*** Official Clevo W230SS/Sager NP7338 Owner's Lounge ***

Thank you, but I was hoping to find the service manual. I assume you guys at XOTICPC don't put motherboards in ovens to "reflow" the BGA for GPUs like mine...

 

Yeah, I wasn't quite sure if that was the one you wanted or not, but figured to add it in case it was.

We don't do that here unfortunately.

 

It's ok. I explained what I just told the forum to Sager tech support, noting the laptop's poor reliability and the fact it's a scant 4 months since the repair. Even though it is a month beyond the warranty, he agreed to waive the repair fee and provide a discount on the motherboard cost, if it needs replacing. I wasn't expecting that, so feel much better about Sager now.

 

That's definitely some good news. Hopefully you don't have to go that route, but at least that is a nice offer.

 

I'm glad the resolution has been satisfactory for you, if you need any more technical support you can obviously post here or hit me up on PM

 

I just noticed the GPU is detected in the BIOS. It's not detected in Windows 8.1 Any ideas what is going on? I want to explore every possibility before shipping the laptop off.

 

Open the Device Manager, and under the 'Action' menu bar, click on 'Scan for hardware changes'. The GPU might show up as an 'Unknown Device', and then you can proceed to install drivers.

 

Good suggestion. Nothing showed up - but wouldn't that be amazing? Man I remember the days when laptops just worked like they were designed and the deciding factor in getting a new one was getting something newer/better, not replacing due to malfunction. Does anyone have suggestions on a comparable/better 14"?

Here's BIOS Main screen:

 

Try to flash the Prema Mod again. It might just help. As for comparable 14" laptops, consider the Clevo P640RE or the MSI GS40.

 

If you had the prema mod bios on there, putting it back on and checking that the switchable graphics options have not been changed by mistake is worth a look.

 

I took the laptop out of the shipping box and re-installed the Prema BIOS because you're right - it's worth the hassle to not leave any stone un-turned before all the trouble of shipping to Sager. The dGPU screen showed "not present" which pretty much is the last nail in the coffin for this guy.

Also, I did inquire about possibly returning the laptop for "credit" toward a new one but was told they do not offer that service. I wasn't surprised about that either, but it was worth a shot. So I'll have to go through all this trouble and then the additional trouble of trying to sell it. Horrible! Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

Yep, that's the exact same problem I faced. I woke up one morning, turned on my laptop to find the dGPU missing. Tried everything, and it sounds like a hardware issue. @pat@XOTICPC and @Meaker, is there any way to feedback to Clevo and Sager about this? The prevalence of the W230SS dGPU issue is shocking, to say the least, and we want to ensure that future models don't show up with the same problems.

 

Yeah, seriously. It's costed me hours of research and correspondence, and now $62 in shipping just to get this resolved. We're not even talking about the inconvenience of not having a laptop for the duration, though last time Sager turned it around really fast - I think it took them a couple days to fix it and a couple days to ship it back - all told around 7 days or so. I noticed while shopping around today that XOTIC PC has a 2 year warranty on their computers, which is much better.

 

Did any one notice that the w230sX line is not sold any more and is off clevo's site, any information on why?

 

The W230Sx line has been discontinued since mid-2015 or so.

 

I'm sure they would notice the trends if there are a lot of models with the same failures, whenever someone contacts their tech support about it.

Yes, Sager did start offering 2 year warranty on all of their models within the last month or two here. It was a nice addition to their models.

Pretty much any model with a 4th generation processor in it has been discontinued at this point, since 5th and 6th gen are out now.

 

-

 

Hey guys, I'm facing the same Gpu problem. but mine stopped working working completely. I get only black screen after Turing on the laptop.
I've decided to replace the motherboard. Do you think I can upgrade it to w230sd? now that I should pay for it, It seems like a good option.

 

Try to remove one RAM stick and the CMOS battery (and put them back in) before you replace anything. It might be a messed-up BIOS video OpROM setting.

 

If the IGP is having issues it could point to ram yes, or the CPU could do with re-seating.

 

I already disassembled the whole system, RAM and CPU many times. but no luck.
CPU should be OK, when I remove the CPU, system acts differently. it turns off automatically after a moment, when I put it back, it stays ON forever, with no screen.

 

You could try baking the motherboard if you are out of warranty, that's likely the only thing to have an impact.

 

off hand question, is it possible to upgrade the GPU in a Clevo W230st (im going to assume no), but just wanted verification

 

Unfortunately it isn't upgradable. It wasn't an MXM graphics card, but fixed to the motherboard.

 

That can be a good option, thanks.
For our PCBs , normally I use 200c to 220c for oven reflow soldering. I never tried it on motherboard, so how many degree Celsius is OK for it?

 

It takes about the same, just be careful of course.

 

Hi ,
I have the problem with the cold air outlet when the notebook is slightly tilted to me (CPU TEMP around 98°C but the heatpipe is "Cold" around 39°C) . Is it only a heatpipe-design failure or can a new heatpipe/heatsink solve this problem? Horizontal I can run the cpu full loaded (8 threads ) with prime95 with max 89°C with hot air outlet and a hot heatpipe.

I cann't even play C&C Tiberian Sun (17 years old game ) with tilt notebook without overheating cpu and automaticly emergency shutdown.
The GPU and CPU are repastet .

Maybe people who changed theirs heatpipes already can make a statement

 

They are all that way in this machine, it's a quirk of the cooling system.

 

@Meaker@Sager
Thank you for reply
I'm really disappointed and angry. The cooling system is such a thermo-design failure in my opinion. First, the heatpipe is too long between radiator/cpu and too slim for a 45W TDP CPU. Secondly, the heatpipe is so bent that sinks arises where the liquid get jammed and the heattransfer is blocking when the notebook is slightly tilt. My 10 year old Acer 5920G is much better, because I can play light games and browse in my bed (tilt on my knees) without overheating crash. Its unacceptable that I have to undervolt and undercock the cpu everytime because of some browsing and casual light gaming in my bed.

 

Try tilting it just a little less and angling the screen slightly more or less, it should not be a huge range it stalls over.

 

My battery stopped charging, is any one having similar problems? it's only been a year and a half, I think the MB is bad.

 

There are three options, battery, motherboard or power brick. Can you check the battery health?

 

I had the same problem. it caused by a faulty transistor, I soldered a new one and the problem solved.
it was two years ago, and I cannot find it in my orders history in any websites, I don't know how I purchased it.
I do remember it was on the top edge of the main board.

 

Thanks man, I'll give it a try.

 

Good luck

 

Hey Having a problem with my W230SS cant get anysound out of headphones speakers work great i have the latest drivers installed (win10) but head phones doesn't ome up under the play back devices

I have messed around with the drivers a bit by installing and re installing them but nothing still even rolled them back

 

Headphones will show up in audio devices the same as the internal speakers, have you ever had external speakers/headphones working on 10?

 

So I did something terribly stupid yesterday. By accident I overwrote the BIOS on my W230SS and it's now competely bricked. (Doesn't POST)

Has anyone done anything similar? I wonder if the chip is replaceable or if I need a new motherboard.
I have yet to hear back from metabox (since I'm currently living in Australia, computer was bought in Sweden)

 

You can replace the bios chip yes, or if you have a bios recovery shop they should be able to desoldered the chip, reprogram it and solder it back on.

I got the BIOS chip on my machine mounted into a socket so i could play with it

 

Thanks.
I'm expecting to hear back from the local reseller in Australia (Metabox) to get a price for a new motherboard. It might be the easiest route to go I figure.

 

Welp, getting prepped to go on vacation and went to fire up my W230SS and I'm not getting any display (internal or external HDMI, no VGA to test). The keyboard lights up, the power LED turns on and the HDD light flashes but there is no display and I'm not able to toggle caps/numlock. The fans do spin when it's powered on and the HDD does spin up. No other noise at all (beeps, buzzes etc)

I pulled the battery and held the power button down with no AC for ~30seconds and then fired it up on AC only with no change. I reseated the ram, hdd, msata, and unlocked and relocked the CPU while applying pressure but haven't ripped off the heatpipes/etc to dig into it. Oh, and also removed the bios battery and AC for several minutes. No change

I'm guessing CPU or Mobo (maybe GPU?) based on the lack of POST.

Anyone else have any tips? This was a mid 2014 Xotic PC purchase so I'm guessing I'm probably SOL, hoping I can revive it as it's still quite a decent little machine thats served me very well up to this point. Anyone have any ballpark repair/part replacement costs (edit, US based)?

 

I've just ordered a new motherboard for my W230SS and it's going to cost me a about €275, worst part is a three week wait for it to turn up since they didn't have any in stock. There is a guy in Germany selling w230ss mobos on ebay, if you want to get away cheaper maybe.

 

Sorry to hear that, especially right before vacation.

If you reach out to our support team, give them a model and serial number, they can get you a price on one. Not sure what it is offhand, but they could find it for you.

 

It may need to go back as it could be the CPU or motherboard that has the issue, having a chat with their support team as Pat mentioned is a good idea.

 

This model can pass POST without an internal lcd and still run external VGA, at least. Not sure about hdmi; haven't tested that, but all display-outs run over Haswell, so ... a partial cpu defect is certainly possible.

You might try disconnecting the lcd cable and thereby force external only; only need to remove bottom cover, the lcd connector is right near the bend in the heatpipe:

Spoiler: Clevo W230SS - lcd connector

See, the lcd cable or lcd proper may be shorting and you want to rule out that option before ordering a new motherboard or cpu.

 

Hello Guys,
I'm trying to replace lcd cable for my w230SS.
I just received a cable today, and trying to working on it.
Can anyone help me with me how should I start ?

 

You might be able to get a service guide from where you purchased the computer, or possibly someone here might be able to post one for you. Always worth checking youtube to see if anybody has a tear-down guide as well.

 

It's not described in the service manual (not a regular upgrade/replacement), but it could give you an idea as to how the parts fit together and the number of screws used. YouTube is a good idea. Have also posted a short guide here. Basically, it's sufficient to remove only a few of the palmrest screws, rather than all of them, then lift it a bit at the ' Escape' key corner. The gap will allow you to thread the cable through and, when having the laptop opened and placed on its right side (like a book), it's actually quite a simple process.

Do check the cable first before installing it permanently by connecting directly from lcd to mb connector. Might want to make sure it really is the cable that's defective.

 

Hi Everyone,
quick question , is it worth to change from single ssd to Raid 0 using a second ssd ( first crucial m550, second will be too).
Does it bring any signifacant performance or its just waste of money? purpose of use: Video Editing , nummeric solving .
Thanks

 

Perhaps; use 2x 1TB, mainly to have a single partition, rather than having to move stuff about. Also for some workloads that benefit from it, but these cap out at ~850MB/s after several minutes due to temperature throttle.

If you plan to run extensive, hours-long write operations then make sure to hook up two low-profile micro fans and, optionally, heatsinks to the mSATA ssds. Their small form factor and lack of metal casing means there's no room for the heat to dissipate to. That being said, the stripe setup will actually run cooler overall than the single drive; a 10GB write operation will see each having to process 5GB, while the single ssd has to do all of it. Of course, they'll heat up just as fast (speed per drive being the same), but since they're sooner finished they can cool down earlier as well, making them ready again for non-throttle operation.