I think my M70Vm has finally died on me!

Hi there

I have had a problem with the monitor on my Asus M70Vm recently where there was nothing displayed at POST or afterwards when I got into an OS but the GPU is fine as it outputs to an external monitor.

That problem seemed to have gone away, until now...

...Today I've left my laptop in a hot office during the day and this evening I've come to turn it on and my XP OS won't start, it says that c:\windows\system32\config\system is corrupt and when I get in the Win 7 RC1 the monitor is now displaying just a blank white screen, but there isn't any sign of life at POST or until I get past the boot menu.

Is there anything I can do here, primarily I am worried about the monitor as I know how to solve the XP issue, or am I looking at now RMAing the laptop and hoping for the best? If I can fix this without an RMA that'd be great because I live in the UK and the Asus UK RMA service isn't particularly good according to general opinion and I need my laptop every day and cannot really be without it for more than 3 days, so RMAing the laptop is a last resort as I may well be without the laptop for weeks, possibly months...

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.

 

Hmm POST problems suggest some issue with the hardware or BIOS.

You could try some of the steps in my Tips and Tricks "no POST" item, although your computer actually does POST... Also check your HDD since that WinXP error can be due to that.

Does the computer boot from an external OS, such as a Live Linux DVD?

Maybe the GPU or something on the motherboard gave up due to the heat.

 

It boots into Win 7.

I'm more concerned with the monitor issue.

The GPU is fine as it outputs to an external monitor and if the mobo was dead would the laptop not function at all?

I'm typing this from Win 7 RC1 using an external monitor and the laptop seems to be working fine if you discount the monitor issue.

I think it's related to the issue I had previously, which I posted about here - http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=383585

 

In this case, one of the problems is probably that your LCD is going bad.

There are some not-so-expensive replacements that can be done there, like the inverter board, signal cable, and inverter cable, but from the looks of your problem these components don't seem to be the cause of it.

 

Yeah I guess I'll have to RMA it then.

I'm not happy with Asus, after I reported the fault before they refused to replace the laptop, they keep sticking to their "3 repairs" BS.

I don't have the time to wait for the laptop to be repaired, especially given the reputation of their UK support.

I've contacted the company I purchased the laptop from, Meshcomputers.com, to see if they can intervene and at least get me a loan of an equal spec laptop whilst I'm without the M70Vm. Not holding my breath though...

This is two laptops I've had in the last 2 years, the other one, the Acer 9302, the hinges broke on it and the monitor is now held in place with g-clamps.

I really don't have the income to be going through laptops at the rate of 1 a year!

 

sounds like some bad ram to me. had the exact same error message saying that the config files are corrupt. i just played around with the hardware and undoubtedly some dead ram was the victim.

 

Bad RAM can't really explain the lack of a POST screen or the fact that the desktop only shows on the external monitor...

Yes, I'm afraid they aren't likely to replace your notebook, they will try to repair it a few times first. And after having heard many horror stories about ASUS UK, I can say that it can be a harrowing experience...

 

Yes well one good bit of news is that I've got XP back. I knew very well it wasn't bad ram...

I just had to copy the files over from windows\repair. XP now boots and copying over the same files from the volume system information from a restore point made a few days ago will put me back to where I was.

Still no monitor though.

I'm going to buy an external monitor in a few days so that I have one at home, here in the office is not an issue as I can use the monitors here, but at home I currently have no monitor for my laptop if the onboard one refuses to function.

I will see if I can live with it as it is but I will probably go down the RMA route though because I get the feeling the entire laptop is failing...