Reviving an old Pavilion: possible?

Hello all,
My Pavilion dv8333ea's ( specs here) GPU died the other day
It was getting old (3.5 years) but I'd never had a problem with it before and aside from the GPU it still works fine (except the screen looks like it may have been programmed by Picasso (random pixels everywhere!)).
If this were any other laptop, I'd just replace it, but there was something special about this one: It had a firewire port with a Texas Instruments chipset (this is the Holy Grail of firewire audio recording). Plus, it genuinely was a good laptop (well, I thought so....).
So, I want to try and fix it.
Do you think it can be done?

 

It can be done. You can get a new motherboard off ebay or HP parts and install it yourself if you feel handy enough.

Here's the service manual for your system in PDF format from HP: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00554540.pdf

It has detailed disassembly instructions and part numbers. You can google the part number for your motherboard for vendors or you can search for it on ebay.

Good luck.

 

Thank you! You've given me great hope! If I get stuck with further questions do you know of any sites/forums that are more specifically for this sort of stuff?

 

You're welcome. Many persons on this site, including myself, have replaced motherboards in notebooks. It's not difficult. Especially with a service manual as your guide. So feel free to post any questions. Someone will come along with an answer.

As for other sites, I know of none that are specific enough for your issue.

Though, since you will have to swap the CPU from your current to your new mobo, you will want to look up the procedure for replacing thermal compound. Lots of illustrated guide websites. Basic rule is a drop the size of a grain of rice on the heatspreader of the CPU, spread out thinly with a razor blade.

Other thing you might want to consider, if a CPU upgrade. Don't know what CPU you have, but if you have the AMD ML-32, you would benefit from an upgrade to ML-40. You can find them on ebay for under $100 I believe.

Cheers.

 

Finished my last exam , so am able to focus on this project now. Did a search for the motherboard (part no. 403790-001) on the HP parts store, but it seems to have come up with nothing.
Then I found this on ebay: HP PAVILION DV8000 / 403790-001 AMD MOTHERBOARD + CPU used. €130
and this on notebookparts.com: HP Pavilion dv8000 Motherboard - 403790-001 which is new, apparently. €315
I think I'm going to go with the old part, because I'm replacing the laptop anyway, so it makes more sense to me to save money for the new laptop. Is this the right call, or is buying an old part a waste of money in the first place?
Just making sure, this will come with the GPU attached, won't it? If it's not to be taken as a given, I always can ask the seller. Also, the CPU I have is the Intel T2300, which seems to be better than both the AMD models, but I suppose it might not hurt to have a replacement just in case my CPU decides to die too.

 

I failed to read your specs initially. That said, you will need the Intel based motherboard. Not the AMD based one. So the part number in the manual, 403790-001 is the AMD and not the Intel motherboard. The motherboard for the Intel based CPU and Nvidia GPU has a Part number 430180-001 which has the Geforce Go 7600 built in.

Also, yes, the GPU is a part of the motherboard. It's integrated into it.

Sorry about the confusion and hope you didn't purchase anything yet.

 

No problem, haven't bought it yet. Is that the only difference in the manual or should I be looking for a different manual? Will post here some more motherboards that I have found later.

 

Searched HP's FTP to see if any other editions were available.

Intel version of the service manual:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00637497.pdf

Doesn't have the latest part numbers but structural and procedural steps are still the same as what you have.

Also, the fastest processor offered with the dv8300 was the T7200 (2ghz, 4Mb cache) CPU. In case you were thinking of upgrading. It's ~25% faster. They would cost about 125 Euros. Don't know if 25% more processing power is justified in the price paid as that might not be an ordinarily noticeable improvement during everyday tasks. But if you do some CPU intensive tasks, like encoding music, then it would probably be worth it.

 

Thanks for that! Found a few motherboards, same dilemma as before (to buy new or used) and I think I'm going to take my chances with a seller refurbished one on ebay, e.g.: Motherboard Intel DV8000 DV8300 DV8200 430180-001
refurbished, about €160 with shipping/customs

But, if you think a refurbished board might be a complete waste of time/money though: Hewlett-Packard System board (motherboard) - 430180-001
new, €290 with shipping/customs

And thanks for the info on the processor, if I can get this motherboard installed I'll definitely look into that as a possible upgrade. I might have to, actually, because at the moment, even with the dedicated GPU disabled and using the integrated graphics, I still get crazy artifacts!

 

Nothing wrong with refurbished. I usually get refurb parts if they are available.

I figured I'd mention the T7200 since when you replace the mobo, you're going to have to swap the CPU from your current mobo, to the new one. If you get it now, you won't have to disassemble the notebook again.

Also. don't forget about the thermal paste for the CPU.

Looks like you're just about all set. Good luck with the replacement mission. Hope everything goes smoothly. Any questions feel free to ask.

 

Hello again,
After numerous delays with Paypal, I finally bought a motherboard from this site and a used Core 2 Duo T7200 from eBay this morning. With any luck, they'll arrive by the end of the week.
R.E. Thermal compound: is there a particular one you'd recommend or is Arctic Silver 5 ok? Found a how-to video on placing it too, looks fairly straightforward.

 

The motherboard seller contacted me to explain that the motherboard I had ordered was damaged in a flood and it was the last one. I got a refund.
Guess it's back to checking eBay every day again...

 

Finally found a motherboard on eBay, should be here within the next few days hopefully! The T7200 has already arrived, and I was thinking of getting more RAM while I'm upgrading stuff. I have 1GB already, and one slot free afaik, and I think up to 2GB is supported. Can I buy any 1GB stick, or does it have to be a specific type?

 

Any will do as long as it matches the type of RAM you have. SO if you have PC2-5300 RAM, you can buy another.

 

Thanks again!

 

Ok, so I installed the new motherboard and CPU, screwed everything back in, put in my hard drive and turned on the laptop. It booted up, Windows XP loaded and I got to the login screen. Looking good so far. I logged in, it brought me to desktop, and then... it froze. Nothing would respond. I left it for a while, then I held down the power button to shut it off.
Tried to turn it on again (twice), all the buttons lit up as usual, the fan started, but the screen stayed off and then it just cut out.
As an experiment, I unplugged the power cable so it was running on battery, tried to turn it on again and the same thing happened but it didn't cut out.

Any ideas what could have happened/what to do now?

 

Take out the 2nd RAM module and try it again. If that doesn't work, take out the 1st RAM module and replace it with the 2nd - but while only using 1 ram module. It could be that it doesn't like the mix of the RAM. IF it works with just the newest RAM module in slot 1, then you would want to get another of the exact same for slot 2.

 

Actually, I decided not to get the new RAM until I was sure the repair job had worked, so I was using the old RAM. Could it be the hard drive? Or do I need to reinstall Windows to work with the new motherboard and CPU or something?
Oh, and for the few seconds that it did work, the original problem I was trying to fix (artifacts on the screen), was gone! So I've fixed one problem, only to get another...

 

With change in CPU, you probably need to reinstall the OS. Also, you probably need to update your BIOS also.

If you can run it in safe mode without any issues, try updating the BIOS from safe mode:

Drivers and BIOS here: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us&submit=Go »

To rule out HDD, you can try a Linux Live CD. You can download and burn Ubuntu onto a CD/DVD.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

 

Big Whoop! Tried to turn it on again just there and I was able to get into the boot menu, so I've changed the boot order to favor a boot CD. I think I'll try your Ubuntu CD method.
I then managed to boot up to the Windows XP login screen again, but I didn't bother trying to log in because I think you're right about needing to re-install XP. How do I go about this? (never done it before )

 

If you have reinstall media (Hp discs, HP restore discs, or XP media) you can use that to install XP. As for drivers, you can find them in the link above.

Also have a look at this link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/mic...-ultimate-windows-xp-installation-cd-dvd.html

 

Managed to run it in safe mode and update the BIOS, but funnily enough, the BIOS version I got on HP's website was 0.24, while the one the motherboard came with was 0.25. I de-updated it anyways and loaded up XP (I don't have any recovery disks so I haven't re-installed it yet).
Something's still not right though. It usually takes me a couple of tries to turn it on, the first one or two times the initial boot screen will come up (says "HP" or actually it says "Compaq" at the moment, I guess the mobo was taken from a Compaq or something), and then it will suddenly shut off. When I did get to XP, I went on to Youtube to test the GPU, and when I clicked on a video everything froze, and I had to manually shut the laptop down. And just there, I tried to turn it on, got as far as the Windows XP loading screen and then a blue screen with a bunch of writing flashed up for a millisecond, then the screen went blank, but the laptop stayed on, so again I had to manually shut it down.
Does this sound to you like a faulty motherboard? I'm starting to think that might be the problem.

 

Could be that, bad RAM or HDD.

 

+1 to 2.0's comment, but then again, please try reinstalling windows or use the ubuntu live cd and test out the whole unit before...

Could it be because the laptop is overheating? Shutting down to prevent damage? I know intel cpu's do throttle down, but again just an idea. try to use coretemp in safemode or realtemp and see your temps.

Another idea but I think is completely false and can't be, but just for the sake of posting, the board can be shorting out? I don't think so as I've only seen this in desktops and not laptops. but hey it's my 2centrs.

 

And for the reinstall media, You can either contact HP and buy it from them for I think about $10 (not sure) and or get a XP cd install using your product OEM key, usally on the bottom of the laptop... if it didn't wear off yet, if it did then you can find out the key from windows using Magical jelly bean found here Keyfinder | Magical Jelly Bean

 

Thanks guys. I'll try the Ubuntu CD next. Just one small problem... the DVD drive isn't slotting back in. There seems to be some sort of obstruction, but of course, I can't see what it is, so I think I'm taking apart the laptop again.

 

Hah, finally managed to get the DVD drive back in and.... now the screen won't turn on. I'm beginning to feel like the most hilariously inept repairman ever On the plus side, the DVD drive seems to be working, so if I do manage to get the screen working (somehow) and run the Ubuntu live CD, what should I be doing in order to test all the components for faults?

 

Basically, you just want to test if it will boot up and not crash. Linux may not be 100% compatible with your notebook. So some things might not work. Play around with it for a while to see if it crashes or not. You may be able to go online if your wifi card is compatible.

 

Check the connections from your LCD screen to your motherboard real quick. Make sure their in nice and snug. If anything try connecting a external monitor to your laptop to see if it actually tries to throw out anything on to the screen.

 

Checked the connections and tried the external tv via a dvi cable, the screen stayed dark but the tv at least seemed to know that there was some sort of pc connection, but it went dark as soon as it accepted the connection too. Don't know what to make of it at this stage.

 

Try cycling through display modes by pressing Fn+f4.

 

Just tried that there, no joy. Is there any way of testing the different parts of the laptop to see which part is broken?

 

Without video, not really. Possible that you got a bad mobo.

One question, when it's one and there is no video, if you try tilting the display to various angles, can you see anything on screen faintly? I ask because it is possible that the backlight failed/broke or is not connected. When that happens sometimes you can faintly see what should be onscreen.

 

Had another look there, there's nothing at all showing up. I have a feeling it's the mobo too. I've ordered another laptop and an ExpressCard firewire adapter, so it's not the end of the world if I haven't fixed this one. I might look at it again in a while, maybe get another motherboard on eBay (I'll have to work up the courage to replace a motherboard again though!). Thanks for everything, I wouldn't have got anywhere near this far without your expert knowledge! And I know what to do now if I decide to open it up again.

 

Sorry it didn't work out. Best wishes going forward.