5870m problem :(

Got this card a few days ago was excited that i got it after waiting quite a while but ive a problem with it atm as i havent got it working.

I installed the card on my m15x and applied the thermal paste and im pretty sure its put in properly. When i booted up the screen is just blank i can hear the fans and all going but the screen shows nothing.

I then took out the card and put my old card bk in and unistalled all the nvidia drivers to see if that did the trick. After that i then put the new card bk but this time the screen has funny weird colours and major flickering.

sometimes it freezes at the logon page but i was lucky enough to get past it and install the catalysis drivers however im not sure if i did it right as im new to ati driver installation but anyways i restarted laptop and same problem weird colours and flickering .

Love to get this card running but i dont think the card is buggy as i seemed to have bought it from a reliable and helpful seller.

Ive tried both bios A08 and A09 and still has same problems.

My system currently is

wins 7 64 bit
i7 820qm
nvidia 260m gtx

 

You need vbios A00 on it to make it work on a M15x, I'll see whether I can find a link, otherwise I'm sure someone else here can provide it.

 

First of all, where did you get the card? Secondly the card may need an older vbios as the newer ones have problems.

 

So, found it. Here's the older vbios.

Strigae posted it here. Props to him.


There are some guides about flashing the vbios in this forum, in case you don't know how.
For example here's a little summary by The Rev, you can skip the "edit the vbios" part. Before starting to modifiy you should get the card working

 

thnx for the link ill try it once i get time

i bought it off flipstar here at nbr

 

Just to make sure... it is a Dell 5870m, right? (I just assumed this because of the issues)

 

Yea im pretty sure its a dell 5870 fits perfectly in my laptop

 

could you take a picture of your problem using a camera and post it.

 

The Clevo 5870m is exactly the same size, just make sure you have a Dell, otherwise flashing the vbios might cause problems. Just ask the seller or try to verify it with GPU-Z if possible.

You could also dump your vbios and upload it here, so I can check.


Edit: Cheers madoon, that's a possibility as well

 

the links are quite helpful the file of the bios is a .rom file any idea on how to use it?

 

There's everything explained in the summary by The Rev I linked you.

Just follow his instructions, you need to create a bootable USB drive, put ATIflash on it as well as the .rom file, then boot from the stick and flash it. (Of course you'll need to have the card installed for this )

Let me know if you have some specific questions about the procedure, but I think The Rev made very nice write-up, should explain everything.

 

does your alienware in boot look like this?

View attachment 65140

 

No, that's what it looks like when a 5870M with an A01 vbios is used in the M15x. Flashing to the A00 vbios solves that problem.

 

similar to that but sometimes it doesnt boot at all XD

 

how many times has it failed to boot?

could be that its not seated properly,
try to reseat, but dont push it in all the way. pull it a little out.

also, can you download GPU-Z and tell us which bios version it says.

 

Download TechPowerUp GPU-Z v0.5.3 | techPowerUp

 

I just picked up this card. Am i in the same boat as op or do I have to do someting else?

 

This seems like a Dell card, did you already flash the vbios A00?

 

in gpu-z my bios version says - 62.92.96.00.0A
in pc wizards says my bios is A08

does it matter if i have the nvidia drivers installed or shud i unistall them before putting in the card?

I havent tried flashing the old bios yet ill do it later today XD

 

Hi, you need to flash the vbios (bios for the video card) not the general BIOS.
And yeah, uninstall the nvidia drivers

 

Ehmmm... you need to have the card installed to read out the vbios... this is the vbios of the Nvidia 260m.

If you're sure that you have a Dell 5870m, flash it with the vbios. If not, dump the vbios of the 5870m and post it here.
Or post a picture of your 5870m, probably it's possible to tell whether it's a Dell card or not. The symptoms you described suggest that you really have a Dell card and that this can be easily solved by flashing the correct vbios.

 

yup, first put your 5870 back in the laptop and tell us which bios version you have.

 

for me all i have to do is flash it back to a00 if its a01 and if its a dell card, which from the pic it looks like it came from a m17x. what about fan control will i have to do someting for that or will it just work.

 

very sure on dell 5870 fan control works.