MattyB

My only suggestion would be to head to the forum at NotebookReview and ask the guys there. There are still a few guys running these laptops over there.

It's been a while since I've done it but to create a bootable USB you need to grab an empty flash drive and use a program called RUFUS to convert it to a bootable drive. Then you'll have to unzip the BIOS file into the drive. restart the laptop and press F12 to get into the Boot Menu. Boot to the USB. the installations instructions say you then need to run the f.bat command and it should run the flash. Flash at your own risk though. Make sure you know what you're doing first and keep power to the laptop at all times.

Here you go https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-au/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=h9dy5 Technically there is no R2. There is the Area-51 M15x (pre-Dell) and the M15x (Dell) so many people consider the Dell M15x the R2 but it's just the M15x.

What issues are you having? Maybe I can help

No, nobody has worked it out yet. There are guys trying though.

I'm actually having a very similar issue with a 6gb 970M that was pulled from an MSI laptop. The original vBIOS worked in my 17 R1 except there was no fan control so I tried flashing a few others but these are giving me the black screen when I reboot like yours. Are you able to tell me what the Device ID of your card is? Mine is 1618 which is different to most 970M versions which could mean it's a g-sync card. I'm assuming that this is the cause of the issue. I have been told that the nvflash version below gets you past the board mismatch issue but I was going to try it after work tonight. https://www.techpowerup.com/download/nvidia-nvflash-with-board-id-mismatch-disabled/

Behind the M18x R2, the M11x R3 would be my second favourite Alienware laptop. I've owned several over the years. Windows 10 works fine on it.

Hey, Sorry about the late reply, I didn't see your post until now. The 2860QM has a higher base and turbo clock and also more L3 cache so you should notice a little more performance. They are basically the only real differences. You'd see a bigger difference if you had an i5 but it's still a decent upgrade for the right price.

The Soft-touch is like a resin that is applied to the plastic on the palmrest and LCD lid. Once it gets sticky then there is no way to reverse it, removal is the only option (other than a skin). To remove it I've found the best way is with a solvent cleaner and a plastic scraper/pry tool. It is an extremely messy job and can take a while to do properly. I have done it a few times now on machines that I have resprayed. If you remove it carefully then it's possible to just use the laptop as is with the black plastic as the palmreast or you can respray it. Here is a link to one I've done recently. https://imgur.com/9gRFL86

Sorry, I thought you had an Alienware laptop. Are you using a Clevo P170SM?

I know I've seen the link somewhere so I will keep searching for you. I've also come across this one posted by VicGee at NotebookReview http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-17-r1-980m-upgrade.832694/#post-11009331

There is apparently a prema vBIOS that I've been told works well. Have you tried that one?

Ahh, I see in your other post that you have the R3. You need to set the Video mode to PEG and you also have to disable HD Audio. Once you install the card and the modded driver then you enable the HD Audio again. Some people have found that they never get the internal audio back again after installing the card and other people haven't had an issue at all.

Hello, what laptop do you have? Do you get past the Alienware splash screen where you can enter the BIOS or Boot Menu? If so, then it sounds like a Windows issue.

A 2-beep code is No RAM Detected. A 6-beep code is a faulty GPU and and 8-beep code can also relate to a GPU fault in machines fitted with the 120Hz 3D display (M17x R3, R4 and 17 R1)

I don't believe a 3-pipe CPU heatsink was ever available for the R3 and R4. It's possible that someone has made an aftermarket one but you may be stuck with the 2-pipe. The only real reason to go for the XM over the QM is overclocking ability. If you don't want to overclock then just go for the top end QM processor.

Yeah that's definitely possible.

It's possible that the CPU was damaged somehow during the repaste and you've lost the integrated graphics. You could try disabling the Intel graphics in Device Manager to try to force your display to use your 1070, but it may not make a difference. You could also try reinstalling your Intel driver but that's a long shot.

Yeah the 980M requires UEFI

Hey. yeah I sure can. I'm at work right now so I can't download files. I'll have to do it tonight if that's ok.

Yes. The 120Hz display and BIOS set to UEFI is the best environment to run the 1070. You will need a modded Nvidia driver though. If you have the 120hz then I don't think the unlocked BIOS is required as the system is already set to PEG by default although I have seen some threads saying the unlocked BIOS is needed.

Hey, sorry I'm a bit late to this one as I've been away but the additional tools can be found in the M18x R2 download file. It would be great if they could update this one to include everything it needs.

You need a modded driver and you have to disable driver signature enforcement right before installing the driver. There are guides and youtube videos showing how to mod a driver. It is a little tricky the first time but it is actually quite simple after a few times

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Awesome. If you'd like the 451 driver then let me know. Otherwise you could learn how to mod your own driver. It can be tricky the first time but it's actually pretty simple and you can keep it up to date whenever a new one is released. Try this guide and I'm happy to answer any questions. https://null-src.com/posts/nvidia-notebook-driver-inf-mod/post.php