P-172s FX Graphics Card Not Working

Hello,

I think my Gateway P-172s FX notebook's 8800m GTS 512mb graphics card has gone out. In Windows 7 it still displays fine but it uses the plain desktop environment with no effects. In the device manager it shows that my card is there but there's a warning sign next to it with a code of 43 saying windows disabled this device. I can't run any games because it says no graphics card or direct x is supported. In windows the screen displays just fine, no artifacts. Also when watching video it gets a little choppy.

I can't even boot into Ubuntu/Linux Mint cause the screen just messes up but the mouse is still moveable.

So far I've uninstalled the graphics card in windows, rebooted, then windows reinstalled the card. I downloaded the newest 8800m nvidia drivers and reinstalled those, and restarted again with no change.

Do you guys think my card is out?

If so is this something I could replace myself? I'm pretty smart with electronics and feel confident doing it if its possible.

Thanks.

 

yes, sounds like 8800m died....
unfortunately there's no separate video card in this laptop so you'll need to change whole motherboard to fix this....

 

Thanks antonpetr.

Do you know if I can get a motherboard for this computer? I've found detailed instructions here on the forums for removing it. Thanks.

 

I've searched on ebay but got no results.... P68* models look pretty much the same though.

 

Hello,

There is no need to buy a new board, in fact in most cases its the worst thing. Your problem will not be fixed the sames issues exist on the new board as well. The only way to fix a video failure is to have it re-balled, with someone who knows what they are doing. The soldered has failed to produce continuity, and while a re-flow could work it is only temporarily. You must fix the problem which is to pull the chip re-ball it with lead solder and place it back on the board with the proper equipment.

I love when people give advice and don't know what they are talking about, people please be informed on what you state or simply say "I don't know". There are only 2 companies in the entire US that do this type of work on laptops, everyone else saying they are doing it are using an inferior process that in most cases yield no successes, or have less than 4 years in business even doing it. With that said, if you want it done right send it to has been doing it longer than anyone else out there and speaks English, the company I work for does this.

Regards,

Don

 

LOL, as a former owner of gateway P6860 model with non working video card I advice things I did myself and nothing that I "don't know"!
Reball is only a temporary fix because gpu chip gets damaged too, not only its solder.
Andrewp2, if you want to get a fully operational laptop you have 2 ways. First and the easiest is to buy a new mobo. And the second is to have a NEW gpu chip soldered into your mobo. Here in Ukraine I did the second thing because the labor is not so expensive. If you sum the price of new chip and labor it might be too expensive, I don't know. But you can save some money and do what "knowing people" suggest you but you gpu may fail in a few months again.....

 

BTW, reball is a good thing if you want to get rid of your laptop. Just when you get it reballed sell it and let him (or her) deal with this pain in the .

 

Thanks for your guy's help.

I tried contacting Gateway to fix my laptop. I purchased this laptop in late 2008 and its barely over 3 years old and they already consider it a legacy system and won't offer any type of repair for me.

Even though I bought this laptop in 2008 it sat new inside its box never used until mid 2010 when I started using it. Two months after starting to use it the screen died and had to be replaced and now the graphics card is out.

Not having good luck with Gateway.