing than a Dell problem, altho Dell has to fix these issues.

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