How to: Replace your broken (8600M GT) graphics card (in the [I]FL90)

Hi skibet,
I would really like to test your card to see if it helps my issue. I'm guessing maybe the GPU is shorting out my board.

Dr. Colossos,
I am hoping it's a GPU shortage as I doubt it's the main board and processor. I've replaced my motherboard and still had the same problem. Also, replaced the processor with no luck. If I go down to the bare minimum, can I boot with just processor hard drive and ram? No GPU or monitor? Could it possibly be a monitor issue?

Thank you so much for the help guys I'll try my best to continue finding issues.

 

Without GPU, you will not get anything on the screen (FL90 has only dedicated GPU, nothing on-board) - same goes without screen .

Normally, it would not even boot without GPU, I think. But you could try.

And of course, you can try without GPU and see if it stays on. Then it might indeed be a short on the GPU.

Good luck.

 

s13 boy
how can I send it to you?its free I have make it to spare parts

 

Hmm, what would be the best way to go about doing this?

 

hi, i see only now this thread !! but i've opened another post with a similar request !

maybe i have to merge it here ?

this is the link, please tell me, i don't want crossposting:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/ift00-bios-1-18-replace-8600gt.780174/

thank you.

 

Rather than use that AliExpress listing, I suddenly remembered this link from earlier in the thread:
http://www.laptop-ac-adapter.org/mxm-ii-graphic-card-vg86m06003-ati-hd3650-ddr2-512mb-p-4951.html
I placed the order on July 19, and the following day, the order status suddenly showed as "Delivered." I e-mailed asking how this could be when not only had I not received anything, but tracking info was never made available. A day later, I got a response saying it was out of stock. On July 29, I e-mailed back asking for an update and 2 hours later was told it had been shipped out on July 22. Tracking showed it was mailed from a post office in Beijing on July 25 and delivered to me on August 7. It arrived in a thoroughly smashed box loosely padded with very mangled bubble wrap around a flat bubble wrap bag, without the bracket that goes under the card.
Yesterday I took the laptop apart. I had hoped to bake the 8600M in case something went wrong with the Radeon (this is my main computer) but this was not to be, because the adhesive holding the bracket that goes under the card was pretty melted, making prying the bracket off so difficult that I was unable to do it without destroying at least 4 capacitors. The Radeon is labeled VG.86M06.006 despite the order page, and it has 8 RAM chips, just like the 8600M and in almost the same positions. I reused the 8600M RAM's thermal pads and did the heatsink mod with wire cutters. Booting the computer up reassembled, I found that the headphone jack works but the speakers now don't. I am unsure whether this is an internal cable issue or somehow due to HDMI audio. Querying the card directly lists as its outputs LVDS, VGA, HDMI, and DVI but not S-Video or CVBS and it having 1GB RAM rather than 512MB. VGA works and S-Video does not. I noticed right away that this card is much faster than the 8600M, even with just YouTube (with headphones). It's definitely running much hotter than the 8600M, but I haven't had a chance to get a temperature reading. The CPU is running cooler than it did with the 8600M, not sure why. However, I need the speakers to work, and if this (and the MAJOR need to reduce heat) means I need to get a different card, S-Video would be nice. What are your thoughts?

 

You cannot replace it with a different nVidia card, only ATI.

 

danielg4, for temp readings, use GPU-Z.

Speakers not working: Double check cables, I assume you forgot to properly replug a connector. I never had sound issues after going for an ATI card in the FL90, and I sure repaired 10 different ones, with all sort of cards (ATI 3400, 3450, 3470, 3650, 4570, 4650).

Be sure to have a close look on temps. If they are above 90° under load, I recommend better head paste. mxm upgrade had real great heat pads ... they are out of business, but maybe you can still contact them -> http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/Thermal.html
But first, check temps, then go with good thermal paste, if all does not help, try http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/Thermal.html.
Also, undervolting is an option ...

Nice to hear that it works to far.

Good luck!

 

I used Arctic Silver 5 on the GPU.

I'm running Ubuntu, and I left the laptop running overnight. When I awoke, I found that nothing was running anymore. Apparently, Xorg had crashed at 6am. It was a Radeon lockup for a couple of minutes: http://pastebin.com/zBkRRDb8

Alex Deucher (look him up) said that this card's VBIOS is missing some kind of tables which tell the radeon driver it has a temp sensor. Forcing it to read the sensor it doesn't think is there shows idle temps of 76 to 79.

 

76-79 is too high for idle!

Of course, the reading can always be wrong, and might be different from what GPUZ spits out. But still, I would be very cautious!

Do you have a photo of your heat sink, after putting it on the GPU? Some cards need modification of the heat sink to make proper contact with the GPU core.

Idle temps should be at around 50-60, under load, not above 90.

Good luck!

 

Dear s13 boy
can I get your address so I will send it to you?

 

I did not take any photos prior to reassembling, but the heat sink mod I did with the wire cutters looked sufficient on the GPU.
When the DPMS screensaver takes over, the temp drops to 58.
It was at this lower temp that the lockup I described occurred. On a subsequent night, a similar thing recurred, but the lockup did not last as long, so Xorg didn't completely crash, but the screen looked like funhouse mirrors, and the only way to get it readable again was to hibernate (not suspend) and wake.
Thoughts?

 

Not really, no.

As you are on linux, I doubt you got the card for gaming, so I guess you will be fine.
The laptop of my girlfriend, also an FL90 i repaired, also with a ATI 3650 runs happily since Ubuntu 12.04.

If you ever find a used ATI 3450, get that perhaps, maybe as backup, they are great for 2D stuff. Silent, cool, works.

Cheers

 

Looking at the 8600M again, the GPU is noticeably taller than the one on the Radeon card. This means there must be a gap between the GPU and heat sink, and Arctic Silver 5 is not designed to fill gaps. Looks like I will need to clean it off and insert a thermal pad. You previously linked the old mxm-upgrade page selling Sarcon 100XR-m pads. The smallest quantity of 100XR-m I can find in the USA is 15x100mm, at a matching price. The closest thing I can find in a smaller quantity (13x13mm) is 100XR-e. AS5 claims thermal conductivity of 8.7 to 8.9 W/(mK) without a gap, and there are reports that it can be as little as 0.92 W/(mK), while XR-e claims 11 W/(mK), and XR-m claims 17. I'm currently leaning toward just getting the XR-m and putting it on not only the GPU but the CPU as well, which currently also has AS5, probably with a gap. Do you think this is the wisest course of action?

PS: I found at least one report that a 3450 is also not as tall as the 8600M.

 

Really, no idea. But I think either one will be fine. The 3650 does not produce that much heat, its cooler then the 8600M GT, so I guess you are good as long as there is contact, and the pad is decent, which I assume, most are. I just had great temps with the MXM-upgrade stuff, and wanted to share that experience.

Also, the 3450 does not have a temp sensor, so I cannot even tell you if I had good temps with it.

I modified the heat sink to ensure proper contact in case there was a gap. Then, I always used paste, only for the 4650 I once had, paste let it run too hot, so I went for the MXM upgrade heat pad, which worked great there.

So, in conclusion, try any pad, I am pretty sure it will work out okay for you.

Cheers

 

1. Does anyone know if a 1.67v bios battery would cause problems with immediate shutdown upon boot up splash screen? Thanks guys. I'm waiting on my order of a working used motherboard for my fl90 to see if it fixes my startup issue.

 

Not sure. I know that the Acer 8930G boots automatically if you plug in mains, with the BIOS battery unplugged !?!?!?!

So, yes, maybe ...

 

Hey Dr. Colossos, so I got my new motherboard and that fixed the immediate shutting down issue. I tried the card skibet sent me for free, nVidia 8600gt from an msi gx700, was not compatible. I got a black screen with no back light. I am currently trying to get a ATI 3650. I found one but the item description says the model name is GTX560M. Here is the link,

http://m.aliexpress.com/item-desc/32354588652.html

also, i was thinking of getting a laptop and salvaging the video card. I'm just worried about the chances of me getting a 3650. Here is the link you posted

http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=525...ics-card-in-the-i-fl90.513588/page-46&xtz=420

let me know if you think that aliexpress website has a good card to get. Thank you.

 

aliexpress link does not work for me, currently, but if it say GTX560M, keep your hands off that.

The 6530 looks good, should have an ATI in there ... image shows VGA BIOS, google for that too see if it belongs to 3650. Also, ask seller to send you a picture of the LCD with the laptop on. Even with a cracked screen, you should say something (if not much), because if you dont see anything but black, it could be that the card is faulty, too ...

Cheers

 

So in hopes of getting S-Video working, and since I wanted to put in the thermal pad and reconnect the speakers, I got a
VG.86M06.002 (DDR3) from aliexpress to take the FL90 apart only one more time. The card works, including VGA, still no S-Video, still does not auto-detect the temp sensor, and it now idles even hotter than before, this time with ample thermal padding. I really don't want to take this thing apart yet again now…

PS: Also in my possession is a 3670 pulled from HP. I have not tried this card. Do they not have the VBIOS on them?

 

I doubt you get the 3670 to work, unless you invest much time in reading, and soldering.

Another option: Sell the parts, one by one, and get a new machine. The FL90 as a whole sells used at around 100€ I'd say. In parts, you might get 150€.

Good luck

 

Hmm I have add suport for ati 4650 (ATI Radeon Mobility HD4650 M96 DDR3 1G - romles! - ATI 216-0729042 KSKAE - Codename: M96 from SATELLITE L505-12Q - hynix memory - closer look here - http://allegro.pl/ati-radeon-mobility-hd4650-mxm-ii-1gb-ddr3-i6141775193.html) I have downloaded this bios - http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/bios-20100629135948.zip extract ATI M96 rom file, replace G86 rom (Geforce 8600), in this bios - http://compal.net.pl/download/fl90/fl90misc/compal118.rar
so the final bios look like this: - http://www.filedropper.com/jfl92118

but it's not working. My laptop doesn't start from USB and don't load the bios OR my new graphic card is broken too OR bios is simply wrong. Can somebody with working 4650 1GB DDR3 in compal FL90 or experienced in laptop rebranding, post BIOS here? Thanks.

 

Puhhh, there are so many steps where something could have gone wrong, basically impossible to help you there.

Do you still have the old card (8600M GT). You could try to quick fix it with the "oven trick", and see if you get it working with that again (and the original BIOS).

Maybe something else was broken in the first place ...

 

I think my 8600M died today. The screen shutdown and I don't see anything, however everytime I start the computer it seems to be working.
I tried to connect it to an external monitor but I don't see anything. Is the card dead?

Thanks

 

Yes, 99% sure your gfx card is dead.

With such an "old" laptop, I doubt it's worth it to repair. ATI 3400/3450/3470 is cheapest replacement, check ebay for that. ATI 34XX is not suited for games, just 2D and simple gaming, eg. online games.

Everything else, see post #1 in this thread.

Good luck.

 

Isn't 4570 cheaper apparently?
Is that one better?
Does 4570 need any heat sink modding?

Thanks

Is it possible to decompile or modify the BIOS to get the vbios out another card working?
Otherwise, is there any decent (superior than 8600M) option which is kind of cheap? maybe getting from alibaba or aliexpress which has WIndows 10 drivers (I assume past drivers can be used as well, but that works reasonably well)

Thanks

 

Maybe, didn't check prices for years.

Yes, 4570 is better.

No, should not be needed.

Perhaps, yes, but I have no clue how.

ATI 3650/4570 are on par with 8600M GT ... but this laptop is now 10 years old. So on-par is a real relative term.

Cheerio

 

Hi guys,

New to this site but i already enjoy its content. Let me share with you my story.

I own a Compal FL92 mobo laptop with 8600M 512MB DDR3 and T9500 CPU. I recently opened it up for CPU and GPU re-pasting after 8 years of absolutely impeccable heavy use (gaming etc). I have never had ANY issue with this laptop (bought from pcspecialist in the UK).

I put it back together and apart from the keyboard which i misconnected and therefore was not working, i booted into Windows successfully. The problem i had was 1 damn screw from the back cover (i.e. under the laptop) which did not go all the way in and therefore i could not screw in. It was misaligned with the mobo and couldn't go all the way in. I was frustrated after spending 1 whole day with the whole re-pasting business and i admit i was a bit cruel with the mobo trying to forcefully push the damn screw all the way in (unsuccessfully).

I then open up the laptop, try to take it apart and re-assemble it to align the mobo and all of its holes with the screws. After doing that i tried turning on my laptop but i did not get anything back. No lights, no power, no nothing.

The screw and hence mobo hole i forced is the one next to the CPU (to the left if someone knows the Compal FL90-92 model layout), so i am worrying i did something to the damn mobo or possibly affected either GPU or CPU (as the GPU is right above the mobo hole as well).

At this point, attempting to find the culprit (mobo, CPU, GPU) i am thinking on buying a new graphics card and replacing the 8600M with something more powerful but that could replace it worthily. My gaming is only for strategy 3d games (so not that demanding, though the latest strategy titles e.g. Stellaris or EU 4 are a bit slow and the 3D performance could be better).

Anyway, could someone point me to a model that reliably works well with the Compal FL92 mobo and does not require heatsink or BIOS modding? I would like to buy the best possible graphics card given the above restrictions.

Also if someone knows how to revive my system or if he/she has any tips wrt what might be going on and what to check first in order to get the laptop working again, would be much appreciated.

Thank you all.

 

I would first dis-assemble the laptop, down to mobo, CPU, GPU, RAM, display, power cable (be sure to remove the battery at all times!).

Looks like so:



Connect power, push power button, see if you have a proper boot process ... at least back-light coming one.

If not, I would not invest a cent into the laptop - that's 8 years old.

If you insist, the best fit is an ATI 3650 DDR2 512 MB RAM - no modding etc. required.

More powerful would be the ATI 4650 DDR2 512MB RAM, but might need modding, as heat sink might not fit, and temps are usually higher than you want if you are not inventive.

Good luck!

 

I have replaced the chip of my 8600M GT card with a chip made in 2011. The card is now working again (apparently all +2009 chips don't seem to have this problem anymore)

However I am checking the temperatures with some games. What were your temperatures with the 8600M GT card? Mine seems to go as high as 90ºC in games and benchmarks

new thermal pads were applied to the RAM chips (1mm and 0,5mm) and Arctic MX4 for the NVIDIA chip

Thanks

 

Anyone?

 

Objectively speaking, 90 degrees C is very hot for a graphics card. 80 degrees C or lower would be ideal. Look into possibly under-clocking it to keep the temps down, or checking your paste job.

That said, you're asking about a very old computer, not many left.

Charles

 

Hi

Thanks for your reply.
Since I find it quite high, but normal in some users I have seen on other forums.
I have replaced it 2 weeks ago, since I had the card's chip replaced.
I replaced the thermal pads, they seemed to be 1mm so I replaced them with 1mm Arctic ones.
I also reapplied thermal paste using MX4

Temperatures when gaming are 90ºC, that's the max it gets and around 63-67 on idle when working with the computer.

So I wonder if this is normal for this machine and what other users have. However it will difficult as you said since not many people use this computer anymore, but it's a good one after all.

Thanks

 

It might be normal for the machine, I have tested notebooks with GPU temps that high before. However, the high temperatures are not a good thing as far as the components lasting a long time.

Underclocking the GPU is a possibility to reduce the temps, as I noted.

Charles

 

Hi

Thank you very much.
I actually tried Speedfan and see if I can control the fans from there, but seems they are not controllable (or I am doing something wrong)

As soon as you exit a game, the temperature instantly drops to 75ºC. So this actually makes me wonder if the readings are correct at all.

How could I improve the cooling system here or any other tricks I can try?
I would like to not need to underclock the graphics card at all.

Thanks

 

Some choices for improving the thermal performance:
--Reapply thermal paste (or try a different kind of thermal paste)
--Use a notebook cooling pad
--Increase the fan RPM (not possible with a lot of notebooks)
--Undervolt/underclock the component

What you should try is using GPU-Z to log your GPU's temperatures. Run your game for 20-30 minutes and then stop the logging. You can attach the log here and I'll take a look.
This way we can see if the GPU is throttling back its clocks when it gets to its highest temperature.

Charles

 

@AlbertoCastillo2001 RAM thermal pads may cause poor/uneven contact between heatsink and GPU, resulting in high temps - try removing them.