Here’s how I fixed a Compaq Presario V6000 motherboard with “no video” issue. Not sure if this fix will last forever but it works and the laptop is back to life.
Also, this fix might work for the following HP/Compaq laptop 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 could be a bad idea. It could be toxic. I don’t know if it is or not. I did this repair for myself, at my own risk. I’m just sharing my experience. If you decide to fix your motherboard the same way, please do it at your own risk.
Again, proceed at your own risk. Otherwise, close this page and take your laptop to the professional repair shop.
FIXING “NO VIDEO” ISSUE BY BAKING THE MOTHERBOARD.
Problem description: I had an abandoned Compaq Presario V6000 laptop. The laptop was turning on when I press on the power button but after a few seconds turning off by itself. There was no video on the laptop screen or external monitor. I tried another AC adapter, new memory modules but it didn’t help. I was pretty sure this is motherboard related failure.
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 (aka GPU or video chip) is soldered to the motherboard. Apparently, there are bad solder joints between the graphics chip and motherboard. Overtime the graphics chip separates from the motherboard causing all kind of different 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 graphics 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 films from the motherboard. The motherboard will be baking at a very high temperature and all that can burn has to be removed.
Tip: Make lots of pictures while stripping down the motherboard. They will help you to put all removed protective films back in proper locations.
STEP 2.
Here’s how the same side of the motherboard looks without protective plastic films.
You can see the problematic graphics chip, it’s on the right side from the CPU socket.
STEP 3.
Remove all protective plastic films 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 motherboard and desk surface. By the way, I positioned the motherboard so the graphics chip seats on the top.
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 motherboard 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.
Install the motherboard back into the laptop, assemble the laptop back together and see if it works.
This fix worked for me! After I assembled the laptop, it started properly right away taking me to the BIOS setup menu. I didn’t have the hard drive, so I tested my laptop with a Knoppix live Linux CD. The laptop video works great!
RELATED POSTS:
In the next post I’ll show a much safer way to fix same problem using bubble wrap. Which requires no laptop disassembly.
Here’s another way to fix failed NVIDIA graphics card with a heat gun.
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August 19th, 2010 at 1:13 am
just got done cooking it, reassembled it. and it worked yet again! awesome. im so glad i found this technique. your a genius man. i recommend this to anyone having this same issue, if your careful and do exactly what it tells you it will work. this is my second time doing this to my laptop. thanks again.
August 18th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
i had a v6000 and it was dead, i tried this trick about 2 months ago and it worked perfectly. and has been working since then untill today. started it up and realised it was dead again. ive already stripped my lap top appart down to the mobo and about to give this another try see if it brings her back to life. wish me luck.
August 14th, 2010 at 4:50 am
You are a genius.
I did exactly what you described.
I couldn’t beleive but it really worked for me.
I appreciate it.
Thanks,
Shimon.
Israel.
August 6th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Not a Stupid,
Not a very smart person either.
As you can see (or maybe not) I removed the CPU.
August 6th, 2010 at 8:46 am
What you think we are stupied…….
I don advice to do this because
you will burn the motherboar or your home
the cpu dont tolerate more than 70 degres
celsius
Not a stupied person
July 21st, 2010 at 8:33 am
This sounds like the same cause of the Playstation 3′s “Yellow Light of Death” (YLOD) error and has basically the same exact solution. I’ve fixed my PS3 myself by doing the same thing except instead of putting the motherboard in the oven I used a heat gun and only heated the GPU instead of the whole motherboard. Worked like a charm and I imagine you would get the same results with the laptop as well. In addition, when reflowing connectors on a motherboard it is also wise to use “no clean” Flux to make sure the connectors do not crack again in the future.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
this solution is very effective, i tried this on most laptop board and desktop boards, to prevent other parts from melting or being heated by the oven, cover everything except the chipset with aluminum foil, cut a square on the aluminum foil to expose the video chipset or in the case of desktop board, the main chipset less the heatsink…with this method, my percentage of success is higher, good luck.
July 19th, 2010 at 12:37 am
I have same problem, but with another brand.
I want to ask about the preheat to 385 deg F, how long is the preheated time requirement?
There is alot of plastic on the Main Board for junction connection with white and black colour, are there save for 385 deg F?
I afraid that the plastic became melt.
Please help me….
July 15th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Well, I don’t know where you got this information, but I do have to thank you. I tried it, and it worked!! It really pis*** me off when I found out that there was a recall on my laptop for this issue and NO-ONE (especially compaq)told me. 0903And when mine starts having the problem they refuse to fix it. I have to tell you I really liked Compaq before this, but if this is the way they do business I won’t be buying another one. Anyway, this one works again…for now. Thanks a million, Ken
July 8th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
i have the same problem with an old laptop dat i used for music presario f500 an i try wat u said an guess wat? it work now i can listen to all my songs ….