GTX 980M UPGRADE PROBLEM

Where to start? MSI GT 60, WINDOWS 7, I7 4800MQ, MS16F4. I had a 770m installed upgrading to 980m v bios 84.04.22.00.0A. Received new card and installed it with nvidia drivers and everything worked fine except when I plugged in Hdmi to TV I had no sound through Hdmi, some reason the HD audio driver couldn't be installed, I updated nvidia driver then I lost all windows aero effects and couldn't get anything to run with nvidia gpu not matter what I tried unless I did a restore then everything went back to normal. I reinstalled windows to see if it would fix my problems and now theyre worse. I can install all drivers successful but I'm without aero effects and can't get anything to run with nvidia gpu. It seems to me like there is a conflict with optimus switching the graphics, I can disable nvidia in devices restart Windows and aero effects come back but when I enable nvidia again they go away. I've tried all control panel setting, run with nvidia graphics, reinstalling old drivers, clean sweep with DDU, I have searched the Internet endlessly for a fix and haven't any luck.

 

You sure the 980M is compatible with your laptop?

 

How about system BIOS & EC firmware? Did you update those?

 

Woodzstack sold me the card and weve been trying to get the problem figured out still with no luck. I upgraded to Windows 10, installed all drivers and still nothing, Nvidia driver install without any problems and cannot get anything to use dGpu. The card was working at one point so I assume there is no conflict with BIOS, Firmware and of all the research ive done doesn't give me many options to update those, my GT60 is the IBUYPOWER version, Valkyrie cz-15. I'm not an expert with computers but I have a theory that for some reason the optimus drivers are not being installed, is it possible the 980 was using the optimus drivers from the 770 but once I updated the drivers and updated windows it removed them and its not letting me install the 980 ones. I don't have access to my 770 for a couple more days but plan on putting 770 back installing drivers then putting back 980.

The only thing I can get close to running with dGpu is MSI kombustor which I believe is using OpenGl, it shows up under the GPU activity icon but when running the test it is still using iGpu. Ive run dxdiag and everything reports normal.

 

@woodzstack sold me the card and weve been trying to get the problem figured out still with no luck. I upgraded to Windows 10, installed all drivers and still nothing, Nvidia driver install without any problems and cannot get anything to use dGpu. The card was working at one point so I assume there is no conflict with BIOS, Firmware and of all the research ive done doesn't give me many options to update those, my GT60 is the IBUYPOWER version, Valkyrie cz-15. I'm not an expert with computers but I have a theory that for some reason the optimus drivers are not being installed, is it possible the 980 was using the optimus drivers from the 770 but once I updated the drivers and updated windows it removed them and its not letting me install the 980 ones. I don't have access to my 770 for a couple more days but plan on putting 770 back installing drivers then putting back 980.

The only thing I can get close to running with dGpu is MSI kombustor which I believe is using OpenGl, it shows up under the GPU activity icon but when running the test it is still using iGpu. Ive run dxdiag and everything reports normal but DGpu doesn't show, only IGpu.

 

Email us your BIOS/EC version to us and we can send you the latest version for you to update with.

 

I put the 770m in and it worked fine then put the 980 back in and still nothing. Guessing the card is faulty or needing to update the bios. I just cant understand how I was able to get it working at one point and now nothing, the card was working before I decided to reinstall windows. BIOS E16F4II1.708

 

Did you update your BIOS and EC firmware to the one that supports 900 series GPUs? I had a weird experience with an older GT70 ivy bridge machine, where it installed properly and was working correctly for 1 day. At the first reboot it was gone. Turns out I had the wrong BIOS. After updating everything worked correctly. Make sure you are running the correct BIOS and EC. Note: This is not the vbios of the GPU but the BIOS of your machine.

 

I never seen a MSi computer be able to make a upgrade jump that high, previously the 700 series GPU's were able to upgrade to the 800 series GPU's and the 800 series GPU's be compatible with 900 series GPU's. However, I would recommend contacting MSi to see if this is compatible or not, as the issue seems to be that the 980m is simply not compatible with your system.

 

There is no problem to upgrade GT70 (Ivy Bridge) GTX 680M to 980M - but a BIOS upgrade is needed to 51X/71X. But I haven't seen what a Haswell needs.

 

There is also a BIOS for haswell, but its a normal official one. Remember when 980m launched? There was one last GT60/70 version laptop with 980m. Basically you need to update to that GT60s model bios and it will be plug and play.

 

It's def possible, I even had the card working at one point, http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/the-official-msi-gt60-70-970m-980m-upgrade-thread.765058/ my problem is there is no Bios support for IBUYPOWER, my laptop I'm pretty sure is identical to an MSI, I just need to find a compatible Bios update, I've never updated my bios, I need to find one and have someone reassure me it will work

 

Does anyone know if I can use the official MSI ones on the site, the instructions say you have to update them in order but my bios doesnt quite match up to them

 

You can also try hitting Svet up over at the MSI official forums and see if he has a bios. It'll run you 10 euros (about $11 US currently), but it'll be unlocked. He'll also give you the proper firmware as well. Well worth the money, IMO.

 

You can't use the official BIOS due to difference in product version, but you can send me your current version of BIOS & EC and I can send you the official generic version without OEM customization.

 

Yeah I tried SVET but guess he only deals with true MSI brand because he wouldn't help. I did recieve a bios and firmware from someone but now I have cold feet and not sure I want to attempt it because I can't afford to brick this pc. I'm pretty sure I can do it but I'm not confident that bios is compatible with version of windows, or if it matters or if it's compatible with the previous bios or if that matters. Old bios E16F4II1.708 NEW E16F4ig6.71g

 

That's the original file and it is newer than your current version because E16F4II1 was created from E16F4IG6.

 

Flashing your first bios is terrifying, not knowing if everything went right, but it did and everything is working beautifully. Thanks everyone for the help.

 

Glad to hear that everything worked out

 

It used to be terrifying when there was no verification and if memory is defective things could go wrong but nowadays with secure flash things hardly go wrong. Glad that you were able to flash your BIOS and everything went through successfully.

 

@Kevin@GenTechPC Secure flash enabled bios's still have the same bricking risks, all it takes is a buggy firmware to already be installed on the system or issued in an update and you can be up a creak without a paddle.

 

You actually brought up another point which is true, but that type of bricking is more like a manufacturer error which can happen if the package isn't fully tested before release and it is rare. However, the flashing process will either flash through or abort beforehand if potential issue exists.