M17 (pre Dell) service manual or how to swap video cards?

Hi everyone,

I own an original m17 for the wife along with an m17x, and m14x. I have built a pair of desktops but not any laptops. I have swapped out a failed hard drive on the m17x which has a nice service manual easily downloadable

Unfortunately, I see sparse instructions for the original m17 (pre Dell version). I can find no help other then questions/answers on the alienware site but there is no question/answer about swapping videocards.

The reason I need to swap video cards is that I get no output on the laptop monitor but I get the extended desktop when I plug in the HDMI cable. Ideally I would like to swap the video cards by software technique but I only get an extended desktop on my TV and can't see anything I click. I have clicked fn + f3 hoping it would swap screens but it didn't seem to do anything. I know the computer is in windows as I hear the start up screens. I know it could be a screen cable issue so I removed the keyboard (alienware does have instructions for this) but it seemed to be seated fine. I suspect it is a bad video card (pair of crossfire 3870 ATI cards) so I was hoping to merely swap them and see if that fixed the issue but I don't see any online instructions or youtube video for how to do it. I have located them on the bottom but don't wish to randomly remove screws and interfere with heatsinks where I don't need to.

Any help would be appreciated. If there is a software way to swap screens (fn +f3 and f3 alone didn't work) or to clone the blank monitor screen to the tv without actually seeing anything (ie I can't move the mouse and click dialogue boxes as the monitor screen is blank) that would be quickest way. If I have to do the hardware way (ie swap out video cards and see which if the one feeding the monitor is bad) that should work. Heck, I might even keep it to one video card as the wife never plays games on that computer. Already I have detached the f1 key by mistake while reattaching the keyboard and looks like I will have to crazy glue it back. This computer is out of warranty as well.

Any help appreciated. Please note I have a blank screen on the monitor so any suggestions about changing video drivers etc will fail as I can't see what I am doing. Also, the computer was working fine with no recent updates and just failed mid day so I am pretty sure it is a hardware failure (video card or Monitor/monitor cable). If i can't get it working, its off to a local bestbuy and hope the geeks don't make it worse.



Video/Graphics Card: Dual 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 - CrossFireX™ Enabled!

Processor: Intel® Core™2 T9400 2.53GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Chassis: 17-Inch WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p)
Keyboard Options: Illuminated Keyboard – Alienware Exclusive Design - Terra Green
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Home Premium (32-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
Memory: 4GB« Dual Channel DDR3 SO-DIMM at 1066MHz – 2 x 2048MB

Thanks in advance,

MEGA

 

Hello and welcome to NBR.

Here you go:
w840di.pdf
http://nunetherlands.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/diy_17_intel.pdf

Try one card at a time in the main slot and come back with your results.

Good luck.

 

Hi,

Many thanks for the link. I don't know why for the life of me that pdf isn't on the alienware site in some format. I couldn't google my way to that link. The w840i.pdf was excellent and the only slight difference was where the fan wire plugged in (next to the slave card rather then near the cmos battery). I did have to google how to remove the mxm crossfire wire and it linked me back to this forum where someone said you just pull them straight up by the tab. I was pulling too softly as I didn't want to break anything.

I took out the slave and mxm crossfire wire, put back together and the same problem. I can hear the booting into windows but black screen on the monitor. I then took out the master and put the slave in its place (even though the w840i.pdf says they are not interchangeable and need to stay in their respective positions) and right now I am not even booting into Windows. At least I can't hear it booting into windows as the screen is still black. I suspect the slave card might not be seated correctly and it is going to what would be black screen saying no video card detected if i had any image to view. I will reseat the card and try again.

If this doesn't work is there any advantage to putting the master in the slave and setting up the crossfire and trying again? Maybe its a dead monitor rather then dead video card? Assuming I put the slave into the master slot correctly with the master not installed and the crossfire cable not installed, it should work if it was a bad master vga card?

Thanks again

MEGA

 

If i'm not mistaken, there's a difference in the vBIOSes of these cards. There's one for the primary card, one for the slave card and the system won't boot with a card flashed with a slave vBIOS installed in the primary slot.

But, looking back at your post, i believe you have a screen problem, since the cards can render on the external display.

 

Hi,

Well I put things back as they originally came and I can hear the boot into windows but also get a blinking orange power light when on battery and steady orange when power cord plugged in. I don't recall seeing this before. I don't remember if the orange light stayed on steady when booting the m17 previously. I thought it was because the video cards must now be overheating since I removed the heatsink and put it back on without adding thermal grease (i thought I had some and didn't and the local stores are closed). There is some grease tape already on the heatsink that look fine but there is no real direct grease over either card or over a central area that said als or something similar. It looks like I will have to bring this to Best buy and see if they can troubleshoot the monitor and cards. If any other suggestions, please let me know. At least I can hear it boot into windows again so I would imagine I seated the video cards correctly and they are recognized or I probably wouldn't be able to get into windows.

Thanks

MEGA

 

If this is a hardware issue most stores like bestbuy will not work on screen issues in store. They usually farm it out to a 3rd party and ship your laptop out while you wait for weeks. The flat rate cost too of a screen diagnostics & repair is anywhere from $400-$550 at these retail chains. Some of these 3rd party repair facilities also refuse to work on alienware computers due to difficulty sourcing repair parts.

If you can not repair it yourself and do not know anyone who can you may be best off contacting alienware directly or sending it to a reputable alienware repair facility.

Do you even see the initial BIOS tests on the primary monitor? If not then its most likely hardware, but if the monitor only goes blank when loading windows then it sounds more like software.

My guess is that its a bad screen / connection. Also try shining a light on the screen and see if you can see a faint image when on. If so, sometimes the screen's inverter dies which is easily replaced and usually cheap compared to other repairs.

Lastly, I hope you did not cook your graphics card when you powered it on without the heatsink properly on. These mobile cards are sensitive to heat and without a heatsink can fry very easily.

Good luck

 

Hi,

Ya, I called bestbuy and they were telling me i need a new motherboard because the video card is integrated even after I told him I swapped the master/slave positions....so best buy is out!

I called Alienware and the guy told me they don't have parts for the legacy system anymore and directed me to Ztronics.com I will give Ztronics a call/email but if they can't diagnose and just want to sell me a new screen, inverter cable, videocards I will be calling Alienware again and reminding them I have purchased 5 alienware laptops in the last 3 years and expect better service as they have to have some parts for the M17s under warranty. It might be as simple as the inverter cable or a bad master 3870 radeon video card or it could be a bad screen. I will try the shine light trick but am pretty sure it was a completely black screen w/o faint image.

I don't think the video cards are fried as I would expect an error mssg rather then being able to boot into windows like before swapping them. Also, the heatsink came with two pieces of thermal tape per video card alongside the vga chip and the only part questionable was the lack of grease directly on the chip so I think they are still fine. I can double check when I get home by making sure I get video output through the HDMI to the TV.

Does anyone know a way of going from extended desktop mode to clone mode with ATI catalyst when you can't actually see what you are doing on the main screen? Are there hotkeys that would do this? If I could get the main screen to show on the tv I could troubleshoot by disabling crossfire and any of a number of other tricks to narrow down the problem to the screen or inverter cable. I guess if the inverter cable is cheap enough I can see if its stocked locally buy one and replace. That will be alot quicker and cheaper then mailing it out to ztronics or alienware and waiting for a result

MEGA

Ohh,

I don't see the BIOS post. It stays black the entire time. I agree it is likely hardware failure (hopefully just an inverter cable but could be the whole screen). Thanks for the help.

 

Try Fn+ F7.
Plug your monitor before starting the system, if it doesn't render on the screen, wait for it to load windows and try the two key combination.

 

Hi,

Making some progress with help from you guys, many thanks. Unfortunately the fn f7 combo is for m17x discrete graphics. fn f3 is the m17 equivalent but it doesn't work. I did follow your suggestion and now that I shine a light and click open what should be a dialogue box I see the faint background screen. The graphic cards must be fine as they are rendering fine on the tv through HDMI and on the laptop monitor which can barely be seen because the backlight is out.

Does this pretty much mean its the screen inverter? The w840di.pdf mentions an inverter module to which the lcd screen inverter connects. Could it still be a bad monitor?

It looks fairly involved to get that lcd screen inverter out of the LCD for replacement. The alienware website is quite inaccurate as it states:
"How do I reseat the LCD/LCD Inverter Board/Webcam cable of the Area-51 m9750? (also applicable to Alienware M17 mobile system)"
weblink: How do I reseat the LCD/LCD Inverter Board/Webcam cable of the Area-51 m9750? (also applicable to Alienware M17 mobile system)


Yet the pics are nothing like the inside of the alienware m17 and must be their m9750. Before the pdf link I was given here, I thought I would simply reseat the cable if it came loose somehow but got stuck at step 2 after removing the keyboard where it mentions "Remove the screw holding the South Bridge, LCD cable and Finger touch keys cable cover (See Image 2)". The M17 looks nothing like those images even though the instructions state the same procedure for both the M17 and the M9750. I can't even find the exact part number for the m17 inverter cable.

I have gone to the alienware recommended website (ztronics) and they don't show an inverter cable for the m17 in stock. They do have the m9750 lcd inverter but I suspect its not the same as the m17 lcd inverter.

http://www.ztronics.com/laptop-part...1-m9700-/-m9750-lcd-inverter/flypage.tpl.html


Well, the screen work looks kind of challenging (I have only swapped hard drives and video cards on laptops previously). I am also not certain I will buy the inverter cable somewhere and even if its the right one it could still be the screen. I am thinking of calling Alienware back and harassing them to fix it with the parts they have under warranty given the number of Alienware purchases (let alone Dells at work and for family) directly attributable to me. They must have some parts for warranty repair on an alienware I received in jan 2009, its not like its ancient. I guess I could also call ztronics and see if they have the parts to attempt to fix it and let them fix.

MEGA

 

After all the results you've posted, i think it's safe to say that the screen back light is dead.
Also, you may be in luck, this guy is selling one:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/com...zer-keyboard-area-51-m17x-old-led-screen.html

See if you can work something out.

 

Hi,

Thanks for the link. I will get more info but if its the backlight, the best thing would be to buy the LCD screen which should come with its own backlight, LCD cables and inverter cable correct? Basically its the top half of the computer with the necessary cables?

I found this link right on this website with pics which should be helpful in getting the job done:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-m9750-other-flextronics-arima-notebooks.html

I will investigate the details on the screen being sold. Many thanks

MEGA

 

I would look for OEM inverters on ebay.

 

can anyone tell me what the metallic/cloth type of tape is called being used on the WiFi antenna wires between the LCD & laptop cover? is it a heat shield type? I know its they use kapton tape to hold the connector to the back of the LCD screen but that's yellow & clear not silver metallic/cloth looking... please help

 

I answered your first post

 

Hi everyone,

I bookmarked this thread since I found it so helpful the first time out and will just drop an update as to the solution. I had a defective backlight on the Legacy Alienware M17 R1 (Pre Dell - 2008). I ended up shipping it to Ztronics and they diagnosed and repaired it. It was a defective back light. They replaced with an $80 LCD and $129 repair charge. It worked great for about 3 years but the same issue. Its not the video cards, its the backlight again. I called Ztronics and wrote them and got no response. Some of their webpages are down but some still accessible. I suspect they may be out of business. This time I will likely pickup the part and repair it myself

Cheers,

MEGA