need help with zd800 series black screen

Whenever I play a videogame (WoW mostly) or run a directx 3d diagnostic the computer freezes up and I get either of two results: one is a "no signal" message from my monitor (lcd screen that I route my screen on, the laptop screen is disabled) or it recovers a few seconds later with a VPU error. it recovers only about 5% of the time, almost always it's the no signal.
I tried installing new drivers, downloading all possible updates, new directx and no luck.
this does not happen every time by the way, and not always when i start the game. sometimes i get no error for hours, sometimes i get one as soon as the game starts.
the only solution that i can come up with at the moment is a hard reset of the system.
I've talked to HP online professional chat service and they told me something completely... useless... for the lack of the better term. something about some games not being compatible with some operating systems...
and yeah, i can do everything else.. surf the web, play movies, leave the pc on for hours at a time and no errors, doesn't matter if it's just been started up after 24 hours of rest or if it's hot after 3 hours of a movie, the errors are always there.

it's a zd8000 series laptop. ATI Radeon Mobility X600 card, 1 gig ram. about 60% of the hard drive is empty. also I've played the same game for years on it now with no problems.

If anyone has any idea how to fix this or what I can do please help! I've considered upgrading the ram up to 2 gigs, but don't know if that will do anything.

 

Try download HWMonitor and report your GPU's max temperature when gaming.

 

I don't think upgrading to 2 GB of RAM will fix your graphics issue.

Remembering about the days of the zd8000 notebook, it seems that the one I have also has had a problem regardless of new drivers and the latest updates, especially during times when resolutions change. I think what might be happening is that the VPU comes back blank because it is unable to change resolution when it encounters a problem? In my case that is, usually gray artifacting lines begin spreading throughout the screen, forcing me to simply reboot the system. The problem, like your's, never occurs if I do something else.

Rebooting the computer might be your only course of action in cases when a VPU error like this occurs, especially if you've got the latest software and you know it's not heat/connectivity issues.

 

I'll try out the program and post what I get. I play the game with the same resolution as my regular desktop, 1440x900. I tried it in windowed mode, lowest settings, changed the catalyst control settings to lowest and I get nothing. Just keeps happening over and over again.

 

That laptop has no temperatre sensors in it. I'm pretty sure your graphics card is going bad. Hp uses crappy thermal pads on the gpu and chipset in that laptop. The only way to replace a gpu is with expensive motherboard replacement. it would run you about $150-$250 on ebay. If you want to sell it and buy a new one I would be interested by the way.

 

downloaded HWMonitor and I don't get much from it. just the temperatures of the ACPI and the hard drive. ACPI stays between 45-55 and the HD stays around 21-25. centigrade.
i do believe its fried. there's nothing i can do to it as of this moment, and the temperature doesn't matter. i just started it up after 5 hours of being shut down and tried. it failed.
as for selling it tippey.. not sure. how much are you offering? the laptop had most of the best options when i first got it. here's the order sheet for you to browse:
- HP Pavilion zd8000 Customizable NB
- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Media Center Edition
- Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 630 w/HT Technology, 3.0GHz
- FREE Upgrade to 17.0" WXGA+ BrightView 1440x900!!
- 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM, 533MHz (2x512MB)
- 100 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
- LightScribe 8x DVD+/-RW&CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer
- FREE Upgrade to 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) X600
- 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
- FREE Second 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery!!
- Microsoft(R) Works/Money
Tax:$93.60
Shipping:Free
Grand total: $1965.60

i should add. i have no idea where the second battery is, and the first one doesn't hold charge really.

 

Well a fully working zd8000 on ebay only goes for for $400-$500 so i was thinking around $200. Its up to you. The reason i want one is because i recently had to work on one for a freind and i really like it. Im selling all my other laptops so i can buy a car so i want somthing nice yet old to replace it with.

 

thanks for the offer tippey, but I need a computer for school and while this one is not running video games, it still does internet and word processing... and i couldn't afford another one for 200 bucks
but as an update. i reinstalled the original driver for the graphics card from HP.com and it solved the problem a little. Now when i test the direct x 3d it passes with flying colors (before it would die the same as a video game). unfortunately when i try to run a game, it still does the same thing.
the graphics card can't be fried, cause the system still recognizes it.. right?
so i guess my next step will be to find my reinstall cd and use it. if it's a software problem, maybe it will go away. i'll keep yall posted and i still appreciate any help!