Maxware79
-
Posts
256 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Everything posted by Maxware79
-
I have no idea. You would think that when you powered the laptop off it would shut power to all the devices. For some reason the adapter continues to draw power from the battery. We've tried all kinds of Windows power tricks but nothing stops it.
-
Funnily enough, I bought an M14x R2 off ebay this week and it arrived yesterday. Along with a few other issues it was listed as occasionally not booting with a beep code. I assumed it was the 5 beep cmos error but it turned out to be the 1 beep BIOS corruption error and it would only boot once for about every 20 non-boots. When it did boot, I found that it was still on BIOS A01 but I couldn't flash the BIOS as there was no battery installed (Stupid Dell) so I decided to try the USB blind flash. I picked A04, extracted the right file and changed the name to M14R2.hdr (just a guess) and threw it onto a FAT32 USB. The M14x doesn't have eSata so my only choice was a USB port. Started the process and walked away, not expecting it to work. Came back 10 mins later and it was working. The 1-Beep error seems to have gone.
-
Yeah still seems like it's there but not nearly as bad. Better than 100% over 9 hours. You're probably still going to put hours onto the NVMe even when it's switched off, not sure how that will impact the drive over time though.
-
If you have no luck using the e-sata port for the flash then try the regular USB port. Someone on TechInferno tried that after having no luck with the e-sata and it worked. Just in case the guy can't fix it
-
introduction Alienware M18x R1 - Gloss Yellow Respray
Maxware79 replied to Maxware79's topic in Custom Builds
Finally finished this project but I have switched it to an R2. i7-3840QM, GTX 680M, 24gb 1600Mhz DDR3, 512gb mSATA SSD
-
This guy is great. I've been watching a few of his videos over the past few months. man, I wish I had these skills.
-
If anyone is looking for a V3 adapter, someone on the Dell Community Forum has these details for a contact. Was from Aliexpress, I believe. Shenzhen Jia Neng Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.Contact Name: Andy Zhan Registered company address: CN,Guangdong,Shenzhen,301, Building 16, Gangbian Fang, Fuxing Road, Futian Street, Futian Dist.Company Tel: 0086-0755-82711961Company Email: 13713864939@139.com
-
Often it's not the best employees that get promoted. Some companies don't like moving someone that is actually good at their job because then they have to fill that position with someone with lesser ability and it costs them money. Then the good employee gets sick of being treated like this and they leave so the company loses the employee completely.
-
Yeah you need to follow the directions exactly. No need to remove the CMOS battery or RAM for the blind flash. If it doesn't work then the BIOS probably won't be the problem, quite possible that the board is proper bricked.
-
I'm not sure why only the A03 BIOS would work with the M18x R2. The same process on the M17x R4 works with any BIOS version, as far as I know. I usually do the A05 one but I've done it with other versions. All the other processes look exactly the same as the M17x R4 and it's good that the filename is M18R2, that was just a guess on my part. You really have to following the instructions perfectly or you risk a permanent brick.
-
Well one of my best mates is heading back here to visit his dad in October. I'll get him to throw it in his bag....
-
Ahh that sucks. I'd love to get my hands on it and give it a good test.
-
I have some spares but I'm in Australia so it makes things more difficult. You've definitely tried the CMOS connector pin trick? It really sounds like it could just be a BIOS issue so doing those steps right should clear it.
-
I've never messed with those settings so I'm not sure what happened to you. Usually a CMOS reset by bridging the connector pins would fix most BIOS errors. Don't do the flash method unless you really have to. I have no idea if it will work and it could do more damage.
-
So the process to blind flash the M17x R4 was the following. Attempt this at your own risk, as a last resort. The only difference should be what you call the hdr file. Based on the M17x R4 being M17R4, the M18x R2 should be M18R2 but I can't confirm that. - Go to Dell and download the BIOS version you want. - Right click on the downloaded file and extract the files with WinRAR - Once extracted, find a file named something like QBR00EC.fd - Rename it to M17R4.hdr (I'm assuming that with the M18x R2 you would rename it M18R2.hdr - Use RUFUS to format a bootable USB drive - Put the hdr file on the USB - Unplug the adapter and battery from the laptop - insert the USB into the eSata port (not standard USB) - Hold the END key while inserting the power adapter - This should initialise the flash. Release the END key - It will Beep like crazy for a fair while. Walk away until you don't hear it beeping anymore. - Cross your fingers and attempt to turn it on, hopefully it works. You will probably get a 5 beep CMOS error the first time.
-
So you did the CMOS pin bridge to reset the BIOS? If this didn't work then the chances are you've bricked the motherboard. You could try a BIOS recovery flash. I've never attempted it on the M18x R2 but I've done it successfully on the M17x R4 a few times and they are very similar machines. I had the process saved on the Alienowners forum but that's been down for a few days (no idea why). The original guide on how to do it was on NBR so it should be in the archive here. Have you booted without the dedicated GPU installed? The 900M series usually need UEFI mode to boot in PEG mode so if you've reset the BIOS then it's possible it reverted back to Legacy so you'll get a black screen during boot.
-
M17x R2 audio issues with GTX 770m
Maxware79 replied to StripeySnake's topic in Alienware 17 and M17x
There was a fix on TechInferno for this issue with the M17x R3. There were a number of steps to do in the right order to get it working again Can't seem to find the thread right now -
@TheQuentincc if you're still looking to buy one of these, I think there is a guy on our Discord server looking to sell one. It has an X9000 and SLI 9800GT. https://discord.gg/83k5W8eS
-
introduction Alienware M18x R1 - Gloss Yellow Respray
Maxware79 replied to Maxware79's topic in Custom Builds
Thanks for the link but holy moley that's expensive. I'll probably just deal with the original one. There's an ebay seller in the US that has them for around $15 but he doesn't ship to Australia. -
I have zero experience with this old one but I would say that you have no chance at a Maxwell or Pascal card based on the restrictions that later models had. There aren't too many people who'd still have one of these laptops laying around so it may be hard to find good information.
-
Well I never expected a new DLC after all this time! I may have to start making time for gaming again.
-
I replied to your DM before taking a look at this. Looks like your ID line is right. You also have to add the String at the bottom of the inf NVIDIA_DEV.13D8.0551.1028 = "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M" The other two major reasons for your error are; 1. Not disabling Driver Signature Enforcement directly before trying to run the installer 2. Not inserting your ID line into the correct Operating System group in the .inf. - The newest drivers have Windows 10 and 11 support so there are two lists of ID's in the .inf. Place your ID line into both lists so you know your OS is covered. If you find the first list then put your ID line into it and then scroll down and you'll find that the list will start again so you have to add it to this list as well. EDIT: The line above isn't right, didn't see it the first time %NVIDIA_DEV.13D8.0551.1028% = Section018, PCI\VEN_13D8&DEV_13D8&SUBSYS_05511028 You added 13D8 where it should have stayed as 10DE (before &DEV_) It should read %NVIDIA_DEV.13D8.0551.1028% = Section018, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_13D8&SUBSYS_05511028
-
introduction Alienware Aurora R2 Gloss White Refurb
Maxware79 replied to Maxware79's topic in Alienware Desktops
Thanks. Just need to finish it all off. Going to throw in a Z77 board with a 3770K and one or possibly two of my old water cooled GTX 670 FTW's. -
@aldarxt The screw mounts are in different locations between the M18x R2 and AW18. Both the images you've posted are for the AW18 (M18x R3) See how the screws are pretty much in a perfect square below. The AW18 screws are off-set, as per your images.
-
The heatsinks are very close but not quite the same. One is slightly longer than the other. I have heard someone putting a 17 R1 heatsink into an M17x R4 so maybe it works that way but not the other. I can do a comparison photo when I get a chance to show the slight difference.
