Sony comes clean on faulty 8XXX series Nvidia Chips!

Sounds like a typical video card driver crash.
Stepping back likely did fix it.

Try another Nvidia driver. Either newer or older, you may have had a bad one, also, check to see if you have any power regulation that is changing refresh rates, that tends to also crash drivers a lot.

Regardless it sounds like a software issue, not hardware.

 

Leslieann,
Thanks allot i got it as i was installing the wrong driver, but i did the correct one and its fine, yet am still testing it as somehow it hang after short time but still testing..
But how i can check the power regulation?

 

Check:
Windows Power (advanced section)
Sony Control Center power (sometimes this ads more options to the windows power but only if you access it through Sony)
Nvidia control center.

All 3 places can have an effect on the video card and is often the cause as each can fight for control over it.

 

Leslieann, where is that windows power ??

 

I think you miss the point. Maybe you don't understand how Nvidia lables their graphics cards, maybe you don't know the laptop chipsets are always 1yr behind. (so a 8400 is a rehashed desktop card from the 7xxx series before) Or maybe you just dont actually know the difference in frame rate from a really bad intel card vs a decent dedicated graphics card.

I'm not saying it's a "GREAT" card that would hold the test of time, I'm saying it was the "best" ultra mobile option at the time I bought the laptop.

What sucks is that Sony / Nvidia messed up, sony doesn't want to warranty the chips that failed and in turn it makes a useless laptop for me, cause with out the dedicated graphics card, you really can't play any games on it.

When I buy my next laptop all I can say is it won't be a sony, and it won't have an Nvidia chipset.

and if I need graphics / gaming advice, I prob won't look to you Leslieann. I don't want to say you add no value, cause obviously you post a lot on the forums and I have not read any of the post but the ones here, however you have been so off on this, it boggles my mind. n-e-wayz no hard feelings we all have diff opinions, and thats what forums are for is a chance to voice them. and hopefully some of the post will help the next guy/gal.

oh.. and boycott sony.

 

Sony has never had the best service though they make some killer products. I sold my wife's near perfect SZ when the Nvidia fiasco broke since she didn't use it much but wanted to use the dedicated GPU for light gaming when she did. I managed to find a buyer who only cared to use the integrated video so it was all good.

I buy Sony knowing full well that their customer service is troublesome but many of their products are so great value with stellar performance. I just picked up a Z12 and absolutely love it.

 

My point in all of this has been that a crap choice, isn't much of a choice.

I agree it sucks, but it's far from a useless laptop entirely.

If you really need the 8400 to work, there are people in the U.K. who can replace the 8400 with a fixed one and add better cooling for about $300 (USD).

These don't actually have an Nvidia chipset, only the (secondary) gpu.

Considering what you expect from an 8400, maybe you shouldn't take your own advice either.



And yes, I do understand the Nvidia naming game (I have been doing this for many years and not just as a hobby), I'm not exactly sure what your point was with that line. I compared two notebook cards and two desktop cards. It wasn't like I simply compared to the desktop cars.

I don't really post a lot on here except for the one thread in my signature (which is quite involved), the rest is spotty at best. Regardless, post count shouldn't be used to judge a persons skill with anything except how much they post.

 

Sorry I missed this.
Go into control panel, power options, and click "change plan settings" in there you will find a link to advanced. Wish I could get down to actual setting, but I'm running on Ubuntu at the moment.

 

I need some advice about my fz180e which has the problematic nvidia chip.
The laptop is still working, but from the first day I bought it I am feeling bad about this laptop It's damn hot and the bluray drive is giving me lot of trouble. I think its because it gets too hot and this has damaged the bluray drive! anyway It reads only few of my cds and gives always errors when burning cds. I want to know if I can benefit from the extended garantie for this or should I wait for the laptop to give me black screen!?

 

Well, my turn to post about my long expected tragedy.

The 8400M GT in my FZ4000 had its first crash on Wednesday and all crazy things started to show up on screen yesterday. It's been 2.5 years since I bought it, so I guess my luck wasn't too bad. On the other hand, I didn't really play as much game on it so that probably helped a little too.

Called Sony Support last night, the phone actually got picked up by service rep within 30 seconds, which was pleasantly surprising. Spent about 45 minutes trying to set up the extended warranty repair -- somehow FZ4000, I guess being a CTO, did not show up in the unit database, so it took him quite a while to set up the repair correctly. I was somewhat surprised that it's actually going to be an on-site service, but I guess I can't complain.

Hope everything goes well and I can get it back to working condition. Otherwise, gonna be shopping for a laptop with ATI GPU this BF/Xmas season.

 

It probably wouldn't hurt to just give Sony a call and see if you can get the video card replaced. Long term, though, look for a replacement. They are all more or less live on borrowed time.

 

I am having problems with my sony vaio vgnz820g/b

The screen contrast/brightness/brilliance is so great it hurts your eyes.
I have threads on here about it. But I was wondering if the faulty nvidia chips can be the culprit?

Any info on the Z model?

 

Reduce the brightness setting, and this thread is totally unrelated to your question.

 

No, it isn't.

Gary

 

Its not a setting issue.

Not being sarcastic, I just want to know. How is this NOT related? I am having video/display problems. Thats why I asked if NVidia issue was this problem.

Thanks Gary.

 

Please read the first post in this thread again. Your post is called "hijacking a thread".

 

It is not related because the thread is about FAILING chips, not about driver issues which you obviously have. Rajesh is right, you found the first thread about NVIDIA and hijacked the thread to talk about something unrelated to the actual topic of the thread.

Do a search here for NVIDIA and BRIGHTNESS and you will find topics where the discussion DOES pertain to your issue. And you will find suggestions for the solution to your problem as well.

Gary

 

I have also been getting the error.

Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered.

Model is Vaio VPCCW22FX.

Sony replaced the motherboard under warranty due to faulty video chip yesterday.
I just had the error again. What type of resolution should I be pressing for here?

 

The new Nvidia chips don't have this issue. Your issue might be different.

 

Thanks.. By the "new" chips, do you mean the chip in my Model laptop, or the replacement chip? Because Sony insisted on swapping out the video as soon as I told them this error. I gave them all occurrences from the event log.

 

I have a 3.5-year old FZ11S that still has the original (hasn't been replaced under Sony's extended warranty) G86M (8400M GT) GPU.

I've seen the driver recovering from a crash (got exactly the same error as you) a few times when running graphic-intensive applications. However, I've found that the problem only occurs when the GPU is overheating for some reason (e.g. when the room temperature is high).

I've actually been able to replicate this problem by running a certain application and increasing the temperature in the room. Although this error message may indicate a hardware problem, it's not necessarily related to one.

 

If you are seeing this crash because of GPU overheating you are "living on borrowed time". The issue with the Nvidia chips is one of heating and cooling cycles causing the chip to substrate solder joints to crack. The issue is not real the high temps it is the cycling between hot and cold. The bonding material had a different coefficient of expansion than the substrate and expanded and the two parts shrank at a different rates causing the cracks.

My advice to you is to contact Sony and tell them of the GPU driver crashes. This is one of the symptoms that will trigger them to offer a replacement motherboard swap. They are doing them on site now so you don't even have to send the machine back. I'd do it now while you can schedule the downtime rather than waiting until it happens at some inconvenient moment.

Gary

 

I've actually been thinking of contacting Sony for quite some time now. The only problem is that it has been really difficult for me to come up with an "acceptable" downtime schedule (I'm away from home and the FZ is the only available computer. It stays on for a minimum of 15 hours every day and sometimes for the whole week running calculations in the background on my linux installation).

I'm so busy I haven't found time to install Win 7 yet....still running Vista Ultimate 32 bit.. I'm not sure if Sony offers on site mainboard replacement in Europe though...that would make things less complicated for me.

The interesting thing about Jets' post is that he got the "nvidia driver has crashed" error message with a *new* GPU. Unless Sony is installing defective GPUs, this could suggest that the driver crash doesn't necessarily indicate a hardware problem.

 

I just sent my sony vaio vgn fz285u in for the 3rd time to fix the nvidia issue. I have about had it, and I told c.s.r. that I wanted a new unit. Let's see what happens

 

I've actually had this Nvidia problem for almost a year on my SZ680. One day it just stopped working, and ever since then I can only use my laptop in stamina mode. :-(

I've heard (and even read in this thread) that quite a few SZ owners have been affected by this - so it's so frustrating that this model wasn't included in the recall - and Sony treats me like a one-off case whenever I contact them. But then again, I guess this issue is old news now, LOL. Oh well.

 

Sony gave me a refurbished vpcf12thx to replace the vgnfz285u. Hopefully no more issues.

 

HI,

I Own A Sony Vaio FZ-440E with Nvidia 8400M GT GPU .
Since yesterday , i've been expiriencing Distorted video and scrambled screed and windows reported that Nvidia 8400m GT has stopped working .
I Think that finally my GPU has failed , and I've read the announcement according to which sony is providing free of charge replacement for the affected machines .
Fortunately , my vaio is in the list of applicable models .

But there are some problems :

1. I'm currently outside USA ( In India ) and I purchased it from the US .
2. I do not have any proof of purchase , since my brother purchased it for me .

So i went to a local service center in India and they told that they can't do anything without proof of purchase .
They gave me an option of paying 25000 Rs. for replacing the entire motherboard

So , the replacement that Sony provides in the US , do they demand to see the proof of purchase ?

Please Help me stating any possible solution for my scenario ....

Reply

 

They didn't ask for proof of purchase for my repair, even though I have it and I had registered my product.

The extended warranty should be tied to the service tag on that computer and irregardless of how you obtain the computer, as it is an extension of the original manufacturer warranty.

Maybe you want to check with your brother and see if he has saved some information or registered? Every service center is somewhat different so it's hard to say what they would do in India.

 

I finally got my FZN-280E back from warranty.
It is on its 3rd motherboard and 2nd hard drive, hope fully it the issue is solved.
I ran FurMark benchmark. Temps was a stable 69C and posting 4FPS. I ran the bench mark for an hour. So far it holds up and no overheating.

 

Overheating was never the issue with the NVIDIA chip, the issue was heating and cooling cycles and a substrate separation from those cycles.

Gary

 

Anyone seen this bit of news...

NVIDIA Gets Away With Bait-and-Switch - Slashdot

So nice to think you will get a brand new $350 computer to replace your failed $2000 one.

Oh, that's right, they weren't even doing that for some of us.

 

I have had my FZ290 with Nvidia GeForce 8400M GT gpu since Nov. 2007.

It finally failed today!

What stinks is that I am packing and moving from arizona to illinois so I will have to wait until next week to take the time to call them and schedule a repair. From what ive read they "extended" the warranty to three years. Does that mean that its covered for 4 years from purchase, or only 3?

In any case I will contact them soon. Ive had BSODs more frequently in the past few months, i knew about this issue for over a year so I was just watching and waiting and it finally happened.

 

When mine failed I was able to boot in safe mode and uninstall the NVIDIA driver (making sure to use the option to delete the driver files) then I rebooted and used the generic video driver. I was able to "limp" along like that while I waited for the tech to come and swap out the motherboard.

Gary

 

OMG!! My FZ is going on fine still (bought in Aug 2007). I was also getting BSOD's, but stopped getting now.

Your extended warranty should be good until Nov. 2011.

BTW, where will you be in Illinois?

 

i just finally got settled down in illinois and i called sony. an on-site guy is supposed to call me within the next few days to replace the GPU. Are they supposed to also replace the chipset? im just glad this didnt happen several months later.

Gary, thanks for the tip, i will try that to see if i can limp through haha

Rajesh, im over in wheeling. wow u only have a few months left till the warrenty expires

 

They will replace the entire motherboard.

 

I called sony on tuesday may 17th, a sony onsite guy called me on the 18th and he came this morning on the 19th, that was quick service.

it all looks good now.

 

^ That's good. I think that I need to call Sony soon before my extended warranty expires.

 

Gee, hasn't someone been telling you that for a while now? ...big ol' grin...

Gary

 

I realize nobody has posted in here for a couple months, hopefully that doesn't mean the thread is dead. This is all brand new news to me. I have an AR730e/b the began exhibiting a problem with it graphics card a couple months ago. I haven't been able to do anything about it until recently. My searches for a replacement 8400m GT have been useless, now I realize why. The AR series was listed as models that were affected, but I'm curious if any of you have (or have heard of) the higher model ARXXX being affected in the same manner. I've been reading through some of the press releases and I haven't come across an amended list of models. This sheds some new hope for me in terms of possibly getting my graphics card replaced.

 

According to the press release, AR1xx-AR3xx are affected. I would try to call sony, but i doubt that you will have luck with getting a free replacement. Your graphics card may have failed for a different reason.

 

After getting my whole chipset replaced by the onsite technician, i noticed that the idle temps for the GPU have gone up. Before, the gpu idled at 50-55 degrees celsius and would max out at around 65-70. Now it idles at 61-65 degrees and maxes out as high as 80.

I was thinking that maybe this tech was sloppy and may have not reapplied thermal compound during the replacement. Do you think i should crack it open and apply the compound myself or just forget about it?

 

no1uknow,
My Nvidia chip idles at 58-68 C. This depends on the ambient temp too. While running Flash video, the temp goes as high 75 C. The maximum was 78 C. Idling temp of 80 degrees doesn't sound normal. Call Sony. Also the ambient temp matters a lot.

On a side note, the 3 year extended warranty for my 8400M GT expires today and it is still working well. Hope it doesn't fail in the near future.

 

It actually maxes out at 80 when playing a game, it never idles that high. I was concerned because the temps are 10 degrees higher than before, but now im thinking that this might be normal since the fan doesnt kick in at 60.

Rajesh, I hope u get lucky and it doesnt fail. Thats bad that sony wont replace it unless it breaks.

 

Hi guyz, 2 dayz ago my fz11m got screwd with the 8400m gt typical problem, vertical lines and etc.I got "machine malfunction" blue screen mesage on boot and entered in safe mode, uninstall driver and now i can use it but those lines looks awfull.
I'm wonder were can i buy a 8400m gt gpu to change it. i looked over internet and all results was forum posts with 8400m malfunction not even 1 gpu seller.
There is any other gpu compatible to use or i need to buy exacly same model to change it?

 

First, please don't cross post the same question in multiple threads, it is against the forum rules.

Second, you can't replace the 8400. It is soldered directly to the motherboard and unless you have the proper tools for handling surface mount soldering you are out of luck. However depending on when you bought your machine Sony might fix it for you for free. They extended the warranty by an extra three years for this specific problem. Look at the first message in this thread for details.

Gary

 

Sorry for my double post.
I buyed this laptop from a guy and i dont have any papers regarding my warranty or buyed time.In this case do i have to try contact sony or without those papers is usefull?
There is a sony representation in my town..i can try there or...buy another laptop
p.s. sry for my english!

 

Sony will ask for the serial number of the laptop, which can be found in the BIOS/ bottom of the laptop.

 

There are people on Ebay who will repair the 8400, and make it better even.
Just be sure they are replacing it and not just doing a re-heat or melt.

Expect $150-200 for this service.

 

I've payed 400$ for this laptop so another 150-200 better goes to another one.i can recover @ 250$ if i sell it by pieces...so not a good bussiness to repair it

Thx for help me guyz!