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    URGENT: m1330 FREEZE black screen small boxes

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by WorkinProgress, Mar 3, 2010.

  1. WorkinProgress

    WorkinProgress Notebook Evangelist

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    Hey guys,
    my 2 year old m1330 no warrenty just 'crashed' two times within 1 hour.
    Both times, there are black screen with small boxes (1 x1 ") of like green and grey colors. No vertical lines.

    What does this mean?

    I just changed hard drives.

    would this be a video card failure, hdd failure?

    Thanks
     
    WorkinProgress, Mar 3, 2010
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  2. WorkinProgress

    WorkinProgress Notebook Evangelist

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    bump

    I just saw the vertical lines....
    What does the extended warrenty for ther gpu do?
    replace my m1330?
     
    WorkinProgress, Mar 3, 2010
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  3. BLiT

    BLiT Notebook Guru

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    Dell should replace your motherboard, which contains your integrated graphics. Ring them up, tell them what happened, and your extended GPU warranty should cover any costs. They'll just send a technician with the new parts to your house and he'll swap them out whenever you decide is best for you.

    Good luck! =P

    --EDIT--
    BTW: Those "green dots" you saw were artifacts, often caused by a faulty, stressed, or overheating graphics processor. The vertical lines you saw are just the cherry on the sundae in supporting your theory of a broken GPU.
     
    BLiT, Mar 3, 2010
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  4. smjohns

    smjohns Notebook Consultant

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    Errr, before ringing dell I would make sure you have the affected graphics card? Is your laptop fitted with the Intel integrated graphics chip or the nVidia 8400M chipset? The later is the only one affected by the heat issue and subject to the extended warranty. To qualify for the extended warranty your laptop needs to be no more than 1year past the supplied warranty. So if you bought the laptop with just 12months cover then it has to be less than 24months. From your initial post it seems your laptop may be past this extension and as such you will either need to buy additional warranty or pay to have the laptop fixed.

    The symptoms you are quoting do not seem to match that of the graphics card failure or HDD failure for that matter. But this does not mean it is not either. Can you provide more information? Will rebooting bring your machine back to life? Do you have the latest BIOS (A15) installed? How are you using the laptop (on your lap / on a desk with plenty of ventilation)? Do you hear the heat sink fan at all?
     
    smjohns, Mar 4, 2010
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  5. WorkinProgress

    WorkinProgress Notebook Evangelist

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    well I have the nvidia card
    I have latest bios since I just installed new os
    I have a notebook cooler - Zalman greatcooler for which I forgot its name

    I can boot it again, but It has the vertical lines again after a while.

    Is there Something I can do?

    I called Dell - they said Nvidia did extend warrenty but I'm already over it by a few months....

    can I attempt to change the gpu or should I just buy a new laptop?
     
    WorkinProgress, Mar 5, 2010
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  6. jcdell1330

    jcdell1330 Newbie

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    your hope is not over.. look at this
    http://www.nvidiadefect.com/

    too bad.. i am not in US/UK region...
     
    jcdell1330, Mar 5, 2010
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  7. smjohns

    smjohns Notebook Consultant

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    There is a thread on here covering the oven fix. It involves removing the motherboard and all plastic attachments and placing in a 200 degree oven for 10mins. This apparently brings the chip back to life. Alternatively head over to ebay and pick yourself up a replacement motherboard and fit it yourself....or try a repair service such as this:

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DELL-XPS-M133...aptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA?hash=item3a577bd962

    or this

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-XPS-M133...localservices_ITwebdev_GL?hash=item25591d81aa

    or new motherboard with free fitting

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-XPS-M133...aptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA?hash=item2a000494c1

    Make sure you fit the copper mod if one of the above do not do this, to help prevent this from occuring again. Also make sure you don't use the laptop on you lap without a proper lapdesk, to ensure vent holes stay open for proper airflow.

    **Please note I have not links with any of the above!!
     
    smjohns, Mar 5, 2010
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