M1330 Display Issue (Vertical Lines on Reboot & Crash & Vertical Lines)

so i just joined the club with the same issue. i am gonna junk this trash asap, as im out warranty, but is there any way to boot up so that i can grab some documents off my system? or at the very least remove the harddrive and get things out that way? i havent backed up recently and have some important docs to retrieve. thanks.

 

Yes, you can easily unplug the harddrive. Just flip the lappy over, unscrew the four screws with a cyclinder logo. Then slid out the hard drive (you might have to give it a bit of a tug to get it out the first time)

You can then put it in a USB enclosure (you'll have to buy one) to read the data off.

 

Just wanted to point out that this GPU problem CAN be fixed with BGA reflow (using heatgun from any hardware store). You can find many guides online and videos on youtube.

Don't forget the copper heatsink mod once you are done reflowing the GPU.

Cheers!

 

My M1330 with nVidia GeForce 8400M GS started exhibiting the multi-coloured lines a couple months back and decided to do the copper mod. Abandoned the copper mod idea and opted for the mod using the IC Diamond 7 thermal paste instead because I could get locally and it seemed thick enough to act as an effective thermal paste.

Did the mod following the instructions from the link 'http://forum.notebookreview.com/gateway-emachines/369732-better.html' and laptop booted fine. Tested for a couple of hours when multi-coloured lines appeared again after started playing a movie. Seems I forgot to plug-in the fan. DAH!

Re-applied the IC Diamond 7 thermal paste again and PLUGGED-IN the fan. I started the laptop and the boot messages are displayed but just before the login page the multi-coloured line appear and the system hangs. However, I'm able to start the laptop and log-in without any problems if I select the SAFE mode option.

Does this mean that the GPU is not fried?
I don't think so because I'm able to enter Windows in SAFE mode and browse the Internet without any problems.

I downloaded the latest Dell BIOS A14 and the latest nVidia GeForce 8400M GS driver (260.99) but it didn't solve the problem.

Is this just a driver issue I'm facing now?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciatedly.

Thx.

--------------------------------------------------------
XPS M1330 with GeForce 8400M GS GPU.
Windows Vista 32-bit

 

@alum

My understanding - though there's some debate on the matter - is that the lines are caused by small cracks in the gpu die; these cracks are caused by the heating/cooling cycle. Once the cracks are there, the copper mod will not remove them - rather, the mod delays (and maybe in some cases prevents altogether) the cracks appearing. The consensus is that, once the cracks are there, the problem will, in the long run, gradually get worse, even with the mod.

However, there is a trick where, by baking your computer or using a heatgun - it's mentioned somewhere in this thread I think, and I've seen it done on youtube - you can reflow the die around the gpu, getting rid of the cracks. I don't know how well or how long this fix works, but a lot of people have reported bringing back to life dead gpu's, and simply rebaking as necessary.

 

So it seems possible that the GPU is partially damaged and exhibits the multi-colored lines under stress. Maybe the unplugged GPU fan caused the cracks to occur faster.

I don't know about the fix regarding baking the laptop in the oven though. Won't the heat damage other more delicate plastic parts? Or does the motherboard have to be removed and placed in the oven? And at what temp?

I'm going to have to research this baking fix a bit more.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

@alum

!!!*don't put your whole laptop in the oven*!!!

At least, not in a heated oven.

I've not done it myself, but I think you're supposed to remove the motherboard and, as you say, any plastic bits.

Alternatively, you can apparently get a heat gun, and just focus the heat on the graphics chip on the motherboard. I have seen some videos on youtube of this being done on the m1330 a long time ago - but I couldn't find them with just a quick google I'm afraid.

Good luck - let us know how you get on. Although my m1330 has been going for nearly two years since a motherboard replacement for the white lines of death, on which I did the copper mod immediately - I still always fear that disaster might strike and will have to try this oven trick myself one day.

 

Hi Guys, I have the same problem on my girlfriend's laptop.. a 3 year old XPS M1330 bought in Australia, after using it for a while the screen will become distorted and if I reboot, coloured lines appear all over the screen and the backlight will increase in brightness until it is completely white

Rebooting didn't help, i couldn't even see the BIOS screen

I took out the battery for 1 minute, placed it back in and powered it on: I could see the BIOS screen again.

Then I loaded the latest nVidia drivers from the nVidia site (not the DELL drivers!) and now it's working fine for the past hour.

Before you put your laptop in the oven, apply a heat gun or any extreme measures, please please please try this first!

If this is a completely different problem, then I apologise and go ahead and toast your GPU

 

Sorry to disappoint you - this is the same problem Your GPU just started faulting and this is how it usually starting. Regardles of driver it will give you these colour lines more and more often untill your laptop becomes totally unusable. So if you have any warranty on it call support sooner than later.