MattyB

You can try a power drain but it seldom works. Remove the adapter and battery and hold the power button down for 30-60 seconds. Insert the adapter and boot. Shut down and then insert the battery and adapter and boot. I doubt it will work but worth a try.

If you don't have any luck with the link that Klem posted then write down your Device ID for me and I'll mod one for you. I can't download files on my work computer but I have a reasonably newer driver saved on my Dropbox so I'll add your ID to that one and it should get you through until I can mod the latest one. To get your ID go to Device Manager - Display Adapters - Right click on your GPU - Properties - Details - Select Hardware ID from the dropdown. I just need the first or second line.

There is no integrated graphics with the 120Hz display. It can only run on a dedicated Nvidia card. You will see in the BIOS that it shows Not Detected next to the Integrated graphics. There is no workaround for this, it just isn't possible.

vBIOS' are available from TechPowerUp. When you search for one, click on the Unverified Uploads in the GPU Brand dropdown as it will give you more options. There is also the Prema mod vBIOS for the 980M which a lot of people seem to use. I'm not sure where you can download that from though. Maybe try NotebookReview The other option is to use HWiNFO to manually control your fans.

If the power adapter light turns off when plugged in the there's a short somewhere and the board is trying to protect itself. I have seen this a few times and the culprit always seems to be the 880M. Since you have the 120Hz panel, you won't get a display if the GPU is removed but if you pull the 880M I am pretty sure you'll find the adapter light will stay on if you plug it in. If it does stay on then your 880M is dead and you'll need to find a replacement. I wouldn't suggest another 880M as they are very prone to failures. Try to find a 10 series card for a good performance upgrade. You'll need the Unlocked BIOS though. A 980M is also a great upgrade. EDIT: If you try to power on the laptop with no GPU then you'll get an 8 beep code.

Also, just check that the vBIOS is the correct one for your card/laptop combination. To see what your current vBIOS install and run GPU-Z. Uninstall the Nvidia driver before you check this or GPU-Z will probably be missing most of the important information. Without the driver it will show your vBIOS version. When you search for the vBIOS' on TechPowerUP make sure you change the GPU Brand dropdown to show Unverified Uploads and you will get a wider selection to choose from. You'll need to find one that is compatible with your card and laptop. Be aware that there are g-sync and non g-sync version of the 1070. You need the right one. From memory, the g-sync is 1BE1 and the non g-sync is 1BA1. To check what your card is you can go to Device Manager - Display Adapters - Right click on your 1070 or Microsoft basic display adapter (with no driver) - properties - Details - Select Hardware ID from the dropdown. Your card ID will be listed and it should have 1BA1 or 1BE1 in the line of code. When I received the 1070 for my M18x I was greeted with the Code 43 error. After a few late nights reinstalling Windows and Drivers I took a look at the card vBIOS and it had a g-sync version flashed instead of the non g-sync. 15 minutes later after flashing the right vBIOS I had my 1070 working like a dream.

That's a tough one. A CMOS reset should usually do the trick. The laptop doesn't seem to be recognizing the Nvidia card. You mentioned above that you could sometimes get the 980M to work before it crashed. Does this still work sometimes or is it 8 beeps every time? There is a chance that you've damaged the 675M but it's probably the BIOS settings. Just as a 'Hail Mary', you could try downloading Windows 10 onto a USB using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool and start up the laptop with the USB plugged in. If it's not posting due to a driver issue then doing this should force the PC to go into recovery mode. I used this trick over the weekend while testing a faulty 880M in a 17. It wouldn't post after installing the driver but I got it to boot after putting the USB in.

Yes you'll need a pure UEFI environment which means disabling the Legacy ROM option. You'll have to put the 675M back in to get back into the BIOS. I have never done the upgrade on an R4 so I'm not sure if you need the unlocked BIOS or not. Since you have the 120Hz display it should already be set to PEG as default so there should be no need to change the video mode, which is one of the big reasons to flash the unlocked BIOS.

vBIOS' are available from TechPowerUp and you'll need to install NVFlash. There are some Youtube videos and written guides on how to use NVFlash. I'm hoping it's just the vBIOS and not a dead card.

There are two LCD connectors on the bottom left of that picture. The connector with the mounting holes either side is for the 120Hz cable. I can't confirm on your other question but I can't see the prema BIOS being an issue

You definitely need the new cable. There are two cable connectors on the motherboard. One is for the 60Hz panel and the other for the 120Hz and you cannot use the 60hz cable for the 120hz display. The emitter should be part of the LCD panel, well it was on the M17x R4.

Did you find a thermal pad location guide? I was getting higher than optimal temps when I got my 1070 to work and then I found the placement guide over on NotebookReview and I dropped about 8-10 degrees once I got it right. I'm pretty sure it was a post from MrFox but I'll see if I can find it for you.

That's good to know. I had heard a few M18x owners tried one but I never heard that they couldn't draw the extra power. I did see one 18 owner who seemed to have success with it. maybe they changed things from the M18x to the 18. I've never really considered it as I went from dual 780M's to the 1070.

That a whole lot of questions..hahaha. I'm in Adelaide, Australia and we really didn't see a real lockdown here. The pubs and restaurants closed down but they are mostly back open again now. My work didn't change at all and I went to the office at 6:30am till 4:30pm every day as usual. My wife works in childcare and they stayed open the whole time too. There are going to be compromises with putting newer tech in these old machines. They just didn't design them for 8+ years of futureproofing. I'm just happy the MXM GPU's aren't completely dead. You won't see me buying a BGA soldered laptop. I'm disgusted that Dell thought it was a good idea to start soldering RAM to the boards. I could never get myself to order the crazy expensive 700W Eurocom adapter. For a single card it really isn't worth it. I understand why some guys with SLI 980M's decided to get one though. My 330W seems to do just fine. The Quadro cards aren't designed around gaming performance but they still have great power for gaming since there is little choice for us still using these old machines. I have recently heard that some proper RTX 20 series MXM cards will be hitting the market later this year so that's really exciting. If I can upgrade to a 2070 or 2080 then I will be a happy camper, considering my machine came with dual 675M's. I was excited when the 51M R1 came out but I knew deep down that Dell would not support generational upgradeable GPU's. I was probably going to get an R2 if they proved me wrong but they didn't. This M18x will most likely be the last Alienware I own and I'll go back to a custom desktop if I ever get the time to start gaming again. There is no chance in hell that I'll get an M15 or M17 laptop.

Awesome! The hardest part is getting it working. If you've used 2mm pads across the whole card then I think this could be your problem. From everything I have read before, you need 1mm pads in most areas and also a 3mm pad in a few spots. If the pads are too thick then the heatsink may not form a good connection with the GPU die, which is the most important thing to cool. I will see if I can find the pad placement guide for you. Also have a look at your GPU fan. There are a few different ones with varying CFM's. See if there is a Dell Part# or CFM rating on your fan.