HP Envy 15t-1100 CTO (In need of Repair) - Please HELP

Hi,

Since purchased of this laptop over 2 years ago, it been running rock solid until last month. It started to soft reboot for no apparent reason, stuck in soft reboot cycles for a few times and forced itself to hard reboot back into Windows. Cycle continues....

What I mean by soft reboot. While using Windows, the screen goes blank and system reboot. The power button blinks, but screen still blank. It blinks for a few times, system turns off, system turn back on and light blinks again..it cycle like that a few times. After 5 times or so, it does a hard reboot where everything turns off. When boot back up, the GPU fan goes in full throttle for a second and tries to boot. It successfully boot into Windows, the minute I log on, it happens again.

I am on the latest version of BIOS and latest version of ATI drivers.

My configuration:
HP Envy 15t-1100 CTO
8GB RAM (2x4GB)
SSD + HDD configuration 1.8" drives

So I open it, took out the memory, and use one by one to see if either one of it is bad. Same issue. Remove the headsink and re-seat it and GPU with new thermal grease, same issue.

Been at this for a whole month trying to figure out what is wrong with it. Reinstall windows, update BIOS, remove CMOS battery for hard reset, all result same.

Format primary drive (SSD) and tried to install windows, same issue

So the only thing left, is the motherboard.....Looking for suggestion...

1) Has anyone experienced similar issue and how did they resolve it?

2) If I do replace the motherboard, I wonder can I use one of 1200 or 1300 series or I have to stick with 1100 series?

3) Any tried to replace the motherboard can give some insight and recommendation?

 

By the way, I think the board is 580125-001. Anyone bought it from a reliable source? HP cost 600. Might as well put in another 500 and get the new envy 15 from Costco. A aha


sent from my 4G Xoom via Taptalk

 

The GPU solder joints have most likely failed. This is very common and caused in part by manufacturers being forced to use lead free solders.

Your only options are to either have someone reball/reflow the GPU or buy a new motherboard. The cost of professional reflow work can come close to the cost of just buying a new mobo though.

Beware having a local "PC guy" fix the problem. He will most likey just try and reheat the bad joints without reballing, which will eventually lead to the same problem and you will be out whatever you paid the person.

Here is a used/tested motherboard for sale on Aliexpress for $175....

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/405...l-CPU-MotherBoard-580125-001-tested-good.html

 

I figured. How reliable is AliExpress. I saw their prices, pretty good.

I wonder if I can get the USB 3.0 activated on the i5 I have.

 

I haven't order the board yet, but how can I tell it is a GPU issue by looking at the board?

 

It's not something that can be visually inspected, at least not without expensive x-ray equiptment.

Real-time x-ray 3D inspection of bga ic and pcb - part 1 - YouTube

 

Though, you could buy it from HP parts store. You would get a 90 day warranty. Plus, if you purchase it under the defective core policy, it would cost you $447. The defective core policy means that you will send the defective board back within 30 days using the prepaid label they send you along with the board.

HP Part Store: HP Parts Store - HP Computer Parts - HP Printer Parts - Compaq Parts

Getting parts from a vendor off aliexpress carries some risk. I don't know if you are willing to bear that risk so I gave you an alternative, albeit a more expensive one.


Also if you Google the part number of the motherboard, you will find a whole host of other vendors. You may even find an eBay vendor at a comparable price to the vendor(s) on aliexpress.

 

Hello Smilepak, Sounds like we have nearly identicle computers with nearly identicle problems and purchased at simular times. I too purchased my Envy 15t-1100 CTO about 2 years ago (08Jan2010) and it ran flawlessly until just a few months ago. Now, randomly, the screen will simply go blank, it may or may not try to restart itself, the power light stays on continously (does not flash like yours), and I typicaly must hold the power switch down and force a power off so that I can re-start. I too have done a complete windows re-install and set the computer to factory conditions, but like you, this has not stopped the intermittant failures. Since I have now seen failures even while I was in the HP Trouble shooting software which can be run before you ever get into the Windows operating system, I'm now leaning towards my problem being hardware and not software; h8isgr8 may be right in that our problems may be due to the new lead-free solder being used throughout the electronics industry for the last few years. Heres a link to an interresting article on the subject:

Lead-free solder: A train wreck in the making - Military & Aerospace Electronics

I would love to hear from h8isgr8 to learn if he/she has seen any "tin whisker" related failures on boards.

I have some friends in the electronics industry and I will reach out to them to see if they will reflow my GPU on the Mother board to see if that fixes my problem. I will post my results here, but this may take a few weeks.

Have you made a decision on what to do with your Envy problem? Any results yet?

 

Did either of you try fresh install of windows (not using factory settings restore, but from disc or windows installer download)?

 

I purchased the Windows Recovery Install CDs from HP (as it's not shipped with the Envy) but could not get my machine to perform the install from the external drive. Finally I successfully used the windows installer download. Saddly, this has not fixed my problems.

I'm fairly convinced that it's a hardware issue since I've now had crashes while inside the BIOS setup screens and the HP troubleshoot/repair utility.

Last night, after running the HP Tune-up utility, the CPU side (left side) of the laptop got VERY hot....I shut it down and have not yet turned it back on...who knows if it will re-start or not.

 

In the event that anyone is still reading these posts or someone else has a similare problem, here's what I've found so far...

Despite what all the RAM checks and memory checks have been telling me that there were no problems with the 16GB of installed memory, after I pulled all the 4GB memory sticks out and replaced them with the original 3 sticks of 2GB (6GB total), the Envy began working much better, with no more crashes. I still have an overheating problem, where the System Fans never spin up faster than "ideal" speed resulting in the CPU core temps rising to 90+C, but at least the blue screens and repeated crashes are gone.

Turns out that one of the two 4GB sticks nearest the CPU went bad and was randomly failing. I have to wonder if the CPU overheating may have caused the stick to fail.

I've recently shipped the Envy back to HP to repair/fix the overheating issue,...I'm very interrested to learn what the cause is.

 

HP replaced the motherboard and fans in my Envy15t in just two days time; it took less than one week from the time I shipped my Envy to the day I got it back in perfect working condition. The heating issue is gone. My Envy was out of warrenty and HP still fixed it for just under $300, which included all shipping via FedEx next day service. Now thats what I call great service!!!