Is my laptop video card dead? (8600GS in DV9500)

I booted up this morning and got a bunch of error messages (something about the Nvidia device driver failing) in Windows Vista. After waiting a while, the screen went crazy and the machine rebooted. Now whenever I boot into Windows Vista, I get a red and purple screen and then an immediate reboot. It doesn't seem to be a video card driver issue, because the messed up graphics even show up in the BIOS screens (see below).

Anyone ever had a failed video card on their HP laptop? What did you do? Is this a user replaceable part? I bought the laptop less than 1 year ago from Costco, so it should still be under warranty (if I can find my receipt). If I can't find my receipt, I'll either have to order a new video card or buy a new laptop.

 

Seems like the video card is failing.. but try changing the drivers anyway just to make sure.

To make sure its not the LCD thats screwed up, plug it in an external monitor. If it also shows up in the external monitor then the GPU is definately troubled

 

best bet is the motherboard.

 

Yep. Motherboard. Only because you can't replace the video card. It's not socketed.

Here's the User service manual for your model:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01295898.pdf

From here, you can get the part number for the system board.

 

Do you still have the warranty on it? If not you'll have to shell out the money for a new motherboard, which isn't cheap. The reason I say it is a video card problem, is because the entire monitor is being affected and in a specific pattern. If the monitor was going bad, you wouldn't notice a pattern like that across the entire screen.

So like I stated, if your laptop is still under warranty give them a call and send it in.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I recently tried booting it up, and all the screwy artifacts were gone from the bootup, BIOS and Windows screens. Then I left it on for about 10 minutes and I started getting while running the WEI "stress test" in Control Panel:

"Display driver stopped responding and has recovered -- Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered."

I really don't think it's a display driver issue or anything within Windows, because nothing was updated recently and because the display was messed up on boot and in the BIOS screen.

I'm just going to copy off all my files and take or send it in for repairs.

 

If you want, you can take out your HDD and just send in the laptop so you don't have to go through all the trouble of reinstalling everything, because for the most part HP will reformat and reinstall the base image onto your laptop when you send it in for repair. Just tell the people when you are talking to them to send it in for repair and tell them you are going to remove the HDD before you send it in. If you don't know how to remove it here's how:

1. Turn the laptop off and remove the battery and power cord.

2. If you look at the bottom of your laptop there will be 2 compartments that has a logo that looks like 3 disks stacked on top of eachother. I don't know if you have 2 HDDs or just one in there, if you have 2 then make sure you label which HDD was in which port. Then unscrew the HDDs from their slot and pull them out. It will not void the warranty and I've done it many times. If you still need more info to take the HDD's out here is a link to HP's guide on how to disassemble your laptop:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01295898.pdf

 

Thanks for the info Envision!

The hard drive in bay 1 is a 7200 RPM drive that I bought separately (the other original 160 GB is in my PS3). I will remove both drives and put back in the original 2 GB of RAM (I upgraded to 4 GB along with the new HDD the week after I bought the machine).

I purchased the laptop from Costco, so I'm going to call them to see if they have any information about how I'd handle a support/repair issue. I remember them saying my warranty was extended to 2 years (I'm well within the 1 year time range).

Anyone else ever deal with an HP laptop purchased at Costco?

 

They will most likely point you out to HP to deal with warranty repairs

 

Nice, HP fixed it. Sent me a new motherboard (according to the UUID number).

Since it wasn't related to the hard drives or the OS, I was able to pull out my drives and send it in without them (even though the letter said I shouldn't remove anything).

Thanks HP!

 

wow i have the same exact problem :O
and i bought my notebook from costco too
i finally got my box today to ship it to them
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=251413&page=3

do you by any chance have a dv9543cl?

 

Same problem here, just started today. I have to disable my gpu otherwise it doesn't boot, and it still has a pattern of dots across the screen.

Interesting thing is that I also bought from Costco, custom order.

 

Wow, bought a 9543cl just like one of you said, from u guessed it, good ol costco. This was the first site that shared my problem, guess 4 people that have the same laptop from the same place shows that they had some quality control issues on this mode. I had high gpu temps leading up to the failure, in the range of 90*c max, which made me think i had a problem soon to come. Ive been dumbstruck for a solution (i come from only desktops and i love fixing my own problems) but hearing that its a motherboard/gpu problem allows me to walk away and order a box, ty all. Its also wierd how my problems started about the same exact time, bout the middle of may, thank god it didnt fail a few months after that warranty,

 

yep i just got mine back from warranty 2 days ago
they replaced motherboard+graphics
everything is fine now and now that you mention it, i noticed that it is running much cooler...

 

I just sent my laptop in recently, but I was extremely disturbed by these images from the HP Service Center:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=198900


Was your notebook treated well? And was it sent to the service center in Texas? Any physical damage?

HP is going to have to replace the motherboard and gpu on my laptop, and I hope they really don't mess up.

 

I have a DV9200 EZ345AV which is about 2 months out of warranty. The video card went out and HP said it will need a motherboard replacement at a cost of $398.00. I'm still trying to make a decision on the issue. Anyone think they might send me a new notebook instead of investing the labor in a motherboard swap?

 

No, they will swap the motherboard.

 

I too bought a dv9543cl from Costco and can not get it to turn on. The LED on the side lights up with I connect it to power, but the LEDs on the front do not. I have done everything HP says to do when something like this happens and still nothing.

I heard there is a problem with the motherboards on the dv9543cl and that they are being replaced by HP. Can anyone confirm this?

If I send it to them, should I take out the hard drives before sending?

Bob

 

Bob, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but DV9000's are junk. I know, I bought one, too. You most probably need a new motherboard.

If it will cost you $$, buy another notebook. The DV9000's are disposable junk, in my opinion. I already went though a couple or 3 of them.

 

Just received a box to send my dv9543cl back to HP in the "bay area", wanted to see what they say. I have read on this site that it is advised to remove the hard drives before sending the laptop back to HP for repair.

Is this correct?

Bob

 

If you do not remove the hardrives, they will Image them regardless of how you try to prevent it as in wrapping notes around them and begging that they don't touch the data. I think you have to get permission to not send them in, because they sometimes have to check things when they change the motherboard. If you need the data, don't send the drives.