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    Is my laptop screwed?

    Discussion in 'Fujitsu' started by gafffe, Mar 30, 2007.

  1. gafffe

    gafffe Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi,

    I've had the M3438G for about 1.5 years and have been reasonably happy with it and have been treating it carefully. However today I was just browsing and the computer froze and restarted. Since then, I haven't been able to start Windows (it boots up and restarts before loading the logon screen).

    I've linked to some pics of what my screens look like. You'll notice in the second one it has randomly eaten up some of the characters on screen. The third screen shows what comes up instead of the logon screen.

    Obviously the graphics card (GeForce 6800) is at fault, but what is wrong with it, and how can it be fixed, if at all?

    Thanks
     

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    gafffe, Mar 30, 2007
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  2. trooper_gs

    trooper_gs Notebook Consultant

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    migth be the screen try squeezing the screen just a bit, used to work for my old acer :) if that does not work then maybe you need a bios update. can you open xp in safe mode?
     
    trooper_gs, Mar 30, 2007
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  3. gafffe

    gafffe Notebook Enthusiast

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    I don't think it's the actual screen... a broken screen wouldn't prevent me from logging on to Windows, no?

    I can boot in safe mode with networking.

    I'll give the BIOS thing a try...
     
    gafffe, Mar 30, 2007
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  4. wardog21

    wardog21 Notebook Enthusiast

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    that happened to me with my desktop computer, ironically i had a 6800 and yes it is the vid card, it overheated for me and eventually died
     
    wardog21, Mar 30, 2007
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  5. gafffe

    gafffe Notebook Enthusiast

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    Damn. Were you able to do anything about it?

    Re-reading your post I see it was a desktop, so it would be easy to replace. Dunno what to do about the laptop...
     
    gafffe, Mar 30, 2007
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  6. Joe270

    Joe270 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Your Laptop maybe still under warranty through your credit card company.
    Companies such as American Express and Visa double your warranty.
    but not all credit cards qualify for this free program, call the company or bank that issued your credit card to verify

    Links:
    American Express Buyers Assurance Plan => http://tinyurl.com/o6za5
    Visa Warranty Manger Service => http://tinyurl.com/2nr2a4
     
    Joe270, Mar 31, 2007
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  7. Zero

    Zero The Random Guy

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    If it turns out to be a graphics card problem, which it looks to be, then your notebook can be fixed. The M3438G, like many other 17" Fujitsu Siemens, have an MXM graphics card slot, which means that you can change the graphics card with little difficulty.

    If your warranty doesn't come through, then you wll need another M3438G nVidia Go 6800 card, which you may be able to find on ebay or from a member here called Ice-Tea. He runs a shop called mxm-upgrade and also has a website called mxm-upgrade.com, where you may be able to find a compatible card. Replacing it should be similar to replacing a desktop card, except with this notebook you will have to remove the heatsink to get access to the card itself.
     
    Zero, Apr 2, 2007
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