Need a little advice on my aging D900t

I've started looking for a replacement for my D900t, but I was hoping to get another month or two of use out of it, before I purchase something new. I think I have a failing graphics card or motherboard (neither of which I'm willing to replace), but wanted to hear if anyone had any other opinions or had some advice as to how I might fix the issue I'm currently having.

Basically, if the laptop is shutdown or put to sleep, the screen will not come on once you try to restart or wake it up. I can hear everything else starting up as it should but there is no signal being sent to the lcd. External monitor is also a no go at these times. However, sometimes (1 out of maybe 8 attempts [especially it seems if it has rested for a few hours]) it starts up with no issues and runs flawlessly (there are no artifacts or other indications that something might be wrong). I've had it up and running for 9 days straight without any issues, but that's not really a long-term solution. Would you all agree its either the gfx card or mobo? Could it be a bad RAM module? I don't move it much at all, but I suppose it could be a loose connection? Hoping some people can provide a bit of insight. Thanks very much.

 

it could be a few things.

have you done hardware diagnostics?

first move is the easiest..... remove all non-essential parts and see if it boots up okay.
- remove: Battery, HDDs, Optical Drives, miniPCI cards (Wifi card and TV Tuner card)
.... only leave CPU, one stick of RAM, videocard

if it turns on okay, then its one of those removed components.

if not, then I would recommend to give some attention to the videocard module, which might have been loose over a time period.
- unscrew the videocard module, clean any dust in the vents/fans and re-secure/re-seat it back onto the motherboard

then try to turn it on again.
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if that fails, then do the following
- RAM: get MemTest86+, burn it onto a blank CD, let it autoboot to scan for errors... if any thing is listed in red, then there is a memory error (so try another stick or slot)
- CPU: doubt its the CPU, but if you have a spare LGA775 Pentium 4 or Celeron (that is supported by the Intel 915 chipset), you can test it.
- Videocard: it could be videocard, but if you have one to spare (or known someone with the same notebook) you can try it.


If all tests failed, then it is probably the motherboard.... which goes for around $200-$300.

But if that is the case, a fully loaded mid-range gaming notebook now is around $700-800 that can easily outperform that system.

 

Thanks for the response Gophn. Haven't done all of those hardware diagnostics, but I'll do them later today.

Question: Can you tell me how to get to the miniPCI cards? Or are there any images or diagrams available?

Thanks for the help.

 

under the keyboard... no screws to remove the keyboard.
- here is a good pictorial to remove the keyboard


then underneath that is a metal plate with 5 screws, remove that.

then you will have access to the mini-PCI cards (Wifi and TV Tuner)

 

Actually, it just sounds like old Windows junk to me, matched with an unfriendly driver. I personally have always had sleep issues with my laptops, and sometimes with hibernate too.
The shutdown issue is the scary part. But then again it could be driver related again (rare outside chance I know). my 17" gaming laptop also has similar issues as well, requiring me to do the battery in/battery out power chord dance to get it booting. Then after a driver update all those issues stopped (go figure).
So my advise is to check out your sound and video divers, and also use your Fn key to enable/disable the mousepad and wireless as well. I think it is worth a try

 

Ok so I started by trying to update my drivers (never finished), though then I foolishly re-started last night and couldn't get the screen to turn back on.

This morning before doing anything I removed the battery and 2 RAM modules hit the power button and it started fine. I restarted several times and each time it worked. Put it to sleep, and woke it back up again. Then put it to sleep again and it wouldn't wake up. Restart worked. Sleep didn't. Then the screen wouldn't come on with a restart. Then tested all the RAM modules and slots. Didn't work. Then I started to remove components successively. Removed the mini-PCI cards. Didn't work. Optical drive and HDD's were the same result. Only thing I haven't done is reseat the Gfx card, as I'm not sure how to do it Are there any diagrams available?

The only thing I'm able to diagnose is that the screen is more likely to work after the computer has completely cooled down after having rested for a couple hours (then again this may be a coincidence).

Like I said in my initial post, I'm not going to replace a motherboard or Gfx card on this machine as its just not worth it (motherboard has already been replaced once). I talked to a local repair shop and they said they would try and diagnose the problem for a flat fee of $50, and am wondering if this would be worth the money in case I missed something. Any opinions on that? If not, then I'd like to just try reseating the gfx card. If that doesn't work, then I'll be looking forward to getting my hands on a new machine.

Thanks again for the help and any further advice.

 

The service manual for your machine is linked in my sig, that will show you how to reseat the gfx card.

 

here is a quick guide on how to reseat your videocard

 

Thanks guys. Taken apart now. Think I'll get some new thermal paste on it tomorrow and see if that has any effect. Not holding my breath at this point.