X1000 Forums

The computer has the blank screen problem that responds to the 6,7,Y treatment.
The solution was to wedge something between the video card and the heat shield.

I found a highly detailed solution with pictures at the above site, but when I went back there a few days later the site was gone :(

Thanks

The solution was basically a precise piece of non-conductive plastic to wedge in there.  Whiteheat was the one who made them and may still have some.  He runs a new forum for his new machine.  You could stop over to the z71 Forums (http://www.z71forums.com/) and send him a private message about it.  He did say at one point that he had some left, but I don't know if he still has them.  In order to put it in, you will need to dismantle the laptop following the directions in the Upgrades forum.  I'll try to help as best I can.

The only REAL solution is to replace the video card.  They're cheap these days at <$100.  laptoptek.com used to have them, and if you can find a seller on eBay with a NEW card, that's an option too.

Just make sure when you get the card to install the Omega Drivers v5.6 (aka v2.6.42) so that you can control the clock speed.  Either manually underclock the card down to 105mhz for both the RAM and GPU, or use the POWERPLAY function to set all modes to "optimize battery life".  This will drastically reduce the heat of the video card, which is what causes it to fail. 

At 105mhz, the card handles desktop applications and full-motion video just fine.  The only noticible degradation would be in intensive 3D environments like 3D modelling and 3D video games.  You could bump up your clock speed temporarily when using those applications.

you might be able to get a Google Cache of the site.  I'm hoping Flashram gives us the archives, too much good info/pics on that site for owners like us.

I posted on the x1000 forum back in january I think. Couldn't find any details on the whiteheat solution so I made my own, except that mine also conducts. Essentially hacksawing the fins off a pentium heatsink I'd got lying around. After filing it down for smooth edges, the heatsink ended up being 2-3 mm thick if I remember correctly, looking just like a flat rectangular plate of metal. Then using the HP service manual as reference, took the laptop apart, removed the sticky rubber pad on the inside of the video card shield (it had half melted anyway), put some thermal paste on the video card, glued the new flat heatsink to the inside of the shield where the pad used to be (being careful not to block any holes) and put them all back together. I also installed the Omega drivers. It's still working fine after 5 or so months. I did happen to break the zero-force insertion clips on the keyboard and touchpad, but it all still works happily.

As discussed in that forum, not sure if the extra pressure applied by the heatsink helped or whether the fact it acted as a heatsink helped. I don't feel the need to experiment to find out. It works and I'm happy for the moment.

hope it helps

Alan

Thanks for the replys, guys.

I just sent the $12 to WhiteHeat for the fix "kit". He says that 80% of the problems are solved by that. Thanks for that kf_man.

deluxe - I just checked out laptoptek.com  and they don't show anything under parts. Before I found the fix article, I spent many hours looking for a replacement part, only finding used stuff on eBay and expensive stuff at HP's site. Any links to cheap replacements would be appreciated.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6876499691

$100 including shipping seem like a very good deal for a 64MB video card. Hopefully the $12 fix from WhiteHeat will do the job. If not I'll look to eBay. Thanks.

some useful information as far as disassembly can be found in my latest post here: http://x1000forums.gotdns.com/index.php/topic,13.0.html (http://x1000forums.gotdns.com/index.php/topic,13.0.html)

As for $100 for a video card that might not even fix the problem... I don't think it's really worth it. Even if it works flawlessly, the old mobility 9200 can't handle most of the stuff coming out today as far as gaming. And if you don't need gaming, an entire laptop replacement can be easily found these days for like <$500. Whatever floats your boat though... some people are just too attached to these X1k's (like me :) )

Hello, i think i've got a quick and easy (but temporary) solution. It's a very rudimentary solution, has we portuguese say: "desenrrasca" ;) (not perfect but works)

I've cuted a small piece of rubber and taped it.
Placed it under the video card GPU.
Taped it to something o avoid it to move around.

What you need:
(http://vmglm.no.sapo.pt/x1000fix/DSC00096.JPG)

The rubber with tape (isolating):
(http://vmglm.no.sapo.pt/x1000fix/DSC00095.JPG)

The final result, notice that i've placed the rubber UNDER the video card... i tryed placing above (between the heatsheld and the video card, but the result was worse) :
(http://vmglm.no.sapo.pt/x1000fix/DSC00094.JPG)

Sorry about my english, its a little bit rusty.

Hope it helps.

Now i can move around my x1000 without getting the black screen...

Once again its a temporaty solution and it doesnt fixes 100% the problem, but it's a lot better.

QuoteAs for $100 for a video card that might not even fix the problem...

I kindda agree - I think that the real problem is that the Thermalpad that is supposed to conduct heat between the gpu and the heatsink melts/goes bad after around two years. This would mean that the gpu will go hotter and the pressure applied by the thermalpad to keep the gpu in place is also lessened.

So perhaps the real solution is to replace the heatsink and thermalpad. This is a way cheaper solution - I saw such a set on Ebay for 5$ - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=6882324202&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

I don't know if it will work, but i think that i'm gonna try it out - for the moment my x1000 will only work with the keybord unmounted or the gpu will grow too hot!

Remember, most of the time the black screen appears, the laptop was just powered on and therefore cold. I really don't think, this problem is heatpad related. Actually the pad doesn't look too bad for me. The newer graphic cards have this red glue (?) around every corner at the gpu. There has to be a reason for this modification, otherwise they wouldn't do that. My new card lies in front of me: though this red material doesn't look like this, it's really of a hard consistency.
-> Maybe it's really a kind of glue.
-> Maybe they had to fix the newer cards, because the chips on the older ones got "loose" after months/years of transport and using the laptop.
-> Maybe the contact between gpu and card module is fixed again (temporarily) after pressing 6,7,Y

Of course there's no evidence for the above theory, but I believe in it :)

PS: is there anybody with a new video card, who got the same problems again?

Quote from: romeon on June 12, 2006, 03:40:21 PM
Remember, most of the time the black screen appears, the laptop was just powered on and therefore cold. .
-> Maybe they had to fix the newer cards, because the chips on the older ones got "loose" after months/years of transport and using the laptop.
-> Maybe the contact between gpu and card module is fixed again (temporarily) after pressing 6,7,Y

I compeletely agree and I have also tested it - when I push the GPU back in it's socket, my laptop will work just fine until the GPU grows hot and warps out of it's socket. Now the thing needed is to keep the processor in place - a new processor is probably fixed properly in the socket, but this worsens with age, so to keep it in place I will try to mount some new thermalpads that I bought off ebay for cheap. They should arrive in a week or so and then I'll retur with a progress update - I'll also take pictures during the install - If it proves successful I'll post them here at this Forum so that others might benefit for this (low cost) solution.

I ended up fixing my Y67 issue by replacing the videocard itself. I just snagged one off Ebay for $90.

Ok so my solution with changing the thermal pad didn't work. In stead I tried out the solution that alanward presents in this thread and it seems to be working - Actually it was'nt too hard - I took about an hours work or so.

I also installed the Omega Drivers, but it seems that I'm unable to underclock it to anymore than 200 mhz. I am using the feature called "overclocking settings" in the "hardware" tab in ATI tray tools - it was the only place i could find, but if there is another way to do it I would like to hear about it.

Cheers

My x1000 video stopped working last night. It happened in minutes. The 67Y trick did nothing. I could bring it back for a little while by slapping my hand on the top of the case. A couple of times when I rebooted it seemed that it was running normally but just not showing video, but other times it seemed locked up - I couldn't turn the wireless led on or off for instance. I want to be sure I have the same problem and not a new one. How have others seen it behave with this condition? Can you tell if it is failing to boot or does it seem to be running normally?. By coincidence I had run an overnight RAM test just a few days ago, so I know those parts are OK.

On rare occasions I had seen the screen go blank and not recover until I had hit a few keys or rebooted but this had always seemed to happen when I had closed the lid and moved the laptop from one place to another. I had always thought it had something to do with the power management SW, and not HW.

After taking it apart and examining the video card carefully, it looks like it is severly warped. If you sight along the two white male mating connectors on the video card itself, you can see the board and connectors are bowed. Also looking at the two white female mating connectors on the MB shows the walls of these are bowed out very slightly. The connectors do not engage very much anyway and all of this bowing/warping is preventing good contact.

I do not think there is any direct failure because of heat - my thermal pad looks fine and my problems never seemed heat related.  I think the heat is warping things for sure, but lack of electrical contact  is why it fails.  Because of this I don't think shimming is going to work because the force required to unbow the board is too much for the HS and screws to hold without bending. My plan is to get a new graphics card and possibly improve the heat dissapation if I can. A copper or aluminum spacer to replace the pad is probably the way to go. I have also managed to unbow the walls of the female connectors by carefully squeezing them together with thumbnails.

All those theories down the drain.
I replaced the video card but it behaves exactly the same. It seems to be locking up on boot - no control of wifi led or speaker led. I tried a linux boot CD which would normally generate lots of disk activity and it behaves the same - seems locked up. I plugged my HD into another machine and I can read the files OK. I didn't try booting though.

Hello tns1,

Where did you buy your card and has your new one this red glue around the corners at the chip?

Thank you.

I got my new card from laptoptek/ebay. It has the red glue and its working now.

I ended up re-using the old thermal pad with some added thermal paste, and just bent the heatsink slightly to insure contact. I was very careful and was confident I did everything correctly, but after re-assembly, my x1000 showed the exact same behavior - no bootup, no video. I took off the keyboard and switch cover so I could be sure the board and video cable connector were seated properly. After wiggling things around I managed to get the initial boot splash screen to show up, but I would get a crash-reboot during the OS boot (XP or Fedora). I then tried memtest86 on a CD and it found a bunch of memory errors. I swapped out memory cards until I could tell that one was definitely bad. This is puzzling since I tested the entire memory just a week ago. It seems very unlikely that I would have a bad video card and a bad memory stick at the same time. 

I have been using the laptop with only one 256MB card for a couple of days and it shows no problems (other than being slower).  I have ordered a single 1GB PC2700 card.  I wonder now if I needed to replace the video card at all. It sure behaved like a video problem, and the card was warped, but it now seems that a flakey memory can cause similar behavior.  I don't mind the extra $100 as long as the problem is fixed.

Thanks for your answer. Maybe your card still was ok, but it would have been only a matter of time. After 2-3 years every card failes.

As an update, I did get the 1GB stick and my x1000 is working fine.

Update - I installed the fix from Whiteheat and everything seemed great. In the BIOS I changed the setting so that the fan would run constantly. Seems like that may be the underlying reason for the warpage. I was all set to reinstall the OS, but the video started going whacky again. I do believe I'm going to need a new video card.

I found the "Omega Drivers" that everyone's talking about, but there were three choices and would like to hear which one is recommended - 1) Radeon Omega Driver 2.6.42,  2) ATi Catalyst v5.6 (with Control Panel) or 3) ATi Catalyst v5.6 (with Catalyst Control Center). I figure that one of these has the preferred adjustment console.

Lastly, any hot leads for a great deal on a new video card. I'll check out the choices that are mentioned in this post.

Thanks!

Beware! Laptoptek doesn't sell new ones, mine was definitely a refurbished card! Maybe they work, maybe they don't. Mine came as DOA - dead on arrival. Laptoptek doesn't care about it, though they claim it on every auction. No mails regarding this will be answered!

Absolutely not recommended - take care!

You are right! The first card I got was obviously a used one. And it doesn't work

Although they replace one for me, but this "new" one just last one day.

So, never buy their cards.

Quote from: romeon on August 25, 2006, 10:57:23 AM
Beware! Laptoptek doesn't sell new ones, mine was definitely a refurbished card! Maybe they work, maybe they don't. Mine came as DOA - dead on arrival. Laptoptek doesn't care about it, though they claim it on every auction. No mails regarding this will be answered!

Absolutely not recommended - take care!

hello,
I've bought a sony SZ330P some time ago and I left the x1000 aside. But today I decided to fix the video problem and I did it successfully.

Basically you have to but a washer in the the video card support A and B.
In the video card Shield C put two washers behind the thermal pad and the shield.

(http://vmglm.no.sapo.pt/fix.jpg)



Put some cooling past like artic silver 7 in the GPU.
Thigh all the screws and you're done.

Has anyone tried this? I'm struggling with my ZT3000 right now. Even with a new 64MB card, I have to press 6-7-y and often more keys around them to boot.

A big question in my head is- what does this extra pressure provide? Or say it another way, what does BIOS looks for but does't get unless these keys are pressed?

Could it be ground quality or certain contacts?

I don't think the boot issue is related to thermal as the chip is cold at startup. Extra pressure at the right place is needed when the chip is cool; but when chip is in operation, hot, and after boot up, such pressure is no longer needed. At least this is my case.

So I'm trying hard to figure out what exactly the extra pressure does. After reading so much (since old X1000 forum days) about video card issues, I don't think the real answer is found (or mentioned) yet.

Anyone?

Ehien

Quote from: vm[pt] on February 20, 2007, 09:55:07 AM
hello,
I've bought a sony SZ330P some time ago and I left the x1000 aside. But today I decided to fix the video problem and I did it successfully.

Basically you have to but a washer in the the video card support A and B.
In the video card Shield C put two washers behind the thermal pad and the shield.

(http://vmglm.no.sapo.pt/fix.jpg)



Put some cooling past like artic silver 7 in the GPU.
Thigh all the screws and you're done.

Well, I had exactly the same problem.
According to the disassembling manual I took out the video card and inserted an extra pad (2mm) between the card and the metal cover.
Did this fix yesterday and so far the notebook just behaves like before the problem.

=> Worked for me, thanx for the instructions.

thomy

1) Has anyone else tried the "washers fix"?

2) Can I simply replace out a 32 MB card with the 64 MB version?

Thanks.

I have tried the washers and the pad with no luck. My card is completely fried and I need a new one.

Yes you can replace a 32mb card with a 64mg card or vise versa.

Same here.  I've tried 2 used ebay 32 MB cards, supposedly tested and working, which weren't.  I even (foolishly) followed one seller's recommendation that I suspect my motherboard, so I picked up a used one, swapped it out with mine and of course found that it was still the video card that was dead.  Now I have two good motherboards, and still need a video card!

The obvious question here is what is the point of diminishing returns with this laptop?  Do I spend another $100 and buy a new 64 MB card, which will most likely also fail in the next two years?  Do I call it a day and sell my X1010 as is along with the extra motherboard, and pick up something like a dv5000?  Thanks again!

My card in my zt3000 never went bad for whatever reason, but due to my needs for a lighter, more powerful laptop I moved to the T60.  My recommendation to most people is that they start to move to other laptops since the zt3000/x1000 laptops have been out of production for almost two years now.

That said, some of them can last forever since my zt3000 is almost three years old and still used pretty extensively by my family, especially my dad.  Hopefully the video card gives out in the next month or so or not at all (I have one month of the three-year warranty left!).

In any event, the decision is up to the user, but the age of the laptop is beginning to shift people away from repair to replacement.  Although I'm sad to see the population die off, I know that it's inevitable.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

I haven't replaced my video card yet. I plan on it.  I've also heard of people having issues with the video cable from the video card to the lcd display going bad and replacing them.  They had positive results.  They tend to run around 30$ on ebay(supposedly new) and would be a last shot attempt if you can't get a refund on your cards.  Worth a shot I believe.

OK, just replaced my bad 32 MB card with a new 64 MB card, and I'm up and running again.  Next, should I stick with the stock ATI drivers or go with the Omega drivers and try to underclock the new card?

You can if you don't need any kind of performance. Under clocking you card will make it slower.  If you play 3-d games, at least return the clock speed to full when you play.  Many people never have problems.  The other solution is to buy a very small fan and place it under the empty spot of the heat sink.  That's what I did and added a thermal sensor and lost 20 degrees.

Quote from: ezgoldin on April 21, 2007, 09:18:53 PM
OK, just replaced my bad 32 MB card with a new 64 MB card, and I'm up and running again.  Next, should I stick with the stock ATI drivers or go with the Omega drivers and try to underclock the new card?

Can you tell me where you get your card?

I'm on the 2nd card from "laptoptek" on eBay and it's still bad. I wonder if this seller just sell bad cards as another poster got a bad one too.

Actually, I got my working card from laptoptek.  It's run perfectly from the instant I installed it.  I even used it to double check the spare MB that I  bought trying to fix my video problems, and made sure that that was in good shape.  I saw that other poster who had trouble with his laptoptek card, but I guess I got a good one.

Which version of the Omega drivers works well?  I just use my laptop for MS Word stuff and web surfing, nothing really video intensive.  If I could cut down on the heat production by underclocking a bit, I think it would be worth a try.

Good for you!

I've bought a 32MB card from a more reputable eBay seller and the card should arrive in a couple days. If the new card works, I'll fight for a full refund from laptoptek. So far this seller refused to do so.

Quote from: ezgoldin on April 27, 2007, 05:31:41 PM
Actually, I got my working card from laptoptek.  It's run perfectly from the instant I installed it.  I even used it to double check the spare MB that I  bought trying to fix my video problems, and made sure that that was in good shape.  I saw that other poster who had trouble with his laptoptek card, but I guess I got a good one.

Which version of the Omega drivers works well?  I just use my laptop for MS Word stuff and web surfing, nothing really video intensive.  If I could cut down on the heat production by underclocking a bit, I think it would be worth a try.

I've actually read this all, and thought it might be a bit off topic, I've got to ask. When you would say "firmly apply pressure to 67y keys", how much do you mean? I've got to apply quite a large amount of pressure to the area, not just those specific keys, to get my x1000 up and running again.

Never so much pressure so that I thought I would damage my keyboard.  Actually, I had better luck getting my X1010 to boot up by pressing down on the plastic trim above the keyboard, just above the 6 and 7 keys.

so i finally got the dreaded video card issue after 4 years of use.  I don't know my clock settings, but I pretty much run my LCD screen at full blast (1900x1280 all the time).  I replace the video card with a used one off ebay for $20.  The issue is still the same with the new used card, which is, you can start up the computer, and if you don't move it or touch anything it works fine . . . for a while, then the screen garbles and sometimes crashes.  I re-flowed the connection to the motherboard and I thought it was working better for a while (without anyone touching it, it went all the way to the screen sleep, but upon light tapping the video card, the screen garbles again, although I few times, it didn't crash and cleared up again).  it seems to work fine for a little while, just as long as it doesn't move or get touched.
I used the computer this morning, transfering some files, so its very frusterating since it appears that everthing is working fine except for one small problem, and I'd hate to call it a day when the laptop is running so close to perfect.

any help?

It has been more than a year since I replaced the video card and RAM stick and I have had zero problems. I stand by my original conclusion that the problem is poor electrical contact due to a warped card/connectors. If you can manage to 'unwarp' the connectors or put enough pressure on the video card to flatten it out, it will probably work again, but the pressure needed to do this may be more than the case and heatsink can apply. Only a new card will be totally flat again, and even then you may need to replace or re-bend (as I did) the sides of the female connectors on the MB to make good contact. If your system still works sometimes, do a thorough memory test before you assume its the video card.

I still have my original card which is visibly warped, but the chips on it are probably fine. If anyone wants it, $20 will save it from the trash.

I recently got a one of these free, appears the user got tired of the video/lockup issue and leaned it against a wall with a "FREE" sign on it.
Story: I spent some time ripping it it apart and discovered the relation to the overheating damage and the video card. (before reading all of this.)
Diagnosis: The airflow in the laptop case is horrible. Long term use causes permanent warping of the carriage, mainboard and video card. (over time ~2 years.)
The problem is not the "power on thermal temperature", but the long term already existing thermal damage that eventually prevents the board to boot.
MAKE SURE YOUR HAVE A GOOD CARD PRIOR TO THIS FIX!
MAKE SURE YOUR HAVE A GOOD CARD PRIOR TO THIS FIX!
MAKE SURE YOUR HAVE A GOOD CARD PRIOR TO THIS FIX!
MAKE SURE YOUR HAVE A GOOD CARD PRIOR TO THIS FIX!
MAKE SURE YOUR HAVE A GOOD CARD PRIOR TO THIS FIX!
MAKE SURE YOUR HAVE A GOOD CARD PRIOR TO THIS FIX!
MAKE SURE YOUR HAVE A GOOD CARD PRIOR TO THIS FIX!

THIS CANNOT BE UNDONE

My Solution was to superglue the 2 sockets that go from the video card to the mainboard. (see service manual.)
Place a light bead of glue on the inside track of the mainboard connectors; be very ACCURATE and HOLD it tight to the mainboard for at least 2 minutes. (your finger will hurt afterwards.)

Keep In mind....
- I had $0.00 into this laptop and just wanted it to work. I didn't care, it was free.
- I got the card to work prior to doing this fix by applying pressure and re seating it first.
- I had 3 full tubes of superglue available.
- I had 3 beers in me and just got sexed up.

SUPERGLUE IS YOUR FRIEND!
DO NOT USE SUPERGLUE DURING SEX!

Hey,

Thanks for all the information from this forum. I also have a compaq x1000 laptop bought on 2003. Same video issuse happened. I tried my own way to fix it. Now it works pretty well.

For some ppl who want to have a try, below is my solution:

I found the problem is the loosen connection between two sockets:
1. socket between video card and mother board; and
2. socket between mother board with external monitor cable.

So, I fixed it by:
1. Put a rubber/glue it between the heat sink and video card, and tighten it by the default screws.
2. Put a clip between the claw of the heat sink and screw to fix the external monitor socket.
Then everything works well as before!

See attached images for instruction.

http://kittyfox.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!7D5BB0479B5170E4!898.entry

My x1000 have the same problem now. It wont boot and blank dispaly
and dead after three secs. But I press f6 and it booted! so it was not the
electric problem but was the machnic problem. I have full confidence to
fix it. I will fix it today and told you the result!.

I bought it in 2003 and heavely used it for 5 years.
I have open the x1000 many times to fix the Dc jack problem.
so it is a easy job for me.

I put something between the Vedio Card and the metal shield.
But the situation was the same. Occationally it boot up
when press F6.

I am using the XP system and found all the devises are working
fine. why it refuse to boot up?

The old laptop doesnt die, it just refuse to work any more ?