HOW DO I UPDATE TO A Nvidia GTX 1070

[Ryo Hazaki]

Hey everyone! I'm hoping to find some guidance on how to properly update my Alienware 18 R1 from an Nvidia GTX 765m to a GTX 1070. After doing some research, I know that the laptop can support up to a Nvidia GTX 1070, and I'll need to downgrade the BIOS to an unlocked version. I've already purchased the card (https://www.ebay.com/itm/164357449828) and the heatsink (https://www.ebay.com/itm/264535254142). I'm aware that I'll get a beep if I put the card in as is, so I'm looking for somewhere I can find a modded BIOS and instructions on how to install it correctly. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Reciever]

@ssj92 Is one the resident mad scientist who has the M18xR2 and Alienware 18, should be able to point you in the right direction.

[Ryo Hazaki]

@Reciever Thank you, I'll search the site to see if I can get in contact, and post my progress on my channel 😊

[Reciever]

43 minutes ago, Ryo Hazaki said:

@Reciever Thank you, I'll search the site to see if I can get in contact, and post my progress on my channel 😊

The bios is in the Alienware club on the forum. 

 

Also the full write ip is still available on the nbrchive :) 

[Ryo Hazaki]

On 5/18/2023 at 7:03 PM, Reciever said:

The bios is in the Alienware club on the forum. 

 

Also the full write ip is still available on the nbrchive :) 

Is this where I can find the unlocked BIOS'? 

 

[Ryo Hazaki]

I'll read through this thread: https://www.nbrchive.net/xfa/alienware-18-and-m18x.1092/[SUCCESSFUL] Alienware 18 + MSI GTX 1070 MXM/

[Jerryzago]

Important part is the prepetation. I have a M18x R2 so the process is almost similar. The trickiest part I belive is to downgrade to A12 unlocked if you have a higher version.

 

Just flashing an older version over an earlier version can cause problems (I think!)

[Maxware79]

Yeah you just need to flash back to the same OEM Dell BIOS version as the unlocked version you can find on this site. 

 

Once you do that you have to go into the BIOS and switch the video mode to SG (before you install the 1070). Then you just have to install the card and a modified Nvidia driver. It's all pretty simple really. The hardest part is pulling the system apart to access the MXM slot. They didn't make it easy in the 18" machines. 

 

@ssj92 also did us a solid and made a video on how to mod the Nvidia driver

 

 

[Ryo Hazaki]

Hi @Jerryzago and @Maxware79 👋, I need some clarification. Do I have to use an A12 unlocked BIOS, or just a regular A12 BIOS? I'm new to this so the instructions were a bit unclear. So I did my research and found a helpful link (https://web.archive.org/web/20220125034002/http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/release-alienware-18-bios-a12-unlocked.802249/). I then downloaded the original A12 BIOS (https://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER03304100M/1/AW18A12.exe). I'm comfortable with tweaking Nvidia drivers, so I'm hoping that downgrading the BIOS won't be an issue once I get the heatsink. Could you help clear up the confusion for me? Thanks!

[Maxware79]

Yes you MUST have the Unlocked BIOS for the M18x R2 and the 18. The system has to be set to SG Mode (Switchable Graphics) and this option is not available with the OEM Dell BIOS.

 

The Reason: 

These systems only run on two video modes. These are iGFX (Internal graphics) and PEG (Dedicated graphics). These are manually switched using the Function keys and a restart. The 10 series cards do not work in either of these modes with the 60hz LVDS display. They do work in PEG mode with the 120hz eDP display which is only in the 17" laptops.

SG mode is not a default option with the 18 as it does not work with the SLI or Crossfire configs that these systems had. 

The Unlocked BIOS opens up a hidden Advanced tab in the BIOS which allows the video mode to be changed to SG mode. 

 

The 10 series cards use SG mode to piggyback off the Intel graphics as they wouldn't be able to get a display on their own with the older LVDS style display. You MUST switch to SG mode before installing the new card or you will get the 8 beep LCD error and a black screen. 

 

DO NOT try switching the video mode to any other mode that may be listed in the BIOS. I believe there is a 4th option but you can cause some big troubles if you try this mode. Once you have the card installed, if you use PEG mode then you'll get the 8 beep error. You can use iGFX mode but the dedicated card will be disabled until you switch back to SG. 

[Ryo Hazaki]

@Maxware79 Thank you very much for responding. Just for clarification these are the steps, as I understand them:

**Sorry for the detailed list. I just really want to be sure I'm doing everything correctly, as I'm a newbie at this, and don't want to damage this PC.***

1. Turn off internet access (WiFi)
2. Uninstall current 780m drivers with DDU, and reboot PC.
3. Install the original A12 BIOS, and reboot PC.
4. Now install A12 Unlocked BIOS, following the steps here: 
5. Shut down PC, install the new heatsink and the 1070
6. Start PC.
7. If no beeps/boot is successful, turn on internet access WiFi
8. install modified Nvidia driver, using DDU

If I missed something please let me know. Thank you for reading 😊

. 

 

[Maxware79]

I haven't flashed the 18, only the M18x R1 and R2 so if that's how they say to do it then I guess that's right. Usually I'd do it using a bootable flash drive but if this way works then that's easier.

 

Step 5. should be to enter the BIOS and switch video mode (second Advanced tab) to SG, then shut down and move onto installing the 1070. The heatsink you show above looks like the M18x one and I'm not sure if it fits the 18. I've never tried to swap them to see if they are compatible. 

 

[Jerryzago]

Everything @Maxware79 write is true.

 

I am only stating in order to flash the unlocked A12 you must already be at the official Dell A12.

 

if you have updated to the latest (I think A14) you need to downgrade to official A12.

 

We never had the issue to downgrade, because the time the 1070 came out, and people tried it, A12 was already the latest. 

 

You can try to flash A12 over a later version but it might fail, or it might work. I don't know because I never had a 18.

 

If it fails, you need to blindflash the A03 bios through the "recovery" method. Search for alienware bios recovery method.

 

After you downgrade to A03, you can flash the A12 official and lastly the A12 unlocked.

 

Having finished all the above steps, remove the current drivers with DDU, reboot and set the bios to SG. Then you can install the 1070.

 

 

 

[Ryo Hazaki]

@Maxware79@Jerryzago Thank you for your guidance. So to make sure I'm understanding correctly, I'll write out my understood steps in bullet points here:

1. I have to downgrade to the official A12 BIOS first **(As of this writing I have the A15 BIOS)
2. Install the unlocked A12 BIOS, using the method shown here: 
3. *(if successful)  remove the current drivers with DDU
4. Reboot and set the bios to SG.
5. (I hope I'm receiving the correct heatsink)Then install the 1070.   
   1.  If it fails (fingers crossed) then I'll have to do a blindflash (there goes that slang again🤣) with the A03 bios (still haven't found a link for this yet🤔) using the "recovery" method
   2. If that doesn't work I'll just have to sell the Alienware, and save up for my dream laptop, the Area 51m r2 with a 2080

[Jerryzago]

4. Do not set it to SG if you have SLI. If you do, you might get 8 or 5 beeps. If you have SLI set it to iGFX (the internal gpu).

 

After this, if something goes wrong and you need to downgrade to A03, you have to remove the 1070 because if it is successful, you will get 8 beeps and it might trick you that the process failed. Just remove completely any gpu, downgrade to A03 and let it boot with the internal graphics.

[Ryo Hazaki]

@Jerryzago Thank you for your guidance. Yes, this Alienware is SLI, as it originally had two 765m's. So with this new information I'll write out the steps again. (I'm also writing them for others who may go through the process in the future.) So, here we go...

1. I have to downgrade to the official A12 BIOS first 
2. Install the unlocked A12 BIOS, using the method shown here: 
3. *(if successful)  remove the current drivers with DDU
4. Reboot and set the bios to iGFX, (not SG) .
5. (I hope I'm receiving the correct heatsink)Then install the 1070.   
   1.  If it fails (fingers crossed) then I'll have to do a blindflash (there goes that slang again🤣) with the A03 bios https://drivers.softpedia.com/get/BIOS/Dell/Dell-Alienware-18-BIOS-A03.shtml#download using the "recovery" method
   2. If that doesn't work I'll just have to sell the Alienware, and save up for my dream laptop, the Area 51m r2 with a 2080

[Jerryzago]

I believe the write up is correct. Please post resutls because I am hasitating to buy a GPU from AliExpress. I also have an SLI with dual 980m.

 

Also Blindflash is not slang. It is literally a Blind Flash because you cannot see anything in the process. You only follow steps and hear beeps till it boots (or not😄).

[Ryo Hazaki]

@Jerryzago thank you for the correction on the slang term 😂. I'll be sure to record the process, and post it on my YouTube channel for those interested. I hope this is successful

[Ryo Hazaki]

MAJOR UPDATE: I recorded the steps and everything worked as far as installing the BIOS'. However, putting the BIOS in iGFX doesn't recognize the Nvidia card. When I put it in SG mode it does show in device manager. As seen here: . Now the problem I have is that I've modified the driver via NvCleanstall, yet it doesn't install. Please help!!!!😪😥

[Ryo Hazaki]

MAJOR UPDATE #2:

 

ITS' ALIVE!!!! ITS ALIVE!!!!!  I installed the driver incorrectly via NVCleanstall. Here's the correct way here: 

Now, the driver is installed and working, as seen here: 

 

[Ryo Hazaki]

Hello👋👋again. Well so far so good. I do have a few questions though. In my device manager it doesn't show the name of the card, as it only shows as "Nvidia Graphics Device." Also when checking the GPU Activity, I see the message that there are no displays connected to the GPU. What did I do wrong? Please see the following pictures for reference  and 

[Maxware79]

I would assume it's listed as that because you installed through NVClean rather than doing it the old fashion way where you would manually modify the driver .inf and enter the specific card hardware ID. 

 

With the second question, maybe it says there is no display connected because you have the 60hz panel which is connected to the Intel graphics. The Nvidia card will kick in when the system needs it and the rest of the time only the Intel graphics is active. If you are getting proper FPS during games then everything is fine. 

[TruenoG7]

On 5/31/2023 at 12:07 AM, Ryo Hazaki said:

MAJOR UPDATE #2:

 

ITS' ALIVE!!!! ITS ALIVE!!!!!  I installed the driver incorrectly via NVCleanstall. Here's the correct way here: 

Now, the driver is installed and working, as seen here: 

 

hello, when installing with NVCleanstall, in the part where it says: " name" you must put the full name of the GPU, another tip; When choosing the version of the gtx 1070, choose the one that ends in: "nvdmi.inf", so you will have fewer problems with the drivers, and it will appear with the correct name. In the main part, when you open the software, click on the box that says "manually select the version" and "All versions"; and choose the last driver that says for "notebook", "notebook DCH", LUCKY!!!

[Ryo Hazaki]

@Maxware79 

@TruenoG7 

 

Thank you for your guidance. I followed the .inf modding, and NVCleanstall guide to the best of my noob ability😂, I'll post the results soon...

[Ryo Hazaki]

My first tries with .inf modding were unsuccessful, and using NVCleanstall were good, yet Ghost Recon Breakpoint started suttering, and I even got a "blue screen of death" error😬. Watched a few more guides and came up with this: