Dell Inspiron 7720RSE - GPU not detected

Support Driver and Hardware
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1

Hi everyone,
Im a beginner user in the Linux world and I’ve decided to slowly transit my OS from Windows to Linux, so I’ve decided to take baby steps and start slowly with getting used to it first, so I idecided to install Linux on my laptop first (Dell Inspiron 7720RSE with intel 3rd gen with both integrated intel GPU and a dedicated GeForce 650m). Everything was going smoothly at first, and then I realised, that the distro is not recognizing my GPU at all, it doesnt show it in either of the commands i use (i.e. sudo lshw -C display, or lspci). The only one listed is theh VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09) - info from lspci.
Its like distro itself is not reading it from the BIOS itself.
I’ve tried reinstalling ‘xorg’, finding legacy drivers for my GPU (nvidia 304.137) - when I tried installing those (or any other) ive had a message "Warning: You do not appear to have an NVIDIA GPU supported by the 304.137 NVIDIA Linux graphics driver installed in this system…
I’ve been googling ways of trying to work it out since last night and Im at a pinch - therefore I came to reach out for some help
I appreciate any assistance

  • Parrot version in use (if you are not aware of it, open terminal and type cat /etc/os-release | grep VERSION):
    VERSION_ID =‘6.0’
    VERSION=‘6.0 (lorikeet)’
    VERSION_CODENAME= lory

  • Kernel version (if you are not aware of it, open terminal and type uname -r):
    6.5.0-13parrot1-amd64

  • Logs/Terminal output (use pastebin or similar services):
    ChatGPT history
    firstly i wanted to workout, maybe repositories are not working with it, so i figured… parrot is based on debian so shouldnt be colliding - then when I tried to install anything it kept asking me to uninstall debian repositories^^ - then its all the questions related

  • Screenshots:
    Please ask for anything and I shall provide it

2

The Nvidia chip is hard-wired [soldered] to the mother board, there are reported instances of them failing, there are also many reports of machines failing to switch between the on chip graphics and the dedicated GPU
first to see if there is any recognition of the chip run from a terminal inxi -G [you should get device 1 [intel] and device 2[ Nvidia]

3

I thought it might have been the case of a failing nvidia chip, but windows recognizes it, so its still working - i guess^^
i’ve included all of my gpt chat history into the first post and here is the inxi output:

Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics driver: i915 v: kernel
  Device-2: Microdia Laptop_Integrated_Webcam_HD driver: uvcvideo type: USB
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 driver: X: loaded: modesetting
    unloaded: fbdev,vesa gpu: i915 resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz
  API: EGL v: 1.5 drivers: crocus,swrast
    platforms: gbm,x11,surfaceless,device
  API: OpenGL Message: No GL data available.
4

that is not showing the Nvida, check the BIOS to make sure it’s enabled

5

these my only BIOS options. when I enable secure boot, it wont boot at all, so its disabled

IMG_20240403_215123
IMG_20240403_2151233648×1824 492 KB

IMG_20240403_215131
IMG_20240403_2151311920×960 235 KB

IMG_20240403_215148
IMG_20240403_2151481920×960 176 KB

IMG_20240403_215158
IMG_20240403_2151581920×960 151 KB

6

Its bed time here in the UK I will have a look on other Debian forums I am a member of and see if I can find anything tomorrow

7

<3 thank you

8

OK so after a lot of reading, I found several problem reports with different answers and many replies saying they didn’t work, this problem is not exclusive to Linux but also affects Windows machines, the following is edited from a Dell document. [I have left out anything windows specific]

And I quote…
If your Nvidia graphics card is not being detected in your Dell Alienware R17 7720 laptop, it could be due to various reasons, ranging from driver issues to hardware problems. Here’s a series of steps you can take to troubleshoot the issue:

Check Device Manager: Open the Device Manager, If your Nvidia graphics card is not listed, it might indicate a detection problem.

Check Nvidia Control Panel: If the Nvidia Control Panel is installed, Check if your graphics card is listed and recognized there.

BIOS Settings Sometimes, BIOS settings can affect graphics card detection. Enter your laptop’s BIOS settings and ensure that the discrete graphics card is enabled if there’s an option for it.

Power Management: power management settings might be affecting the graphics card’s detection. Make sure that power settings are not set to conserve power at the expense of performance.

Disable Integrated Graphics: If your laptop has both integrated (onboard) graphics and the Nvidia graphics card, you might need to disable the integrated graphics in BIOS to force the laptop to use the Nvidia card.

Perform a Clean Driver Installation:Uninstall the current Nvidia drivers, perform a clean installation of the latest Nvidia drivers.

Keep in mind that some laptops with switchable graphics have specific configurations and software controls to manage which graphics card is active. It’s important to understand your laptop’s hardware and software setup to effectively troubleshoot graphics card detection issues.

One other thing you could try [sometimes works with all sorts of hardware problems] is a BIOS purge and re-set, on a modern laptop this is done by disconnecting the power supply and powered peripherals [printers/scanners etc], make sure Windows quick-start and secure boot are both disabled, save any work, then when the machine is on, press and hold the power button down for 60 seconds, release and re-start