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May 13th, 2020 12:00
17 R2, gpu problem
Hello, so I bought a second hand Alienware 17 R2 with a small problem, can't install gpu drivers. If I check with nvflash, the gtx 980m is read as GM204 but can't flash any vbios, I think the vbios is embedded to the mobo bios. In GPU-Z my gtx 980m is recognized but has no bios nor any memory size is available, no clock/memory speeds and in device manager, if I tick the "show hidden devices" button, I get to see 2 gtx 980m's with different device id's, one which windows says it has a problem error 43 (device Id 10DE 1617) and the other one which windows says it isn't connected to the computer and is hidden (device Id 10DE 13D7). Sometimes the 10DE 13D7 device dissapears. Any help would be much obliged!
ejn63
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May 14th, 2020 08:00
Given the age of the system, a number of things could be responsible - from a faulty video card to a video card that was replaced or improperly flashed at some point.
Contact the seller - if they can't explain to your satisfaction, return the system for a refund. You could spend days troubleshooting and not solve the problem - unless you're willing to fire the parts cannon at the system with a (or two) new video cards. You might start by removing the suspect card and trying to run on just one card - but to do that, many systems require a plug-in board to replace one of the cards.
PADI ULIN
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May 14th, 2020 16:00
Unfortunately I can't add or remove the gpu as it is soldered on the mobo, I was thinking of maybe a broken solder joint between the gpu and mobo. In that case maybe a reflow (or a bake) may fix it until I can go to a service to do a proper reflow/reball. If that's not the case and it all might be software problems, what should I try beginning troubleshooting? Maybe is it because I have an UEFI installation of windows 10? Or does the mobo not go well with newer versions of windows (btw I already have upgraded the bios to A12). There are many many questions that have to be answered but I can't even test the hardware properly as I'm unaware on how to do it. Thanks for the reply though!
Edit: forgot to mention that I can't return it lol.