Okay, so my buddy has an Alienware Aurora R4 Desktop [Manual at the bottom]. He has had it for a few years and just recently his system has exhibited behavior of a failing GPU or possible a failing Motherboard. The system turns on, fans ramp up, but there is absolutely no change in his two monitors. We know the system is booting up since we have heard the Windows Login sound through the speakers even though there is no change in the display.
The specs for his configuration are: CPU: i7 - 4820K RAM: 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 GPU: GTX 760 Reference cooler PSU: ~550W Storage: 256GB 850 EVO SSD + 2TB Seagate So far we tried to clear the CMOS a few times then tried to boot off one stick of RAM, testing every single stick individually in the first slot also resetting the CMOS every time we swapped the RAM We tried moving the GPU to the second slot also re-seating the GPU multiple times.
My friend has gone out and gotten a cheap GPU for testing purpose and so far the same behavior is happening. No change in the displays. There was a point and time where we heard two beeps from the motherboard, for a Dell motherboard it is the error in regards to Memory and No Memory Detected. This only happened occasionally when the RAM was not seated properly.
So far we are at a loss as what to do. The cheap GPU points more towards the motherboard being the problem. There could be a slim chance that it may be the memory as well. In the past he had the same beep codes but it was easily fixed with a CMOS reset. Any advice to offer us?
Manual since hot link wont work: ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_alienware_dsk/alienware-aurora-r4_Owner's%20Manual_en-us.pdf
I was really hoping that there would be on board video ports but the 4820K doesn't have an integrated GPU as far as I looked up. PSU could be a consideration. I feel like its the weakest point in an OEM.
What OS and cable type are you using? Windows 10 and Displayport have several issues with not sending enough of a signal to the monitor to wake it from sleep properly resulting in a blank screen or a "no signal" issue. This can be fixed via cable replacement and or drivers for monitor or video cards.
Alright so it's a video thing. So displays"? Only use 1 display only at a time for troubleshooting.
Video card (but already tried a different one so prolly not) PCI-E slot (but already tried a different one) Weird BIOS/firmware settings, try setting it as per the manual (but already tried) Does the system have onboard video? If so, use that. use a different video cable use a different video protocol/connector type (vga,hdmi,dvi, displayport) use a different monitor (like a nearby tv with hdmi) set the monitor/tv is set to display from the correct input manually and just for kicks, try the the components (especially the video card) in a different system
Not entirely sure since there is no way to see the display in order to boot into safe mode. Found that F4 or F5 can get you into safe mode. Told my buddy to do so, hope something comes through.
Well so far trying to boot into a safemode is not working unfortunately. He is still facing the issue of having no display output. I told him to try testing every stick of RAM in each slot individually. Wish I could help him a lot better but he lives across the county in a more rural area and most of his friends there don't have desktops for him to test his GPU.
I will preface my following comment with the fact I used to work for Dell's Tech support department.
The first problem is that he bought an Alienware. Secondly, if he was still in Warranty, Dell would 9/10 send a "Hero Kit" aka all the parts of the machine along with a tech to replace them.
I am pretty sure he is out of warranty but I will double check with him. I was just thinking he could sell his 4820K for ~$250 to $300 and the just sell the motherboard for parts for like $50 or something. He can just pick up a decent Z97/Z107 micro ATX board with an i5.