Upgrading the DGFF GPUs in the Precision 7530 & 7730

Yeah there was four boot options before (I think windows, uefi and two NIC), now lost everything.

I really don't know where to head, I'll likely need that .efi file from an external hard drive

 

I would say I have two options now and I need some guidance.

1- remove the GPU then call Dell support.
2- try to put a W10 iso on a USB stick and get the efi file/bootloader back on.

I am not sure the dGPU is the cause of all this, possibly the initial failure in me not installing the drivers but after that it seems like a cascade of corruption and interrupted windows update/restore that crashed everything

Edit I tried option 2 and I am in Windows. I might have some good karma left.

Now let's try not to mess it up. Haven't tried a reboot yet see if EFI is fixed.

Edit2: and more issues. I even though everything was working at one point...

And then not at all. !!

One of the basic display adapter is my Quadro... Retrying to get drivers installed

Was installing then got that dpc violation blue screen/crash again

I disabled my Intel from device manager and then managed to install the Nvidia drivers.
But it doesn't show BIOS or any info for that matter in PGU-Z... No clock, memory, just driver version.

 

@theBeachBoy —a straightforward GPU upgrade should not have required this much work to get done—definitely not a clean install of Windows, and certainly not anything to do with the bootloaders. In fact, it ought to have been even less work for you than it was for me, since your GPU upgrade was supposedly to a properly compatible one (I did a cross-generation upgrade, twice, with no problems except driver ID patching).

It seems like you attempted fixes which only worsened the problem, and you're giving information rather piecemeal, which makes it difficult for us to help.

Calm down, try not to rush things now, and let's take this one by one. Do stop trying anything else for the time being, if you'd like a working machine.

1. I suggest you replace the original passthrough card back in (see step 2 also), so you can get your clean install of Windows set up first, including internet and PCH drivers (this is very important). Prepare a USB drive with drivers from the Dell website for your machine (I recommend entering your service tag there, and downloading everything, except for the updates under the Application, Cables, Docks/Stands, and Systems/Management (but download the Dell Power Manager Service). If you do want the miscellaneous Dell soft/bloatware, go ahead, but it's not entirely necessary. Ensure that there are no yellow exclamation marks in Device Manager, after installing drivers.
2. If you don't want to go through the hassle of swapping out your graphics card, that's fine, too; but perform the above steps first. Some of the above drivers require reboots; feel free to click 'later', and install other drivers as well, and stack the reboot, so you can do it in one fell swoop.
3. When you restart, do not do so normally; Press Start; then press the power button, and you should see the shutdown/restart/sleep options. While pressing the Shift key, click on the Restart button, and you should be led to the blue Windows 10 recovery screen.
4. Here, click on Troubleshoot—>Advanced Options—>Command Prompt.
5. Now, follow the instructions here (under Windows 10, under 'do not have installation media), and skip instructions 1-3. Follow the commands that the instructions tell you to do so.
6. Once that is done, reboot, and ensure Windows Boot Manager is listed as an EFI boot option.
7. Ensure you have ENABLED the Switchable Graphics option in the UEFI firmware.

Now you have set up Windows, and we can proceed to configure the GPU.

1. If the new GPU is already in, then we can install the NVIDIA drivers. Don't grab an old version from somewhere; get the latest DCH version, from this link. Click on it directly, and it should download the executable file. Double-click on the installer file, and see if things work. If it doesn't, do upload clear screenshots of the following (do not use your mobile phone to take photos of your screen; Use the shortcut Windows key + Shift key + S to take screenshots).
   1. The exact error that you see when you try to install the NVIDIA drivers;
      
   2. Device Manager —> Display adaptors —> the unknown device (double click to open the properties window) —> Details tab —> hardware IDs.

Next, we are going to check if the VBIOS matches up (I've got an RTX 3000 to compare).

1. Download this version of nvflash.
2. Extract the zip, and open a Command Prompt window at the same directory.
3. Enter these commands to save your VBIOS: nvflash -b backup.rom
4. You should see a new file, backup.rom, in the same directory. Zip it up, and upload it here, so we can inspect it.

 

Thanks, very much appreciated.

Since I now can go into windows quite reliably (although getting these dpc watchdog errors and having to restore a previous windows point), I will post real screenshots of each step.. I believe the whole boot issue is now fixed and I can start the troubleshooting on the windows side.

Since it's late I will have to do the steps tomorrow.

Thanks again, from being on various other forums not many people are willing to help.

 

Yes, also got this one with my Precision M6700 + Quadro P5000 that didn't work out...

 

Which is why I asked him to upload his VBIOS here, so I could compare version numbers. That QUAL SAMPLE thing is highly suspect, and I'm afraid that @theBeachBoy might have gotten a dud.

 

I have 30 days to return it, hope we can figure it out within that window.

 

I would in general avoid buying QUAL SAMPLEs, but you seem to have gotten a decent deal on the RTX 3000, so let's hope we can figure it out.

 

I think since it's a qualification sample, the vbios is not the retail one and could lead to some issues like that, dump your bios, then send it here to check if you have the right one

 

There are Nvidia drivers listed when I run the drivers on Dell's website for my computer, which ones should I use between that and your link?
https://www.dell.com/support/home/e...de=wt64a&productcode=precision-17-7740-laptop

The SupportAssist lists it as available so it "sees" my Quadro (for now at least)