RTX 2060 Mobile on Alienware m15 R3 – Code 43 / GPU GSP Boot Failure

Gaming and Visualization Technologies General Topics and Other SDKs GPU - Hardware
1

Hello,

I’m experiencing a persistent issue with my RTX 2060 Mobile (TU106M) on an Alienware m15 R3. The GPU is detected in Device Manager but fails to initialize, giving Code 43.

System Details:

  • Laptop: Alienware m15 R3

  • CPU: Intel i7-10750H

  • Windows 10 / 11 (latest updates)

  • BIOS version: 1.30.0

  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile (TU106M)

  • Subsystem ID: 09CF1028

  • Current vBIOS: unknown initially

Symptoms:

  • Windows Device Manager shows:

    Device PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1F15&SUBSYS_09CF1028&REV_A1\4&24675492&0&0008 had a problem starting.
Driver Name: display.inf
Problem: 0xA
Problem Status: 0xC01E0438

  • nvidia-smi fails: “No devices were found”

  • Linux Mint 22.2 with Nouveau or NVIDIA driver fails to initialize GPU:

    RmInitAdapter failed! gpuWaitForGfwBootComplete failed

  • vBIOS dump attempt fails (/sys/bus/pci/devices/.../rom inaccessible).

  • GPU-Z initially shows no BIOS and empty VRAM.

Additional Observations:

  • Running the Dell Firmware Update Tool:

    • Tool reports “no devices were found suitable for this update” and exits.

    • After reopening GPU-Z, the BIOS version appears, but VRAM shows 0 MB (previously it was completely empty).

Steps Tried:

  • DDU clean uninstall + latest NVIDIA drivers

  • Fresh Windows installation

  • Linux testing with Nouveau and NVIDIA drivers

  • Power and EC reset

Question / Request:

  1. Could this be resolved by an official vBIOS / GSP firmware update for my exact subsystem?

  2. Is there a safe way to dump and reflash the RTX 2060 Mobile vBIOS on Alienware m15 R3?

  3. Could this indicate a hardware failure if firmware update doesn’t fix Code 43?

Any guidance on firmware recovery, safe vBIOS sources, or workarounds to get the GPU running would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help!