Another Compaq Presario V6000 Monitor Problem.

[darmahsd]

Hi,
My first post, so thanks for the welcome, Trotter. I couldn't get in on a closed thread about Compaq Presario V6000 problem, so I'll start a new one.
I have a 2007 model with Windows XP Professional. It's been giving me intermittent monitor problems for awhile until it became continuous where I had to refer to a down loadable manual and take it apart. Not being very computer savvy, my shade tree mechanic skills led me to what I describe as a common sense diagnoses where it turns out I am at least partially right.
Years of opening and closing the monitor lid has caused lines of static/noise. When I reposition the angle of the monitor lid and or do a "Fonnzy" light tap to the back,
it would stop. Finally, after doing that a couple of months, it became continuous and pulsing. My "shade tree" diagnosis says the wires going in through the hinges and up
into the monitor or display inverter were chaffed or worn through from opening and closing, or else why would it work when I would find a different opening angle?
This diagnoses became partially true when I found four severed wires going from the base/keyboard up through the hinges to behind the monitor. This turned out to not be the video problem because they were the red, blue, yellow and black microphone cables. I wouldn't have noticed this because I haven't used the mike, but it led me to believe the other cables, enclosed by sheathing, may be the issue. There is the mentioned microphone cable, antenna cable and display inverter/ cable up in the back of the monitor lid. When pricing them out at HP, the cost of these small parts to replace is ridiculous and not cost effective. I am on a limited budget. The phone rep was trying to sell me a repair or expensive upgrade where it would have been better to wait until I could afford a new lap top. My option now is to find a cheap V6000 on
eBay for the cable parts. I want to get this lap top back together because I have a lot of saved stuff on it and need it to look for employment. I'm typing this now through an old, comatose iMac I have. It has been suggested that it may be the motherboard and not the things I mentioned and that I should plug it into a TV using the "S" cable,
but it is apart now and I'm asking the forum if I am on the right track with pirating cables off a parts lap top or if there is another option I may be overlooking, like the suggested motherboard itself.

Thanks for any suggestions,
Stephen

 

[Joe C]

Are you sure it's not a DV xx series?
I do not know of any DVxx series laptops ( DV9000, DV7000, DV6000...ect) with the nvidia gpu chips in that manufactured time frame that did not have the video fail. HP settled on a class action suit about these laptops, but the time frame to make a claim has already expired. You can do a "reflow" to reseat the gpu. I have done this several times but within a year or so it will get hot again and will need another reflow. I have a DV2000 series that I had to do this with. I also have done a DV7000 series and so far that one is still running, so maybe the DV2000 is just too small and will run hot anyway. I can post you a link on how you can reflow but it takes some skill and you'll have to remove the motherboard. There also some info on line about this expired class action suit with Dell, and HP

 

[darmahsd]

Joe,
The computer says Presario V6000 in the upper right corner, S/N CNF73251WJ, P/N GA395UA#ABA. That would be great if this lap top was part the suit, but I guess they're off the hook if it was my burden to find out. I didn't get any notifications about it and I asked the HP phone rep if there were any recalls. After stepping away for almost 5 minutes, he came back to the phone and didn't mention anything about recalls or class action suits.
Anyway, if you don't think it has anything to do with the cables, why would I get a normal picture when I reposition the lid? If the lines across the screen would re appear, I would just move the lid a little, and the static would go away, for awhile, anyway. I'm open to doing anything where I could get this to run without spending money, so if you got the time to post the link on the reflow, and the expired class action suit, I would be grateful.

Thanks,
Stephen

 

[Joe C]

This suit only involved the intel boards, The DV7000 Hp I fixed just recently has the same CNF serial number, I think that is an AMD board, and even though the AMD boards are excluded, they still had the same problem and no, HP isn't going to tell you or admit the problem exists publicly.
It very well could be a bad cable, you can find these cables faily cheap on flea bay E Bay. I'm not sure how the Admins/Mods feel about ebay so you might want to research that on your own.


here's a link to the nvidia class action suit
The NVIDIA GPU Litigation - Class Notice

Reflow:
Laptop Repair Help » How to fix laptop motherboard with failed NVIDIA graphics chip

I use the heat gun method mostly because I already had a heatgun. The link I posted shows using a penny to melt the chunk of solder on the gpu but I use a quarter instead. You will need to get some thermal paste ( I use Artic MX-3) and a copper shim. I have "lapped" and old penny (use and old penny from the 70's or earlier because new pennies are not all copper) and made a shim that way...seemed to work for me anyway.

Another sign I have seen with these boards is that the ethernet port and sometimes the wireless will stop working before the video goes out
http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service...47626+1305821878627+28353475&threadId=1147659

 

[darmahsd]

Hi Joe,
Thanks a lot for the help. I'm going to look into it, and get a parts computer.

 

[Joe C]

IMHO...
might be better off getting a new laptop, and selling that one for parts

 

[darmahsd]

Might and will be in the cards when my financial situation changes, Joe. Until then, it's just the opposite. I could use a good parts computer, or just the cables from eBay. I haven't seen any. I didn't get as far as the graphics chip and the guy suggesting to apply flux to it really threw me off. If it was soldered in the first place, how would you flux by using your method of protecting it with the foil and heating the chip to melt it back in with the heat gun? You are right in that I probably don't at least have the confidence to do that regardless of my soldering skill.
But I'm pretty sure that's not the problem. I re-assembled the computer to try to plug a remote monitor to it. I suppose that is what the jack is for next to the "S" cable input jack, upper left side. After zippering everything up, I powered it up and got the monitor to work only if I applied pressure to the monitor lid and the friction type hinges with my left hand. If I held it steady, then I could mouse and keyboard with my right hand. Of course this is insane, but if it works like this, it sounds like the sheathed display cable or inverter is compromised. Did you ever hear of this? Anyway, I'll try to get a remote video cable tomorrow and welcome any other comments or suggestions for this until I can buy another laptop.
Thanks,
Stephen

 

[Joe C]

I'd say from what you describe that the the video gpu might be o.k. and it's probably just your cable
you should have a vga port on the laptop and you should be able to plug a standard monitor into it providing it uses a vga cable ( the vga cable is the same cable that you use to connect to the back of a desktop pc)

 

[darmahsd]

Thanks Joe. I don't want to sound helpless, but I took my sons Dell monitor and plugged everything up to the VGA ports.
When nothing happened, Compaq/HP Help center says to press FN+F4. Now there is the F4 button up top, then the plus sign, letter F and letter N. Pressing any combination of these brings no results. What am I missing? By the way, I am typing this on the subject laptop while putting pressure on the upper left of the monitor/lid as I tried to describe in previous post.
Low tech temporary fix, but my left hand is getting tired

 

[darmahsd]

Duh, I found the FN button. External monitor works. Gonna look for a display cable now.