I fixed my laptop with a blow/hair dryer !

[Luke122]

Hehe.. Sorry Trace, I need to pay my mortgage this month, so they are getting refurbished and flipped.

[Computer-Geek]

I received my copper shim today and the temps are way better than before. Here is a screen shot

If any mod wants to you can move this to laptop section. My video card originally idled at 80c

[Luke122]

I managed to kill that DV9000 again. I threw a sustained video test at it, and it failed after 3 runs, back to graphic corruption and system hang. I'll reflow it again, and see what's up.

[Computer-Geek]

aww that sucks once i ran prime95 the temps were too hot so it turned itself off I will only use this laptop for music / ms word/ browsing web so the temps should be low which shouldn't cause it to lockup

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

get it reballed with the correct solder! LOL trust me
ppl will do it for as low as $50 for a 360... im sure it wouldnt be much more for them to do the laptop..

[Luke122]

I'm sure it's still to do with the piss poor design of the DV series laptops, so I'm not too worried about it. I'll reflow it, and keep it for light duties, and it should last just fine. I have a decent enough machine for gaming on, and a 360 as well.

I posted my Acer for sale today, so if I get the DV9000 fixed again, I'll post my XPS for sale as well.

[DeadDude]

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but anyone out there still playing with this?

My DV9000 was given to me 'dead'. GPU overheated so bad/often that the hinge split and melted. I had to finish breaking it off so that it wouldn't injure the LCD.

What have I done to 'fix' it? Left hinge broken off entirely, GPU ran fan-less for 15 minutes (until thermal shutdown) with 10lbs of phone books sitting on it. At highest temp I palm slapped the stack as hard as I could. Heard a POP. Kept pressure on chip for an hour.

My reasoning behind this? No heat gun available, and I've used this method on 360's with great success (just make sure you never let it get super hot again.)

I Did make sure to have the board properly supported as to lessen the chances of damaging it.

Reassembled. Works, but still runs hot hot hot. So I disconnected the webcam (USB cord) and knocked holes out of the bottom of the case- mounted spare laptop fan to bottom with webcam USB for power.

GPU never exceeds 73C now. I have seen it as high as 124C before my mods.

Oh yeah, that new temp is after I overclocked it (380/450 stock to 400/500 = 3000 points more in futuremark03)

I am toying around with upgrading cpu from 1.66 to 2.4 and ram from 2 to 4...
Maybe fab a new case and make it a luggable portable...

Anyone out there still tinkering on these? Need in-depth diagrams on MB internals to continue...

[d_stilgar]

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but anyone out there still playing with this?

My DV9000 was given to me 'dead'. GPU overheated so bad/often that the hinge split and melted. I had to finish breaking it off so that it wouldn't injure the LCD.

What have I done to 'fix' it? Left hinge broken off entirely, GPU ran fan-less for 15 minutes (until thermal shutdown) with 10lbs of phone books sitting on it. At highest temp I palm slapped the stack as hard as I could. Heard a POP. Kept pressure on chip for an hour.

My reasoning behind this? No heat gun available, and I've used this method on 360's with great success (just make sure you never let it get super hot again.)

I Did make sure to have the board properly supported as to lessen the chances of damaging it.

Reassembled. Works, but still runs hot hot hot. So I disconnected the webcam (USB cord) and knocked holes out of the bottom of the case- mounted spare laptop fan to bottom with webcam USB for power.

GPU never exceeds 73C now. I have seen it as high as 124C before my mods.

Oh yeah, that new temp is after I overclocked it (380/450 stock to 400/500 = 3000 points more in futuremark03)

I am toying around with upgrading cpu from 1.66 to 2.4 and ram from 2 to 4...
Maybe fab a new case and make it a luggable portable...

Anyone out there still tinkering on these? Need in-depth diagrams on MB internals to continue...

I'm not sure if other people are still messing with this, but I would really love to see pictures of what you have done.

[DeadDude]

well, I'll see about taking a few pics later...

it really ain't 'pretty' yet...

but depending on what 'other' power sources I can find, I plan on more tinkering... then I'll try to make it 'pretty'...

I'm just thankful the right hinge is stiff enough to hold the screen still

[Konrad]

I can't understand why this "repair" would work. I mean, a poor solder joint either makes contact and completes the circuit, or it does not. Although I suppose liquid-state soldier alloys might be used for fine capillary bonding and such, a process which might introduce the possibility of all sorts of unreliable flaws - which is why I doubt it would ever actually be used on "high-end" commercial products. Of course, stranger things have happened. And we are talking about nVidia.

RoHS is not to blame. Modern solders are generally superior in every capacity to traditional Pb- or Cd-bearing solders ... the reason the "hazardous" old versions were used is cost, and I'm thinking that megamanufacturers like nVidia are able to splurge on better solders and tooling ... they probably manufacture everything from their cheapest junk to their $$$$ PC video boards on the same equipment, so the retail price of their product isn't a very meaningful indicator of build quality.

I'm guessing heat would somehow adjust the chemical equilibrium of some borderline-failing or underrated semiconductor. Most likely an electrolytic cap. Possibly a chemical battery (at least on PC mobos). Maybe even a cheap resistor. Silicon isn't much affected by heat until it starts to get hot, complex ICs almost always have operating ranges which extend well below room temp or freezing point.