Alienware 17 GPU problem

Hello Shinzetsu!

We launch an article related to that issue a couple of days ago, check it out and let us know if it helps you to fix the problem. 

I did all the solutions but it didn't work. Still my laptop can't detect my graphics card it says you are not currently connected to your nvidia gpu in the device manager there is an exclamation symbol on my gtx 770m. But i notice something when i disabled and enabled my nvidia it worked what could be the problem?

will it void my warranty? if i opened my laptop? if my graphics card is faulty i cant access it right? something is disabling my nvidia please help :( ive been reading many solutions, visiting forums but still i cant fix this :(

The cards are super easy to access on these new Alienware 17 and 18. When you remove the bottom panel its the large card top left. Two screws hold it in place lift up and out done. There are tons of videos showing how to do this. This should not void your warranty. I would call Dell support have them walk you thru the steps if you are really unsure. Mine went dead on me called support we walked thru all there steps (Even though I am a 20yr Tech) I did it with them came to the conclusion its a bad card. They sent me a complete replacement kit and I replaced it my self no issues still covered under warranty.

I have GPU problems on my Alienware 17, my graphics card cant be detected i have tried solutions in this forums,searching google and visiting other forums but it didnt solve my problem however im waiting for the reply of the moderators here at Dell Forums. I still have the RECOVERY partition because i formatted my laptop how can i restore my laptop in factory image? because i cant see the alien restore at system repair :( can i do it manually because i have the Factory.wim. Hoping that restoring my laptop to it factory setting would fix this problem. Please help me :(

I wnt to open it right now but im scared i might break it im not good at fixing those things. When i hibernate my alienware it is ok the nvidia is detected it works fine but when i use shutdown nvidia wont appear i have to disable and enable it in the device manager after a couple of enabling and disabling it nvidia will appear. It may be loose right?

The Alienware 14 is the only one that has the Nvidia built in the board. The 17 and 18 both have removable graphics cards.

Wish i could call dell but im here in the Philippines. Is the graphics card removable? It is not soldered or something?

Are you using the drivers from support.dell.com?

Im using the drivers on my resource dvd what specificdriver should Idownload from Dell for my laptop?  I have updated my bios to A07, used the nvidia drivers at dell site and also the usb drivers. What should Idownload? 

Now im using my alienware by hibernating so nvidia wont be missing. What could be the problem?

Now im using my alienware by hibernating so nvidia wont be missing. What could be the problem?

As blown9350lx has already suggested, it is not uncommon for a video card to need to be reseated in the PCI-e slot. This happens to laptops and desktops sometimes. The only way to find out is to reseat it and see what happens.

Depending if your card is bad or not if you do this it may fix the problem. Open the bottom panel and remove the battery, then remove the GPU (Nvidia) you do not need to remove the heatsinc just remove the fan and the GPU with heatsinc attached and then reinstall it. Most of the time if the card is not bad it fixes the problem.

Crash Dump Analysis

Crash dump directory: C:\Windows\Minidump

Crash dumps are enabled on your computer.

On Thu 2/6/2014 8:31:36 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\memory.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: Unknown (0x00000000)
Bugcheck code: 0x19 (0x22, 0xFFFFFA8012112000, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: BAD_POOL_HEADER
Bug check description: This indicates that a pool header is corrupt.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This might be a case of memory corruption. More often memory corruption happens because of software errors in buggy drivers, not because of faulty RAM modules.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error.
Google query: BAD_POOL_HEADER



On Thu 2/6/2014 1:44:06 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\020514-14055-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x4B2AEC)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFFA800EA46038, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.

I ran WhoCrashed and this is the result

I am reasonably certain your BSOD is being caused by incorrect CPU power settings. 0x124 WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR is usually associated with core voltage being set too low. The 0x19 is often associated with memory errors, and common if you attempt to use memory timings that are too aggressive. It can occur for the same reason as the 0x124 (low CPU core voltage).

If you have been tweaking your system to try to get better performance, this is probably a symptom of simply using the wrong settings. If you have not been trying to overclock (and shame on you if you are not, LOL) then you may want to reset your BIOS to defaults. Press F2 at POST to enter setup and you will find that option on the "Exit" menu. 

If you are not using any custom memory or CPU settings, have stock Dell memory modules, and resetting BIOS defaults does not correct the problem then I think you are having a hardware issue that needs to be handled under warranty. 

This still does not account for the GPU issue you are having. They could be related problems if you are having a hardware malfunction, but my impression is that the BSOD mentioned above is not related to the GPU issue. But, if your base clock is jacked up too high this affects the PCI-e slot as well as the CPU and memory, so resetting BIOS defaults may have an effect here.

If problems continue after setting the BIOS to defaults, the suggestion to reseat the video card in the PCI-e slot is still valid.