Let’s say you were fixing a laptop yourself and accidentally damaged the touchpad connector or any other similar connector. The problem is the touchpad connector soldered to the motherboard and it’s impossible to replace it with regular soldering tools. Also, these connectors are not sold separately which makes the replacement even more impossible.

Let’s try to repair it. We’ll do it using the same technique as for fixing the keyboard connector.

On the following picture you see a typical touchpad connector. The connector has а white base (permanently attached to the motherboard) and locking tab (moving part).

In order to unlock the connector you lift up the left side of the locking tab. The locking tap opens up at a 90 degree angle and releases the touchpad cable. After that you pull the cable from the connector.

On the following picture you see the damaged connector. I wasn’t careful enough and separated the locking tab from the base.

Unfortunately there is no way to attached broken tab back.

Here’s how I fixed it.

Insert the touchpad cable back into the connector. The touchpad cable has contacts on the bottom side – the side which is facing the motherboard.

In order to work properly the cable contacts have to touch contacts inside the connector but it’s not happening when the locking tab is missing.

Find a small piece of plastic. It has to fit inside the connector and be thick enough to fit tightly between the four metal hinges and touchpad cable.

Insert this piece of plastic into the connector. Make sure the touchpad still seated inside.

On the following picture you see the connector “fixed”. It doesn’t look the same as before but nevertheless the cable secured inside.

The piece of plastic applies pressure on the cable and it makes good connection with the contacts. The touchpad works again!

Now you can secure the connection with tape.

This simple trick fixed my touchpad.

Here’s another type of touchpad connector.

The locking tab is broken and also separated from the base.

Position the broken tab the way it was plugged before but do not push it into the connector yet.

Now insert the cable. In most cases it goes under the tab.

Push the cable all the way into the connector.

While holding the cable, push the tab into the connector.

Even though the locking tab is broken, it should secure the cable.

Again, apply some tape over the connection to secure it.

This method should work for the following models: HP Pavilion dv2000, Pavilion dv6000, Pavilion dv9000, Compaq Presario v3000, Presario v6000, HP Pavilion tx1000, Pavilion tx2000.

By the way, I just fixed my son’s Xbox 360 with red ring of death (error 74) using exactly same technique.

MOST COMMON PROBLEM SYMPTOMS

1. Laptop turns on with garbled video on the internal screen and external monitor.
2. Laptop turns on but there is no video on the screen or external monitor.

MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM

The graphics chip soldered to the motherboard. When the laptop runs hot for a long time, the graphics chip separates from the motherboard and video fails.

HOW TO FIX FAILED CHIP

Before I tried baking the motherboard in an oven or use bubble-wrap. But today I’m going to fix it using a heat gun.

Basically, I’m going to heat up the graphics chip with a heat gun to solder it back to the motherboard (reflow). I think this method is more reliable and the repair should last for a while.

WARNING!

There is no guaranty this method works all the time. While doing this repair you may damage the motherboard and make it unrepairable.
Proceed at your own risk and don’t blame me if after this repair you’ll get a very expensive door stop.
If you don’t feel comfortable doing this repair, take your laptop to the repair shop.

HOW I FIXED THE MOTHERBOARD

First of all, you’ll have to disassemble the laptop and remove the motherboard.

In my example I’m using a motherboard removed from HP Pavilion tx2000.

In most laptops the graphics chip located under the CPU heatsink (and it has NVIDIA logo on it), so there shouldn’t be a problem locating the chip.

I’ll be using an Ecoheat heat gun EC-100.

In order to figure out how to position the heat gun and for how long, I tested it on a penny with a small piece of solder on the top.

The heat gun has a switch on the handle. There are two positions for the switch. Position 1 – slow. Position 2 – fast.
I used position 1 – slow.
I positioned the heat gun about 1 inch away from the penny and turned it on.

After about 40-45 second the solder started melting. After 50 seconds the solder melted completely.

To protect the motherboard from the heat I used a regular cooking aluminum foil. I cut off a piece of aluminum foil and folded it a few times to make my protection shield thicker. After that I cut off a square opening right in the middle, same size as the NVIDIA chip.

If there is thermal grease on the chip it has to be removed. You can remove thermal grease using alcohol swabs.

It’s not necessary to make it perfectly clean. Just make sure there are no large chunks of the grease on the chip.

UPDATE: Some people mentioned that I should have applied some liquid flux underneath the chip for better results. I’ll definitely do it next time when I have to fix another motherboard.

I found this video explaining how to apply liquid flux under the chip. This video was made for Xbox 360 motherboard but should apply to any laptop motherboard too.

Finally, I positioned the heat gun above the NVIDIA chip about 1 inch away and turned the heat gun into the position 1.

After 50 seconds I turned it off and let the motherboard cool down for about 20 minutes.

Don’t forget to apply new thermal grease on the graphics chip when you install the heat sink.
Some laptops use thermal pads instead of grease. If that’s the case with your laptop, make sure the thermal pad positioned correctly.

After I assembled the laptop back together, the video started properly!
The NVIDIA graphics chip problem fixed!
Will it last for a long time? I don’t know. Still testing.

Most likely the fix is not permanent but this will buy you some time, enough to backup personal files or even use the laptop until you get a new one. There is no guaranty this fix work 100%.

Here are some HP models affected by this known video failure problem: HP Pavilion dv2000, dv6000, dv9000, tx1000 tablet PC, Compaq 700, v3000, v6000 and probably some others.

If you know more models, please mention them in comments after this post.

CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM:

As I know, the video problem somehow related to NVIDIA graphics chip located on the motherboard. Overtime the graphics chip separates from the motherboard and the video fails.

SYMPTOMS OF THE PROBLEM:

The computer turns on and all LEDs light up but there is no video on the screen or external monitor. The internal screen remains completely black and blank.

I found this trick mentioned by Walliot in this post. This trick called “towel fix” and used to fix “no video” issue in xbox360.

HOW TO FIX:

1. Remove the battery and hard drive.
2. Plug the AC adapter and turn on the laptop. Make sure it’s is actually on, all LEDs should work.
3. Wrap it up with towels so all air intakes are closed.
4. Keeps the laptop wrapped in the towel for about one hours.
5. Unplug the AC adapter from the wall the let it cool down (do not move it for a while).
6. Unwrap the laptop and try tuning it on.

I didn’t really believe that this trick might work and tried it just because of curiosity but… IT WORKED!!!!

#1. HP tx1000 Tablet PC repair.

First, I tried this fix on a failed HP tx1000 Tablet PC.
I didn’t have paper towels at work but I had plenty of bubble wrap.
I closed it in a tablet mode (with hard drive and battery removed), plugged the AC adapter and wrapped the laptop properly in bubble wrap.

After that I just waited for about two hours and unplugged AC adapter from the wall. Waited for about 30 minutes and tried turning it on.
Success!!! It starts with with video.

I just couldn’t stop and tried the fix on another one.

#2. HP Pavilion dv6000.
This is a different model with very similar failure symptoms. It failed exactly the same way as the first one.

This time I did something extra. To make sure there is no cool air coming into the case through the bubble wrap, I closed all air vents with sticky tape.

After that I turned it on from AC adapter (again with hard drive and battery removed) and wrapped the base.

It was running like that for about 60-70 minutes but then I noticed that all LED lights went off.

Not sure what happened. Maybe the motherboard overheated too much and shut down on its own. Anyway, I didn’t touch it for about 30 minutes and let it cool down.

My fix was successful again! The laptop turned on with video and booted to the desktop.

HOW THIS FIX WORKS:

Here’s my understanding of how this fix works.
When you run a laptop wrapped in towels (bubble wrap in my case), it gets very hot because there is no air circulation inside the heatsink.

The heatsink gets so hot that it melt solder between the chip and motherboard and the video chip gets resoldered to the motherboard.

Now I have to test for how long this fix last.

RELATED POSTS:

Also read backing the motherboard in an oven and how to reflow failed NVIDIA graphics chip with a heat gun.

Also, this fix might work for the following HP/Compaq motherboards: HP Pavilion dv2000/dv6000/dv9000, Compaq Presario V3000 and probably some other models.

WARNING!
This repair might be harmful for your health and baking motherboard in an oven probably is a bad idea. It could be toxic. I did this repair for myself, at my own risk. If you decide to use these instructions, please do it at your own risk.

FIXING “NO VIDEO” ISSUE BY BAKING THE MOTHERBOARD.

Problem description: I had an abandoned Compaq Presario V6000 computer. It was turning on when but after a few seconds turning off by itself. There was no video on internal screen or external monitor. I tried another AC adapter, new memory modules but it didn’t help. I was pretty sure the motherboard failed.

Research: After I did some research on the Internet, I found that this is a known problem with Pavilion dv2000/dv6000/dv9000 and Presario V3000/V6000 motherboards and most likely related to the graphics chip failure. The graphics chip is soldered to the motherboard. Apparently, there are bad solder joints between the chip and motherboard. Overtime the chip separates from the motherboard causing all kind of video problems.

Possible solution: One guy suggested baking the failed motherboard in a conventional oven preheated to 385 degrees Fahrenheit for exactly 8 minutes. This process should reflow the chip solder joints and give the motherboard a second life.

I had nothing to lose and decided to give it a try. Here’s how I did it step by step.

First of all, you’ll have to disassemble the laptop and remove the motherboard.

STEP 1.

Remove all peripheral components installed on the motherboard (memory, cooling module, CPU, etc…). Remove all protective mylar tape. The motherboard will be baking at a very high temperature and all that can burn has to be removed.

Take pictures while stripping down the motherboard. They will help you to put all removed protective films back in proper locations.

STEP 2.

This side of the board has been stripped down.

You can see the graphics chip on the right side from the CPU socket.

STEP 3.

Remove all mylar from the other side of the motherboard. Disconnect the audio cable.

STEP 4.

The motherboard will be seating in the oven on the baking pan. In order to elevate the motherboard above the baking pan I’ll use a few screws.

STEP 5.

I installed screws in four corners of the motherboard. There are plenty holes for screws.

STEP 6.

You can see there is a 3/4 inch gap between the board and desk surface. The graphics chip is facing up.

STEP 7.

Place the motherboard on the baking pan. Make sure it’s not touching anything.

Preheat the conventional gas oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit and place the board in the middle of the oven for 8 minutes. You’ll smell some burning plastic in about 6 minutes.

After that remove the baking pan with motherboard and let it cool down for about 30-40 minutes.

Assemble the laptop back together and see if it works.

This fix worked for me! After I assembled everything back together, it started properly right away. The video had no glitches.

The next time I explain how to repair the same issue using bubble wrap. This method requires no disassembly.

For more permanent fix check out graphics chip repair with a heat gun.

The connector is a very delicate mechanism. It’s very easy to get it damaged if you apply too much force while trying to unlock it.

The cable retainer (locking clip) is made of thin plastic and if it’s damaged, you are in trouble. Unfortunately, this part is not sold separately.

Well… let’s say it happened. The damage is done. How to fix it now?

On the picture below I show one of the most common connector types. It has the base (white in my case) and cable retainer (brown in my case).

When the connector is closed, the cable secured between the retainer and base.

The retainer applies some pressure on the cable and it makes contact with the pins inside the connector.

To unlock it properly, you have to move the retainer about 2 millimeters in the direction shown by two yellow arrows.

IMPORTANT! The retainer must remain attached base.

After that you can pull the keyboard cable and remove the keyboard.

If you are not careful enough, you can move the retainer too far and break it.

On the picture below you can see the retainer broken on both sides. It is missing the both locking hook.

IMPORTANT! Do not though away the retainer. You still can use it.

The cable will not stay inside the connector without the locking clip.

Here’s how fix this type of damage.

Position the broken piece the way it was inserted before.

Carefully insert the cable into the connector. In this case the cable goes above the retainer.

While holding the cable, carefully push the broken clip back in place. You can use a small screwdriver for that.

The clip fits tightly into the connector even though it has two broken hooks.

Secure the connection with sticky tape and test the keyboard. It should work just fine.

Here’s another connector type. The only difference – the keyboard cable is routed under the locking clip. Fix it the same way as the previous connector.

On the next picture you see another type of connector. The cable is inserted vertically.

In order to unlock the connector, you’ll have to move the locking clip (brown piece) about 2 millimeters up in the direction shown by two yellow arrows.

After that you can pull the keyboard cable (green arrow) and remove the keyboard.

If you move the locking clip too far, you can break it.

In my example one side of the retainer got damaged.

Insert the keyboard cable into the connector, position the broken retainer correctly (behind the cable in my case) and carefully push it in.

Even with a broken retainer the cable should be secured inside the connector.

Here’s the same connector shown from the opposite side. You cannot even tell it is broken.

If this trick worked for you, it means I just saved you big bucks on the motherboard replacement. And I’m glad I did.

REPAIR TIPS FROM READERS:

Thank you to Alex for the following suggestion:

I found another way to fix it…
Have you lost the broken “Locking clip”?
Then do this…
Get some “electrical tape” on the back of the “flat cable” to make some “thickness”.
Make sure you are putting the tape on the right side, where there are no visible connections…

Then very carefully push the cable into the connector… It will not come loose and the keyboard will work just fine!

Also read this post explaining how to repair broken touchpad connector.

I pulled out the internal copper coating (I name it a sleeve) from the inside of the “+” terminal as it shown on the picture below.

The the sleeve removed, it cannot be installed back. If you solder the DC jack back in place without this sleeve, it might work but the connection between the “+” lead and motherboard will not be reliable.

The following guide will help you to modify damaged DC jack terminal. This modification should work for most motherboards with soldered power jack.

Remove the copper sleeve from the “+” terminal on the jack.

Find a small resistor or capacitor with thin leads. Cut off one of the leads. I’m going to use it to modify the motherboard terminal.

Shape the lead as it shown on the picture below.

Put the lead on the “+” connector on the power jack.

Solder the lead to the power jack.

Now I’m going to modify the “+” terminal on the motherboard.

Carefully scrape off green varnish around the whole on the “+” terminal on the motherboard. You can use a small flathead screwdriver.

If the whole is not big enough for your modified DC jack, you can widen it with an awl.

As you see, the hole on the terminal is now larger. Apply a fresh coat of solder on the clear area of the trace.

Install the power jack on the motherboard. Make sure there is no gap between the jack and motherboard.

Here’s a view from the top side of the PCB.

Solder all pins except the modified “+” pin.

Now, when the power jack is secured, you can shape the lead as it shown on the picture below.

Solder the lead to the terminal. Remove excessive flux with an old tooth brush soaked in 99% alcohol.

Here’s a view from the bottom side of the motherboard.

Be very careful. Doing this modification you can damage the motherboard and make it unusable. Proceed on your own risk.