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Alienware 17.. completely stumped, calling all Gurus
I have an Alienware 17, it's been a little underwhelming for the price, but it has a great feel to it.
Anyway for the last year or so i have been getting display driver crashes(win 8.1) Primarily while playing world of warcraft, this was one of the only game it happended in, then it became more regular, usually when the gpu had to render fire or ice effects.
About 2 months ago i plugged HDMI cable into the laptop and it completly died, turned it back on, and the alienware logo popped up, then it says something about being a major fault, then kept rebooting in a loop.
At which point i gave it to one of my mates who knows a bit more then i do about pc's, he pulled out the default 880m, inspected the card, then placed it back into the unit and the laptop booted like normal.
He then asked if i wanted windows 10 installed, and since dell hold your service tag i used my free upgrade, all seemed well until i tried to play any game. then i got the dreaded "application has been blocked from accessing graphics hardware" multiple crashes ect.. tried every game installed.. only two games seemed to work, SWTOR on any graphics setting, and Rust on direct X 9. The rest seem to freeze the second the GPU gets stressed.
Now i have tried all the standard fixes, like in regestry, fresh installed drivers using DDU, refreshed Win10, Formatted my OS partition and reinstalled Win 8.1. still getting the same issues..
So i went and have done multiple dell online dignostics, everything says 100% perfect.
But here is what i think the issue is.. The unit has a "integrated graphics chip for low power on the board."(Intel HD Graphics).. this little bastard wont appear anywhere, device manager, and even in the bios.. so i downloaded the drivers for it off the dell website using my service tag .. "Your system does not meet the minimum requirements"
So the Questions i have are as follows;
Can this be fixed Via software?
Does it sound like the intel hd graphic chip fried itself?
Can you easily replace this chip, or is it the whole motherboard?
There is something in the bios about it, but im not brave enough to play there, any tutorials?
So at this point, stumped what to try next, any sort of help would be appreciated.
Should also mention, In the bios "integrated graphics card - not detected"
Carbon Based Lifeform
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June 14th, 2017 03:00
sorry to see that. that is somewhat unique Issue you have there. the "Quote" Funktion doesn't work for me for some Reason. so about your Questions:
1. no, i don't think so.
2. yes, sounds like that but hold on.
3. Yes. here: Alienware 17 Replace Processor How To Upgrade CPU Tutorial | i7 4800MQ to 4930MX 4k - YouTube
before shopping for a new CPU, try Power Drain / Clear CMOS.
disconnect all Cables
remove the Laptop Battery
hold the Power on Button for 30 Seconds
remove the Coin Cell Battery
hold the Power On Button for 1 Minute
put everything back together
now go into BIOS. is the Intel GPU still not there?
Good Luck.
Edit:
for the Record. i HATE this "Currently being moderated." Line so much!!
Alienware-Eimy
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June 14th, 2017 07:00
Hi Azkarii,
If your system has a 3D LCD the Integrated card will not appear in either the BIOS or device manager. If you're not sure whether or not you have the 3D LCD, you can send me a private message with the service tag so I can check your account.
Something else could be the switchable graphics, so try FN+F5 (make sure the OSD driver is installed).
And just in case try running an ePSA/Diagnostic test on the system, click here to view a Dell article that explains how to run this test. Let me know if you receive any errors.
Alienware-Eimy
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June 14th, 2017 08:00
Yes, sorry, I should have explained it better at the beginning.
Alienware-Eimy
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June 14th, 2017 08:00
Hi CarbonBasedLifeform,
Yes, that's correct. If the system has a 3D LCD, the integrated card will not show up even in the BIOS menu. This happens because the 3D LCD can only work with the Nvidia card, it cannot work with Intel, so it automatically disables it.
Carbon Based Lifeform
872 Posts
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June 14th, 2017 08:00
ah okay. that makes Sence. Thanks Eimy.
Carbon Based Lifeform
872 Posts
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June 14th, 2017 08:00
Hallo Alienware-Eimy.
to make sure i understand it for Future Reference. when 3D Screen is installed, the IGPU will not show up even in the BIOS Menu, is that correct?
Thank You.
Carbon Based Lifeform
872 Posts
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June 14th, 2017 09:00
i should have thought about it a bit longer before asking in a first place. TBH, i was about to Edit my Post but you've already answered my Question.
Azkarii
4 Posts
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June 27th, 2017 01:00
hey guys, thanks for the replies. sorry about the late reply, i sort of gave up for a bit and have been using my old pc "core 2 duo ext edition).. :-(
But yeah, i cant really afford new parts for the laptop atm, but im hoping there is another fix.
Trying to back date the PC to win 8.1 and uninstalling direct X 10 .. maybe that will work.. running games only on DX9.
After reading im curious about the 3D LCD thing if you could elaborate more?
Like because im thinking the board has issues, but if the 3d led makes the board not show even in device manager and bios.. then this might not be the issue.. it could be something entirely different..
in the meantime i will try get rid of DX10, and only run DX9 if its possible. as stated about "Rust" works perfect on DX9.
..worst case scenario i put Win7 on it and go from there... but i do beleives its a hardware fault.
ive ran full diagnostics on my laptop and no faults have been found its strange..
Carbon Based Lifeform
872 Posts
0
June 27th, 2017 03:00
when your Friend removed the GPU, did he re-pasted the Thermal Paste or did he just installed the Card how it was before? you have more Troubles now after your Friend touched the Card. maybe run some GPU Stress Tests.
Alienware-Eimy already offered you to send a PM with your Service Tag. she will check if you have 3D Display installed or not. hover with the Mouse over her Name, then klick Follow. then do it again and klick Message. if it doesn't work for whatever Reason, then just wait until she posts again.
Alienware-Eimy
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June 27th, 2017 11:00
You can send me a PM now if you want.
Azkarii
4 Posts
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June 27th, 2017 19:00
my friend didnt re paste the gpu, i wonder if this may be an issue. but the laptop has 100% comleted all tress tests, with no issues
Azkarii
4 Posts
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June 27th, 2017 19:00
sent :-)