Gaming problems: AW 17 R2 & graphics amplifier

Question

Hello, I have a Alienware 17 R2. BIOS: A04Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4980HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.8GHzMemory: 16384MB RAMDirectX Version: DirectX 12 EXT Display Card: NVIDIA GEForce GTX 980Display Memory: 12195 MB INT Display Card: NVIDIA GEForce GTX 980mDisplay Memory: 12198 MB INT Dislay Card: Intel(R) Iris(TM) Pro Graphics 5200Display Memory: 2160 MB I also have a grpahics amplifier to connect the NVIDIA GEForce GTX 980 to the computer. I have everything for over a year and a half now.  While gaming a I have the amplifier with the NVIDIA GEForce GTX 980 card connected. The week before Christmas the problems started.  In the middle to gaming the computer would freeze then the game would crash.  A windiow error message would say DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED. The game would not reopen or relaunch.  A full boot would be needed.  Initially I might get an hour of gaming before crash.  However over the last month this has been reduced to 20 minutes at best.  This problem is happening for all games. I have tried the following tasks, (NONE of which work)- turned on vsync- performed a clean boot before attemting to play the game- ensured I have power supply capable of meeting the demands of your hardware while it is under heavy gaming load- performed a clean video driver installation- tried NVIDIA driver previous to current- set all in game graphics settings to low in order to reduce the stress on the GPU- ensured i have hard drive space available for the pagefile- set the high performance preset in the GPU control panel, as opposed to the high quality preset- set Windows power settings to High performance in the Power Options in Control Panel.- beside High performance, click on Change plan settings, Change advanced power settings, in PCI Express and Link State Power Management change the Setting to Off.- run the dxwebsetup to possibly fix corrupted DirectX files- changed the advanced power options so that the hard disk never turns off I have noticed two things: 1) while the graphics amplifier and the  GTX 980 card are connected I have disabled the internal Intel graphics card. When attemptting to load the game it says there is no suitable card connected, even though the GTX 980 card is connected.2)I have tried playing the game without the graphics amplifier & the GTX980, by using the internal GTX980m.  The game works but crashes due to overheat after 3 hours (which is to be expected, heat being the reason for the external amplifier) however this indicates that the drivers are working fine. I had this game and this computer setup for more than a year and half wihtout any issues. Is this a sign that the External GTX980 is failing?

Eimy_B · Answer

Hi,  Do you have the laptop driver installed?

lambay3000 · Answer

Normally, up until Christmas, I let the GEForce Experience handle the updates.

The GEForce Experience recognises that I have a GTX 980 connected.

When the crashes started to happen I downloaded from the NVIDIA website:

364.51-desktop-win10-64bit-international-whql (released last year when it was working)

378.66-desktop-win10-64bit-international-whql (the most recent)

Neither of them worked.

Eimy_B · Answer

You need to disconnect the AGA, then perform a clean install of the laptop driver (not the amplifier video card driver), then restart and plug the Amplifier.

lambay3000 · Answer

Hi,

I carried out a clean removal of the laptop Nvidia driver, with the graphic amplifier DISCONNECTED. I am currently downloading and installing

378.78-notebook-win10-64bit-international-whql.exe

Once that is done should I do a clean install of the NVIDIA Desktop driver (378.78-desktop-win10-64bit-international-whql) with the graphics amplifier CONNECTED.

Eimy_B · Answer

No, you don't have to install the desktop driver (never). Just the notebook driver and then just connect the amplifier.

lambay3000 · Answer

I carried a clean uninstall of the laptop (notebook) and desktop drivers.

I then tried different combinations, doing a clean uninstall and install each time.

laptop driver (378.78-notebook-win10-64bit-international-whql) [without AGA connected] then connected the AGA
laptop driver (as above) [without AGA connected] and desktop driver (378.78-desktop-win10-64bit-international-whql) with [AGA connected]
desktop driver (as above) [with AGA connected]
desktop driver and laptop driver

After i restart the computer and start gaming. It crashes everytime while gaming. Sometimes it lasts 1 hour and sometimes 20 minutes. But each combination of driver it eventually crashes with DivX problem.

The error mesage usually says the driver has been removed, but the AGA is still connected and driver fan is still running.

When I check the device manager the NVIDIA graphics card is gone. Sometimes it says there is a microsoft basic driver instead.

Any assistance welcome

Thanks

lambay3000 · Answer

Its getting worse, it used to last half hour some times but now it crashes after 10 mins. Has the card failed? Is the computer the problem? Help greatly appreciated. Thanks

Eimy_B · Answer

Send me a private message with the service tag please.

Kayanwang · Answer

Hi Lambay, Just a crazy thought, but have you tried reseating the Video Card inside the amplifier and, maybe, test a different one? Which game are you having problems with? Or is it more then one?

lambay3000 · Answer

Cant see the option for private message in this new forum.

Update on computer:

After backing up everything, I used windows reset to wipe the laptop and reset.

That completed successfully. The drivers then updated. I then reinstalled the games but the same problem still occurs. After 10-20mins of gaming it crashes.

Bought the laptop in June 2015 and had no problems until 18 months later in December 2016.

lambay3000 · Answer

Hi Kayanwang,

I have opened up the AGA amp and checked all the connections. I only have one card available to use.

I am having problems with more than one game. I play number of games including Star Wars Battlefront, Sims 4 and Far Cry Primal. Battlefront and Far Cry freeze mid game play and crash with the error. Sims 4 screen suddenly turns all white and needs to be forced closed via task manager.

Battlefront and Far Cry have different game engines and different devs/publishers.

I played all 3 games for a year or more with no problems before this difficulty.

Kayanwang · Answer

nevermind testing another card, forgot you mentioned you only have one. Unless a friend would be able to help? Just for a quick test.

Kayanwang · Answer

Am a little familiar with Sims and StarWars, not much the others, however I still feel it has to do with the Amplifier's Graphics Card, what Brand is the manufacturer? EVGA? PNY?

Which Driver is the system running at this time?

Do you have option to try another Card in the AGA instead of the 980?

lambay3000 · Answer

The Graphics Card in the AGA amp is a PNY. Unfortunately don't have access to any other card.

Kayanwang · Answer

Sorry been idle a few days, What was the last driver installed? Does the GA Card report any high temps? not sure if you can measure that through the GA...

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