[SOLVED] XPS 8700 kills GTX 1070 and GTX 1060 both give code 43 in device manager

[Sutekid]

I work as an I.T. repair technician for a computer refurbishing company and recently we have been contracted to build 2 decent systems for an engineering company. We agreed on upgrading some pre-built systems the following being the result
Dell XPS 8700
i7 4th gen
32gb ddr3
1tb SSD ADATA
GTX 1070 msi AERO OC 8gb
1200 watt PSU Enermax platimax

And the other being a

HP z220 workstation
I7-3770
32gb ddr3
1tb SSD ADATA
EVGA GTX 1060 6gb SC
Stock PSU

All these parts were tested on a separate work bench and we're known to be working beforehand.

The problems stem from the Dell XPS 8700 as soon as all the parts were in the machine I hit the power button. First I was met with a no video message on my monitor for about 10 seconds then the machine would turn off and then turn back on. The screen would stay black for 10 more seconds and then the screen would turn on. Although the screen was on It was still black I left it on this screen for some times but it never showed the Dell logo or anything.

My first thought was that the GPU was bad so I decided to boot using integrated graphics. The computer then booted flawlessly. I was a bit stumped as this as the GPU was shown to be working just a day before. My next test was to make sure the pcie slot was in good condition so I decided to plug in the GTX 1060 from the second machine and my suspicion was confirmed as it booted up flawlessly as well. It was getting a little late so I left the GPU out of the z220 machine and left everything out on my workbench till the next day.

When I walked into work the next day my supervisor told me to just install the 1060 into the XPS machine as it would be an overall better complete machine compared to the z220 since we dident have anymore gpus of similar or better spec. I then proceeded to install the 1060 into the XPS and Bam I get the exact same issue as the 1070 was having. At this point I thought I just killed 2 perfectly good graphics cards so I started doing research.

Turns out the XPS needs a bios update I believe A10 for 900 series cards and A11 for 10 series cards. I go on the Dell website and install A14 drivers the latest ones. I shut down the system installed the 1070 card back in and am greeted with the same issue. I then decide to put the 1060 card in and same result.

I then decide ok maybe this is an isolated issue with the XPS so I then decide to plug the 1060 into the Z220 machine and the same thing happened. No signal followed by black screen.

I had now narrowed down the possibility they the XPS machine was screwing the the GPUs firmware somehow.

Since these are pre-built machines they don't offer features such as integrated graphics enabled so I decided to install another GPU into the z220 along with the 1060 this way I was able to get into windows and see device manager and possibly diagnose whether the computer would even detect the 1060.

I could see the GTX 1060 6gb in the device manager but it had a yellow triangle with an exclamation point. When I checked properties it said that "windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems" (code 43).

I looked this up also and found that this is an incompatibility issue. I went on the HP website and downloaded the latest bios for the z220 to rule that out. Then I went on the Nvidia website and downloaded the latest GTX 1060 drivers as well as DDU. I launched DDU in safe mode and let it remove all Nvidia drivers I then restarted the system with WiFi disabled and installed the Nvidia drivers. This did not remove code 43 and when I rebooted with the HDMI cable plugged into the 1060 it still black screens I have tried both pcie ports on the motherboard and no luck.

I then started thinking maybe it could be the GPU bios. I went and got nvflash as well as the exact bios for the 1060 and flashed the bios via windows 10 CMD. I got a blinking screen then a message saying the bios had been successfully installed. Rebooted the machine, switched the HDMI cable to the 1060 and again was greeted by a black screen. I'm kinda at my wit's end if anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[helpstar]

Did you reset the BIOS by jumper yet?

Is the power supply connected completely to the GPUs?

Did you use the original modular cables of the Enermax PSU?

The stock PSU of the Z220 might not provide enough power

Try the GTX1060 in a different system

replace the CMOS batteries

 

[Sutekid]

Did you reset the BIOS by jumper yet?

Is the power supply connected completely to the GPUs?

Did you use the original modular cables of the Enermax PSU?

The stock PSU of the Z220 might not provide enough power

Try the GTX1060 in a different system

replace the CMOS batteries

To answer in order

-This z220 has a cmos button reset not a jumper so I held it down for 5 seconds with the power cord unplugged and then replugged I got a message saying the system has changed hopefully meaning the reset went through but was greeted with the same black screen

-The 6 pin connector was completely connected to the 1060 on both the XPS and z220 and the 8 pin was completely connected on the 1070. I even reseated the cards multiple times so I doubt this is the issue.

-The original Enermax modular cables were used.

-Before plugging in the 1060 to the XPS it was confirmed to work in the Z220 I even have another exact same 1060 that never touched the XPS that worked perfectly in the same Z220.

-I have tried another Z220 machine as well as my personal rig which both are known working machines with the 1060, my rig being a 6th gen Skylake board and they still gave the same result black screen.

-cmos replacement did not work

 

[vov4ik_il]

It looks to me like an ESD or a faulty monitor problem that kills your cards.

 

[Sutekid]

It looks to me like an ESD or a faulty monitor problem that kills your cards.

I always make sure to ground myself to the case before working on anything so I doubt it's esd. As for the monitor I have tried 3 different brands Dell hp and Asus monitors with no luck.

 

[vov4ik_il]

As for the monitor I have tried 3 different brands Dell hp and Asus monitors with no luck.

A bad monitor (or cable) can damage the output port on the card. The card supplies the monitor logic with some power to read the edid, that part might get bad.

 

[Sutekid]

A bad monitor (or cable) can damage the output port on the card. The card supplies the monitor logic with some power to read the edid, that part might get bad.

wouldent that mean that the other ports would still work? i have tried all the ports dp dvi still black screen.
Its a shame because these cards showed no signs of artifacts or deterioration.

 

[vov4ik_il]

wouldent that mean that the other ports would still work? i have tried all the ports dp dvi still black screen.
Its a shame because these cards showed no signs of artifacts or deterioration.

That is true. Weird. Hope you have a warranty.
If you send me one of those cards, I can have a look and (hopefully) tell you what is wrong with it. Running component diagnostics remotely is a hard job... but code 43 implies a working main chip, so the rest (memory, memory power, VRM start-up logic, vBIOS, 1.8v power, PCIe power, PCIe bus controller) all are probable causes...
P.S as for the motherboard, I would hold off from trying other cards in it for now...