M18x r1 upgrading

[Dragons8814]

Ok so I am trying to upgrade one of my gtx 560m to a gtx 580m now I ordered one fresh factory sealed gtx 580m. When i put it in master pci-e it gove me 8 beeps and no display....however in secondary slot works ok.. ..i do have an unlocked BIOS A05.... can this be the problem? Please hurry with response I am getting a replacement  one in a few days....

 

 

Thanks

[G.R.A.M.P.S.]

I don't see your sig but I assume you have a M18xR1 running fine on the 560m and you are trying to replace it with the 580m. Installation should be PnP. The M18xR1 is designed to have two cards, but will run on one card IF that card is in the Master slot. I think both the M18R1 and M18R2 will give you 8 beeps and a black screen if you try using only one card in the secondary.

 

Perhaps with more details about your Rig and there might be a work around somewhere.

 

Also, if you have the unlocked A05 Bios make sure that the Turbo Flex Support is Disabled; this a known issue causing 8 beeps and a black screen.

[Dragons8814]

Ok thanks which is the master slot left or right?

[G.R.A.M.P.S.]

Master is located to the left of the CPU slot.

[Dragons8814]

Thanks i hope this works is it also possible not getting enough voltage? If so how do I increase voltage?

[Dragons8814]

Also I noticed when i plug the 580 into master slot 8 beeps no POST. 

But when i put the 560 into the master slot works great....maybe a motherboard voltage tweak needed? If so how do I do that?

[G.R.A.M.P.S.]

Try this: With your 560m up and running, go into the Bios and take a picture of all your settings (this may seem obvious but it is important; I have mine in my phone for reference). Once you have your M18xR1 running with the 560m, shut it down and install the 580m in the Master slot. After you have it assembled, try starting it up again. If you get the 8 beeps before you have a chance to hit F2, power the laptop down with the power button and try the following fix posted years ago by renowned Mr. Fox (thanks @Mr. Fox):

 

https://community.dell.com/thread/6037

 

Remember when you clear CMOS all settings go to default and your new 580m should be listed in the first page of the BIOS. Then you can set the time and date and put in all the settings that you recorded earlier prior to install. If you new card does not show in the BIOS page, check to see if you video setting is set to PEG (not IGFX). 

 

Hope that works.

-G

 

*PS -Refer to the Benchmarking threads on this site and NBR (and there are pages and pages to read) to help with any overclocking adjustments and tweaks.

[Dragons8814]

Tried the Cmos battery thing which did not work. I am betting motherboard not getting enough voltage to post with the 580 in master slot....any ideas how to fix this?

[G.R.A.M.P.S.]

The above trick worked for me. Once you clear CMOS, settings go to default. You should be able to see your card on the first page of the BIOS when you hit F2. I am assuming your card is brand new. You should NOT need to change the voltage settings; it should run with the default BIOS settings to POST.

 

If you do not see the new 580m and your 560m works just fine you may have a bad card or the vBios may not be compatible with the M18xR1 (e.g. MSI) and needs to be re-flashed. These are possibilities. The 580m should be PnP if the setup works for your 560m which leads me to think there is something wrong with your new card or it is not seated correctly in the primary slot.

 

I am out of ideas at this point. I would re-trace your steps and graze more threads.

[Keltbear]

I know this sounds silly, but did you reconnect the Screen before testing?

[Kirill0073]

i run M18xR1 with 780m you need custom driver