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FreedomEclipse

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did you used gpu-z ?
it can find cards that windows does not .

may be a power connector has unplug from the ati , check that . if it is not the case unplug and replug the ati hd6k .
beware that some pci-e slot have a lock to fix vga card , you have to push it "gently"

in case that does nothing , ask for a rma

that should be better to boot with a cold pc , retry the restore if you see nothing

check the monitor and cables , may be try to connect to all your vga-connectors to find the one that is on


If you check the model number m17x, you will see that its actually a laptop and not a pc. The parts used are laptop parts and not desktop parts per se~ so there are no 'checking cables' and 'VGA connectors' unless the OP hooks it up to a monitor and has the laptop function as a desktop PC instead of a laptop.
To open up a laptop and dismantle the cooling unit to be able to apply new thermal grease or reseat the GPU can be a rather daunting task to somebody who is less experienced with tech especially when it comes to laptops, while it maybe a fairly simple and easy takes in most cases, the components are more tightly packed and there is less room to work with so knowing what you're doing helps a lot when dealing with laptops, its not as simple as just slotting expansion cards into PCI or PCI-E slots - there is a lot of dismantling that needs to be done and how much depends on the laptop itself. you might need to take the bottom of the laptop off completely to get to the components inside, Opening it up can also void warranty - Most OEMs dont care if you add more RAM or a new Hard drive but opening it up completely can void warranty.

----


Pigas - your best bet is to RMA the laptop if its still in warranty. the graphics card might have come loose and needs to be reseated. while its a simple task to reseat the graphic card to most of us here at TPU, you might not be so experienced in dealing with it on your own. better safe than sorry and have Alienware deal with it then you attempt it yourself and cause further damage to your laptop which isnt cheap to begin with.
 
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Outback Bronze

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+1 to freedom. This is all true.

My original feeling was the gpu is coming loose.
 
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i absolutely do not know the alienware products , as he did not write anything in his "system specs" , i told to myself he was having some common desktop pc .
opening this latops can be hard because some pieces are "plug" like a Chinese puzzle .
but i have some experience with that kind of boards .
i recently updated cpu , vga , ram and hd of my 4 years old hp touchsmart 600



i rearranged cables that were below the fans and installed a ssd : so airflow is better and temp lower .
i also installed it in the AIR with a arm , so fresh air is passing with a better flow than at the time the pc was on a table....it killed its two drives : dvdrom and hd 1.5 Go

here it is :



as it is a laptop , i would open it only in case warranty is over , by now i would use gpuz in case monitor and windows start .
these laptop , like my hp , are made to die after 1 year and a half.... cleaning the dust inside is nearly impossible without breaking warranty ...
it is good to take the 3 years extention for 10 % more
 

FreedomEclipse

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i absolutely do not know the alienware products , as he did not write anything in his "system specs" , i told to myself he was having some common desktop pc .



Hey all, this is my first post, i am absolutely desperate.

I own an alienware m17x , with and AMD Radeon 6xxxHD series. windows 7. I am not that much of a computer expert, i just love gaming, hence the alienware.

Last night, i shut down my pc. When i turn it on, my resolution is 800x600 and i notice something is going extremely wrong. First thing that comes to mind is drivers for the graphics card, maybe they rolled back. Funny thing is, when i go on device manager, my graphics card wont show up. It only shows the Intel 3000 on it. I run World of Warcraft. It would barely run it on minimum speccs. I then came to the conclusion that i am playing without a graphics card-.-. I gave up, turned off the pc. I wake up the next day, turned on the pc, everything was back to normal again. I gamed for 12 hours, not a simple problem or overheat. I then restart the pc for some windows updates, POOF, no graphics card on device manager once again.

I need a saviour.

Kind regards,

Pigasios Michael

While adding system specs to your account would help in the long run as it helps us diagnose problems faster its not a necessary forum requirement, a necessary requirement would be to read the OP/Thread before answering. As mentioned the 'PC' in question is a Alienware m17x - the OP did not edit his post and edit it in, it was there from the start for all to see.

Also - Just because you know what you're doing when it comes to working on laptops doesnt mean the OP does. While the Touchsmart 600 maybe a AIO PC it is NOT a Laptop though very similar to one depending on the model/make.

I didnt know it was fine to give wrong answers so long as the OP hadnt filled in his system specs.
 

Pigas

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Its allrighy guys no hustle, i just woke up, i try alien restore in a couple pf hourd and let you know how it went. thanks for a the replies and help. much appreciated.
 
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i absolutely do not know the alienware products , as he did not write anything in his "system specs" , i told to myself he was having some common desktop pc .
opening this latops can be hard because some pieces are "plug" like a Chinese puzzle .
but i have some experience with that kind of boards .
i recently updated cpu , vga , ram and hd of my 4 years old hp touchsmart 600



i rearranged cables that were below the fans and installed a ssd : so airflow is better and temp lower .
i also installed it in the AIR with a arm , so fresh air is passing with a better flow than at the time the pc was on a table....it killed its two drives : dvdrom and hd 1.5 Go

here it is :



as it is a laptop , i would open it only in case warranty is over , by now i would use gpuz in case monitor and windows start .
these laptop , like my hp , are made to die after 1 year and a half.... cleaning the dust inside is nearly impossible without breaking warranty ...
it is good to take the 3 years extention for 10 % more

You sir are a ghetto mod redneck :laugh:
 

Pigas

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Thanks! Rolling back the restore atm. If nothing works ill try that!
 

Pigas

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Yea..still in the same position..i was wondering is there any chance the graphics card is about to fry? and it is just hanging in there? *note* when it works i can game for 12 hours+ without any problem
 

Frick

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It's a new(ish) machine, I would go for an RMA at this point.

EDIT: After a fresh Windows install, if you didn't do that already.
 
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Meh.. Restoring now, will let you know of the results. Ps is it possible to purchase and install windows 8 on the spot?

W8 won't likely help. In my case it did the trick because it has built in USB 3.0 support but I doubt it'll have built in support for your card.



Follow this guide: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/wi...own-issues-that-cause-slower-boot-times/3253/

and see if the GPU or its driver have any problem initializing. The GPU drivers should begin with "ati" or "AMD" on their name.




And yeah, if the laptop still has warranty you should contact Alienware support too. Maybe someone else has gone through your very same issue before and they might have a solution.
 
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Honestly mate listen to the others, if it's a lappy and still under warranty the best thing you can do is RMA it. You'll save urself a lot of frustration.
 
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Pigas

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The only reason i am not giving it to dell atm is that i am out of country.
 
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his pc was sold win win7 so it should be out of warranty .
you should open it and clean the dust [when pc will be cold] , may be your cpu or vga had burnt a cable because of the temp .
if it is the case , you should get one on ebay .
same goes with vga ......

i just read the : ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...ops/alienware-m17x_Reference Guide2_en-us.pdf
and you should have a nvidia vga inside , not an ati ....

open the case and check what is your vga
 
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Sounds like a hardware failure. Strongly recommend RMA since opening the case to diagnose further will probably void your warranty. Since you sound unfamiliar and uncomfortable with diving into the guts of your laptop you should probably leave it to the professionals.
 

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its getting cold. and the solder joints are failing.

if it has a radeon 6 series, it has to be quite old. and remember laptops are NEVER for gaming. NEVER.
 
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its getting cold. and the solder joints are failing.

if it has a radeon 6 series, it has to be quite old. and remember laptops are NEVER for gaming. NEVER.

Nonsense comment there. I've had plenty of gaming laptops that could smoke most mid-range desktops. Are they more expensive? Yes. Do they run warmer then a desktop? Yes. Can they be used for gaming? MOST CERTAINLY.
 

Pigas

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I am absolutely in love with this machine. A simple hardware failure does not mean laptops are not fit for gaming. Anyhow.. I turned it on today, it was working. Restarted it, same thing. Seems like after a whole night of being turned off, the GPU is able to run. So its either a nearly dead GPU or a cable running l
 

95Viper

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his pc was sold win win7 so it should be out of warranty .
you should open it and clean the dust [when pc will be cold] , may be your cpu or vga had burnt a cable because of the temp .
if it is the case , you should get one on ebay .
same goes with vga ......

i just read the : ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_alienware_laptops/alienware-m17x_Reference Guide2_en-us.pdf
and you should have a nvidia vga inside , not an ati ....

open the case and check what is your vga

Chances are, the OP has a M17x R3, as they, had the AMD(ATI) 6870 / 6970 / 6990 or NVidia GTX 460M/GTX 560/GTX 580 options with Windows 7.
Dell, still, offers windows 7 on their Alienware line.
You can get AMD or Nvidia cards on the different incarnations.

And, just for info... I believe they are at or around the R4, or so, revision.

Here is a list of alienware laptops and desktops with links to drivers and such.
@OP : I believe your's is number nine in the list.

If you updated the BIOS... did you use your TAG number to be sure you got the correct one for your model?
Also, you can enter your tag number at the dell support site and it should be able to show your as shipped configuration... whether NVidia or AMD.

I believe, this may be your model's support page with the latest bios being A12 -- > Alienware M17X R3

If, I were you... I would call Dell (Alienware) support and explain to them that there are a lot of unanswered "no graphics cards showing in BIOS" in the Dell forum threads which are really unanswered and that your is doing the same and see if they will, maybe, help or send a replacement card... you might get lucky.

Just be nice to 'em.
 
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