Beware of the HP DV hinge crack problem!

I purchased my HP DV9000 laptop just about a year ago. It gets light use opening and closing because I only use it at home on a desk. About a month ago I started to notice the left hinge corner had a problem, next it didnt close... I did not know that I wasnt alone with this problem until I came across www.laptophingecrack.com. I read through many of the posts and decided what had to be done! The actual problem has nothing to with the heat of the board on the hinge. It is due to the weak tensial strength of the metal used on the arm of the hinge. It can not withstand the force needed to close the laptop cover because it requires alot of torque. Then once the metal on the edge of hinge is cracked it loosens the embedded locking nuts on the cover, you start to see black plastic schards and you cant close laptop at all! This is a poor design! I am a fix- it guy as well as a computer geek, as you will see in my step by step. CHECK OUT www.HINGEFIX.com - The repair took a only a few hours to do and is like new! Forget about waiting for them to fix it and your laptop being out of warranty, FIX IT YOURSELF!

*After 1 week of excessively opening and closing to test this repair, it is working better than new!*

 

I am not sure what HP models have this hinge problem but with a little research you can find out. I have the DV9000 and aside from the hinge I think the laptop is AWESOME! The video card is fast enough to play games like Star Wars BF2. With the vga out I also run it to my TV and play on the big screen. Very Cool... Vista I can do without, so i made it into a dual boot with XP. That wasnt very difficult to do. Finding the drivers was a little bit time consuming but I got it up and running within a day. There is plenty of processor power, memory and storage for doing all kinds of tasks. Id recommend this model to anybody...

 

Ya, well, once you get this hinge problem, you will not be happy.

I had mine fixed under warranty free, but now, a lot of play has developed in the hinge, so the screen wobbles a lot when you move the laptop.

An annoyance, but at least the hinge is fixed. I'm going to try to write to HP to beg for extra service on the "play" I'm now experiencing in the hinge. Although, I don't think the play will lead to the hinge cracking again.

 

this is typical with HPs - as is the inverter going dead, as did mine today on my DV6000t after about 1.5 years of use.

F*ck HP.

 

Hrm. Noticed a small gap in the left corner about half a year ago, and it's definitely starting to crack. So I have the same problem, and I don't have enough cash to get a new laptop anytime soon. Geez. -_-

 

nver heard this before ,I thought HPs are the best built lappies around for years. so it is shocking to me.

 

What does it mean to have the inverter go dead? I've had mine for 1.5 years too... haven't had this issue yet.

 

Inverter going dead means your screen will be dark. The inverter supplies power to the screen's backlight.

 

Yes, my dv9000 also has problems with heat and the hinge broke. Most of the time my laptop is at home on a desk...

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/8444/41731054te2.jpg

It is 58 C when I am browsing.

Never again HP!

 

Have you tried cleaning the vents? You should every once in awhile.

 

Yeah have this problem too posted my own thread about it. I still haven't been called back from a case manager I'll try to call em later.

 

Its not happened with HP only. I saw once this same problem with acer not book and it is not common problem we can say rare problem as i saw in my career..

 

Which laptop can you suggest that does not have problems with overheating? At work I have old Dell Latitiude D610, and I don't have problems...

 

It happened to two of my HP notebooks.

The ones with the orange lids!

Really is dissapointing to see the issue still hasn't been resolved.

Got my two replaced, after a battle with them, and now I'm happy with my HDX9250EA

 

Hello Hingefix. My left hinge also cracked. I'm trying to access your fix but the webpage is not available. Can you perhaps provide an alternate download for the fix, thanx....

Rey

 

This is a 5 month old topic btw...

 

This just happened to me a few days ago, if you are out of warranty it is possible to get it fixed for free, you just have to fight for it a little
http://www.notebookhingecrack.com/2007/11/05/another-hp-dv9000-notebook-hinge-crack-update/
that blog has a bunch of stories about the hinge crack and how to deal with CS.

Here is what I did

 

Yes I know, found it anyway...

 

I have an HP DV 4000 with the same hinge problem. Repaired under warranty 3 years ago. Case cracked again a little more than a year later. First repair wasonly warranted for 90 days. HP tech reptold me I needed to learn to take better care of my laptop and said it would cost $298 to repair it. From what I've read looks like this problem is on nearly all HP models.

 

I have a DV9000 and apart from the screen being a little wobbly due to the hinges having some play (it was like that since i got it), there are no indications that they could crack. Guess i'm just lucky.

 

Well, this isn't something I wanted to hear about as I scroll through the discussion groups. I have an HP G60 that is probably 9 months old. I'm the sole user. Take great care of it. Haven't seen any problems yet. Was planning to buy another HP when their 11.6 inch model comes out to compete with Dell's new Inspiron 11Z. Now, don't know what to do since I usually don't buy an extended warranty anymore since I've not needed anything repaired and read these are petty much a profit maker for companies anyway. Anybody have any thoughts on continuing to buy HP laptops??