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

I'm about to send my M1330 in for repair due to this motherboard/gpu issue. Is this issue all about heat? In other words, playing a lot of graphic intensive games or graphic intensive activities could have accelerated the eventual demise of the gpu/motherboard a lot quicker? If I've also got a 1420 with the same specs as my M1330, what are the chances of this happening to the 1420 which was purchased at the same time? Are those with the newer motherboard satisfied that Dell has solved their problem? Have there been any complaints of the newer motherboards failing in the same way?

Somehow I get the feeling that the newer bios is related or any bios passed A06. When I went from A06 to A09, my system took a dive relatively fast. Did the A09 cut back on the cooling fans which caused the gpu to melt a lot faster, where as the A06 just managed to keep the system cool enough without causing this bricked notebook to happen. The last thing tech support said to me was don't upgrade your 1420's bios. Cause for concern, I think so!!

 

I just got my refurbished m1330 on wed 2/13/08 and have had a strange occurance on the first couple of boot ups. My hd made a clicking noise on the first boot up, then I did the welcome set up and shut down my system the hd started making clicking noises again during shut down and the next time i booted my system up it ran the check disk before starting. Then the started windows with no hd clicking. When I shut it down again I heard the clicking again and when I restarted it ran the disk check again. I have not had the problem after that. I am a bit concerned about what i'm reading here about the mobo problems I have had 4 dell laptops and had no problems with them before. My friend just sent me a text message and said his m1330 which he got in oct 07 just died. His system won't boot up and he just gets a blank black or white screen. He called dell and they are going to replace his mobo and video card. I'm wondering if I should just return my system while I can or should I wait it out to see if mine will run into problems in 3 months. Because my system is refurbished i'm concerned it's reliablity has already been compromised. Also it seems that majority of the people who have had problems with their mobo's have the 2.2 processor. Have you noticed that dell has discontinued selling the m1330 with the 2.2 processor. Do you think it maybe has something to do with this processor?

 

This is likely an issue with the GPU not the CPU. However, since they share the same heatpipe/HSF, both will contribute to the overheating issue, so a faster/hotter CPU will cause the GPU to run hotter.

Mine has the T7100 (1.8).

We are still not able to say conclusively that this is an overheat issue, since we lack benchmark data for temperatures. However, it seems heat may be an issue.

You'd notice that all the failures are for the 8400GS, base X3100 notebooks are fine. So what does that tell you? Its either the 8400GS itself having issues or the heat is too much for it.

 

Definitely it is an overheat GPU issue. I got mine to run for about 2 hours before display crapped out. Can I use Arctic Silver on the GPU? The new motherboard will be in tomorrow.

 

I wonder if a Penryn would help? Does anyone have temp data on how hot they run?

 

I too was afflicted by this issue. Started having video issues 3 days ago, and now it's completely dead.

Anyone know if the MB they are replacing them with are any different? Or what the best BIOS version is right now? A09 is safe?

 

Those who are having these issues, which mobo revision are you using?

 

Mine is A04 revision board.

 

I just got a new board installed. The tech is pretty good and finished in one hour. The board is A04 with A06 BIOS.

 

I've got the REVA01 motherboard. Tech support said DHL was supposed to be here today (Saturday) to drop off my Dell box in order for my notebook to be shipped out to tech repair...........aaaaaaaaaaaand they didn't show up. Sometimes I think customer support just tells you what you want to hear and since I'm in a pessimistic mood, I don't have much faith that the A04 revision will solve the problem either!!

 

Just a quick word to say that my screen/computer is acting the same way this thread has been talking about.
Add me to the list.

 

This has become an epidemic! LOL!

 

What BIOS are you using?

 

I agree with jaycee that there's a very good chance that it's temp-related.

It would really help if those of you who have units "on the brink" (but still bootable) would check the GPU temps and note the temp at load as well as ambient.

there are at least three different tools that you can use:
RivaTuner
18kfanGUI
nVidia's own nTune w/monitor app

I tried to look up the 8400M's nominal operating temps (or threshold) but I haven't found anything so far... . Last but not least, some owners have actually managed to overclock the 8400M so anything's possible...

p.s. Someone mentioned using Arctic Silver between the GPU & heatpipe but I'm fairly certain see IMG_3773 a thicker thermal "pad" is necessary & mixing a pad with an extra compound can make things worse...

 

Overclocking is one thing, being to sustain the overclock is another.

I'm trying to get through to Dell technical through my corporate contacts and see if we can get somewhere. Dell is quite tight lipped on this, they know they have an issue with the GPUs (after all, they must have replaced hundreds of them by now), but wont say why or how to properly fix it.

Knowing Dell, they wont implicate themselves but try to pass the responsibility on to thier vendors (in this case nvidia or the HSF vendor if it turns out to be overheating).

 

Tried to see how hot the GPU gets, when playing Jericho I get temps in the range of 90-92 degrees c.

 

Measured with..? Again, for what ever reason, I get a variance of up to 10C between 18kfanGUI & RivaTuner... thx

 

Traveller,

Using RivaTuner.

 

DHL picked up my M1330 this afternoon. We'll see what happens in "7-10 business days."

 

I am using Arctic Silver directly on the GPU and CPU. There is no need for a thicker thermal "pad". The chip between the GPU and CPU will need a pad since it sits lower than the two chips and heat pipe does not make a contact.

 

What kind of temps to you get, ambient?

 

Imzomnia, not sure I understand you. You say there's no need for a thermal pad, but then you mention the gpu sits lower and the heatpipe does not make contact (which would indicate you need something between the two).

 

Err.. we're both talking about the M1330, right?

Well, I haven't opened it up lately, but based on the pic I took it sure looks like that purple thing wedged between the heatpipe and GPU (middle chip) is a thermal pad. Are you saying that's the Northbridge chip and that the GPU is to the far left of the pipe...

Really?

Edit: Nah, no waaay that big-a$$ chip in the middle's not the GPU.
Edit2: My baaad... (see below)

 

No, it couldn't possibly be that......can anyone please post a pic of their A04 mobos (just the GPU-CPU-Fan area), thanks

P.S. I just added a closeup of the two chips in question. On my unit (A01 mobo), both chips have (purple) pads (c/b paste, but I seriously doubt it)...

 

Well. My M1330 came in August 07. I don't play any games on it. Have not updated the BIOS. Whatever was in there when the laptop shipped is still there. I just watched two DVD movies on the plane on a recent business trip, but not consecutively. My CPU is the first the lowest option that has the 4MB RAM embedded memory, so it's either a 1.8GHz or 2.0GHz, not a 2.2GHz. My computer started to get the lines about a week ago, as I have already reported. Then three days later, it went out completely. I had been back home from the trip for about a week, and was not watching anything or doing anything memory intensive. I do believe it's the 8400M GS graphic chip.

I had contacted Dell on Friday for a mobo/GPU replacement. A tech called me on Monday morning. I had called him right back, and left a message on his cell phone. He didn't call me back that day, so I called him again the next day. Again he didn't pick up, so I left him a message that if he is too busy, I'll contact Dell to see if they can send someone else. When I didn't hear back from him, I tried Dell. The dispatcher tried calling him when I was on the phone, and she couldn't reach him either and had to leave a message. She then tried the "Oh. What number did you give them?" and then read the number back to me with one number being off. I told her that didn't make any sense, because it was the tech who called my cell on Monday, and I have since left two messages in two days, and he had not gotten back to me. I had requested for another tech from a different company now, because I no longer am comfortable with him working on my computer. She said she doesn't have control over that, and it may very well be the same guy coming out to service my computer. Does that sound right to you guys? I don't want him messing up my laptop now. I use it for business. Can I just send it in if there is no one else Dell is contracted with?

 

I'm not certain what your basing your concern on, but I think you're better off having the tech come out and repair your Notebook under your supervision...

 

Well, dell got back to me. Sort of.

Tech told me that the maximum temperature for the notebook is 100*C. He did not have any data on the thermal envelop of the 8400GS. Weird.....

So..not much help there.

 

speaking of no help whatsoever; I can't even get an empty box from Dell sent to me to ship my useless motherboard back because of incompetence at customer service. My conversation went something like this. Me - Could you tell me where my DHL box is so I can ship my M1330 back to dell tech repair. I've had two tech online conversations with this issue and I can't get anyone to ship out this box; the last customer service representative told me I'd receive it on Saturday............ Dell - Okay, I'll look into this for you........Dell - Okay, it looks like your shipping box has already been dispatched, but it looks like it hasn't yet been dispatched.....Me - Your kidding right. Dell - No, but I'll put it through again so you should get it in a few days.

Zero faith in Dell's ability to do anything at this point. I mean I can't even get an empty box and I'm trusting them to replace a motherboard / GPU in hopes that this will solve this thermal issue once and for all. Well I guess that's one way to piss away $2000 on a very expensive paper weight.

 

@Callanish,

While I empathise with you, I would say your case would be more the exception than the rule. In most cases, we had no issue with the tech or service (we have next business day onsite service).
My corporate systems are all Dell and I've never had any issues with them (tech support is always friendly and helpfull, tech dispatch is always on time).

This I would think is no worst than the Hell that other brands will put you through. I had a DoA Acer that needed 1 week to replace the Harddrive. I mean how difficult could that be....they wont even send me the harddrive for self replacement.

 

There are 3 chips sitting under the heatpipe. There is another chip between the GPU and CPU. The chip between the CPU and GPU sits lower than the two chips so you will need a thin layer of thermal pad. I don't use any pad on the GPU since it makes a good contact with the heatpipe.

 

ehm....

sorry about the pic quality..thats the best my phone camera can muster given the lighting conditions.

so from left to right.

GPU, Northbridge, CPU.

GPU and Northbridge is the same height, CPU is higher, hence missing the "sponge".

Now, why didn't Dell use a direct contact HSF/heatpipe?

There is 1.5mm gap between the GPU and HSF ...I would question how you managed to put thermal grease on the GPU?

 

Well-well, thx a million (plus 1 rep 4 u ) JC

My bad, obviously I haven't paid attention to the Northbridge chips lately and never would have imagined such a complex chip

Based on the pic of my particular unit compared to yours and Imzomina's (based on his statement), I would say that the heatpipe's either not perfectly flat or the mobo varies from unit to unit (harder to believe).

JC, did you get the impression that the heatpipe's perfectly straight (surface-wise)...? Btw, are you going to replace those pads, now that you've taken the heatpipe off, or are you going to attempt to re-use the same ones (is that even possible?)

 

I guess it's not even possible with one heatpipe spanning three different chips and trying to cram two/three separate heatpipes (connected to one, central fan) is not feasible, either.

As for a standalone HSF assembly I guess it's a simple matter of the Notebook's thickness, something that we (M1330 owners) all wanted in the first place, no?

But the more I look at that pic of yours, the more I'm convinced that that's a poor cooling solution, indeed! Only the CPU is assured of efficient cooling. The GPU looses out big-time, depending on such a thick thermal pad

 

So I just received my M1330 back from the Dell Depot. It was only picked up two days ago! I live in NYC and it was shipped to Houston. Talk about a fast turnaround, if only everything at Dell worked this quickly!

They replaced the bottom case of M1330 so all the wireless switches work, after the handy work of the last Dell tech. The only thing they didn't do was replaced the "XPS" letters and give me a reimaged hard drive, as were supposedly placed in the notes by the XPS tech I spoke with. I just got off Dell support and a reimaged hard drive is being sent to me. Again, I can live with the "P" falling off.

They pealed the stickers off the bottom case and placed them on the new case. The corners of the stickers are coming off, going to have to use a little glue there. Small thing, nothing major.

What was interesting was my BIOS was "downgraded" to A07, not the A09 that it left with. I was told this was down for "stability" reasons.

Thats all for now...

 

Gald you got it back lickedysplit (sp)

Now... would you be so kind as to post your GPU temps (idle/load) using any of the suggested tools above, thanks

 

As soon as the new hard drive comes, I'll take the GPU temps for you no problem.

 

Good to hear about that very fast turnaround time.

 

Did any of you guys who are having serious display issues use the LaptopVideo2go hacked drivers vs. the system ones?

Thanks...

Just checking before I install on mine...

 

I have used several of the laptopvideo2go go drivers with modified inf's and have not had any real issues at all. Occasionally some functionality will be lost, or some small issue will arise that will make me want to switch to a different driver version. But nothing big at all.

 

I have not replaced the pads yet. I see little point. They could have made the heatsink about 1.5mm thicker and it would contact the chip without any clearance issues.

I might try to get my machinist to cut me a 1.5mm (lapped) aluminum 1x1cm plate, and use artic silver. However, I haven't figured how to mount the plate yet... not sure pressure/friction from the stock HSF might be sufficient. Perhaps if I can find some thermal glue that they used to stick Heatsinks on the old 486 days....

 

In regards to the pads, I meant that on initial use, they do "melt" to some extent, making a better contact with the adjoining metal surfaces. This also makes them non-reusable (I would imagine?)

I was wondering if you can see (or at least better guess) how the copper pipe is attached to the metal "track(s)". Seeing as you have a machinist on hand, maybe it would be a better idea to build that one metal piece 1.5mm thicker and attach it directly to the copper pipe...?

Edit: Having reviewed both your and my pics, I am 99% sure that the HSFs are not the same... ?!? What rev did you say your mobo was and/or when did you get yours? I ordered & received mine in Nov '07 and it's an A01.

 

My new unit is an A04 mobo. I dont remember what the original was, but the Tech did not replace the HSF. Just the mobo. I got mine in September, so it could have very well be the A01 mobo.

No, the thermal pads have the consistency of a dense sponge. It does not melt like the "old stuck on" thermal pad...hence its reusability. If not, dell tech would have needed to send replacement HSFs with the mobo.

From the looks of it, the heatsinks are attached to the heatpipe by some sort of thermal adhesive

 

i'm joining this vertical reboot crash club. good info over here, at least i know whats the prob. i got my m1330 mid august last year from malaysia but now i'm in ireland till june. i guess for the time being i hav to use the comp in a cold room. will dell ireland cover my system for this prob.?

 

JC, thx for all the info, it's appreciated

Funny that the our HSF's are different, considering they should be from the same "assembly period"... .
Since your HSF's "plates" are separate (at least that last bit over the GPU), you should be able to remove it and have your machinist make one single, thicker plate. I think it would be better than trying to adhese two separate plates and the heatpipe together...

 

Normally, warranties are "tailored" to local laws and thus will/can not be honored outside of the area in question.

In any case, you should none the less contact the local Dell support and ask, particularly since their Ireland Subsidiary supplies the entire EU, North Africa as well as the Middle East, if I'm not mistaken...

 

Hey guys, add my name to the list. I had the lines show up about two weeks ago. Currently on:
Dell Watch: Day 10

... Still no box to ship it back in. I called the tech support and after about an hour he's canceled the original box and sending another. Guy said it 'should' arrive today. We'll see about that.

 

Ok. Called Dell, and the next day they replaced my motherboard. And everything is working normally again.
Nice service
What's a bit more troubleing is that it seemed like they had never heard of the problem before. Obviously they don't hang around here that much

 

So Dell sends me a new hard drive, but the 5400 RPM version, not the 7200 version, so yet again, I have to wait. I can't take Dell at all anymore.

 

Well, I got my system back today with a new motherboard. I complained that I couldn't get an empty box from Dell until after I chatted with a third tech support guy, but DHL dropped off and picked up on Wednesday and I got the Notebook back on Friday. Can't complain about that!

Would like to know if this new motherboard is the solution to avoiding a fried GPU. I wonder what improvements they made going from RevA01 to RevA04 to keep the heat from the GPU within tolerable specs. I'm just happy to get the system back and functional. I'm a bit timid in doing anything graphic intensive right now just in case......really sad that this is what I've reduced myself to!!

 

As I said a few posts above, I doubt that the revised mobo will make any difference (although anything's possible...) but much more likely is the simple fact that they cannot just replace the GPU chip (and there are only A04 mobos now).

Do yourself a favor and install RivaTuner (or if you're less of a techhead, nVidia's nTune) and check the temp of the new GPU, both @idle and @load. You can then publish & conpare the temps with the rest of us. This will at least help to determine if Dell properly attached the heatpipe, etc. Ditto for your cpu temps, while you're at it!