GT 555M driver not picking up card

So after a rather... Rough... Conversation with gearsguy (transcript below lol) I'm still none the wiser on how to fix this issue. He mentioned a modified inf then continued to belittle me for not knowing what he was talking about so if anyone could give me a hand on it I'd appreciate it greatly!

Picture of my problem to show it's hopefully not my incompetence - http://oi40.tinypic.com/212xylv.jpg

 

I cleaned up this thread ..... don't post private correspondence on this forum, it's in the forum rules. @ the other person that was posting in this thread - you know who you are - at over 1,000 posts, you should know arguing back and forth doesn't fly around here.

That said .... OP feel free to create another thread about your issue or continue using this one.

 

I can't fathom what to do about this laptop, I deploy on sunday so sending it back isn't an option for me, I need something to do while I'm not on duty xD

 

Okay. Since you are at that screen, I can see you downloaded the driver successfully. Now I'm not exactly sure where you are in the installation process, but this is what should be done from start to finish.

Download the driver of choice, and the corresponding modded inf file.
Open the downloaded driver file and you should get a self-extracting file. Put this in a folder somewhere, can be on your desktop, or a folder you created in "my documents." Mine personally go to a folder in my documents that i entitled "Drivers." Now seeing that you already ran the application that you get from the driver download, you should have the application named 29036_win7x64 and the corresponding folder it created. In this folder it has the "Setup" application that you ran that failed to run. Open display.driver sub-folder (it is in the top of the folder containing Setup). Now take the modded inf file (nvwi.inf) and drop it into this folder (display.driver) it will overwrite the default nvwi.inf

Now I have heard that after you do this the setup will work, so try running that. If it doesn't work, do it the Have Disk method. I personally use Have Disk method everytime. There is a tutorial on this forum somewhere on how to do it, but if you need me to i can explain in step by step. Make sure you try running the Setup application again after doing the steps above first though, because that might work and eliminate the need for me to write another long post (laziness ftw.)

 

i just got the same issue...i think what caused the issue is when i went to dell's driver downloads and attempted updates but accidently downgraded my bios from a07 to a05...i think, or i hope anyways.

ive contacted dell and they think im crazy for saying i have anything above a05 because thats all they see on the website (my laptop is less than a week old) ive gone round and round with 2 techs and a supervisor and they say my problem could be in the motherboard, no other issues whatsoever and in the bios startup it shows my nvidia. the supervisor is going to contact and engineer that works on the floor to try and track down the a07 file.

so, after searching for 3 days, ive found that a lot of people are running into this issue and its not all bios related.

so far ive tried to wipe windows (apparently i did not do a "complete" wipe because i have a folder named "old.windows". i think first ill reflash the a05, then ill try the driver "hunting/sweeping/whatcha-call-it" programs...also, what ive read, you MUST install the intel drivers BEFORE nvidia drivers will recognize the hardware. after all this ill officially wipe windows again and give it another round of the same processes...if that doesnt work, hopefully by that time, the dell techs will get me the a07 bios (the main thing thats changed on my system)

That's straight after opening the driver installation file. I don't have a modded inf, idk what it is or where to get one :S

 

Dell support will walk you through it if you tell them the driver is corrupted. But you have to erase ALL parts of the driver, through regedit, which is what the guys at Dell will help you do.

 

I just went through this with the Dell tech they tried everything including the modified ini he also respawned it twice. With no solution, actually his solution was to return or exchange. I ended up returning the m14x last well Friday waiting for my refund and looking else where.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

for Modded inf go:
NVIDIA & Laptop News | Latest NVIDIA drivers and related news | laptopvideo2go.com > Forum > 29x Series Geforce Release > v290.36 Windows 7/Vista 64-Bit Nvidia OEM mobile. Right next to where it says "Download Driver" (which is where you should have gotten your driver to begin with) it will say "INF Modified" Just download those two things.

In case you got lost along the way, here is the direct link. It is better to know the process so you can do it on your own next time. v290.36 Windows 7/Vista 64bit | NVIDIA OEM Mobile - LaptopVideo2Go Forums

There you go

 

trust me that will not work on the M14x, I tried it was a fail. Even Dell's approved drivers failed. I'm starting to believe the BIOS a07 is to blame.

OP please give the instructions above and see if it works for you.

 

thanks mazzacre

now if you could be so kind to guide this noob (me) where to go in regedit and what i should look for to delete. also what sort of driver sweeping program is good for free?

ill give this all a go in about an hr when i get home. do you think i should attempt to completely wipe windows before anything?

 

I can assure you that it DOES work if you do it right, because im currently using these drivers

EDIT: (avoiding double post) I'll try to get a complete guide up tomorrow, its night time for me at the moment and I have school soon so I need to sleep.

You shouldn't need to do any Regedit stuff, or any drive sweeping. And I have no clue what you are talking about regarding the Bios A07, because there really is no bios A07. The current highest is A05. As for removing previous drivers, make sure you always have the next version downloaded first, along with anything it requires (Modded INF). As I said I'm going to *TRY* to get a guide up tomorrow, i'll make a thread, get pictures and stuff in it to make it as simple as possible.

In the meantime, do not wipe your windows. Just hold up.

 

The tech support used drive sweeper from Major geeks, it looked like a great software to remove all files of Nvidia.

Yes there is a Bios a07 for the m14x, the new m14x have it. They have not been released in the drive support dell website yet for a reason. Those that recieved a new m14x it the last couple weeks have the new bios and I starting to think we were guinea pigs.

 

thank you, im not some crazy person trying to make up bios versions...i got my laptop last week and it FOR SURE had a07...and i read people have a06 but according to dells driver web site that doesnt exist either...this is why im having such a hard time getting through to the guys at tech.

ill post what i find assuming i get it up and running in time to do so.

 

My apologies, wasn't aware that they just haven't put it up for download yet. And yes it does sound like you are a guinea pig in this situation. I will be home in about 3 hours.

As for the driver sweeping, you can do that and I will explain in the guide about it

 

well im convinced there are no americans in alienware tech support...just a lot of "uhhhh" and "ummm" and "oh, ok" from them, plus the fact that they still wont acknowledge that any other bios above a05 exists.

so, looks like dell is going to send out a tech to my house to replace the mother board

 

just got my laptop today and I couldn't install the new drivers, so I tried this and it says "required files are missing"

 

Take note before he leaves check that everything is working correctly..
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/635987-m14x-7-bleeps-dead.html#post8211435

 

well, to be honest, I would have preferred if you waited until after I wrote the guide for the Driver Installation. That, and the m14x "temperature issues" is a question that CONSTANTLY arrives on this forum. I'm making a master guide because I am just so sick of repeating myself, it has nothing to do with you.

As for LupinTheThird, if you are getting that message you didn't do a part of it right. I'm guessing you didn't run the Setup application from the same folder the drivers were extracted to. Double check you installed the Modded Inf correctly.

 

If all the notebooks have bios A07, have tried to go back to A01, A03 or A05 and then update the driver? Many websites have the bios available to download.

 

I tried doing it again and I get this message instead

http://i.imgur.com/7MsBy.png

 

My guide is going to have to wait until the weekend, I am swamped with work. For a quick guide, look up "Installing Nvidia Drivers, Have Disk Method" tutorials on youtube.

 

I spent over 2000 dollars 2356.38 dollars to be exact. If I can't load drivers or Dell tech either.surely this laptop is not ready for prime time. It shouldn't be rocket science. And the m14x was sent back for a full refund.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

i'd suggest trying to role back to a more different bios version. The bios that the M17x r-3 currently is shipping with is bios version A09 and it limits the HD speeds to SATA II instead of SATA III. Previous Bios don't do that so people have to role back to A08 to get it to work again. Perhaps something similar is happening with the m14x because it appears you are not be the only one with this issue. I could be wrong though, but I just wanted to try to help you out.

Edit: Nvm it appears you already sent it back

 

heeeeeeyyyyy, i guess dell FINALLY listened to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyone with the m14x check out your Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

and whatll ya know, a08!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and guess what else, no more video card "!" in device manager! im going to mess around with drivers real quick and post my findings. its still a little sad that they couldnt have communicated the update with me after all the complaining i did about it...but yes, i can confirm that with my service tag, a08 has officially been released.

looks like dell isnt ALL that bad afterall.

anyone feel free to post a new thread stating a08 has been released...anyone with older m14's please confirm that it shows up with your service tag.

 

So are you saying it worked.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

my laptop wouldn't even detect the geforce gt555m card when I got it the other day, and after I downloaded the ao8 bios, it detected it and I could play the old republic on high settings.

i still can't download drivers tho

 

Dell support called this morning to apply the new bios update.I told him I returned.

very surprised they called to let me know.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

well it appears the a08 did not fix.

heres my problem in further detail.
in device manager i show standard vga graphics adapter in "!" device cannot start, code 10.
i try update driver manually by doing "let me choose" and then "have disk" and navigate to whatever nvidia folder the nvam.inf file is in...selected and open, then select gt555m and i find about 5 or more of the same 555m, every one that i select it says it "does not support this type of windows". even though ive downloaded the drivers from dell and nvidia for the windows 7 x64, i still get the error on all drivers i select.

this just sucks, ill never go into driver updates again, this is just ridiculous

 

Im worried now, i just ordered an m14x on friday, will i be screwed now?

 

Well if you want to change anything, there are still time as long as the Order statue hasnt been update to the "In Production" if it still "Order Received" then you can still change it by call Dell NOW.

 

I just read on the other thread on this topic that the problem is with the 3.0gig cards, something about dell modifying them to be 3.0gigs. I guess the 1.5 gigs are fine. that is what i have so i think im in the clear.

EDIT: how do i check if it says my order is received and what not, when i go on dell and type in the customer number it says it cannot find any.

 

Well, after you submit to purchase the M14x on Dell website, they will send you an email containing your Order Number and some other info regarding the info to the purchase, from there, copy your Order Number and visit this Dell - Check Order Status, and fill in the info, then click on submit, then it will direct you to the Order Status page where you can see the status of your laptop. However this method is before the website is re-renovate, I'm not sure if it still available though, oh and you can also check the status on the phone, again I'm not sure what the number is because it is depend on where you live. And finally, you can also check it by call Dell then they'll tell you the progress.

 

okay thanks so much! I dont think im going to cancel or change though

 

thread officially jacked.

my dell technician should be out tomorrow or early this week. ill see if its still a hard or software issue and report the findings asap.

 

I am having the exact same issue, I am on my 2nd Laptop now, the first M14x had a failed motherboard, they sent out technicians 3 times, the first 2 were faulty replacement parts and by the 3rd time they got it right but the laptop looked so beat up from all the disassemble and reassemble, I had them replace it.

Upon receiving this 2nd one, I decided to do a clean install of windows so I could get rid of all the bloat software they "pre-install" .. but now I cant get the card to recognize at all, no matter what I do, I can get it to recognize the card if I modify the .inf file, but then it gives me a (code 43) error. "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)."

I am in the middle of talking to Dell right now .. If they tell me they have to take the laptop apart and replace something I will tell them to send me another new one .. They can keep doing that till they fix it properly. Really disappointed with the service from them.

 

when i talked to dell about replacing the motherboard i was told on wed that it should have been overnighted and be in thurs...well i called thurs to make sure it had been shipped, they told me it was shipping out thurs instead because they missed the window.

so, friday i get no call, no big deal, maybe shipping was a little later than they thought.

here it is almost noon and still no call from dell or a tech. i call and i get another go around from the tech with "uhhh" "well im sorry sir" and "ummm" "well they are back ordered and it will not ship for another 24-48hrs...which was just an estimate, he says actually it could be more than a week before my laptop gets fixed now.

 

it really depends on your location and a bunch of other stuff. the first time I sent my laptop in from here in Alaska, it got there in 24 hours. This last time I sent it in it got there 3 days later due to fedex being busy. Hopefully I get it back by the end of the week, but who knows what will end up happening

 

dell says they just got new stock of motherboards w/ 3.0 nvidia today...should be shipped tues/wed.

i just wish there was a better solution. sorry for useless posting, just venting.

hopefully theres a guru around that can find a way to fix this if/when it happens again.

 

so is this problem only with the 3.0 gig cards?

 

so far thats what it seems like...i mean if it were both id think both mobo's would be on back order (they gave me the option to downgrade but id like to keep what i paid for)

extended warranty anyone?

 

interesting, well i completely understand your desire to keep the 3.0 version because you payed your good money for it, but I am glad to see that i might be in the clear with my 1.5 gig card. Going to be paranoid when i get it though, mihgt have to do some more research before updating the drivers.

 

i honestly dont believe my card really fried...i mean the bios still detects it, just windows shows it as "standard vga"

im still convinced this is still a software issue...but ill let them replace the mobo and see what happens then. im just tired and running out of hair to pull out.

 

can you still play games with it? or is it like its not even there?

 

I doubt he can play games with it if the device manager isn't showing it correctly so the drivers will install. If you do end up finding a fix please let us know cause this issue seems to have happened to more than just you.

 

Im wondering if when i receive my laptop, i should hold off on doing driver updates until this thing gets sorted out huh?

 

That's probably for the best until the issue determined and find a fix is found. I told my friend the same thing earlier today when I learned he had recently got one for Christmas. Sucks that this little monster has problems like this though.

 

yeah, well hopefully i wont lose to much performance by not upgrading to the newest drivers. and i will keep a close watch on this subject once i get my laptop.

PS: I thought i heard something about bios Ao8 fixing this problem.

 

no. tried it...i was all excited when i saw dell released something above a05...and especially after all that grief that dell tech gave me, saying that nother above a05 exists and if it did it would have been posted already...so, HA! to you mr or ms jihads working there.

i forced a weird intel driver to install last night and after the restart i had 3 display devices...one of them actually let me install nvidia but after the restart it said windows failed to load driver. i thought i was so close but device manager says default driver should have been an intel one, not nvidia.

can somone with a working 3gig card open your device manager and take a screen shot or post some details here please? are there really only the 2 devices, intel hd and gt555?

 

It should only have 2 devices under the graphics adapter, not sure where your third one came from.

 

sorry, im playing catch up, This problem is only with 3.0gig cards right?