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August 31st, 2016 13:00
[Alienware m17x r4] Graphics Card & Power Issue
- 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7-3740QM processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/Turbo Boost 2.0)
- 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (2DIMMS)
- 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M
- 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s
I had both these problems come out of nowhere starting yesterday.
- GTX 675M not detected.
- Descrete graphics card: Not Detected (BIOS)
- GeForce Experience error when run
- Overall nothing related to the graphics card shows up anymore on my computer.
- Example: Right click on desktop, no longer a nVidia Setting Option
- Trouble turning on/restarting computer
- When I only have the power cord attached, the system gets power for just half a second then stays off
- When I put in the battery it has a small chance of turning on for a few seconds
- When I unplug the power cord and leave the battery in, it will do what I stated in b, then suddenly power on (randomly stays off)
I've never experienced these issues before, however it started yesterday when I noticed my Media Player Classic wouldn't play certain MKV Videos. I decided to restart the computer, however after pressing Restart the computer just shutdown and never turned on again by itself. At the time I only had the Power Cord plugged in.
I've been using my laptop like this for many many months, and I've had this laptop for 3 years. Nothing was changed with my set-up yesterday but somehow this happened. My power cord still shows the blue light so that shouldn't be an issue.
After that occurrence, even after I manage to turn on my computer everything is super laggy. Pressing the Start menu will kind of cause a stutter before it loads, my mouse cursor lags, I even get lag for opening folders. Also the area near the power button on my laptop seems to be really hot even when I have nothing open and remain on the desktop right after I turn it on.
What exactly is the issue with my laptop? I Googled and assumed that my Graphics Card randomly decided to die yesterday, however even if so... My computer performance shouldn't be affected so heavily? It's not like the GPU was used for opening normal folders... And I still have the Integrated Card.
Update: I also can't use any program that requires Direct X apparently, even though I still have my Integrated Graphics Card... So a lot of super basic games that should run on Integrated don't work either.
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Eimy_B
6 Operator
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4.4K Posts
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August 31st, 2016 20:00
Hi,
This computer has switchable graphics: Enable/disable switchable graphics - Press Fn+F7 to Enable or Disable Switchable Graphics. Try this and let me know!
ScopeDown
12 Posts
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August 31st, 2016 21:00
I tried numerous times and it didn't change anything.
To confirm (this started after that failed restart and my GPU started not being detected);
- If I turn on my laptop with just the power cable plugged in, it will turn on for 1 second then shut off.
- If I turn on my laptop with the battery AND the power cable, it will turn on for 1 second then shut off.
- If I turn on the laptop with just the battery it will turn on for 1 second then shut off, but if I press it once more it will shut off then auto turn back on and work.
I tried cutting all power and holding the power button for 30 seconds, nothing.
Using the computer on Safe Mode will remove the lag I have for moving the cursor, playing videos, etc.
DirectX Diag Tool shows that all 3 DirectX Features show as Not Available.
Only the Integrated Graphics Card shows up in BIOS. Discrete is Not Detected.
I've tested what I listed above while pressing Fn + F7 and clicking OK to restart the laptop around 5 times already.
Eimy_B
6 Operator
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4.4K Posts
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September 1st, 2016 21:00
Try reinstalling the driver and also a video card reset.
Let me know if you need something!
ScopeDown
12 Posts
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September 1st, 2016 21:00
How exactly would I do that?
I can't open GeForce Experience to do so, Device Manager doesn't show my Nvidia card in Display Adapters (only the Integrated card - Intel HD Graphics 4000)
Eimy_B
6 Operator
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4.4K Posts
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September 5th, 2016 12:00
Download the driver here, just choose the OS accordingly and looks for the driver under the VIDEO tab.
ScopeDown
12 Posts
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September 5th, 2016 13:00
It says "The graphics driver could not find compatible graphics hardware."
Or: "The NVIDIA graphics driver is not compatible with this version of Windows." THEN the message above.
I tried:
Alienware Nvidia Graphics 331.65 Driver
nVIDIA GeForce .../.../.../GTX675M Graphics Driver
NV Graphics Driver Update for Win 7... ... M17xR4
Eimy_B
6 Operator
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4.4K Posts
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September 8th, 2016 17:00
After all the troubleshooting, looks like a video card failure.
ScopeDown
12 Posts
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September 18th, 2016 00:00
Since it's a confirmed Video Card failure... Why do I also get Powering On issues?
This only occurred after the card died, however I don't see how a Video Card dying would affect this.
Also is there anything that Dell could do about this? Replacement card, installation, fix, or anything?
A $2.3k-ish laptop breaking after 3-ish years is definitely a garbage brand though.