IFL90 froze when watching video/browsing web (also posted this in sager/clevo forum)

Hello. My IFL90 (about 3.5 years old) died while I was watching a video yesterday. It didn't just freeze. The screen froze entirely and was filled with horizontal lines overlaying the video. It's kind of hard to describe. Also, the sound simply became some annoying noise. After I restarted the computer, the screen wouldn't function at all, but the computer itself was functioning fine. I was thinking that maybe the video card overheated or something. Anyways, after a few hours I tried again and the screen worked, but again the same thing happened when trying to watch a youtube video. It occurred once more when browsing the web.

After this time, when I booted it, I had the option of choosing some windows repair mode. Since then, it seems to be working okay.

Today, it seems to be working much better. I put in an order for a new laptop, but I don't want to buy one unless this is a persisting problem. Does anyone know what might be a causing the issue?

 

Common 8600M GT failure. If it's still under warranty, then get it replaced for free if possible. Otherwise, you could look at this thread. Mobility Radeon HD 3650's are readily available from Ebay, and are fairly cheap as well. I wouldn't get another 8600M, it's just going to fail in a couple of years. If you're lucky you can get a 4650.

Personally, I believe it would just be wasting money on a machine that's old and outdated by today's standards. You're most likely better off just buying a new laptop.

 

I have exactly the same problem with a very similar laptop (3 year old JFL92). The cause is the video card -- it's slowly but surely dying. That said, it's not obvious how long it is going to live. Mine exhibited this behavior last November so I uninstalled Nvidia's drivers and installed Standard VGA (the ones used by Safe Mode). Ever since then, the machine has worked without any problems whatsoever -- the only drawback is that I can't play GPU-dependent games (strangely, Flash games work perfectly and so does video) and Windows Aero doesn't work.

If you're willing to live with those limitations, give it a try -- I suspect the card will live for a while yet as long as it's not stressed. Otherwise, it's time for a new laptop.

 

Thanks guys. I ordered an m11x to replace it. I'll probably switch to the vga drivers and give the computer to a family member.

 

That's awesome. I hope you enjoy it. You'll have an 11" netbook that will be more than double the GPU performance of your old 15".

 

I think this card will work for all of you as 8600m GT on the ifl90
455077-001 Refurb HP 8510w 256MB nVidia Graphics Card - eBay (item 190491660697 end time Feb-15-11 16:29:40 PST)

Unless the 2 cards are different VRAM types.

The 3650 ddr3 is probably better tho, right? We have been working on these cards:
Lot HP 8530W 256MB Laptop Video Cards 502337-001 good - eBay (item 270693352979 end time Feb-14-11 17:38:10 PST)
They work but I think we need to flash the VBIOS to get full performance.

Also there are 2 versions and one of them will NOT work. You can tell by the picture, the above DOES have an eeprom pictured so it will work, its the small chip with a yellowish sticker on it just add a note with the payment saying picture must be exact or you wont accept it.