Alienware m17x R3 - Upgraded to Windows 10 and now having graphics card issues

Trippy86

Commendable
Nov 4, 2016
5
0
1,510
Hi all

Basically i did the free upgrade from windows 7 to windows 10 but wanted a fresh install, so once i upgraded i installed windows 10 again and installed a nice fresh OS.

I have tried installing the drivers from the dell site and i have also tried the route of letting windows find all the drivers for me.

But both ways result in my laptop only running the intel 3000 graphics. If i try the switchable graphics the box appears and i click yes but nothing happens.

Both device manager and the Diagnostics on the dell site both show both cards and seem fine.

im totally stumped, had no graphics card issues on windows 7.

Tried upload some pics but i didnt have much luck, heres the links
https://postimg.org/image/5dp82bmpf/
https://postimg.org/image/d7ptnpuib/
https://postimg.org/image/6ija7p96b/

(The first pic shows tests as running but i can confirm they all passed)

Thanks for the help
 
Try this...

First you need to get it to detect and use the right card.

A. Uninstall, and then reinstall, the latest graphics card driver.
B. Make sure that your AMD graphics card is set as the default graphics card.

Here's the steps on how to set it to default.

1. Open the "Control Center".
2. Select "Manage 3D Settings" under 3D Settings.
3. Click on the "Program Settings" tab and select the program you want to choose a graphics card for from the drop down list.
4. Now select "preferred graphics processor" in the drop down list. (You can see what the automatic option is listed as global setting) If you want to use the dedicated graphics card, select High-performance AMD processor.

Once it is running on the right one, test the system again and see if the problem persists.


For ATI/AMD graphics cards the process varies.

You may need to open graphics then PowerPlay and set plugged in and/or battery to maximize performance.

You can also try going to graphics then 3D and move the slider to performance. Your computer may also have a switchable graphics tab where you can change the settings for individual programs.
 

Trippy86

Commendable
Nov 4, 2016
5
0
1,510


can confirm that Catalyst Software Suite 15.7.1 is the latest driver for the AMD Radeon HD 6800M. And the Intel HD graphics 3000 latest driver is 15.40.1.64.4256

How do i remove every trace of the old drivers before installing these drivers? Also do i install them in any certain order?

thanks for your help buddy


 
If you go into "Control Panel" then "Device Manger" then click to open the drop down for "Sound, video and game controllers". Find the driver(s) that are for the sound card you are wanting to use only. Uninstall and then reinstall after rebooting. I do not see order of installation as being an issue here, as long as it is only the drivers for that device.

The more important steps are the setting that graphics card/GPU to default
 

Trippy86

Commendable
Nov 4, 2016
5
0
1,510


With setting the AMD graphics card is set as the default graphics card, i dont see the option your mentioning. heres a pic

https://postimg.org/image/f6pnrsl2t/

Sound, video and game controllers only shows my HD audio devices

What about in Display Adapters??

Also after i have removed them should i turn off the my wifi to make sure windows doesnt automatically install the drivers when i reboot?
 
No not the adapters. I am curious as to why your display info is not listed in the "Sound, video and game controllers" section in "Control Panel" are they listed under a different area? You won't see the drivers themselves listed there, but the items that that use the drivers, be it Intel, Realtek, AMD, Nvidia, etc.
 

Trippy86

Commendable
Nov 4, 2016
5
0
1,510
Nope all Sound, video and game controller shows is two HD audio devices

here are 4 pics of device manager showing everything. hopefully i can get this fixed soon

https://postimg.org/gallery/2dnl4mxpo/
 
Funny the images you sent covered everything except the Sound, video and game controllers section. :) While you can see it is set to show the things below it in the second image, the items you don't see. It cuts off there, and then next image shows a different section.

 

Trippy86

Commendable
Nov 4, 2016
5
0
1,510
Got it to work with the old driver thats on the dell site using my service tag. But i cant stop windows from updating the driver to the new one.

After it installed the newer driver the switchable graphics stopped working again. In the end i switched off switchable graphics and just have the high powered card running.

If you do this the newer driver works and the AMD HD card runs

im just going to leave it at that for now, ive had enough of installing over and over lol

If anyone finds anything please post here

But i thank you very much for your help, top marks

Jason