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    M11x R1 Display Problem Hardware or Software?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by redsushi, May 23, 2012.

  1. redsushi

    redsushi Newbie

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    Hi,

    i bought a M11X R1 used laptop last week.I didnt have time to set it until tonight. I went into the bios and i selected the discrete 3D video card. I then installed the official Dell Drivers for the Nvidia GT 335M (with the switchable video card option). i rebooted and everything was fine until it shows the windows 7 desktop. My screen is split into 4 small quadrants with a huge white line crossing in the middle of the screen (see picture). I tried installing the newest drivers from Nvidia and the same thing happens. When it runs on the VGA generic display, everything is good but as soon as i installed the Nvidia drivers, the problem appears. The intel integrated card seems ok. Anyone has a clue on the cause of this problem?
     

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    redsushi, May 23, 2012
    #1
  2. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

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    I'm not sure if this might be a hardware issue. What if you set the the default "Switchable" graphics option in BIOS and then reinstall the Dell drivers?
     
    namaiki, May 24, 2012
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  3. redsushi

    redsushi Newbie

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    Ya i tried 'switchable' and reinstalling Dell drivers. I tried reinstalling OS with both Windows 7 32 bits and 64 bits, i even tried with Windows 8 consumer preview. The same thing happens everytime, as soon as the OS installed the Nvidia drivers, the display screen split in 4 small quadrants.

    I guess it is a hardware problem.
     
    redsushi, May 24, 2012
    #3
  4. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Does it display externally fine? If it you've tried multiple OS installs/driver installs, then likely your Nvidia chip on the motherboard is borked.
     
    Tsunade_Hime, May 24, 2012
    #4
  5. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    Ah yes, I have seen this before.

    I remember it being a gpu issue.

    Try reinstallling the old drivers. But if memory serves me right the last person that had this issue needed a new motherboard.
     
    ejohnson, May 24, 2012
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  6. redsushi

    redsushi Newbie

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    Thank for the info.

    Anyone has an estimation on how much this kind of repair would cost me?
     
    redsushi, May 24, 2012
    #6
  7. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    Replacement motherboards are around 150$ on ebay.
     
    ejohnson, May 24, 2012
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  8. thehunterooo

    thehunterooo Notebook Consultant

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    thehunterooo, May 24, 2012
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  9. redsushi

    redsushi Newbie

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    Does the Alienware M11X Motherboard always comes with the discrete Nvidia 335M card?
     
    redsushi, May 24, 2012
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  10. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    Yes that one will work

    The m11x motherboard houses the cpu, northbridge and gpu.
     
    ejohnson, May 24, 2012
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  11. redsushi

    redsushi Newbie

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    So basically, if you buy the M11X Motherboard, the CPU and the Nvidia GPU are bundled with it.
     
    redsushi, May 24, 2012
    #11
  12. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    yep, all in one type thing.
     
    ejohnson, May 24, 2012
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  13. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Yes all M11x series are BGA soldered CPUs, so you have to buy whichever processor up front.
     
    Tsunade_Hime, May 24, 2012
    #13