Problem with my XPS M170 - Video Card I think

So the other day I was surfing the internet just fine with my laptop, just like the past 4 years. Then all of a sudden my computer froze and the screen went black. So I restarted the computer and the start-up screens have messed up graphics, basically vertical white lines running down the screen. At this point I could only run the computer on safe mode. It wouldn't work on a normal start-up. So I thought it was a software issue, so I wiped my hard drive with a clean install of Windows XP. I was able to install all the drivers just fine, except the Video Card driver and the Bios (different issue, I can only run my computer while plugged in and can't flash the Bios with the battery under 10%). So I can use my computer, but only when I don't use the video card, so it's slow as hell. I have a 7800 GTX video card in my laptop and was wondering if replacing it is the only option?

The other issue with my laptop not taking a charge is...Basically I can only run my laptop while it's plugged in. It wont charge the battery, but will run off the battery if the battery was initially charged. I figured that out when I bought a new battery for the laptop thinking the battery was the issue. Well, it's not

Any help will be greatly appriciated! This forum was a great help 4 years ago when I picked this bad boy out and I'm hoping I can keep her running with a little maitenence.

Thanks

Brian

 

any ideas? Or is my video card fried?

 

I think you have two different problems here, one with the GPU and one with the power circuitry.

Concerning the GPU, it's almost certainly dying or dead; if you can consistently make artifacts appear, see if they replicate themselves on an external display. You can fairly easily replace this part (if you can find a replacement), but...

Concerning the power stuff... it could be something wrong with the charger, battery, or worst of all, the power delivery on the motherboard itself. It's hard to tell what's wrong with this one unless you have a known good Dell and Dell power adapter, but in the worst case scenario you'll need to replace the motherboard.

 

Bake the GPU in the oven, I did that for my go 7800GTX when it was dead for over 1 year. Now it works even today and I baked it for over 2 months ago

 

I don't mind having to plug in my laptop to use it, I usually do anyway. My main concern right now is getting my graphics card to work. I'm still debating the cost of replacing my graphics card to buying a new laptop. If I find a good deal on one, I'll replace it for sure. What's this about baking it in the oven? Would that even work? Sounds crazy to me.

 

The baking thing actually does have a fairly good chance of working, and it's actually fairly well documented since you can fix like 360 RRoDs, etc.

I usually elevate the workpiece above a baking tray with a couple balls of aluminum foil (make sure the workpiece is as level as possible) and let it sit for about five to ten minutes at 385F (got those figures online). Make sure the oven is really is fully preheated before you start and let the workpiece cool fully in the oven before removing it.

I think I've fixed about two out of three GPU problems with that (albeit on older Dells) in the past year or so. Sixty-six percent success ain't bad, but of course, do this at your own risk

 

Thanks for the tip, I may give it a try if I get desperate. Here's kind of a noobish question...If I remove my Video Card do the oven thing and it don't work. Would my laptop still work with it removed? I'm guessing it would since it's not working now.

 

It won't work without the GPU. You need a functioning GPU to have a fully functional laptop.

 

What's weird is the white vertical lines only show up in the first 2 screens during start-up. After that all the graphics are just fine

 

I thought you said you couldn't install the graphics driver? What happens when you try to do that?

 

Alright, I tried installing the driver for my 7800GTX and here's what happened.

Basically I get the "Blue Screen of Death" saying:

Driver_Unload_Without_Cancelling_Pending_Operations

It says the problem is associated with the NV4_Mini.Sys file.

I keep getting the blue screen of death until I log in under safe mode and delete the NV4_Mini.sys file.

 

Bake the GPU in the oven, these GPU´s the go 7800GTX is way to overpriced on ebay to buy, considering the performance isn´t anything to talk about anymore.

 

I can't believe how expense they still are. If it was only $50 or even $100, I'd pick up a new one, but $300 on up!!! It's a little rediculous.

 

Hey does anyone know of a descent video card for a reasonable price? I don't need the 7800 Go anymore as I stopped using my computer for gaming. I'll try the bake thing and if it don't work, I'll just order a cheaper GPU.

 

hi, i just discovered the "bake" method recently and decided to try it on my M170. (you can search my old posts about my M170 video dying).
at that time I bought a used 6800ultra off of ebay and it worked for about 3 months before developing the same problem.
well my M170 has been sitting in a closet for over a year now and I just tried the bake:

followed the directions from here.
(I also used arcticlean and arctic silver 5)

results:
- no improvement on the 7800gtx.
+ the 6800ultra works!

I just baked the 6800 tonight and its working fine so far. I haven't stress tested it or anything but so far no problems.
I baked it gpu facing down (for anyone wondering).

do a search online for M170 or E1705. there are ATI cards that will work in your M170.
(ok i just looked and found this:
ATI X300, ATI X600, NVIDIA 6800, NVIDIA 6800 Ultra, and NVIDIA 7800 GTX)
the ATI cards will work and are fairly cheap on ebay.