GPU "not connected", new problem on S17 GX701GXR

[Spacerockguy]

After several years of working fine, and without any immediately preceding software updates, my GPU card isn't showing up.  It's now a hidden device on Device Manager, and it says it isn't connected.  This is a GeForce RTX 2080 MAX-Q.

Nothing has helped, including reloading GPU drivers and BIOS, and running a system file repair. 

I took a quick look inside the case, without disconnecting any ribbon cables, but I didn't see anything obviously wrong (not that I necessarily expected to).

Any suggestions? If this GPU is hosed, can I upgrade it? Online information is sparse.  Thanks in advance!

[cl-Albert]

Have you checked your Armoury Crate 'GPU Mode' to see which one is being used or tried the other GPU modes like 'Standard' as mentioned in the FAQ below?

[Gaming NB/DT] Armoury Crate Introduction (Ver5.0) | Official Support | ASUS USA

Looks like the GPU should be soldered on the motherboard like the CPU for this model, so will not be possible to upgrade it.

[Spacerockguy]

Thanks. I tried to do a fresh reinstall of the full version of Armoury Crate. The uninstall tool worked fine, but the installation fails. I've gone through the process five times, trying different things like disabling antivirus, etc. Now I have no Armoury Crate. I think I'm ready to throw in the towel on this and explore different life options.

[cl-Albert · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the feedback and assume the GPU mode looked okay or you tried the other GPU modes with no difference before uninstalling Armoury Crate?

Don't remember what the other modes were called in earlier Armoury Crate versions, but ECO mode will disable the discrete graphics and 'optimized' mode will disable the discrete graphics only on battery power, so as long as you were not using them and tried 'standard' mode, the software should be okay and don't know that reinstalling Armoury Crate can change anything although probably worth a try if it's not too difficult.

[Spacerockguy]

Yes, I'd already tried changing the GPU modes to no avail. And now, as I mentioned, Armoury Crate won't install. I had also made sure to update all my drivers, including the Nvidia drivers. I tried going back to earlier driver versions, but their installations fail because they are "incompatible with this version of Windows", and no Nvidia hardware is detected.

I tried a "clean" install of the Nvidia driver by preemptively getting rid of the existing one, but since no drivers will install, I now have NO active driver for the GPU. The formerly "hidden" device under Device Manager does not show up any more.

I think I'll take a long shot and give it to a local repair shop. Perhaps they can even open up the case to confirm the condition of the chip. Oh well.

Thanks for all your help, anyways!