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    FL90 VDU problem

    Discussion in 'Other Manufacturers' started by petrick105, Dec 18, 2009.

  1. petrick105

    petrick105 Newbie

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    Hi all,

    I have a Compal FL90 (2 yrs old). Last week after a normal shutdown the VDU went dead. My laptop powers on and loads windows(I can hear the sound at the welcome screen) but nothing is displayed, not even BIOS info. It seems either my Gfx card or my Motherboard has a problem. I am not able to figure out which one.

    Also I am comfortable in changing the mother board myself but I have no idea where I can buy a new one or even what I should be looking for.

    Any help is appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Petrick
     
    petrick105, Dec 18, 2009
    #1
  2. petrick105

    petrick105 Newbie

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    Here are some more updates I forgot to mention earlier:

    1. I tried connecting the laptop to external screen but that doesn't get any input signal either which means my Laptop screen should be fine too.
    2. I am running Windows 7, have been for quiet some time.
    3. There was no smoke or short circuit noise. It was working fine before restart but VDU didn't power on after startup.

    Thanks.
     
    petrick105, Dec 18, 2009
    #2
  3. maditude

    maditude Notebook Evangelist

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    The video card died. The nVidia 8600 mobile cards are defective, and have been from the start (I've had mine replaced TWICE now). Contact the company that you bought the FL90 from. If they won't repair it, there's a thread here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=299494 that talks about putting a different video card in...
     
    maditude, Dec 18, 2009
    #3
  4. grbac

    grbac Notebook Deity

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    As maditude said seems like your graphic card died. If you don't have input on external screen....
     
    grbac, Dec 19, 2009
    #4
  5. Ayle

    Ayle Trailblazer

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    Get a hd3650 they cost around $100 on ebay.
     
    Ayle, Dec 19, 2009
    #5
  6. petrick105

    petrick105 Newbie

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    Thanks for the quick reply guys.
    I contacted the technical support and the representative told me its probably my motherboard and the repairs will cost me around 500 bucks. I am taking my laptop for a free diagnosis to a nearby computer shop to be certain.
     
    petrick105, Dec 19, 2009
    #6
  7. maditude

    maditude Notebook Evangelist

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    And now you have a VERY GOOD idea of how qualified their tech-support guys are. If the motherboard was bad, do you really think that

    you'd hear windows booting?
     
    maditude, Dec 19, 2009
    #7
  8. grbac

    grbac Notebook Deity

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    They just want to take your money.
     
    grbac, Dec 19, 2009
    #8
  9. splashpants

    splashpants Notebook Consultant

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    LOL wow. 500 eh? Ya tech support does that... I remember when I busted the sound port for my headphones... compal said something like 200 to fix it. So I was able to get another port, ripped my baby open, and soldered one in myself. Total cost (silver solder, sound jack) was about $10 :)

    Good luck with whatever you find :)
     
    splashpants, Dec 20, 2009
    #9
  10. NetworkGuru

    NetworkGuru Notebook Enthusiast

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    The exact same thing just happened to me today. No image on laptop screen or external monitor but I can hear the thing boot into windows. Is there any way of verifying that it's actually the video card that's dead other than replacing it? I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a part that may not necessarily fix my computer.
     
    NetworkGuru, Jan 5, 2010
    #10
  11. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    It is the GPU. It's a known fault.

    But instead of replacing the GPU, just try the "oven trick".

    That should work.
     
    moral hazard, Jan 5, 2010
    #11
  12. NetworkGuru

    NetworkGuru Notebook Enthusiast

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    Can you be a little more specific?

    Do you mean take the video card out of the laptop and bake it in an oven, then replace it?

    Also if I were to buy a new video card, is something like this compatible?
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ATI-Mobility-Ra...emQQptZPCC_Video_TV_Cards?hash=item3efbaf7ccc
     
    NetworkGuru, Jan 5, 2010
    #12
  13. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    moral hazard, Jan 5, 2010
    #13