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forum.notebookreview.com/.../windows-10-upgrade-warning-for-alienware-owners.779449

OK, sad to report, the same thing has happened on the Alienware 18. It took less than two hours. Switched from Intel HD Graphics. Downloaded the Windows 10 driver from NVIDIA... no mods. Now I get 8 beeps, no backlight and no boot. Updating opening post.

You can't get to BIOS and/or Safe-Mode?

Well I hate to say this but this is Mr. skeptical here. This is why I refuse to upgrade to Windows 10. I do have to say though it does work on my older machine just fine and I was almost ready to upgrade Windows 10 on my R4 when I came across this and several other complaints.

You can't get to BIOS and/or Safe-Mode?

Here is a quick run-down on the sequence of events:

• Installed Windows 10 on M18xR2 with GTX 780M SLI... everything seemed fine for about 24 hours, maybe slightly longer
• M18xR2 suddenly started 8 beeps, no boot after being turned off - 8 beep code indicates GPU, LVDS Cable or LCD issue - tested GPUs in M18xR1 and they where perfectly fine; replaced LVDS cable and no change
• Removed display from M18xR1, intalled on M18xR2 and everything is fine with M18xR2, installed screen from M18xR2 on M18xR1 and it started 8 beeps, no boot, confirming LCD failure
• I assumed it was just an ordinary hardware failure, was glad I could steal the LCD from the M18xR1 until I could purchase a replacement part... life was good (or so I thought)
• About 24 hours later, the second display is doing the same thing with the good display taken from the M18xR1 and the 8 beeps, no boot problem also surfaced with the second display after the system had been shut off
• Alienware 18 has GTX 780M SLI and Windows 7. I was not planning to upgrade the OS but I wanted to rule out any anomaly involving my M18xR2. So, I installed Windows 10 yesterday running on Intel Graphics and all is well... about 16 hours later (today) I switched over to GTX 780M SLI, installed NVIDIA GeForce drivers and about 1 hour later, maybe slightly more, Alienware 18 makes a click sound and turns off while web surfing. Pressed power button and now it has the same problem... 8 beeps, no boot.
• On all three machines there is no LCD backlight, but if I open and close the lid the backlight turns on
• Removing NVIDIA GPUs has no effect... display malfunctions the same on Intel HD Graphics once the LCD panel is messed up and the damage is already done (M18xR1 has only Intel HD Graphics, no GPUs, and has the same behavior with a bad display attached)
• On all three machines, if I boot with mini-DP or HDMI connected to an external monitor I get the vBIOS HWDIAG splash screen and Intel Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM but 8 beeps begins when system BIOS loads and attempts to begin output to LVDS port

Well I hate to say this but this is Mr. skeptical here. This is why I refuse to upgrade to Windows 10. I do have to say though it does work on my older machine just fine and I was almost ready to upgrade Windows 10 on my R4 when I came across this and several other complaints.

I'm going to take a guess that if you have an AMD GPU you will be OK. If you have an NVIDIA GPU, I wouldn't. I'd waiting for NVIDIA to sweep this under the rug and release another driver that doesn't destroy Alienware or Samsung 18.4" LCD panels on systems with switchable graphics.

You are correct I do have an AMD

So I have an update for everyone. three of my friends have the exact same problems, but they were able to recover their system so no damage was done. They went to the website and downloaded and got an up-to-date driver and everything is running perfectly for them, so just an FYI get the driver first before you install Windows 10. It'll save you a lot of grief.
I just thought I would pass this on

You are correct I do have an AMD   So I have an update for everyone. three of my friends have the exact same problems, but they were able to recover their system so no damage was done. They went to the website and downloaded and got an up-to-date driver and everything is running perfectly for them, so just an FYI get the driver first before you install Windows 10. It'll save you a lot of grief. I just thought I would pass this on

To avoid potential confusion for other readers, could you please provide more detail and be a little more specific? Do your 3 friends have AMD GPUs or NVIDIA, and what GPU models do they have? What model Alienware systems do they have?

I installed the "latest and greatest" (not) NVIDIA GeForce 353.62 WHQL driver for Windows 10 and have three dead Samsung display panels. There is no recovery from this problem that I am aware of because the machine fails to POST with 8 beeps, which indicates the LCD is no longer detected by the motherboard/BIOS.

bump --> more LCD casualties

• http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/windows-10-upgrade-warning-for-alienware-owners.779449/

• https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/862417/geforce-drivers/windows-10-official-353-62-drivers-has-killed-three-samsung-lcd-displays/

  {8/11: glad to see nVidia broke their silence BJ}