Sager 5793 possibly fried, won't start.

Well I bought my 5793 from Xotic little over a year ago and it has ran well and I have taken very good care of it but yesterday it just completely shut off and stopped working. It didn't seem like it was overheating but after I realized it wasn't starting I could smell some kind of burning like smell through the heat sink. Also when the adapter is put into the system it makes a beeping sound and the light on the adapter flashes.

I usually monitor temperatures and I never exceed max and am usually in the mid range when I'm running lots of apps. So im really surprised that it just went out like that. It really sucks.

Whats worse is my parts warranty is 4 months late. I still have the labour but if the motherboard is gone then Im screwed. What can I possibly do now? Any recommendations. I honestly did not expect this from sager and xotic and the 5793. I thought it was a really well build solid system. I don't know how this could happen.

Thank you.

 

Probably your motherboard has short circuited at the part of the power intake. Do you have a multimeter? If so try measuring the pins on the power port while the laptop is running and while it's off....if you get 0ohm you got a short circuit in the laptop.

 

Sorry if I didn't make this clear, but the laptop doesn't run. It will not power up. Also I don't have a multimeter.

What component could generate this kind of burning smell?

 

Guessing your power supply fried your motherboard. In my experience clevo/sager laptops are pretty high end machines, but their power supplies are no better if not worse than some random brand you can get at bestbuy.

 

sorry to hear about the trouble smood.

did you contact XoticPC about this yet?

I recommend you to do that first, since they might be able to give you immediate help.

as for your problem...

how you opened up the system to see what might have been the cause... physically looking for burn or warped areas on the motherboard.

if you never opened it up before to do a cleaning of the vents/fans, I find that condensed dust that gets heated to a certain point and creat such a burning smell as well.

 

I opened it because the tech support told me I could remove the harddrive if I wanted to. It looks pretty clean in there and I can't see any burn marks or warping. There is a burn smell and I can't tell where its coming from. Maybe its some deep component?

Thanks for the helps guys, I was happy to see you replied Gophn. I really feel bad about this because I used to think about how great of a system I have. And now this has shaken all my confidence and I feel like going the way of hp or something basic in the future which sucks.

Xotic told me to try a couple things, like holding the power button with battery out etc.. I'll try some of them tomorrow.

Rorschach if only the powersupply is gone is it possible that the rest of the main board is salvageable? Or is the whole thing too integrated? Or by powersupply are you referring to the external power adapter.

 

I wouldn't be too shaken up because of it... its a shame and unfortunate but pretty much an isolated incident from your description of the problem.

I had a friend that did the same thing with his expensive Toshiba... thats because he used it in an unprotected outlet... which literally shorted his power brick and motherboard power connector.

If you were near me, I would totally check it out for you.

 

I'm saying your powersupply could have fried your motherboard, as in both are now dead.

 

Oh as due to a surge? Well I should add that I have an APC surge protector right now on it protecting that from happening. The APC was also in between my pc and my adapter. Also I get some feeling that the adapter still works because if its not conneted to anything its light comes on.

Its light only beeps and flashes when its connected to the notebook. Don't know what that means.

 

contact the vendor you bought it from.... you might still have a labor warranty if you got it through a number of Sager vendors.

So they can check it out for you.

 

Ya I got it from Xotic PC and I still have my labour warranty. They said that I could send it in and then they would quote me on the cost of repair.

 

I wanted to add something, I think the smell is coming more from the heat sink area rather than the mainboard area. Does this indicate anything? Also this guy has the exact same problem as me in terms of the system shutting off and the adapter beeping if its connected.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5411247

So based on those 2 issues is it possible that the video card is the problem?

 

if the heatsink got loose or the thermal compound dried up, then that could cause the burning smell.

 

Damn it. I guess I pay the price for trying to game on a notebook.

Do any of you think the prices for 5793 motherboards and video card prices will go down in 6 months or so, so that if it needs to be replaced that it will be cheaper later?

I'm torn because I don't to spend 500-1000 bucks to get it repaired but I also don't want to buy a junk laptop for 500-600 and then just leave the rest of my system as a paperweight.

 

some people as selling the working and fully configured M570RU systems for around $600... with videocard and CPU still in it.

seriously though...
- when was the last time you opened your system to do a cleaning?
- have you ever re-applied fresh thermal compound for the CPU and GPU?

 

Well as I said before the system was not very dirty when I looked into it but yes I didn't open it before to clean it. I thought this would void my warranty. I never re-applied fresh compound again I thought this was void warranty and was not that experienced to do that nor did I know I had to do that.

Regarding those people selling whole systems can you direct me to them? Where are they? Thanks.

 

For future references: most custom notebook vendors (like Sager) will NOT void your warranty for opening it for cleaning and such... as long as you do not break anything. Pretty much whatever is shown in the User's Manual would not affect your warranty if you were to follow what is instructed in there.

As for other M570RU's for sale:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Clevo-M570RU-T7...iewItemQQptZLaptops_Nov05?hash=item5ad476689c
http://cgi.ebay.com/Clevo-M570RU-T7...iewItemQQptZLaptops_Nov05?hash=item5ad45cd314
and more on ebay and craigslist.

You have be become comfortable with your system to really be sure that you are taking care of it. So that is why opening it up routinely to do cleanings onces a month or two is so important.

 

Thanks for the advice regarding cleaning.

Wow 150 bucks! Even though it has a 8700, I could put my HDD in it mainly and pretend its my only system LOL. But I think if only my video card is gone I would rather try and get a new 8800M GTX so I have same performance.

Although, I could buy this system and disassemble to get the motherboard out of it if my main board is gone and use his, or get a new 8800M GTX and swap it in his system (but I think theres something to say for using my old system as much as possible in terms of maintaining the components etc.)

Anyways its a crazy deal.

 

you dont know if its your videocard or your motherboard yet.

it could be either if you take them out and re-seat them... which would save you time and money.

 

Well I really hope that is true but the reason I think it is them is because of the burning smell. Wouldn't that signify something burned out? I also notice that most of the smell is from the video card region when I smell it with the covering panel off at the level of the video out.

Is it possible that this burning could be due to something else thats non-critical?

Actually looking at it, it seems like the edge of the inside of the case near the gpu is a bit burn because there is a small mark that looks like it came off the plastic, hard to describe, as if some of the plastic fell onto and made a mark on the copper heat sink. Maybe the burning smell is coming from that plastic?

Also gophn are there any guides that label the components of the 5793 and maybe show disassembly, not that I would necessarily do it but in case I have no choice then it might come in handy, thanks!

Edit: Its ok I found the service manual.

 

very possible... but you have to do some troubleshooting to single things out.

 

Gophn do you know of all the possible causes of the adapter beeping and the light flashing on and off ONLY when its connected to the laptop?

Ie. fried motherboard, short circuit in the power connector.

Thanks.

 

too many things that can cause that actually.

I would have to do a hardware check
- remove all non essential items (everything except the CPU, RAM, and Videocard module) in the notebook to see if the system will post properly
- so remove the HDD, Optical Drive, Wifi card, TV Tuner card, Bluetooth, Turbo Memory. (all here in the User's Manual)
- then turn on the system to see if it POST's up quicker.

If the POST goes well**, then your system is still in working order.
- now securely put in all of your components back into the system.
- turn on the system.
- the post should still be quick, if not, of the the components is faulty or has issues (you must take them out one by one to check)

** If the POST did not go well (after removing all non-essential hardware), then one of the main components have issues... probably due to heating issues (from clogged dust and dry thermal compound).
- simple thing is to take out the memory first (one at a time) to see if the system will start better
- if its not the memory, remove the huge CPU heatsink to check the CPU
- clean out the heatsink's vents and the gunk on the CPU
- re-apply some new thermal compound onto the CPU (its simple to do, cooling guide shows up how)
- then remove the videocard module
- clean out the vents and fan
- then re-apply the thermal compound for the GPU as well

now put everything back together properly and turn it on.

 

Thanks Gophn. Regarding the thermal compound suppose you haven't applied any after the stock compound for over a year. Then you take off the video card heat sink. Would the thermal compound still appear 'wet', how long will this thermal compound stay wet or moist.

 

thermal compound... good ones... should stay moist for a long time (even a few years).

if you take off the heatsink, I would not be surprised if some of the original compound is still moist.... but some parts of it might be dried up by now.

 

Gophn im looking at this ebay system and I'm wondering, is the motherboard that the 8700 goes in the same motherboard I have that the 8800 goes in?

 

it should be able to... as long as the BIOS is up to date.

 

Can I update it if its not up to date before I take it apart? Also is this motherboard older and not as fast?

It seems that it doesn't have the 'extreme edition' on the back that mine does.

 

yes you can update the BIOS.

just email Sager, and they will email you an ISO that you burn on a blank CD.

let the CD autoboot and it will do the BIOS update automatically.

 

Thanks man, sorry about all the questions. I am also trying to get info from xotic directly. Any idea on if the non 'extreme edition' marking on the case means its an older/slower motherboard?

 

The "Extreme Edition" marking on the case indicates an NP5793. Absent that marking it is an NP5792 or below. This marking was indicative of a small redesign in the case (and an update to the motherboard/BIOS) to allow Extreme Edition processors to be overclocked.

You probably want to let Xotic take a look at your notebook to diagnose it. Even if you decide the repair itself is too rich for your blood, they will be able to tell you exactly what has failed in the notebook, which will make it easier to decide what to do moving on.

Being privy to all of our RMAs that go in to Sager, I can echo Gophn that this is most definitely an isolated incident. It may be that the cooling fan on the GPU failed, which would cause it to overheat (thus melting/scorching the case plastic and leaving that burnt smell), or it could be something else, but the NP5793 has been a very solid system for our customers, and the kind of issue you describe is incredibly rare.

 

Smood, don't get a new motherboard until you've taken the video card out and plugged the adapter back in. SHould start right up (although you'll see nothing on the screen since the video card is out).

I just got my vid. card replaced, and my laptop is back in action, 100% functional. Check my thread for the part that I suspected went bad (I also saw a burn mark). It cost $2 and should work just fine.

Please don't go spending a ton of money when this could be a nice $2 fix.

My theory behind this component is that since it converts and sends the DC voltage to the GPU and VRAM, it gets quite hot. It makes contact with a thermal pad and the heatsink cover, but if heat doesn't dissipate quick enough, it overheats and burns up. My thermal pad on the bad card wasn't quite placed right, and I only had my fans on medium after gaming for 4-5 hours. I think the heat just got to it.

 

Incredibly rare? Well damn that makes it suck even harder. The other thing is sending it in will be tough because I will probably ship it from Canada which means using Canadapost I can only insure it for $1000, if it gets lost I'm screwed. Moreover even if I do risk it and just ship it to them whats to stop them of just saying we need to replace the whole main board and video card (even if something is not broken) just to make money off me. All the power is in their hands. I know I have to trust but I don't know I just have a hard time doing it. I really don't want to spend $100's shipping there (and back since I doubt they will ship to Canada) only to find out that they are going to charge me a huge amount of money to replace the parts.

Blaydes nice to hear man! Congrats on getting your system back up and running. I am going to hunt around for a screwdriver and then take out the GPU and see if it starts up. I'll report back here on my progress!

Thanks guys!

 

If it helps, read over Xotic's ratings on resellerratings.com. I know Justin, and I know he's not the type to ever do something like that - if you get a quote saying the mobo needs to be replaced, it's because the mobo needs to be replaced.

Another thing that may help, depending on where you are located, would be hopping the border to ship out, at least. If you're close enough to the border, it might even be worth it to get a box at the nearest Mailboxes, Etc that you can use for the entire RMA process.

 

You really need to do some troubleshooting as gophn has suggested (unless it breaks whateverwarranty you have.) ie: Coudl be a component reseat fxes you, and thats a piece of cake. Burning mells can come from dust accumulation even. Your comment 'smells like its comign from gpu' comes after people dstarted talking about gpu, so it coudl be real, or all in your head .. hard to really say.

But if you can, I'd start popping out bits and putting them back in; might not help, but it might just fix you,too.

Wish you were nearby.. I have an 8600gpu spare; if you know anyone you could swap ghpus and see if yours is broken in _their_ system (not yours, dont' wanna kill their gpu in yours if its shorted up.)

The real problem is you don't know if its just a bad power supply, or a bad power supply and mobo, or just a bad mobo, or just a bad gpu, or any combination thereof. Helps to a spare bits, which are hard to have for most foks.. but if you can narrow in, could save ou lots of time/money.

Otherwise, ship it back to xotic .. they're good fellas.

jeff

Extreme edition is _just_ a puffed out addition to the case panel, to make room for better airflow and the new heatpipe for the 8800gtx. (I havean mp5790, but added the x9000 cpu and the 8800gtx to beef it up a bit, and neded ot ge the new heatpipe to keep temps from going boiling-point. So I bought the heatpipe and extreme edition case panel, and that was it.)


Good luck!

 

Im pretty sure its not the power adapter because the adapter light and everything is fine if I disconnect the power adapter from the system but leave it plugged in to the power in the outlet.

I think its either the GPU or the motherboard. Based on blaydes experience it may very well be the GPU, I will take the GPU out tomorrow when I get a screwdriver set from someone. Then we will know for sure. If that doesn't fix it, it has to be the mainboard.

Also if its the GPU I talked to Sager and they told me that they would send the GPU back to nVidia to try and fix the chips on the board itself like Blaydes was going to do because the 8800M GTX is discontinued and they don't have any. I wonder if Xotic has any kicking around or if they would also send the part to nVidia for repair.

 

Ok I pulled the GPU and it seemed to start working! The power light came on and I could power it up but it wouldn't fully boot up and would shut off itself eventually probably because there was no GPU. What do you guys think now? Should I try to open the metal casing around teh video card and loook for damage on the video card?

 

Definitly check the GPU for damages....visually inspect the circuitry.

 

Any idea how I can open the metal casing around the video card? They are fit together tightly and have no screws but I don't know how to open it.

 

There are some screws in the case hidden by stickers. Then once you get them off you carefully pry the copper casing off. There was a great how to somewhere....I think by Justin from xoticpc. I'll look for it.

 

There are 4 clips in the metal around the edges, just lever them apart using a small screwdriver or something.

 

Here it is...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=204160

 

OK, so there are 6 metal clips on the sides of the casing...

 

I talked to Sager and they said that they can send me a refurb 8800M GTX after I send mine to them for $240. What do you think about this option? They said the new part would be guaranteed for 6 months.

Im concerned the video card fan is not working, since when the video card out the cpu fan spins a few times while booting up but the video card fan doesn't spin at all. Sager guy said this was because the GPU is not connected, you think thats true? Is there any way to make sure the GPU fan is working because I don't want to send in the whole unit, just the gpu and get a new gpu to put in myself. Let me know, thanks!

 

Better deal than they offered me a few months ago...8800m gtx for $600

 

Thats probably cause the one they gave you wasn't refurb, it was probably knew.

 

It was. That's why if you're certain it's the vid card I'd take their deal.