XPS 8950, integrated video card failure error

So no add-in video card? Some recent drivers for add-in NVidia cards have been causing black screens. So you might try an older driver.

How much RAM in this system?

Does the monitor flicker on another PC?

What port are you using on monitor, DP or HDMI?

If HDMI, what kind of adapter do you have? Have you tried a different video cable?

Hello;

So no add-in video card? Some recent drivers for add-in NVidia cards have been causing black screens. So you might try an older driver.

No NVidia drivers installed; updated Intel drivers, used older drivers, tried drivers direct from Intel site, no change

How much RAM in this system?

16BG

Does the monitor flicker on another PC?

No monitor does not flicker with another PC

What port are you using on monitor, DP or HDMI?

The 8950 I have only has a DP port. I am using a Dell 2721DGF monitor. Using the 8950 with an older monitor with a DP to HDMI converter cable gives same video card failure on testing. 

If HDMI, what kind of adapter do you have? Have you tried a different video cable?

I  only have the Dell supplied DP to DP cable. The DP to HDMI cable I have does not work with the monitor.

Hard to fathom you've already had motherboard replaced 4 times and awaiting #5. That would seem to suggest the problem is elsewhere, like the video cable.

Since onboard Intel Graphics uses system RAM, that's another possible cause, and/or heat issues if a fan(s) isn't working properly.

Post back and let us know what happens after the new motherboard and/or new video cable.

Hello and thanks for the replies;

1/ there is no hardware acceleration toggle in windows advanced display. The problem occurs on windows desktop and in Excel and other  apps so I don't feel it's a browser issue.

2/ chkdsk, DISM, SFC ran without errors.

3/ when I logged in this morning I found that windows was activated. 

4/ I may try a new DP to DP OR DP to HDMI cable to see if that has any effect. I have another MB replacement this week so I  will determine next steps post replacement.

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@RoHe wrote:

Hard to fathom you've already had motherboard replaced 4 times and awaiting #5. That would seem to suggest the problem is elsewhere, like the video cable.

Since onboard Intel Graphics uses system RAM, that's another possible cause, and/or heat issues if a fan(s) isn't working properly.

Post back and let us know what happens after the new motherboard and/or new video cable.

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@RoHe (nice work here)

@LenB79 

I wasn't going to post because after 4 motherboard, I could not image how an on-board Intel GPU could still be broken.

But I bet this is why. When you get a new motherboard, they usually just move the RAM DIMMs over. So, I suppose the ram or even the main Intel processor are suspect about now.

I have this problem with my 8940 (screen going blank periodically and severe crackle in the audio [no video card, 32GB mem etc.]). I tried replacing the RAM and got no improvement.

It was really bad with HDMI and slightly less bad with DP. I tried buying expensive cables for both with no improvement. What I am doing now is turning the monitor off physically before I boot the system and then powering the monitor on. Doing this I get blank screens very rarely (still happens though). I'm assuming there is some kind of sync problem that arises from some edge condition in the system from problems distributed across the 8940 video system, video cable and monitor. I've tested the monitor with one other computer and I've tested the 8940 with one different monitor, using the same cable in each cases. There were no problems in either alternative configuration. My current Acer monitor is the only one that fits in my desk space so I do not have the option of permanently replacing the monitor with a different model. Basically SOL.

If either of you have a working add-in PCI-e x16 video card, either a spare card or one you can borrow from another PC, try installing that card and see if it solves the problem.

Doesn't have to  be an expensive/fancy card. You just want to test video output when the monitor is connected directly to the add-in card, instead of to onboard Intel Graphics.

And there's the "when all else fails" option of trying a clean reinstall of Windows.  Be sure to image your boot drive first. Macrium Reflect (free) is a good tool for this.

After the clean install and full update via Windows Update, install only one or two key apps and see what happens. If it doesn't blank the screen, continue installing your apps until either everything is installed without problems or you find the culprit.

If the clean install fails after only one or a few apps are installed, you can re-image the boot drive back to the way it was, so you don't have to reinstall all your apps again.

So after the last MB change, change of rm and cpu, the prepost test of the video card ran fine, however, the troubleshooting test in Support Assist fail the video card test. In fact the test did not complete. So I again removed all display drivers and had windows reinstall. I received the same result with the test. Purchased a Monoprice Dp to DP 1.4 cable and rested. I got the same result again.. The only hopeful aspect is that so far there has been no screen flicker and no black screen events. Someone on the internet, said not to worry about the support Assist tests as long as the prepost tests pass, as windows may be interfering with the results. I'm not sure if I posted the video card errors from SA history; here they are.

D0815 D0814 D0813 D0812 D0812 D0811 D0810

@LenB79   - There's a post in the Precision forum by a forum moderator saying those SupportAssist Dxxxx errors are irrelevant to the user and eventually Dell is going to hide them so users don't see them.

Can't find that link right now, but I'll post it when I find it.

EDIT: See the post marked as the Solution in this thread.

It would have been helpful if someone at Dell Support would have analyzed the situation and mentioned it after providing the information. This would have avoided the timeline that ensued.

@LenB79  No argument from me...! 

But it would have helped if you'd posted those Dxxxx codes in your OP.

If the blinks are gone and PC is working OK, just keep an eye on things. You still have a ~4 months left before the warranty expires, in case...

An update...

My screen-going-blank started to happen every few seconds and previous work-arounds had no effect. In desperation I ordered an active DP-HDMI adapter (Startech) and the black screens are no longer happening. Still can't sat whether it's a MB or monitor problem or an interaction between the two but in any case it appears to be fixed.

I bought my xps 8950 a couple of months ago in the UK and experienced the same black screen issue several times.  Eventually I noticed it coincided with a need to download and install the latest windows update, and having done that it went away. Until today.  I downloaded and installed the latest windows update but still got the black screen. So I ran 'Let Dell automatically find driver updates for you' and it didnt.  I got the error message 'Driver detection not available'.  So i tried 'Manually find a specific driver for your XPS 8950' guessing it might be a graphics driver problem.  This turned up a critical update for Nvidia GeForce dated 14 Jun 22 (512.77) plus another Intel UHD graphics command centre application which was a recommended update, dated 19 Sept 22.  I downloaded and installed both and dont have a black screen for now.  So  it may be that the intermittent black screen is not a hardware fault but a software prompt to download and install a recent update for driver X.  If this is the case, it would be really helpful if a notice could be shown with the black screen saying something like "this is software prompt to download and install a recent update for driver X".

I too have had this ongoing issue - even after thinking it was a monitor issue and spending $300 on a new one). Eventually I ended up with a Black Screen and 2 Blinking orange / 4 White on the power button, which indicated that there was an issue with the graphics card. PC turned on, fans were running, but Windows wouldn't boot. I ended up taking the PC apart and resetting everything on the motherboard and power supply along with replacing the internal battery and doing a deep clean on the inside of the machine (mine has been out of warranty since Nov 2023). After restarting the PC 3 times and with the PC put back together, I was finally able to get it into BIOS (tapping F2 upon powering on) and do a manual reinstall of Windows 11 from inside the BIOS settings. Personally, I would not be purchasing or recommending another Dell PC of any kind at this point. This process took 5 hours from start to finish (prior to reinstalling all of my apps and software) and when the XPS is less than 18 months old.