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    7422GX Video DEAD

    Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by alavena, Dec 13, 2006.

  1. alavena

    alavena Notebook Guru

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    About a month ago, my 7422GX's video went nuts while playing the Sims 2. After a reboot it worked for a few minutes under Windows and then stripes and other signs of video memory fail appeared. On the next reboot, these artifacts were also visible on the BIOS screen.

    I booted an Ubuntu live CD and, weirdly enough, the screen problems disappeared. Like it somehow managed to reset the faulty memory. Then booted back to XP and it worked for the whole month. Of course I didn't dare launching any 3D app.

    A few days ago, the artifacts came back under XP. I booted the Ubuntu CD again and they were gone. So I decided to use my Mandriva partition. I assume the generic video driver for Linux does not access the memory section that's faulty.

    Nevertheless, the artifacts came back. This time under Linux, XP, BIOS screen, everything. The screen is full of stripes that dance to the mouse cursor and won't let me read anything.

    I wonder if anyone has managed to replace the memory chips for this laptop or a similar one. Upon opening, I notice even the GPU is soldered in place. I'm waiting for my next month's vacation to disassemble it entirely and try to get it up again.

    Any suggestions from more experienced people, please?
     
    alavena, Dec 13, 2006
    #1
  2. Zero

    Zero The Random Guy

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    It is very difficult to replace notebook graphics, because either they are soldered to the motherboard, or they are in different shapes and sizes. Less than about 1% or notebooks have upgradeable graphics cards.

    If your graphics are soldered to the baord, then you will have to get a new motherboard. Motherboards for notebooks are very expensive, and most of the time it is better to simply buy a new notebook.
     
    Zero, Dec 13, 2006
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  3. alavena

    alavena Notebook Guru

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    Yes. I'm hoping it can be replaced by a cheap generic chip or perhaps disabled, thus losing gaming capabilities but remaining usable.
     
    alavena, Dec 13, 2006
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  4. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Disabling it will not work, since the GPU is required for the monitor to display anything. It will not POST either with a GPU.

    Any replacement will have to come from Gateway since it is a Gateway proprietary part. Unless it is MXM (which isn't soldered so I know your laptop is not) or similar there are no generic boards you can use. Same for the motherboard.

    How old is the notebook and/or the warranty?
     
    Greg, Dec 13, 2006
    #4