XPS M1530 laptop - video issues

Question

I have a Dell XPS M1530 laptop and for the past week or so I started having problems like BSOD and hardware error messages during boot up. It was intermittent but now I can hear laptop booting up but screen is sually black. On repeated tries, it sometimes comes up (one out of 7 or 8 tries). Seems like I have video issue. I believe the video card is dying/dead. When it did come up, I checked device manager and there was a warning icon next to Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT and it says 'Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems (Code 43)'. Is this an integrated video card?  What are my options? Thanks.

kirkd · Accepted Answer

Dell does not support drivers for Operating Systems that were not available when the computer was sold. You can use the Vista video drivers for most things. You should have an Nvidia graphics chip, so you can go to the Nvidia site and download the newest Win 7 driver.

Khasteh · Accepted Answer

Uninstalled nVidia s/w, uninstalled driver, updated BIOS to A12, went to www.nvidia.com/.../notebook-win8-win7-winvista-310.90-whql-driver.html and got the Windows 7 s/w and it is working again; for now!

DELL-Chinmay S · Answer

Hi Khasteh,

You can run a diagnostic test on system hardware to check the functionality by following the steps below:

Please restart the system.
As soon as you see the blue Dell logo, start tapping the ‘F12’ key on top of the keyboard.

Note: If you wait too long and the Microsoft Windows appears, then continue to wait until you see the Windows desktop. Now shutdown your computer and try again.

After you tap ‘F12’ key, a new window would appear in front of you. Use the 'Down' arrow key to highlight the option “Diagnostics”
Hit Enter to initiate diagnostics and make a note of error code if any.

If the diagnostic tests pass, you can uninstall and re-install the video drivers from 'Device Manager' by following the steps below:

Click on “Start” and right click on “Computer”.
Click on “Manage”.
Click on “Device Manager”.
Under “Display adapters”, you will find the video driver listed.
Right click on it and click on “uninstall”. (Check and make a note of the driver installed on your system and re-install the driver from the below steps accordingly).
Check the box to delete the software.
Restart your system and click on the link: http://dell.to/QjjZDA
Enter the Service Tag of your system and select the operating system.
You will find the video driver under “Video”.
Click on the video driver depending on the video card your system has. (Install the same video driver which you uninstalled from “Device Manager”.
Click on “Download File”.
Select “For Single File Download via Browser”.
Click on “Download Now”.
Save the driver on your desktop.
Once the driver is saved on desktop, right click on it and select “Run as administrator”.
Install the video driver by following the on screen instructions.
Restart your computer.

Please share the findings.

Khasteh · Answer

When I go to the link yo provided it does not list Windows 7 as an option, just Vista 32/64 bit.

ejn63 · Answer

The video chip is part of the mainboard and well  known for failure.  See if there's an image on an external monitor - if there isn't, it's time to start shopping for a new system.  This one is not worth the cost to replace the mainboard.

Khasteh · Answer

Thanks ejn63, that's what I wanted to know: if there was a way to replace the video card or if I am stuck with it and have to change the whole motherboard. So, in any laptop, if one of these components die you have to throw away the laptop?

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