A quick update

when i go into manage 3d settings i have an option to choose the preferred graphics processor  but when i click down there appears to be no option other than integrated graphics

help!!!

Hi,

Dell XPS 14/L421x is shipped with an optional NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M 1GB video card. If your laptop has this card installed, it may be an issue with corrupt card drivers. Updating drivers in such cases does not always work. I recommend re-installing the card drivers. Let us first try the graphic card drivers from support.dell.com. If that does not work, we will try installing the driver directly from NVIDIA website. Please follow the steps listed below:

1. Check the status of 'NVIDIA card' in 'Device Manager'
- Click 'Pearl/Start' icon
- Type 'devmgmt.msc' in 'Search programs and files' text box
- Tap < Enter >
- Device Manager screen appears
- Locate 'Display Adapters' and expand the option
- Check if 'NVIDIA 630M' is visible
- If yes, check if it has a 'yellow mark' besides it
- If no, browse through the full list to locate 'Other devices'
- Expand it (if found) and check for the presence of NVIDIA 630M again
- If 'NVIDIA' option does not show up at all, either the video card is not present in the laptop or it is not getting detected
- If 'yellow mark' is observed it indicates that the currently installed driver is corrupt; Please uninstall it
- Even if no 'yellow mark' is seen besides 'NVIDIA' card, still uninstall it from the computer

2. Un-install the currently installed video card driver
- Right click 'NVIDIA card' option and click 'uninstall'
- Also remove the card software if prompted
- Follow through with the uninstall process and restart the laptop

3. Install fresh driver from support.dell.com
- Click http://dell.to/TbhfYa to download the latest NVIDIA 630M driver
- Save the file on desktop screen and right click it to 'run as an administrator'
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation
- Restart the laptop and re-check

4. If the issue still persists, install the driver from NVIDIA website directly
- Access 'Device Manager' and uninstall the current video card driver as mentioned in steps 1 and 2
- Restart the laptop
- Click http://bit.ly/QUzeXM to download the latest NVIDIA 630M driver
- Save the file on desktop screen and right click it to 'run as an administrator'
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation
- Restart the laptop and re-check

Hope this helps. Do reply if you have any further questions. I would be glad to assist.

well this is what i have done

uninstalled the device and software

reinstalled using dells driver

no change

uninstalled the device

re installed the nvida driver you suggested

no change

received notification of an updated driver (only out today)

installed version 306.97

no change whatsoever

I guess the next stage is to do a factory reset so its back to how it was shipped and then i guess its time to get the engineer out

Very frustrating since this machine is replacing a machine that also had graphics issues

any other advice?

Hi,

Thank you for your response. you may try flashing system BIOS to see if that makes a difference. You may find the following steps useful:
Note: Before flashing the BIOS please check the following:-

• Adapter should be connected
• No external devices should be connected (like printers, scanners or any USB devices)
• All other programs should be closed and documents saved
• Ensure that battery is atleast 10% charged

Click the link to download the BIOS: http://dell.to/OukFUO

• Enter the Service Tag of your system and select the operating system
• Go to “BIOS” and click on the BIOS available
• Click on "Get driver”
• Select “For Single File Download via Browser”
• Click on “Download Now”
• Save the BIOS on your desktop screen
• Once the BIOS is downloaded on the desktop, right click on it and select “Run as administrator” and follow the prompts on screen to update BIOS

If the issue persists, I would also like to know the steps that you followed to 're-install Windows' before. If you used the 'Windows re-installation DVD', which partition did you format. Do reply with he results. I would be glad to assist.

Thanks for that

that link might be of use if the website would actually let you download the latest bios ( i have been trying for two weeks now!!!)

so thats messed that

the steps i took to reinstall windows were:

using diskpart i did a clean all of the entire hard drive

i created a primary partition

i then formatted it as ntfs

i then installed windows 7 as a clean install NOT a reinstall

there was no partition as such the whole drive was cleaned and formatted prior to the installation

if you can provide a working link to a bios i can actually download and use so that i can eliminate that "reason" for it not working

then what do you suggest??

Hi,

Thank you for a prompt response. Please check the functionality of NVIDIA card in absence of any external display. Unplug the external display and check if 'NVIDIA control panel' allows you to work with the screen resolution. Using NVIDIA's Optimus technology, when the discrete GPU is handling all the rendering duties, the final image output to the display is still handled by the Intel integrated graphics processor (IGP). As shown in the image below, the GPU handles all processing duties and the IGP is only used as a display controller to render the GPU's output to the display. Please find attached the 'Optimus Whitepaper' for detailed information on this technology. http://en.community.dell.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/3519/3404.Optimus_5F00_Whitepaper.pdf
  

You may also try the following steps to flash the latest BIOS for XPS 14/L421x. I have tested the link and it works fine.
Note: Before flashing the BIOS please check the following:
- Adapter should be connected
- No external devices should be connected (like printers, scanners or any USB devices)
- All other programs should be closed and documents saved
- Ensure that battery is at least 10% charged

1. Click the link to download the BIOS version A11 (Works with Windows 7 and 8 64 bit): http://dell.to/QngInX
2. Click on 'Get driver'
3. Save the BIOS on your desktop screen
4. Right click the file and 'Run as administrator'
5. Follow through with BIOS update
6. Your laptop may restart after the BIOS update finishes

Hope this helps. Do reply if you have any further questions. I would be glad to assist.

I have tried the nvidia control panel both with and without the external monitor

there are no settings for resolution and ther are no settings for  multiple displayes either.

I know you have to presume that people know nothing but do you really think that if i am capable of cleaning a hard drive clean installing windows down loading all required drivers and installing them in the correct order and then uninstalling devices and re installing updated drivers  then i am not capable of trying the settings with monitors connected and not connected , different monitors, different types of vga and different types of hdmi.

if you bothered to read the post about my last problem you will get an idea that i am not a basic user.

By the way that link does not allow me to download the bios, Iike many others get a sorry this fie cant be downloaded message.

this is not proving to be a helpful exercise!!

Hi,

Thank you for your response. I sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding; was trying to give all the possible steps that might have worked; certainly appreciate your technical expertise. I am extremely sorry about the experience. This matter is being researched upon by our specialists and we would need another 2-3 business days. I shall keep you posted.

Hi,

I am responding on behalf of DELL-Saurabh A. We are still researching upon the issue.
Please allow us additional 2-3 business days. We appreciate your patience.

Hi  

But that strikes me as rubbish

so you are telling me that on my xps14z ( a lower machine) I could pick a custom resolution and i could assign to use the graphics card by default for programs and i could see on the nvidia control panel ( so that for instance powerpoint would use the dedicated graphic card)

but my new higher grade model that has a better graphics card wont allow me any graphics resolution changes and will not allow me to assing the graphics cards dedictaed use

I am sorry but i do not believe that

Hi,

Your laptop is working as per design and though it allows you to select the desired GPU, it does not give an option of making changes to graphic settings through NVIDIA utility. The video drivers for this model (XPS L421x) have been designed in such a manner that you can calibrate the display options only through the integrated graphics utility. This has been confirmed by our specialists and I have checked it in the lab as well.

Apologies in taking longer than expected. Your patience is appreciated. Do reply if you have any further questions. I would be glad to assist.

Hi,

It may sound weird; however it is true that you will not be able to change the display resolution settings with use of 'NVIDIA utility'. It does not mean that the discreet GPU does not work. It works the way it should. This functionality may vary depending upon the built and design of different computers. You may also want to refer to the following NVIDIA article to know why you could not configure the display resolution through NVIDIA panel with an external display connected to the computer: http://bit.ly/SACTH6

Yes, NVIDIA utility should allow you to assign a specific card as the default GPU for running specific applications and programs. Could you tell if you changed the 'Global Settings' before configuring the 'Program Settings' in NVIDIA panel (Manage 3D settings)? Please publish a screenshot of the page where only 'Integrated Card' option shows up. That will help me get a better understanding.

I would also like to have a closer look at the system configuration. I have added you as a friend. Please accept my friend request by clicking on my name highlighted in blue and then click on “Friends” tab at the top and then click on “Request to Review” and finally click on “Accept” button.

I am sending you a private message as well. Click on “Inbox” to respond to the message and provide system’s Service Tag so I may access your system records and check for further course of action. You could also click on Start Conversation to send a private message. Do reply if you have any further question. I would be glad to assist.

I've been having a similary problem with my 1 -week old Dell XPS 14.  I was adding a printer the other day and saw that the XPS icon had a yellow caution

indicator. 

After further review, I found that the Nvidia geforce 630 driver was having issues.  Here's the error codes:

IKBMON_01 doesn't have a driver

IMSMON_01 doesn't have a driver

NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 is not working properly

Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43).

Also, when I click on the system tray NVIDIA Settings, the window opens up stating:

I have to say that that the Dell people were very patient as we tried to work through this issue.  I went to the Dell site and found that there was a driver update marked "critical" and downloaded (uninstalled NVIDIA first) and loaded the new driver to no avail.  I then tired going directly to the nvidia site and tried the same. 

Any ideas?  Dell tells me that a new vid card is required and that this will be a replacement of the motherboard.  I'm not really crazy about having my brand new Dell cracked open.

toddinator

although my problem is different i too have had a new motherboard fitted (after factory resetting the whole laptop to prove a point)

It made no difference

I have tried what you suggested

I set it to auto select

I then tried to change the settings for different programs

and as you can see there was no option to switch to dedicated graphics

strangely some programs did allow it, adobe acrobat, windows explorer, but not powerpoint ( which the xps 14z did) or power DVD

video attached