Is my W3V finally dead? Some help needed please

Hi All

My trusty W3V has finally started to play up after giving me almost 3 years of service. The other day after I installed Dreamweaver CS3 and rebooted I noticed that my icons were corrupt and generally the graphics were a little loopy. all apps run fine if I can figure out what buttons to press LOL. its a little difficult to explain exactly what has gone wrong so I have attached a few pics.

Basically my desktop icons are missing or corrupt. When I open apps some of the graphics are a little screwy but the apps work just fine. I decided to do a clean install of XP and installed the drivers that come with the laptop. That didn't solve the problem. All the icons were fine until I installed the ati drivers and rebooted. Then they were corrupt again. If I uninstall the ati drivers the icons are fine but I cant run in the native resolution of the screen but just 1024x768. Obviously this is no good to me as I must have the ati drivers installed in order to make the laptop workable.

I have tried numerous clean installs with various ati drivers and none have worked. As soon as I install the ati drivers and reboot the icons are corrupt.

Does anyone have any ideas what may be causing this? Any help would be much appreciated as I am totally stuck.

Thanks

J

 

Did you use a crack?
Did you make sure your rig is CS3 compatible (I forget the minimum requirements).
I think it might be coincidence that it's acting up- the icons are usually stored in the system32 directory- that has nothing to do with CS3, but everything to do with either cracks or faulty drivers, as you've checked.

If nothing else works (sorry, can't help a lot right now- too busy)
try reinstalling windows XP BEFORE you give up on the W3.
I don't know HOW many PC's and laptop's that were "messed up" I've fixed simply by wiping the hard drive and reinstalling everything, or using a ghost image to restore to.

Good luck!

p.s. it probably has something to do with what else you were doing, possibly on-line, around the time you installed CS3, just FYI. Corrupted ATI driver (go back to an earlier version or two) or something you got infected with that has messed up part of your OS.

 

i would format it completely. does not sound like a hardware defect

 

I agree with the guy above, your OS is probably beyond repair; unless you're willing to try reinstalling the drivers.

 

Dosnt look like a hardware problem but if you wanna be 100% sure its not your graphics card scan for artifacts on ati tray tools , ill edit my post in 2 secs for more details
edit:
Grab ati tray tool from the internet and install it , Rebbot pc and run it , then right click on little thing in corner , select hardware > overclocking settings and then a new window pops up

then click "show 3d render" and click "scan for artifacts"

Download ati tray tools here:
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download...t=733#download

Hope this helps , report back if you get artifacts , let the test run for 5 mins and if there is any it will be very obvious.

 

Yep, agreed as to what everyone is saying above. Your operating system may be corrupted and may not be a hardware problem. The only thing I can think of is that your harddrive may be acting up, but do a complete format and see if these problems occur again.

 

@ tangograndma - yes I did use a crack Ireally should have kept my old copy of Dreamweaver MX

Thanks for the tips guys, some very interesting suggestions as to what could be wrong. I've done a clean install after formating the hard drive and that didnt help so the OS being corrupt is out of the question now.

I'm going to try the ati utility first then swap the hard drive if that doesnt work. I'll keep you guys posted but I have a bad feeling about this, I think the ati card may have blown out as punishment for using the CS3 software.

I appreciate everyones help in trying to help me out.

 

Have you tried any alternate ATI drivers? If it only happens when you install those drivers, it might just be a fault in the particular version you're using, though if it was working fine before using that same one, I'd lean towards it being something actually wrong with your graphics card, as strange as that may seem. I have run across laptops that work fine on the generic Windows graphics drivers, but as soon as you install the nVIDIA or ATI drivers to take advantage of the card's features you get artifacting, lines on the screen, other graphical glitching in general. In those instances, it has usually turned out to be a heat damaged graphics card and it had to be replaced.

That doesn't mean that is for sure what's happening here, but if you've removed the old partition, made a new one, formatted the drive, and reinstalled the OS from scratch with all the original, previously working, drivers, and this still happens, I'd lean towards there being something hardware related causing this. As I said, you might try alternate ATI drivers to see if you can find one that might work, but if installing a formerly okay ATI driver makes this happen I'd say there is a problem with the card.

 

He said he tried numerous ATI driver versions. Let me make sure those versions include:
1. (Updated) Drivers from support.asus.com
2. (Older) Drivers from support.asus.com
3. Modded drivers from laptopvideo2go

A tip on how to make really clean driver installs: use DriverCleanerPro with all the ATI filters to cleanup your system in-between driver installs.

Also, I highly doubt there is hardware fault involved in getting something as specific as the icons wrong. I would expect really nonsensical artifacts on the screen, if the GPU is faulty.

OP: In your clean install, did you install anything at all besides Windows and the stock drivers on the CD? If so, please next time do not, and check your icons / graphical behavior before and after any 3rd party software installation besides the stock drivers on the CD.

 

Firstly thank you all for your suggestions!

Well I performed the tests as mentioned by Lite and its not looking good. I ran the ati tools 3D renderer and I got a load of gobbledy goop on screen (pics attached)

Before I waste time and do another clean install do you guys reckon the gpu is screwed? Is it possible to replace it or is it soldered onto the motherboard?

@EBE - I didnt try the modded drivers from laptopvideo2go as I think they may be for nVidia cards and mine is the ati x600. My clean install was a copy of XP SP2 and nothing else. I'm going to try win 2003 server as I have a copy but I'm not too optimistic about it after the ati tools failure. I have tried older drivers from my original disc that came with the W3V as well as newer versions found on the Asus website. All of the drivers give the same problem.

I have uninstalled the drivers then used DriverCleanerPro after a reboot with no success.

After a clean install I am updating the chipset drivers followed by the INF driver and then the ati driver. No software or hardware or windows updates are applied.

All the drivers and windows discs are ones that I have used before and are proved to have worked previously.

This old dawg is getting desperate and frustrated LOL.

 

Ok, I didn't know laptopvideo2go was just for nvidia drivers. I'm sure there is an ATI equivalent somewhere on the Great Wide Internet.

It seems indeed that the GPU is bad... weird symptom though, not being able to draw the icons and the Start menu... really weird.

I'm not sure if the GPU is removable or not... in some models it's soldered on the mainboard. You'll need someone with a W3V to tell you, or maybe check a disassembly manual for the W3V.

I'd still try the Win2003 option if I were you... who knows...

By the way, is your cooling working properly? Perhaps the GPU is overheating. Do you have any CPU/GPU temperatures? Did you clean your laptop for dust since you got it (being a W3V I assume it's pretty old) Otherwise, that might be another thing to try.

 

It's definately hardware now that you have run the AtiTool test, with those results and it completely buggered. This could be a possibility that the video card is overheating. Unforunately there is no software to check the GPU core temp. Does windows seem to gradually get worst the longer you run ie; from a cold boot.?

 

No unfortunately the GPU is part of the mainboard and you would need to replace the entire board if indeed you need a repair. I have completely disassembled my W3V before so if you have any questions about the cooling devices on the machine, let me know.

 

Win 2003 install has started...

I do have the W3V assembly guide somewhere, I remember downloading it when I originally bought the bugger so I guess I better find that manual sharpish.

Unfortunately I have never cleaned the laptop that much aside from the odd screen wipedown and the odd vacuum clean in the air outlet. I'm used to working with HP lappy's mainly and they can take a beating. The fan is working fine as the laptops fan is louder than my desktop when running it off the mains LOL. I'll run some diagnostics in Win 2003 to check the gpu temps when the install is complete.

This was my first ever premium laptop that I bought with my own cash and I'm pretty pissed that it only lasted 2 1/2 years. For a machine costing £1500 back then I'll never make the same mistake and buy an Asus lappy, they are just too fragile for my usage, they are so sexy though...and to think I was going to buy a Sony TZ before I settled on a Lenovo x61 a few weeks back. Hopefully this new plastic piece of cr@p lasts longer than my beautiful aluminium finished W3V.

edit - D3X, can you remember if the GPU has a heatsink fixed on it? I think I may take it apart and refix this with some artic silver if it does have one. Also the problem is from cold boot so now you got me thinking its not heat related and screwed.

 

You will need to clean any present day technology laptop on a frequent basis simply because new technology increases heat output, but the cooling technology has not significantly changed for the past number of years. It's not fair to compare an older generation to a newer one.

Same here, I've had issues with mine and the need to get replacement parts. However I have to say that it has held up quite well and I still get great compliments on the machine from colleagues or friends that haven't seen the notebook before. I have frequently cleaned my machine where I clean out the heatsink and reapply thermal grease every month. Personally I haven't had issues and I think the W3 is a well built machine. I've had HP before and I had a similar situation with the video card crapping out, I don't think this is a rampant issue with ASUS laptops but an isolated incident.

It doesn't have a heatsink, instead, it's a heatspreader that is interconnected with the top case. The GPU heatspreader is cooled semi-actively by using the airflow drawn from the CPU Fan air movement under the keyboard. If you take off the keyboard you will see a aluminum area near top bezel right by the battery. Under the square shaped bump would be the GPU core, there is a thick blue thermal pad right under this, and I have tried using thermal grease, but without the pad, the GPU core does not touch the spreader. It could be possible that this thermal pad has deteriorated and no longer touching the thermal pad, therefore overheating the moment you turn on the system.

To take off the top case, you will need to unscrew all the screws under the bottom case, remove harddrive and optical drive, remove the keyboard and keyboard bezel,disconnect the LCD panel & hinges. There are 2 small screws right under the "round hinge" part of the W3V (the power button). You will then need to carefully take off the top case from the bottom case as there are plastic retentions holding them together could break especially near the front speakers. Be prepared to disconnect any connectors or ribbon cables via alligator clips(from the side buttons, bluetooth scrollock led lights). When I first disassembled W3V for the first time, I had to draw diagrams so that I remembered where everything goes and whered the screws go. Make sure you have a lot of time doing this as this could take several hours. For me it takes me 30 minutes now since I've dismantled it on numerous occasions.

I will be needing to take apart my machine once again (to repaint the bottom case Flat Black as it's discoloring), this time around I could possibly take pictures for a small repair guide so that it could aid anyone willing to go through a W3V disassembly repair.

 

D3X - I've managed to locate all of the keyboard 'clips' around the edges but the keyboard seems to be stuck in the middle. Do I need to remove a key and unscrew it to get the thing off?

Thanks

 

There are 2 screws that hold down the keyboard located on the underside of the machine. Look for the labels of K> that is engraved into the casing right next to the screw locations.

 

Thanks keyboard came off a breeze. I should have read your post clearer as I thought I would be able to access the gpu from here.

Drat I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow to open her up. I think I'll take your advice on making notes and diagrams as I've never opened up a lappy before.

Uh oh I just read your post again with instructions on how to open her up. I think I'll get up early tomorrow in case it takes a while. I'll let you guys know how I get on.

Cheers

 

Ok for your sake, I might need to do this tomorrow as well and post a small guide before you start taking everything apart without knowing what to do. good thing is that I'll be home all day tomorrow morning and I'll be able to post some pictures up. I might as well just do the painting been wanting to do it, but just been lazy lately ...

 

I think disassembling, cleaning up, and checking the thermal pad is a good idea. At least you'll remove that possible cause.

D3X, isn't replacing the thermal paste each month a bit overkill? I've had my V6J for two years, never did it (for good reason, under warranty) and it has roughly the same temps as when I bought it.

 

Well thermal paste once a month for my W3V is necessary(but not for stock users), keep in mind that heat is one of it's biggest issues on the W3 series. Ontop of that I've overclocked it so the temperatures are even higher that a stock W3V ensemble, compound that with a tiny heatpipe cooler, add that with my W3V is constantly on, which averages to 12-18 hours per day, with all these factors you can then see where I'm coming from. I don't just change it because I feel it's time to, it's because when it's time for an artic silver maintenance my full load temperature goes above 76 degrees.

 

Hmm. My V6 runs 12-16hrs a day also. And there are weeks when I run math simulations on it, for 8-10 hours of those hours each working day (CPU full blast one of the cores).

Indeed it has a bit more room for cooling being a 15" but it's very thin...

 

Thanks for that info. It helped me get no end in getting her open.

I've managed to take the LCD panel off but am a little stuck. Where do I find the GPU and how do I get to it?

LOL this thing is in pieces, I hope I can put it all back together

 

YEah. totally different. If you check out the pics that I'm gonna post later tonight you'll know what I'm talking about. The heatpipe/heatsink cooler is way small and it gets clogged up very easily. My CPU is running 2.26Ghz, which probably has 30 TDP + the highest clock speed available to a Sonoma based system, any inefficiency from the cooler would make this thing like a furnace. The W3J(which is comparible to your V6J) in comparison has a 20% larger cooler with a modified grills at the side that increases airflow.

 

Look forward to them snaps mate.

I would agree though that the W3V is the 'hottest' laptop I have ever owned. Its impossible to type too long without your hands getting sweaty. not to mention the vent on the right blowing out very hot air.

 

Unless they fixed something drastic before the W3j, this computer isn't hot at all. I have kept it on my lap for a very long time with no trouble at all. Other computers i have owned have been on fire in 30 minutes. Its warm, but not hot by a long shot (again, unless something drastic has changed, or something is really wrong with yours).

 

Nice guides to cleaning notebooks CalebSchmerge Compared to my new ThinkPad x61 the W3V is very hot, not hot enough to cook food but hot enough to warm up my doughnuts when placed a few inches from the hot vent

 

W3V Disassembly Guide Posted. Work in progress though, I'm editing the pictures and typing up the whole procedure.

 

It seems from D3X's post that the heatsink is better designed on the W3J w.r.t. W3V. That might explain the differences. He also overclocked his CPU.

 

Big thanks for doing this mate. I'm sure the community will appreciate your work.

:smile:

 

No prob! Let me know how far you've got at disassembling your W3V in comparison to my guide. I'll try and get the guide completed by today.

 

Just an update to let you know that the guide is complete. Let me know if there are some parts that could be described clearer.