M11x Issues

So far I'm relatively happy with my new M11x, except there are a bunch of letdowns. One of them is that my integrated graphics aren't working. My Nvidia card isn't showing and I've been stuck on Intel, which really blocks me from using the M11x to it's true potential since I can't even get more than 15 fps on World of Warcraft.

Could somebody help me out on this? The Nvidia card doesn't even show up in the device menu and when I click on the NVIDIA Control Panel in the Control Panel it gives me an error saying "NVIDIA Display settings are not available. An NVIDIA graphics card was not detected in your system. I have already tried reinstalling the software but I have yet to call Dell about this issue and I really don't want to since I am also having issues with my M17x.

 

(1) We need more information. M11x R1 or M11x R2? What have you recently done that prevents the graphics from working? Changed / installed any new drivers?

(2) You can try troubleshooting this through forums, which can be a difficult and painful process. We can't see or touch your computer, so we can't get any hands-on knowledge of what the symptoms are or what is wrong, and the response times are slow.

Or, you can call Alienware (not Dell), and have them figure out the cause of the problem for you in 10 minutes. You paid for a warranty when you bought your machine... you might as well use it.

 

I'm guessing he has an R1 and hasn't switched to dedicate graphics. Unless of course he has a legitimate problem with the mainboard.

 

agreed. to the OP, hit FN+F6 to flip between integrated graphics and dedicated graphics.

also, you said your integrated graphics isn't working, but really, it's your discrete graphics that you aren't enabling. your integrated graphics are the intel onboard graphics, and the discrete graphics is the GT 335M.

if you have an R2, you need to search for whitelist in case Optimus isn't recognizing WoW (though I thought it did by default).

 

That was definitely my bad, it is an R2.

FN+F6 does absolutely nothing, there is also no special marking on the F6 key either.
It's also only using Intel for Counter Strike: Source and Guild Wars too.

 

(1) The Fn+F6 suggestion was from people that thought you might have been using an Alienware M11x R1. So you are correct - that button combo will do nothing for you.

(2) The quickest (and most likely) way to fix this is to download the latest nVidia drivers. Go to nVidia's website ( http://www.nvidia.com), and download drivers for the nVidia GeForce 335M notebook GPU. The latest drivers are v266.58. Be sure to select the right OS (Windows 7 64-bit, and *NOT* 32-bit). That should work.

(3) If that doesn't work, then whip out your headset, because it's time to make a call to Alienware

 

Looks like I shall be making one more call to Alienware in the future. Do you guys have any other solutions, if not tips for getting good c/s representatives?

 

Yep.

Be aware that the C/S representatives are typically limited in what they can do or authorize. If you don't like the answer you get, then hang up and call back until you do get an answer that you like.

 

Have you gone into the nvidia control panel and whitelisted your games?

 

Can't get into the control panel, it gives me that error I mentioned in original post.

 

if i were you id just do a fresh install of windows

 

Update: I turned it on and it showed the Graphics adapter in the device manager, it was named "Standard GPU" or something. It said that the computer needed to restart for it to work properly so I restarted. Then when I restarted it didn't show the device but it gave me an option to run programs with an Nvidia card if I right-clicked. I thought it was odd so I restarted again, and then the option went away. I also don't have the other device showing, I only see the Intel (r) now?

I am guessing something is loose inside the Alienware, but I am a tad scared to open it up and check. It would be a pretty big hassle to call Dell up and dispatch someone since I'm not in the USA and I would probably have to do a warranty transfer and so on.

If you guys think its something hardware related and can give me an idea of how to check if something is loose I'd be really happy. For some reason I doubt it is software related because I had this issue out of the box.