Well this sucks...

Sounds sexy where can i sign over my first born?

 

Well this this thread took a slight turn

I figured I would do an update. I tried all the suggestions and nothing seems to have worked because the problem returned. I contacted MSI and XoticPC and their responses are posted below. I am relatively happy with MSI's response, although as someone noted previously, I am a little concerned about them merely re-installing windows or doing a system restore and shipping it back. However, they stated that they believe it is a hardware issue, so that gives me a little hope that that won't happen.



MSI Support Conversation=
Me: I recently purchased an MSI GX640 and it has started having serious problems. I have had the computer since May 7th, and 2 days ago after turning off the computer windows would not start up again. Upon turning on the computer, the initial MSI screen would come up and then the "Starting Windows" screen would come up, and after this the screen would just turn black. I had to force shut off the computer and when I turned it back on I ran the repair diagnostic option that was displayed on screen. It found no problems, but the screen would still stay black. I was forced to restore the computer to an earlier point. It ran again after this. Some people thought this may be caused by the Powerplay feature of Catalyst Control Centre because it was known to cause screens to not turn on. So I uninstalled it. However, today the problem returned and now there is a high pitched whine coming from what I believe is the GPU when it is trying to start up (this noise would also happen during the first few minutes of gaming). I have not restored it again yet. There are no programs that have been installed that seem to be causing this problem, because after the first restore I reinstalled any programs that were uninstalled after the system restore and the computer ran fine for 2 days until this happened again.

MSI: Dear customer, i will issue an RMa so please check your email for instruction how to send in your laptop for repair

MSI: Your RMA#: ----------

MSI: Dear Customer, You can try running the MSI recovery manager by tapping the F3 key on boot up to start the recovery manager. But it seems like this is hardware related issue and either you will need to check with your reseller for an exchange or we can release an RMA number so you can send in the notebook and we can take a look at it. So please reply back if you wish to send it in to MSI and we can take a look at it and repair it or if you will check with the reseller for an exchange. Thank you,

Me: Hello, It is past the reseller's exchange period, so I just RMA'd the laptop and it is currently with UPS for shipping. It is supposed to arrive on thursday afternoon. I just wan to say that this is the second time this has happened, and the first time I did a system restore and it worked again for 2 days until it occurred again. I did not install any software immediately prior to this happening.

MSI ear Customer, Noted will have notebook fully tested and repaired. Thank you,

Me: Thank You. I don't want to be a nuisance, but I just feel I need to point out my concern about the possibility that a technician may just do a system restore, see that the laptop is working afterwards and ship it back only to have the problem happen again once the laptop is back in my hands. With shipping as expensive as it is I cannot afford to keep shipping the laptop back and forth (not to mention the hassle of being without it for 3-4 weeks every time it is sent it).

MSI: Dear Customer, The notebook will be fully tested and we will try to duplicate your issue as best we can. Thank you,


XoticPC Emails=
Me: Hello,

I recently purchased an MSI GX640 from you and it has started having
serious problems. I have had the computer since May 7th, and 2 days
ago after turning the computer windows would not start up again. Upon
turning on the computer, the initial MSI screen would come up and
then the "Starting Windows" screen would come up, and after this the
screen would just turn black. I had to force shut off the computer
and when I turned it back on I ran the repair diagnostic option that
was displayed on screen. It found no problems, but the screen would
still stay black. I was forced to restore the computer.

Some people thought this may be caused by the Powerplay feature of
Catalyst Control Centre because it was known to cause screens to not
turn on. So I uninstalled it. However, today the problem returned and
now there is a high pitched whine coming from what I believe is the
GPU when it is trying to start up (this noise would also happen
during the first few minutes of gaming).

The order was shipped on the 22nd of April.

What are my options for going about getting this problem fixed?

Thanks.

XoticPC: Hello, Thank you for your email. We are sorry to hear of this
problem.
It is the fan making noise or something else?

Please let us know how we can be of further assistance.

Thanks.

Me: Hi,

It is not the fan, it is something else. It is a high pitched noise
that is coming from the area of either the CPU or the GPU (I believe
it is the latter). I have already spoken with MSI and they believe it
is a hardware issue so they gave me an RMA number and I have already
sent it this morning via UPS.

Thanks

XoticPC: Hello, Thank you for your email. Let us know if we can help with anything
further with your RMA. We will send a note to MSI with your information
to ensure they get this resolved for you.

Please let us know how we can be of further assistance.

Thanks.

 

Alright, so I thought that I would just give an update. The day after MSI received the laptop I got a phonecall from them saying that they had reinstalled windows and that the high pitched noise wasn't the fan (which I already knew and had already told them) and they said the computer was working fine, but just wanted to know completely what was wrong before / how it came to get to that black unresponsive screen. So I told them the whole 1 week history of the laptop and they said they would do some more tests.

That was the last I had heard from them until I received the laptop in the mail 5 work-days later. A sheet included with it said that the fan was fine (which again, I told them before even RMAing it) and that they had replaced the HDD and the CPU.

So everything has been working great for the last 3 days and now it is just a matter of waiting to see if the problem returns.

 

MSI customer support looks like a complete nuisance to deal with. They talk like retarded robots that spew that same crap over and over. Anyways all the best.

 

I had a rather good experience with MSI RMA. You can't expect them to be amazing, no manufacturer RMA people really are.

 

What was your timeline like? 2 weeks for a full RMA and return is super quick. And damn impressive if they fixed it and everything works fine.

 

Overall I am pretty happy with their Tech / RMA support. My biggest complaint is that they sort of ignored me when I told them it wasn't the fan and such, but considering they called me to talk in person to help them figure out what was going on was a good sign.

@Retto, the turnaround was pretty quick. I gave the package to UPS on friday june 14th, it got there thursday the 20th with their most basic shipping, MSI contacted me on the following monday (the 24th) and the computer was at my door the monday after that (the 31st).

 

Im assuming you mean may rather then june future boy lol. But yea that turn around time is awesome.

 

That high pitched noise is apparently normal and not exclusive to this model. Do a google search for "laptop high-pitched whine" and you'll see what I mean. It appears it has to do with the CPU circuitry. Mine does it sometimes when going into standby.

 

No no, I am from the future. But my flux capacitor broke and now I am stuck in the past, or what you would call the present.

And as far as the sound goes, the new CPU does it as well, which is unfortunate because I can hear it loud and clear over my games. At least it usually doesn't last more than a few minutes.

 

haha yep they're pretty fast. I live close enough to drive it to the service centre. In on a friday, ready for pickup on wednesday

 

Well this sucks... The problem has returned, despite apparently having the HDD and CPU replaced. The computer will once again no longer start.

 

Uh... this story is very demotivating for someone who just purchased the GX640... (like me)

 

Why? These types of things are rare and just sometimes happen. In fact on the internet your more likely to see stories like this then of happy customers. satisfied people are less vocal then those who arent.

 

Have you ever thought about all the poor people out there that don't even have a GX640 that can't even imagine being the slightest bit disappointed as you; what about them, now there's the real sorrow!

 

Jordan, I am also having the blank screen issue when returning from Sleep or Hibernate.

What a pain in the butt!!

But at least it is still returning from Shut Down.

I am running CCC 10.5

 

Mess with powerplay:

Right-click, go to Catalyst Control Center, (top left corner) click graphics, then Powerplay.

Set plugged-in and battery to Maximum Performance. This should fix it.

 

Hey. Just so everyone knows, this isn't a powerplay issue because it even happens when CCC is uninstalled (after shutting off powerplay).

However, I heard back from MSI today and they gave me a VBIOS update that they said "should resolve all instability issues." However, I have no idea how to do a VBIOS update (It is in a .bat format). I think I remember seeing a thread about it on here so I am going to look for it now, and it all needs to be done through safe mode.

Thankfully, MSI offered to pay for the shipping both directions if it doesn't work.

 

How did they give you that? Is it the same as off their website? Perhaps you could post it onto the forum here and let me take a look. I thought this was still in beta?

 

Alright guys, I need a little help here.

I have created the boot disk and all that, but to begin the flashing process I have to enter a command line. However, MSI instructions are very poor and don't tell you the exact line to enter. They say:

"And you will need to type command similar to the following below.
AFUD4281.EXE (Press Spacebar) A7522IMS.820 (Press enter to begin flashing process).
Example A. -> AFUD4281 A7522IMS.820 [ENTER]
Example B. -> AFUD412 A7376AMS.140 [ENTER]"

So the first part of the command line is the AMI Firmware Update Utility version, and I have no idea what the second part is. Plus, they never have you install the AFUD on the boot disk, so I don't know if it is something stored on the computer or what. Any help would be appreciated. I know people have flashed the Beta VBIOS but I don't know if that was using the same method as MSI gave me.

 

JORDAN!!!! HELP!!!!

Now I get the same problem as you!!!!.

The Damn thing only start in SAFE mode.

If I let windows start normally it goes into the black screen and I have to press onOff till it reboots.

How did you get to boot normally again? HELP!

 

OMG, thank God a Windows Restore got the system back...

I wonder what drivers Windows disabled...

I am going to try to install 10.6

Wish me luck.

 

Hey SpeedyVV, I hope that system restore stays working for you. When I did the system restore the problem came back about 1.5 days later. Something is changing the system files or something (when I tried to do a repair it said "An unknown cause has changed some system files" or something to that extent).

 

Alright. Well I did the VBIOS update and the thing still doesn't work. Getting pretty fed up at this point.

 

Do you shutdown the laptop in battery mode? I've encountered that problem where windows loads up but instead of continuing to the welcome screen I get a black one. It starts in safe mode okay. You will need to uninstall the drivers before you can get back to normal-mode windows. Once there, reinstall the catalyst drivers.

 

Keep us updated Jordan88 we do care how its going.

 

Kind of off topic, but I just ordere an RMA for mine Blurays don't play correctly over HDMI, GTA IV has artifacts, and my TV tuner artifacts, too. Seems like an ATI thing, but it seems like other users on here don't have some of these issues, so I guess it's a hardware thing. So POed right now. By the way, MSI tech support is terrible. They (US support techs) literally don't speak English, and I still haven't received my confirmation email 5 hours later.