I think my graphics card is borked - Aspire 3680

I turned on the machine today and instead of the windows login page I was presented with a black screen with many strange characters. I dont understand what happened

I have used the GParted cd on this machine so I put that in and it crashed too.

Is there is a way to fix this?

 

Can you get into BIOS? At what point during boot do characters appear?

 

yes i can get into bios. It happens after the Windows 7 login. Those twirling colorful balls. They also move much slower than before. Then it goes black is a screen full of strange characters

 

It could be a problem with drivers. I had similar experiences on GNU/Linux with bad drivers for my graphics card. Also what twirling colorful balls? I don't get any on win7 x64.

 

just the windows 7 loading screen

So how can i install drivers on my graphics card if I can't run an OS?

 

It would be difficult to do so.

While windows is booting press F8. When a list appears choose safe mode and tell us what happens. Windowze should start without drivers for graphics card.

Also, what is your graphics card?

 

AndrejaKo: Thanks for the replies.

I try to enter safe mode but it will not allow me either. I might be able to run an old Linux or Windows on a stick (USB) OS though. Would that help? If so are there tuts on how to install drivers on to Video cards?

I have an Intel GMA 950

all my specs are here

 

its probbaly your gfx is borked. TRy reinstalling windows from scracth. If its still borked you will need a new gfx. You could laso try oven treating your current gfx. It could possibly fix it.

 

Is the GFX not my graphic card? Anyways I have attempted to install Windows 7 again from the retail disc and it crashed after the OS was installed and was doing the restart.

How does one "treat" a GFX?

 

Intel GMA950 is an integrated card. I don't think putting the motherboard into the oven is such a good idea.

 

I agree since it is unlikely that your GPU is faulty.

Is your harddrive ok? Is your memory ok? Are you sure that your harddrive is virus free?
Those are some of the issues that might stop windows from installing / re-installing in your laptop.

 

So that's what treating is. Hrm. Have oli bricked this machine?

 

Hard drive is fine. I formattedit in an old version o.lf gparted and tried installing Win7 again. It stalled only when first entering windows.

Memory seems fine. 2gb.

I have even attempted to install ubuntu (something I AM familiary with) and no change

 

Any other suggestions?

 

So I have managed to install an old windows xp disc and get mu drivers up to date. I would like to again use my windows 7 basic disc working on the machine but I don't know if it will work

is there a way I can test the video card settings to make sure it's running fine?
Does my graphics card now have the drivers it needs?

 

Update: I have tried about 5 different Intel VGA drivers but in my System>Device Manager I still have yellow question marks for my video controller (vga compatible)

Video card must be borked .. right?

 

Dp









.

 

I thought you had a mxm card imn there In which case if it was borked as a last resort your could have tried heat treating the card which sometimes re solders some joints and gets it working again. My mistake, its integrated and its way more rare for it to bork up. but now it means the motherboard is as good as borked, which means the laptop is a good as borked.

So let me get this straight, you cant get it to work in win 7 AT ALL? No safe mode or anything. You said it isntales but stuffs up after restart, are you by any chance installing drivers and then restarting... You really need to be more detailed...
But xp works, just that you cant install drivers onto it?

Usually 2 things happen when gfx goes borked. The GPU doesnt and wont display an image AT ALL, no bios no boot menu no installing windows nothing. Or everything works up until the time you try to install drivers for your card and then it wont work.
Both xp and windows can basically use the gfx as an image dumping unit, so if xp works without drivers installed so should win 7.
EXactly when win 7 stuffs up is important. You said you got xp working fine until you install video card drivers. WIn 7 should work fine until you install video drivers as well. So xpleain when it stuffs up in win 7, and if you are doing any windows updates or isntalling any drivers. You should be able to geta fully functional win 7, with just no advanced vid card support.

It very very likely sounds like your gfx is borked.
Heck if it was me i'd take out the motherboard and set it to 200f in the oven for about 10 min and try it again.

But, you said you got xp working, so if all else fails, just stick with xp, and no vid drivers, but this is not neccsary as if you follow what i said you could get it working in win 7 as well.

 

Maybe windows 7 comes with drivers for his graphics card and XP doesn't so it uses just standard VGA drivers and that's why XP works and 7 doesn't?

As for motherboard baking, 200F is way too low. I wouldn't do anything good because it wouldn't even be able to melt solder. Goto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldering. As you can see, you need about 250C to melt newer solders! That's more than 480F for those of you who don't know how to use degrees Celsius.

 

Quite possible. He may need to create his own win 7 iso with all the gfx drivers removed and try install that. I dont know if there is some kind of advanced win 7 installation that allows you to desect them. Still though, this does not explain why he cannot boot into win 7 via safe mode, that uses standard vga drivers.

200F is way to low huh? you need 250c/480F ROFL.
Ok good luck tyring to "fix" a computer component at those temperatures. Do you actually know anything about the heat treatment method I speak of or are you just wildly poitning out technical facts abot the temps at which solder melts? Because clearly you have never fixed anything at those temps, Whereas I have revived a old gfx using around the 200f mark or just undr 100c. and I say the temps F not C because I assume thats what most people here unerstand.

 

He can try with vLite. As far as I know there aren't any specialized utilities for windows 7, but vLite may work. Unfortunately, I have no idea which drivers to remove.

As for temperatures, feel free to ROLF as much as you want. You obviously don't know enough about reflow ovens, thermal tolerances of today's chips and the entire technology behind manufacture of a modern computer to make a relevant comment or otherwise you wouldn't so shocked! Research a bit about reflow soldering, it will enlighten you! Here's an interesting video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqUkVmqMsx4 Look at the temperature. Micron used to have videos about RAM manufacture, but I can't find them at the moment. Anyway I'm not going to argue this any longer with you. The truth is just a Google search away ("reflow soldering ROHS" for example)!

 

Oh yea, how silly of me for insulting Mikeon by assuming he doesnt have a REflow oven. I mean who deosnt have a reflow oven these days? Ok mikeon set your reflow oven to 400f!

Cmon man, think about it practically. What you are talking about may be true but doesnt apply in this case. suggesting people should use 400f in the standard ovens is NOT the same. 400f which is close to the maximum of a conventional oven will burn any modern computer! Its just crazy. And the temperature settings on normal ovens doesnt exaclty mean the component will receive that exact ammount all around.
They have a crappy metal coil with resistance and they run a current through it. How much do you think that temperature knob means in terms of what is actually happenining to the stuff inside? Thermal tolerances of todays chips are irellevant. 200f is a good safe amount to try, for about 10-15 min which is wha I would have suggested if he asked.

 

Let me say this again DO NOT PUT YOU MOTHERBOARD IN THE OVEN AND DON'T TRY TO REFLOW WITH A HEAT GUN.

Your laptop works fine with Win XP and that alone confirms that your problem is not hardware related but software related

I'm not sure about 7 but I know that with XP the default drivers are ok for your graphics card. Since Vista and 7 have a wider drivers library intalling intel graphics drivers is optional (I think).

Have you tried to download the drivers from intel's website? They should have an up to date version which is compatible with 7

 

I have tried a half dozen drivers (from intel acer and even nvidia just for the he'll of it!!!!!) nothing helps.

Here is what I have

I have a laptop running windows xp (YouTube works) that has multiple errors in the device manager (video controller VGA compatible). When I insert the retail Windows 7 disc and run the set up the install does not complete. It stuffs when it is coming around for the initial boot and to set a user account.

This machine has ran windows 7 before that's why I know it must be hardware related. I have a feeling that the integrated GMA 945 grapic card has probably come loose and needs to be resodered. It probably happened when my machine was running for three days straigh.

I have attempted every possible driver to try fix the video. I can also tell that it os a graphic issue by looking at the screen. Everything is not as crisp as it was before.

Since I have little to loose I think I will be going with the reflow option. I only have a microwave oven but i think the motherboard will fit. The oven goes to 300f so it seems that will be enough.

Since I don't know what I'm doing I'm just going to unscrew everything and snap lots of pictures as I go.

I am orried about componants melting. Are there not a pot of plastic parts that might be hidden?

I am going to do something alone the lines of this this - http://www.laptoprepair101.com/lapt...aq-presario-v6000-motherboard-no-video-issue/

it would be nice to find some pictures of my actual motherboard though

thanks for the advice and debates.

 

What the hell man!!, What no one is trying to stop this guy? Mike, will post more later, for the moment, DO NOT PLACE YOUR MOTHERBOARD IN ANY KIND OF OVEN. Microwave? RElflow? First of all how did you manage to consider microwave is even a viable option let alone the one to just suddenly choose to use!!??????? Secondly, where are yoou going to get a reflow oven from!!!! Cmon man what are you 6?

Since you dont have a detachble graphics card, I would recomned you wait for me, so I can explain to you how to try it with a hair dryer.

ps your graphics card hasnnt fallen of since your comp is still working...Its just damaged.

 

Sorry. I should have been more clear. I have a small oven that sits on my counter. It is not a microwave. It will work lie a normal oven.

If you think a hair dryer is a better idea then I would love to know what to do.

Thanks for the reply. I will wait to hear back from you before I do anything next.

 

Your biggest problems would be to thoroughly clean the motherboard of anything that is contaminating it at the moment and finding correct temperature. Look for RoHS logos on your motherboard. If it has them, then its probably using newer silver based solders which have higher melting point than traditional lead based solders. Also try to find capacitors and look for their model numbers on the Internet. You should be able to find the top temperatures they can survive in electronic parts databases.

Also, before attempting anything do a thorough research on the topic. There are lot and lot of guides available, so make sure you do a lot of reading. For example: http://www.instructables.com/id/Toaster-Oven-Reflow-Soldering-BGA/ or http://www.instructables.com/id/Reflow-Xbox-360/ or http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorial_info.php?tutorials_id=59

And be sure to first try the hairdryer method. It sounds safer!


Also is the oven microwave or not? The microwave ovens work by bombarding food with microwaves (on the same frequency as the one WiFI uses) which heats mainly water inside the food. It wouldn't produce desired effects on electronic equipment.

 

I still no nothing about the hair dryer technique.

 

We'll just have to wait for Pampum then.

 

If you're removing the motherboard anyway, just get a replacement! This "heating in an oven" idea sounds insane... and I certainly HOPE it's not a microwave unless you want to fry the board and the oven at the same time.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...eb933dc&itemid=200412255285&ff4=263602_263622

 

Alright man Its had to tell you this over a forum. First of all keep in mind I am not a proffesional at this.

I have fixed a desktop card in the past using the method which worked flawlessly, and generally I'm good at fixing things using what I call the russian method, i.e banging things and taking them apart checking for things putting them together etc replacing capacitors some loose solder etc, and i have fixed what other people consider dead, but dont think you are getting the absolute best advice possible. And I know ABSOLUTELY nothing about laptops. Nadda. I have never even opened one up. Custom built desktops I am comfortable with but laptops are an entirely different thing the way i see it.

Your current setup works fine in xp with vga drivers. Trying to heat treat your laptop may very easily fix it like magic, but it may also totally kill your entire laptop. Be ready to accept total death of your laptop before you proceed.

Normally I would reccomend and tell you using the oven method if it was a single component. But since this is a motherboard, I would NOT reccomend it as a first attempt.

What you can do after you have taken apart just the mobo which I am asuming you know how to do, Is get a hairdryrer, preferably two.

Stand your motherboard in between two items (maybe wooden chairs) so you have access to both top and bottom, and blow both sides of the gpu at the same time, one the highest heat settins but the LOWEST FAN speed.

You dont not want high fan speed, just high heat. So set the fan to low and hold them as close a you can to and around the gpu but not to cloose to just burn the top layer and nothing else maybe about 1-2 inches away. Try sway them from side to side gently so you dont get one area getting too much of the heat dont just focus on the centre, bit not too far off it.

Get them as hot as you can with the fans for about 10-15 min, but if you see something noticably distoring or burning or melting STOP, nothing should be melting or distoring, just getting very very hot. Smell is normal.

Again try away your fans gently so you get even heat distrubution. Focus mainly on and around the GPU. Dont cocnern yourself too much with moving away from the gpu for a few seconds in fact you should heat a few inches around it as well, and you wont damage anything else by acidently howering over it for a while. It takes a long time of concentrted effort to heat it up to high enough levels. BUt dont do stupid things like hold the fan over plastic for too long.

I would NOT recomend you take out the CPU or its heatsink for this. Or anything else for that matter besides the GPU heatsink. The other components are designed to take heat, and they wont be getting heated that much, even if your cpu is next to your gpu which it is, its fine. Just twirl the fans like you are lightly mixing a cup of cappuchino foam i guess, but always close to and focused on the GPU. It shoud be easily visible. If you need any more info just ask.

Take a look at the pic in the link posted. I Think this is your motheboad, correct?

http://www.s248849158.websitehome.c...izesMBAZL06003MOTHERANDHTCPHONEACCESS.002.jpg

that should help you.