Again, I Come To The Tech Board For Help

[SolemnMonk]

Initial setup:
Type: Laptop
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium x64
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.60GHz
RAM: 4 GB (2x 2GB)
HDD: 320GB (1x 320GB)
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8600M GTS 256MB

Current setup:
Same except I'm now running Windows 7 Professional x64

     I think my graphics card died. I leave my laptop on constantly in order to seed (and occasionally leech ;-P) and, as usual, left it on overnight. I woke up and noticed that the colors were all wrong. Roughly 20% of the pixels (in random spots) were wrong colors (generally bright green and purple) and the display wouldn't refresh properly to anything that occurred. I rebooted, chalking it up to not having given it a proper shutdown in over a week (sleep mode and hibernation FTW). It rebooted fine, but began making the same errors again within a minute or so. Reboot again. The login screen never displayed and the laptop rebooted. I booted into safe mode with networking and updated my driver to the newest version. I rebooted and was greeted with a blue screen of death (Video card timeout error).

     I rolled back the driver to the previous version and got the same result. I moved it back to the factory installed driver. It booted, gave me the original graphics errors, then died. I finally changed the driver to the Standard VGA Adapter that comes with Windows. Now I have basic video but nothing fancy (I'm using the laptop now and it's registering 14MB of VRAM). I tried several time over the couple of weeks after the initial episode to update the driver but to no avail. I finally upgraded to 7, mostly in the hope of it being a corrupted driver. I upgraded but the same problems continued after trying to upgrade with 7.

     Anyway, I believe with a community as large as this one, someone should be able to shed some light on this situation or come up with a solution. I'm ready to play games and 720p/1080p video again :'( Any help would be greatly appreciated guys ^_^

P.S. - The updates were acquired through HP's site, nVidia's site, and Windows Update, each being downloaded multiple times, so I honestly doubt I was using corrupted downloads.

[fohfoh]

Im 90% sure your vid card is fubared. Especially since it's an NVidia 8000 series.

[SolemnMonk]

What does the series have to do with it?

Edit: I'm assuming from your comment it's not the best series, but was it notoriously bad?

[fohfoh]

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=2203

In short, the 8400M and the 8600M were in the shit for notoriously bad failure rates that basically melted down the mobo. Dell and HP were affected the most. 

[SolemnMonk]

Well damn, lol. That one's a little hard to ignore. Any ideas before I burn a ton of money on a new motherboard/laptop?

[fohfoh]

Well damn, lol. That one's a little hard to ignore. Any ideas before I burn a ton of money on a new motherboard/laptop?

If you're under warranty, get it fixed. If not... you're screwed. Unless it's a free warranty fix... DO NOT BOTHER PAYING TO FIX YOUR MOBO. It will die again for the same reasons within a certain time period... outside of warranty. The best thing you can do if you go this route is to make it seem like it works, and sell the damn thing or trade it in.

IMO, I wouldn't touch Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway and those crappy brands. Their designs are terrible for airflow. (Air intake at the bottom where it's consistently facing blockages? No thanks.

I had my mobo die for the same issues too. But I was under warranty. Luckily for me, I have a turbo cache laptop and I had warranty. Once I got it fixed, I don't think I ever use the Nvidia card any more.  (Even though mines a 7400 Go and not a 8400/8600)

Salvage what you can on the laptop. Parts, etc.

Or, see if you can trade it in to Best Buy or retailer like that for a new one or for any type of discount with the current error.

[Lupin]

Have the mobo repaired if it's still under warranty.

Remember this though: Don't tell them you have the machine running overnight, Just tell them that the video simply crapped out.

[SolemnMonk]

It crapped out almost exactly a month past warranty T_T

[psyren]

IMO, I wouldn't touch Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway and those crappy brands. Their designs are terrible for airflow. (Air intake at the bottom where it's consistently facing blockages? No thanks.

I disagree with HP. Their new models are very nice.
As for the vents being on the bottom, it is necessary. You cannot put a fan on the side of a laptop (unless you want a laptop that's 5cm thick) or on the top (intrudes on keyboard space), so it must go on the bottom, directly where the CPU is.

[Mikan]

HP's from 07-late 08 and early 2009 are plauged by issues.



Pray that your covered by this like I was.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01087277&lc=en&cc=us


then again, you might get a techy like this:

Alwin Mark : p/n
Alwin Mark : Thank you for the indformation.

Typo lol.

It would be helpful if you posted from Product Series DV9000/6000 tx2000, etc


Alwin Mark : I retrived the information from the database. It indicates that five CSO order was created. Problems varied from Wireless, Motherboard, and bad BIOS. You have used your extended warranty policy free repair as-well.

[fohfoh]

IMO, I wouldn't touch Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway and those crappy brands. Their designs are terrible for airflow. (Air intake at the bottom where it's consistently facing blockages? No thanks.

I disagree with HP. Their new models are very nice.
As for the vents being on the bottom, it is necessary. You cannot put a fan on the side of a laptop (unless you want a laptop that's 5cm thick) or on the top (intrudes on keyboard space), so it must go on the bottom, directly where the CPU is.

Sorry, I should clarify. I mean that those laptops are all sealed on all areas except the bottom and the back fan. Some other laptop manufacturers have begun to put slits on the sides which can allow a little extra air to get in.

HP laptops look nice, but their design currently lacks proper means to allow better airflow. HP business models are nice and aren't as bad as the basic models though. But those are hard to get a hold of.

[SolemnMonk]

I talked to tech support twice today. The first recommended flashing my BIOS because "BIOS upgrades always fix all hardware problems." I did it simply to say that I followed their instructions, but I kept proof that they told me to do so in case something went wrong. No change (as I expected). The second time he recommended downgrading from Windows 7 to Vista. Screw that. The problem started with Vista. Downgrading won't do a damn thing. Next step: head to a technician (unless you guys have a better plan).

Yeah, I've noticed the ventilation could be better on this thing (it's a HP if I didn't mention that). One main fan (and, as best as I can figure, it's within 2cm of the graphics card) sitting in a corner. WTF?

[fohfoh]

Sounds about right.

Oh, yesterday, I had a group member use an HP laptop. I put some stuff close to the exhaust without knowing... the plastic binding on my notes started melting. I shit you not. She claims the thing is hot enough to set stuff on fire. WTF?

[Mikan]

Sounds about right.

Oh, yesterday, I had a group member use an HP laptop. I put some stuff close to the exhaust without knowing... the plastic binding on my notes started melting. I shit you not. She claims the thing is hot enough to set stuff on fire. WTF?

I bet it you put it on something long enough. I know after 20minutes of it bieng on my lap it gets really hot. and if I leave it on for 8+ hours the touch pad burns. Welcome, to HP. I just picked up a Asus K60 at bestbuy 1hr ago ($499). nice replacement

[SolemnMonk]

Yeah HP laptops run frakkin' hot. It's pretty absurd.

Edit: I noticed I mistyped in a vulgar and epic fashion, lol. Changed.