Problems using SLI on Alienware mALX, with modded 91.31 drivers

[Guest Jack Stone]

Hi, I haven't posted here before, but I have been reading this forum a lot lately, and I havent found any posts so far that address my issue.

I have an Alienware mALX (dual geforce 7900 go GTX's) which I bought almost exactly a year ago. I am running winXP, with the 84.26 drivers supplied by Alienware.

I primarily use the laptop for game development, rather than for gaming, so I haven't felt the need to update my drivers untill now. I was thinking of purchasing a 3D head-mounted display for a project I'm working on, but In order to do that I need to have the Nvidia 91.31 stereo drivers installed, which only work with the 91.31 drivers.

After some initial problem with drivers, (The ones on this site didn't work) I eventually copied my 84.26 .inf file to my 91.31 directory and renamed it. This seemd to work, the drivers installed, and the system booted with no problems. I got two cards showing up with 91.31 drivers installed on each. I then went to enable SLI, and after the screen flickering for a few seconds like its supposed to, it went black except for a flashing underscore cursor in the top left. I eventually had to reboot, and when I returned to windows, everything was fine, except SLI was disabled.

I have read the post on "Everything you SHOULD know about laptop SLI":

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....amp;#entry63025

It was very informative, however, since I have a genuine nforce SLI chipset, (my manual states: "nVIDIA nForce4 SLI Chipset"), and I DO have the "Enable SLI" checkbox, I am assuming I have a different problem than that mentioned in the above thread.

Based on the advice in this forum, I tried again, following this exact process:

Uninstall drivers

reboot into safe mode, run driver cleaner

reboot into safe mode again, install modded driver for ONE graphics card only

reboot into safe mode once more, verify first card installed, verify driver version is 91.31, and install second driver.

reboot into normal windows, verify both card and driver version, try to enable SLI, screen flickers, and black screen.

I then reinstalled my old 84.26 drivers, and then continued to work perfectly in SLI and in non-SLI mode, so its not the cards, or the way they are seated.

I have never modified an INF file before, so it's very possible I did this incorrectly. It is also possible I was just unlucky, and the 91.31 driver doesnt work on a laptop. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask though, and see if there are any other versions of the driver, or the INF file around. I also emailed alienware tech support and asked them for some advice, however they haven't replied yet.

Thanks for and help or advice,

Jack

[Bill]

Did you try the mod INF with the 91.31 driver?

Your problem is the poor 3D support as of late.

However there ARE newer 162 series beta stereo drivers. Guru has them here.

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?id=22

I will be moving this topic into the SLI sub forum after you reply, that is where it belongs.

You should have better luck with the newer drivers.

What 3D display are you purchasing?

[Guest Jack Stone]

Bill, thanks for you reply. I did try the modded INF from this site, it didn't work. (Machine wouldn't boot)

I didn't know about those newer drivers, I'll definatly try the 162 series, they sound promising.

Apologies for the incorrect forum, I didn't notice the SLI sub forum.

I was thinking of buying the Z800 headset from emagin, but I haven't decided. I thought I'd get the drivers installed first, then worry about the best headset to buy. Do you have any reccommendations?

I'll report back when I try those new drivers, thanks again.

Jack

[Bill]

I just ordered some equipment to build a surround sound set of headphones for my laptop.

If your laptop has 6 channel output by way of multiple 1/8 inch stereo jacks you might want to try this method. (you could also use this with an expresscard slot sound card or a USB 2.0 or PCMCIA card)

I should be getting the parts in tomorrow. and it will cost me about $40. I ordered some stuff from radioshack.

I will be able to let you guys know tomorrow night or Saturday how it works out.

If you buy brand name surround headphones you will end up paying at least $130 or so.

What I ordered will not have a microphone but I could easily add one or use a different pair of speakers with an attached mic.

This will come in handy watching movies on the go, and in my dorm room. (not like anyone will care in my dorm if I blast my surround system, but just in case they do)

[Grey728]

Have you tried using the 169.09 beta drivers? I believe anything from 169.09 and up *should* work but I'm getting mixed feedback from people.

1. Uninstal original driver

2. Reboot into safe mode and use driver cleaner to remove old registry inputs.

3. Boot normally into windows XP. Cancel All "New device Found" dialogue boxes that pop up.

4. Use setup method AFTER copying modified .inf from laptopvideo2go into the extracted 169.09 folder. It should overwrite the original .inf file and replace it with one ~99kB or larger in size.

5. Install one card only then abort installation when the SECOND "Continue Anyway" dialogue box pops up.

6. Reboot and enter windows XP normally

7. Install 2nd card using the "Have Disk" Method and point the installation to the 169.09 folder.

8. Reboot and enter windows XP normally

9. Go to nvidia control panel and SLi *should* be there to enable.

Please let me know how you do. Thanks

[Guest Jack Stone]

I finally got SLI working with the 93.71 drivers! I tried almost every single other stereo compatible driver I could find, and on all of the 169.* I didn't get any SLI option at all. On the earlier 91.* series I got the SLI option, but my machine blue or blackscreened when I tried to enable it. The 93.71 drivers worked perfectly. (I haven't tested them in any games yet, so I'm not sure how stable they are, but the seem fine so far) I also got the 3d stereo drivers installed, and they seem ok too, I have a new set of options available. I don't have any 3D hardware to test them though.

Thanks a lot for your help guys,

Jack

[Grey728]

The 94.23 drivers from Alienware's sight are also known to work and slightly updated from the ones you're using now... No need to do anything particularly significant either, just install as is. The only bad part is taht they aren't 'Bleeding Edge' like most SLi users come here for.

94.23 Driver Released 03/06/2007

http://aliendl.alienware.com/Mobile/m9750/....14.10.9423.zip

Current Beta Drivers up As of 11/15/2007:

http://aliendl.alienware.com/Mobile/m9750/...167.46_BETA.exe

[Guest Jack Stone]

Thanks Grey, I'll consider those 94.23 drivers. I'm not too concerned about "bleeding edge" though, this only needs to work with my project.

Jack Stone

[Pantharian]

You may want to try v176.09 from Clevo - no need for any modded inf. N.B. Use the link provided by M_P_E on that page as the 'download' at the top of the page doesn't work.

I installed them a couple of weeks ago and they work fine with Crysis and World in Conflict (the only games I have played so far with these drivers).

The only issue installing these is that after installing the second card the screen goes black. But don't panic - just wait a few minutes and hit enter. You should hear the Windows logging off sound and the machine will reboot. After reboot you will need to enable SLI using the Nvidia Control panel.

Good luck!