Laptop Graphics Trouble

Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
edited May 2009 in Hardware
I am attempting to repair a laptop for a friend of Mine. Its an Everex, inside of the most poorly made plastic enclosure I have ever encountered.

Anyway, I isolated the problem, the SIS graphics are overheating causing corruption and freeze up. The heatsink that is on that mammoth chip has this bitty rubber ball, so when the cover is on, its supposed to apply enough pressure to the heatsink and chip to generate heat transfer, in other words, if I press on it really hard, it works fine.

I did all the usual stuff, removed the double sided gunk, applied thermal paste in a thin layer, and now, I can't even get the bugger to boot.

Anyone encounter something like this before? Any clever ideas?

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited May 2009
    Did you modify the rubber pressure point? Perhaps too much pressure is applied now. Sounds silly, I know. Once on an Athlon Socket A system I modifed the the CPU heatsink for increased pressure. The computer would not boot, not even POST text, until I relieved the excess downforce on the CPU.
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited May 2009
    Cliff_Forster wrote:
    Anyway, I isolated the problem, the SIS graphics are overheating causing corruption and freeze up...
    ...if I press on it really hard, it works fine.

    This sounds to me like the ole XBox360 issue where the chips actually break their solder from the board from heat and pressure (flex) of the heatsink clips.

    (The fix for those was to remove all fan connectors from the unit and let it run till it shuts down from thermal overload...:rarr: At that point apply extreme pressure to the top of the chips (Very Hot) till they cool. Then remount the heatsink without the clip, using screws... I've fixed a couple using this method)

    With the "Overheating" and "if I press really hard" sounds like the same sort of situation... I don't think the above XBox fix would work... but who knows...

    Just my 2 cents... :)
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