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    Fail of the Week!

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by surfxombie, Jul 24, 2010.

  1. surfxombie

    surfxombie Notebook Evangelist

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    I submit this for consideration of "Fail of the Week"

    I feel I must share this and hope others learn from my pain. Noobs fail because they lack knowledge, experts fail because they ignore their knowledge.

    The lesson - "Update DirectX when you get your M11x or your games will fail, and don't mess with things before you know they are good."

    My trial..

    Brand new M11x, I was so excited I just ran through the latest drivers ran some benchmarks OCed it and then had to drop WoW (World of Warcraft on it). WoW can be copped from another PC and run without installing and this is where I failed as most people would install a game which would force DirectX to also be installed.

    WoW worked... oops then failed... Then follows reboots, checks, messing with settings and finally a restore of the M11x to factory defaults over a 24hr period (I think about 4 factory resets in total).
    I repeated this in various adaptions with WoW and DDO (Dungeons & Dragons Online) both run then fail at some point. DDO installes DirectX9c (2005).

    So I end up on a call to dell describing the whole trial and expecting to send the M11x back. They get me to try various ways to get the games to run with the 3D GPU but all fail.

    So it's going back next week - I am convinced.

    Well as a last try I install Mass Effect 2... this installs a newer DirectX version and runs flawlessly on max settings... THE PENNY DROPS

    I update to latest DirectX.. and retest games etc..

    All is well in the world and I have been reminded that IT does not forgive the forgetful or the arrogant. I was too caught up in the machine I forgot to cover the basics.

    Happy now though :)
     
    surfxombie, Jul 24, 2010
    #1
  2. jabinx92

    jabinx92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    good that a sad start turned into a happy ending :)
     
    jabinx92, Jul 24, 2010
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  3. kiwidaniel

    kiwidaniel Notebook Consultant

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    where do i update my direct X? Any detailed directions please post.
     
    kiwidaniel, Jul 24, 2010
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  4. Noah14

    Noah14 Notebook Evangelist

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    What he said.
     
    Noah14, Jul 24, 2010
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  5. kiwidaniel

    kiwidaniel Notebook Consultant

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    BUMP. i really would like to know.
     
    kiwidaniel, Jul 24, 2010
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  6. Radam

    Radam Notebook Geek

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    Radam, Jul 24, 2010
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  7. CristoWall14

    CristoWall14 Notebook Consultant

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    LOL, well thats not much of a fail.
    When I got my first laptop, I actually forgot to install my video cards driver! :p I freaked out when I saw those horrible framerates! (I actually thought they were normal but I expected a lot more)My brother then explained to me that I had to install the drivers :D . Stupid 15 years old kid :p
     
    CristoWall14, Jul 24, 2010
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  8. sfrrsman64

    sfrrsman64 Notebook Consultant

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    SAME here!! Except im 17... haha
     
    sfrrsman64, Jul 24, 2010
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  9. CristoWall14

    CristoWall14 Notebook Consultant

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    Haha, only 2 years difference haha. No big deal there :D
     
    CristoWall14, Jul 24, 2010
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  10. stevenxowens792

    stevenxowens792 Notebook Virtuoso

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    @Surf - Great story. The basics do get us sometimes. The best news is that you got it working and hopefully having fun. BW, StevenX
     
    stevenxowens792, Jul 25, 2010
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  11. surfxombie

    surfxombie Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks all for the understanding ;)
    All is still well so definitely my fail, and I am so relieved. It will take a day or so before I stop imagining games freezing though :)
    I am half way through migrating from my old netbook, got browsers working and and so writing this on the M11x - win!

    As for DirectX.. wot Radam said... Download & run and it will check and update as needed.
     
    surfxombie, Jul 25, 2010
    #11