Boot Problems X51 R2

Hi, 

Try flashing the Bios to the latest version, click here for the download link. Also, reinstall the video card drivers. Both the Intel and the Nvidia drivers. You can download the Intel driver from the Dell support site. For the Nvidia driver, use this version. Test the system after this to confirm if the same issue persists. 

The first thing I did was flash the bios and it updated successfully and asked to "reboot to take effect". I rebooted and after a few seconds I got this error:

“Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key”

Do I need to change anything in the setup?

Ignore above. I was able to figure out how to use the Bios to find the boot drive and that seems to be working. I have updated the video drivers already but I did it again. I'll report back in a day or two. If it still persists I'll reinstall windows 8.1. It seemed OK until I installed 10.

Well after updating bios and video drivers I still get a black screen when booting up. I have to leave power on a few minutes and try one or to more times until it boots fine. Once booted it works forever!  Any ideas?

Hi, 

Did you also reinstall Windows 8.1 or are you still using Windows 10?

I did a clean install of Windows 8.1 and then upgraded to 10 right away.

Is this really a software issue???

I don't even see the Alienware LOGO with any option to boot into BIOS. The screen is Black 100% of the time. The best way to describe this is I have a computer that can't find the video card when booting.

It loads 10 fine! I can actually log in with password blindly, I just don't have any output from the card. I know this because I can pull the monitor cord from the NVIDIA video card and plug it into the on-board video and sure enough I have entered password fine and I'm sitting in a workable Windows 10.

I can't point the problem as being the card either because once I do get it to log in it works fine until I shut it down.

I can sit and try loading 3 or more times and finally it will load and work properly. But the time doing this I get mad at the money I paid to sit and boot for 5 minutes to get this rig up and running.

I could try a fresh install of 8.1 but my gut is telling me its not the operating system. This is a problem when initially finding the hardware very early during boot???

Any ideas...

Hi, 

Take a look at this article and try the procedures listed there. Let us know how it goes. 

1) I don't see the mouse pointer at all. Like I said it's completely Black.

2) I had already mentioned that I can unplug from video card and plug into the onboard graphics card and I do get video  

You need to understand that when I get a Black screen it's right from when I push the power button. I have no text/curser or any output from the card. However I can switch to the onboard video port and see the login screen. It's like during the initial boot the computer can't find the video card and feeds nothing to it!

Hi, 

Considering all of the troubleshooting steps you have already tried (flashing the latest Bios, reinstalling Windows, updating video card drivers with their latest version, etc.) this could be a hardware issue possibly with the video card. It may be best to send it in for repairs so our technicians can diagnose the problem and replace any parts necessary. If your system is in warranty, send me a PM with your service tag for further assistance. 

Thank you for confirming this. I’m glad it’s working properly. Let me know if you need further assistance.