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NWmedapplicant
4 Posts
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June 26th, 2013 14:00
Latitude e6540 and 8970m problem
Hi - I cannot seem to get benchmarking software to see my 8970m card?! Instead the tests (for example Futuremark) only see the native intel 4600. I downloaded the latest catalyst drivers and using the driver utility - software forced the application to run using the 8970m. After rebooting and again runnign the test - only the 4600 was being benchmarked. Is something wrong with my system??
http://www.passmark.com/baselines/V8/display.php?id=10056452942
DELL-Ravi Ch
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Posted June 28th, 2013 11:00
Hi NWmedapplicant,
I would suggest you to uninstall the AMD video card driver on the system. Please follow the steps mentioned below to uninstall the video card.
- Click on Start button.
- Start typing devmgmt.msc and then press enter.
- Select the both graphics card device under display adapters and right click on it
- Now select properties.
- In the properties window, under Driver tab, click on Uninstall button.
- Check “Delete the driver software for this device.”
- You want to delete the driver click OK.
- After the uninstall finishes restart the system. Then reinstall the video card driver on the system from Dell support site. Please enter your service tag # on the link below, select the OS, then download the video card driver from Video section onto the system and install it.
Please let me know if this helps.
NWmedapplicant
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Posted June 26th, 2013 16:00
Hi Ravi, Yes I see both devices listed in the device manager. But for some reason - the discrete card is not being switched to?
This issue seems to remain unresolved. I am experiencing the same problem. I have tried uninstall and re-installing every possible driver, from the Dell driver to the beta drivers listed on http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/mobile?os=Windows%208.1%20-%2064
I have 2 latitude 6540's and both have the same problem. I had a Dell technician come out to replace the motherboards (2 weeks ago) and he had never seen this machine before, but I have worked with that same technician for years on my other systems. His best guess was that there is a conflict in the drivers for the AMD card and since the 6540 doesn't seem to be popular (can't even browse to it at Dell.com) nobody has noticed.
They are great machines in every way, except for the video problem. I am assuming Dell is not interested in the fix, due to the low volume on these machines. That's unfortunate.
If anyone finds a fix, please post. Thanks!
Yep,
same problems with our E6540 Latitudes... We have istalled operating systems again many times, but ATI graphic card is totally useless, and takes only lot of battery.
And absolute idiotism that we cant disable ATI card by BIOS, or take that card away....
Just got my E6540 in Denmark yesterday. I can confirm this problem persists! I literally spent all day trying different driver combinations of AMD - because the two on the Dell support website only worked ONCE (and this caused extreme scanlines on external monitors). So I decided to get rid of the scanlines by trying different drivers and now Windows reports the video card is not working (Device Manager) even with official OEM drivers !
Info:SERVICE-TAG: Service tag removed as per privacy policy>
The first symptoms I discovered:(From Windows Event Logs)
"amdkmdap slower than expected" - I literally waited 28 seconds for the card when I just got the computer. It wasn't long before it didn't work at all !
NETwNs64 caused a delay during standby - another issue, but minor compared to this one. I thought this slowdown was due to the encryption I applied to the system drive - but no - the RADEON is the problem.
Also - my friend tried my Dell monitors P2214H with his Lenovo S12 - no problem whatsoever, and no scanlines.When I discovered the flaw with the scanlines - I tried to isolate the problem by uninstalling the AMD driver if it was corrupt and use Intel HD Graphics 4600 alone (Intel is usually much better with drivers both on Windows and Linux, and since I couldn't install directly from Intel's site this was the OEM support driver version as well !).
This worked fine (but still scanlines on the monitor, strangely). After this my initial thought was to try the latest drivers from AMD - This is where everything went off track and the graphics card refused to come back on after uninstalling AMD drivers and reinstalling the OEM drivers.
I believe the RADEON 8970M is faulty and/or the OEM drivers are buggy, the mainboard is probably faulty - or interference within the system causes the output to screens to have scanlines.
Summarized (symptoms):
1. OEM AMD Driver caused a 28 second delay after "Windows Logon" with a blank desktop background.
2. VGA output to monitor is extremely scanlined (especially across white or dark blue-ish backgrounds)
3. The video card now seems broken ( Exclamation mark in Device Manager, "Device is not working properly" Code 53 etc.)
4. Any attempt to put a VGA cable in the back now results in NO MONITORS DETECTED.
Short conclusion:
Wait for a solid replacement (Another model, another brand) - Dell really owes anyone with this laptop more than an apology! This is a refund/return problem for the time being when no good answer to what is causing this is out, and only standard responses and technician visits are offered.
This laptop graphics card ruins every experience on this laptop - even for non-gamers in business environments (dual-screens is a problem, performance/boot-time is worrying)
The specs are really awesome for this laptop - it's just a shame it's just another crapified OEM product with inadequate drivers.
I can't afford to "gamble" with something that certainly looks like no one cares if this product survives 1, 2 or 5 years - and doesn't care about OEM driver stability !
Anthony001
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Posted October 31st, 2013 22:00
Exact Same Problem here! Purchased a New e6540. The 8970 didn't work under Win 7. I spent the time doing a complete OS upgrade to Windows 8.1 Same issue. It's as if the 8790 doesn't exist.... Only the Intel 4600 appears to be configuring correctly. It appears Dell really has a problem here!Anthony001
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Posted November 1st, 2013 19:00
Has anyone found any support regarding this problem? I have still been unable to get the 8970 dedicated graphics to function independently, or at all. The 4600 integrated graphics seems to be dependent on having the 8970 enabled. Does anyone know if Dell is working on a Fix? I do not see the 8970 in the BIOS for any configuration changes. This issue needs to be corrected...I appear to have an identical issue here.
The machine is a new E6540.
1) I cannot detect external monitor on HDMI port (this monitor is recognised fine by other computers)
Using external monitors is essential for me and earlier Dell laptops (e.g. Inspiron N5110, with NVIDIA GT 525M) had no problem doing this.
2) in devices, both Intel and 8970 devices are registered
3) disabling either results in the machine adopting very low screen resolution
4) updating drivers does not resolve the issue
Is it really possible that this is generic problem with all E6540 machines? If so, they are not fit for purpose.
It would be good if Dell could get back to us on this. All advice is welcome.
DELL-Ravi Ch
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Posted June 26th, 2013 14:00
Hi NWmedapplicant,
I’d like you to check if you find the Discrete AMD video card and the Intel HD 4600 listed in the device manager under ‘Display adapters’ section.
If you don’t find the discrete video card on the system then I would suggest that you run the diagnostics on the computer by following the steps mentioned below and check if there is any issue with the hardware on your system.