BUG REPORT: disable "Switchable graphics" make Dell Precision 7510 unusable

I also have almost the same issue with it. What I found out by now - if energy saving is on, you can let windows start (to the login screen that you don't see), close the display (enable standby), re-activate it, and mostly the display is coming after that. I never had to reset BIOS (v1.20) to make it work again.

As the screen itself is turning on (background led), i think the issue is about the connection from the AMD FirePro W5170M card to the display when switching is enabled. IGP isn't experiencing this issue at all.

What's also part of this issue is, when IGP is disabled, the display is flickering from time to time in Windows (Windows 7 x64). This issue neither changed when I updated the driver, nor was it affected by installing Catalyst.

At last I also saw 10-15% performance differences between the two modes (even if the application was run by the AMD GPU).

Our configuration is Intel i7-6820HQ, AMD FirePro W5170M, 1x16GB non-ECC, also with the UHD Display.

Hi there

There was a new BIOS version (1.30) that solved the problem with the flickering and black screens for me. As you have still less performance with switching enabled, I'll go further with dedicated graphics only, as we have to get the devices out in the business.

Regards

Greeting Karman-de and EF_retro,

Thank you for posting this. I can confirm for you that Dell engineering is working on the problem.

I'm glad to hear 1.30 help with one case. However, Dell engineering was able to replicate the same problem described in this post when running on 1.30.

We are expecting that the issue should be resolved in the next 7510/7710 BIOS release. There's no ETA for the new BIOS at this time. I will post back when I know more.

Edit 2-16-2016 4:27 PM CST: Community members with the problem described in this post are encouraged to call Dell Technical Support. Share internal document ID SLN301063 with your Dell support rep in order to obtain next steps for your case.

I have a very similar issue, and Dell tech support confirmed that it is the same bug.  

System:  Dell 7510, Win 10 Pro, i7 6820HQ, 16GB, 512GB NVMe, Quadro M2000M, IGZO 4K display, backlit keyboard, BIOS 1.3.10

Here are my symptoms:

I disabled switchable graphics in the BIOS and picked up a performance increase in doing so, plus eliminated a few pesky problems (e.g. LCD panel flickering with the display set to 60hz, but no flickering at 48hz.)  

However, I'm using a second monitor connected via HDMI, and when I disconnect that monitor (no matter how I do it- either just hot-unplugging the HDMI or using Windows+P and choosing the "PC screen only" option, then physically disconnecting the monitor) my laptop screen goes blank.  The LCD panel is still lit, and I can see my mouse cursor when moving the mouse on the blank screen, but there's no content.  I don't even see the login screen when I start Windows, though I can log in if I use the fingerprint reader.  When this happens, if I connect the second monitor, I can see the desktop on that monitor and it acts like the LCD panel is still there because I can see it in Display Properties and it acts like apps are spanning the two monitors.  The problem remains if I restart, standby, etc. 

What I've done to (temporarily) resolve the issue is to boot back into BIOS, turn on switchable graphics, boot into Windows, and do a clean installation of the NVidia display driver from Dell's site.  After that, I can reboot into BIOS, turn switchable graphics back off, and boot successfully back into Windows using both the laptop display panel and the secondary monitor.  However, the next time I unplug the secondary monitor, the whole process starts over again.

I read elsewhere that turning off secure boot and enabling other ROM options can fix the issue, but I haven't tried that yet.

Dell tech support advised to wait 1-2 weeks for their engineers to release a fix.  I'm hopeful.

I am having this exact issue. With the 4k screen and a 4k external monitor, Chrome could not keep up with 1080p60fps youtube videos and browsing was slow. Works much faster when I disable switchable graphics and use the FirePro. 

It worked a couple times but now I'm having this issue with my main screen not working. My external monitor does work. 

I updated to the latest video driver and bios (1312). Neither helped. 

For now I can get my laptop screen back by closing the lid (letting it sleep) then opening it again. But it's a major drag. I can't change bios settings now since I can't see anything until I've booted into Windows. 

Hoping for a fix from Dell soon. Called Support and referenced this thread. They said its a known issue they are working on a fix, but no ETA. Their recommendation until then is to pull the CMOS battery to reset the bios. 

Similar problems here on Dell 7510 with 4K screen. Never displays something on screen and with enabled LCD flickers like ***. Latest BIOS in October running, drivers of Dell seem unreliable with upgrades; had to reinstall everything. Windows 10. Workaround: laptop is most often used from an IGEL terminals with two monitors using RDP. That fixes it, just not using the integrated laptop screen. When going on road, fiddling with lid sometimes help, for the rest I always take my 5 yr old macbook pro with me and teamviewer.

I'm looking for an update on this issue.  I am having the same problems on a new Dell Precision 7510 with AMD FirePro W5170M graphics card and the UHD IGZO display.  I have disabled the integrated Intel GPU in the BIOS as an available option and I have three issues (perhaps all related):

1) Can't see post screen on boot-up, only Windows 10 login screen after full boot is complete.

2) If the laptop hibernates/sleeps, it sometimes comes back on with a black screen (you can see backlight on screen, but nothing else).  Only solution is a complete reboot.

3) Sometimes while in use, the display will flicker to black and then nothing is visible on the screen.  Same as #2 above, only solution is a complete reboot, which means anything that you are working on that isn't saved is gone!

Last update was in February that a next bios release would resolve these issues, but there is no update that I can find online.

This is a high-end professional/business laptop.  Seems like something that should warrant some level of attention.

Thanks.

All those issues should have been fixed in the BIOS update released last week.

Hi Christopher.  I upgraded to the new Bios 1.9.4 as you suggested.  In addition to all 3 issues that I noted above still being unresolved, my 7510is now running in some kind of low power state where the CPU does go above 798Mhz and the video card 300Mhz.  I can't use any productivity or graphics software as the PC is simply too slow.  In addition, I can no longer even enter the BIOS screen to try and change settings.

Effectively, Bios 1.9.4 has made my Precision 7510 unusable.

I hope somebody from Dell Support reads this forum and can help.

Thanks Christopher, I did exactly that next.  I went back to 1.8.3  and it didn't change anything.  I reinstalled 1.9.4 and I'm still stuck at 798Mhz with no video acceleration either.  Also, there is some kind of weird screen dimming going on, but I have "High Performance" set in Windows and have checked every setting manually that I can access.

Unfortunately, since I can't seem to access the Bios with F2 or F12, there's no way to tell if a BIOS setting is causing all of these problems.  I wonder if there is some way to completely reset the bios?

Wow, I'm sorry to hear this. I was experiencing all the issues you were and as soon as I did that BIOS update they were fixed. Try flashing to the BIOS 1.8.3 and see if your computer runs normally, then go back up to 1.9.4 and see how that works.

You can reset the BIOS by unplugging the power, battery, and then unscrewing the back cover and removing the CMOS battery. Here are instructions: www.dell.com/.../Removing-the-coin-cell-battery

You may need to reconfigure your boot device after resetting the BIOS. Also, before you do that try holding down the "Fn" kley and hitting F2 while booting to see if that gets you to the BIOS or use an external keyboard.

@Dellcustomer120120,

Go ahead and send me a friend request with your service tag and email address. I'll see what I can do.

I solved the problem today!!!!!!!!!!! Guys you can't use the drivers support by amd or nvidia! Go to your device model on the dell website and download and install the gpu drivers that match your hardware!!! Turning off and on switchable graphics works perfectly now!

i have the same issue above. Dell precision 7510, windows 10, Nvdia M2000M Quadro, and build-in intel HD graphic displayer, Bios version 1.9