Busta Bloodnut

Alright, so I restarted because i didnt know what else to do and when it booted to windows i still got that black screen. So then I shutdown and then did the Fn+Powerkey for the disgnostic test and it showed that there was a video card error: 2000-0332 Video Memory Discrepency test. Everyhting else was fine. There was also a band of vertical yellow lines 3/4 of the way to the left of the screen from top to bottom during that whole test. BIOS says that there is ATI GFX cards now. Not sure what that means lol.

Ok so i did that, it restarted and then i install the AMD drivers again and it did the flickering but now its just a black screen no mouse or anything.

I purchased an Alienware M18x R1 about 2 months ago. It was from Mercari and the guy said he only checked to see if it booted to BIOS and forgot about most of the other stuff about it, including what model GPU, other than it being dual AMDs and from what he remembered it (he said its been a minute since last use lol) had graphics issues loading games. I planned on restoring the machine (getting newer outer shell, parts etc) and seeing for myself what exactly the issue was with the GPU while pulling them out. So after getting all the stuff i needed, I eventually got to pulling out the GPUs and the cards looked like they were in good shape. Didnt see any noticable damage. Alot of dust which i suspected mightve been the cultprit for the issues. Thermal paste was very hard and dry lol also suspected that. Crossfire cable looked good too. So i took some pics of the GPU itself in hopes that a google image search would tell me the exact model. I got mixed results but i kept seeing the "AMD Radeon 6990m" pop up the most and it did match the dp/n number. So after putting laptop back together, i install windows 10 and downloaded the AMD drivers. One driver was called Catalyst and Radeon Crimson. Keep in mind i know jack about AMD (first experience believe it or not) lol so i downloaded both. I had no issues with the installations as it said there were no issues or wrong model or w/e, but i didnt see any screen flickering like usual with NVIDIA (which im used to) and it installed rather fast. After restarting and checking Device Manager, it still was the Intel HD graphics. I checked BIOS, says nothing, checked GPU-Z and it just shows the intel HD. The only AMD related thing on my start menu is "AMD report wizard". Nothing else AMD related is in my system. So what am i doing wrong here exactly? How do i find out the exact model of this GPU? If its even that? How do i know if they even work? Should I remove the Crossfire cable? Maybe thats it? (Also first experience with Crossfire). Is there some settings checked or unchecked that im unaware of? Im probably going to get the best GPU for this model anyway, but im just checking to see how good this AMD works, (if i even can lol).

I see...which one of these options is...easier? Also these would still require BIOS unlocked, correct?

I WOULD use the mSATA option if the R1 had an mSATA port lol. Luckly, i have a hdd dvd caddy from my old R2 that broke. Guess i'll just use that with like an 870 EVO or something. Man, i was really banking on that adapter with a 990 pro for my OS for this rig. This R1 seems very limited compared to the R2. I mean, i sorta knew beforehand the R1 was limited but, not THIS tremendous of a gulf. Good thing I didnt spend that much on it lol. As for using the adapter for storage, i dont think i will since im just got it for the novelty and it was cheap. Or Idk maybe i will lmao. Depends on how i feel as time flies.

I see. Even if you had an unlocked BIOS it wouldnt boot?

Yeah the adpater is working good for me thus far since ive had it. My machine hasnt had a power drain but I have a P4000 so idk if its just because of that. I do have another question regarding the adapter though. I recently bought an M18x R1 for like 85$. Like MAD cheap. Just got it today and while its got some cosmetic damage, it runs pretty good. I outright refuse to use the default HDD cable they give you to use since ive had nothing but problems using that setup with that crappy cable with that crap port on the R2 (Only using it temporary as to see if the machine ran) and the R1 is basically the same format but smaller. I want to use this adapter for this R1 as well. Will it work for an R1?

Does an m11x R3 with a i7-2657m actually exist? I've seen speculation/rumors from old articles but have never seem to find at least an old listing of one that was sold. If they do exist, would it be worth it to wait for that specific mobo to appear or just get a i7-2637m? or a i7-2617m? Because i've seen listings of those mobos. Unless theres something better than the i7-2657m? I have an m11x R1 and looking to replace it with a better mobo as a hobby.

Hello all. I've been reading thru this and was wondering what are more pros and cons of getting this for my Alienware m18x R2? The adapter? Also was wondering if that veloceraptor adapter is the only one that works for the m18x? Ive seen other kinds of ones on eBay for way cheaper, but I don't know enough about these to know better. I mean I would assume that a Samsung 990 pro would be way better than the 840 evo msata I have in there already.