CLEVO D900K screen flickers then hangs

Hi I've had no trouble with the notebook for 3 years until the screen started flickering followed by a machine hang. I assumed it's due to overheating but the fans worked OK, FN-F2 turns on fans to full which did seem to help. Now the machine won't boot at all, you just hear a bit of white noise every couple of seconds as if the graphics card is dead. Anyone had a similar experience? I'm now poised to buy another nvidia card 7800 or 7900 but want to be sure this is cause. Also, it's not easy to find anyone selling these in Europe. BTW The rebrander company 'Savrow'from the UK is long gone, they called the Clevo 'Katana'.

CLEVO D900K (circa 2005) 17' 1920x1200, AMD 64 FX-60, nVidia GeForce GO 7800GTX, 2x100GB.

 

do you have access to the cpu as well as the vga card?

 

Yes, it's accessible, cooling seems OK here as you can definitely hear those fans come on! From a cold boot I get the same problem plus I have a 3 fan notebook cooler on the go..

 

well, what i was going to get at is...try removing the cpu and gpu then inserting them back in place. if your notebook over heated...it's been my experience that the amd chip would go pretty fast. at least it was that way with desktops. you dont hear any beeps? and are the fans running at full speed or are they barely spinning?

 

the fans may "work ok".... but that does not mean that there is no overheating... most gaming notebooks needs to have their vents cleaned out routinely.... which is where the dust hides.

as for your issue, you can contact a Clevo service center near your to see if they can repair or sell you a replacement part:
http://www.clevo.com.tw/en/about/worlds_s.asp

 

Hi Guys, Thanks for the posts. I recently cleared the vents of dust, redid the thermal grease on the cpu and vga in an effort to reduce the noise, maybe I've done something. The notebook hasn't been pushed with gaming recently. It hasn't got very hot idling much of the time as an ubuntu server so I'm surprised if it's an overheating issue. Looks like the service centre is the next step, thanks for the url.

 

by the way, there's no beeps, the screen is blank, the DVD player light comes on along with this small noise every couple of seconds. I notice that the FN keys to toggle fan full power, bluetooth and wireless work but that's it.

 

try plugging in and external monitor....can't hurt...

 

Hi, The problem is a loose connection. Two screw-bolts (or 'stand-offs'?) that connect the VGA module to the motherboard have sheared off. They are located at the short connector end. Anyone recommend attempting to resolder these or is it too risky/not going to work anyway? Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Meanwhile I bought the 7950GTX upgrade from the 7800GTX having it connected without tightening the spring-loaded screws works OK but obviously not a long-term solution. So, I have a perfectly working 7800GTX if anyone is interested? Otherwise it'll go on Ebay!

BTW Thanks Gophn for info on my nearest Clevo service centre (in Germany) - 'Goldenstar Computer' they did a good deal on the 7950GTX.

 

I believe Gophn did a post a month or two past for another user regarding the stand-offs on the video cards for this system; if you can't find that post with a quick search, I'd suggest sending Gophn a pm.

 

Thanks, yes I did see a post on something similar but if stand-offs have come off completely I can't see how paper will solve the problem. Basically I need to screw the module down onto the board somehow.

 

Fair enough; in that case it may be even more imperative that you pm Gophn as he is most likely to be the one with the knowledge base necessary to get your GPUs reset.