In this post I explain how you can fix a laptop motherboard with failed NVIDIA graphics chip. This repair might apply to some HP/Compaq laptops and probably some other laptop brands. If this repair works for your laptop, please mention the brand and model number in comments after the post. This will help other readers with similar laptops.
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 laptop screen and external monitor.
2. Laptop turns on as normal but there is no video on the internal laptop screen or external monitor.
MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM
The NVIDIA graphics chip soldered to the motherboard. When the laptop gets very hot, the NVIDIA chip separates from the motherboard and laptop video fails.
HOW TO FIX FAILED NVIDIA CHIP
I have previous posts explaining how I fixed same problem by baking the motherboard in an oven or bubble-wrapping the laptop. But today I’m going to fix the motherboard using a heat gun. Basically, I’m going to heat up the NVIDIA 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. Also, you may damage the laptop while taking it apart.
Proceed at your own risk and don’t blame me if you turned your laptop into 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. You can find laptop disassembly procedure in the service manual. If you having trouble finding the manual, leave a comment and maybe I can point you to the right direction.
In my example I’m using a motherboard removed from HP Pavilion tx2000 laptop.
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. The chip has a glossy top surface.
For this repair I’m going to use 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 Ecoheat 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.
After I removed the heat sink, I had some old thermal grease stuck on the NVIDIA graphics chip. You can remove old thermal grease using alcohol swabs. It’s not necessary to make it perfectly clean. Just make sure there are no large chunks of thermal grease on the chip.
UPDATE: Some people mentioned that I should have applied some liquid flux underneath the NVIDIA chip for better results. I didn’t do it this time. I’ll definitely do it next time if the motherboard fails again. I found this video explaining how to apply liquid flux under the GPU chip. This video was made for Xbox 360 motherboard but should apply to any laptop motherboard too.
Liquid flux for GPU reflow available on eBay.
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 NVIDIA 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.
If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you!
October 28th, 2011 at 8:03 am
As soon as I’ll get my hands on a heat gun, I’ll try the same method. But I don’t know exactly what or where the problem is, so I’m planning to heat the entire motherboard. Are there any parts that can’t stand heat at all and should I cover them with foil?
It’s an Amilo Xa3530 if that makes any difference.
October 28th, 2011 at 6:44 am
@ Thomas,
My laptop still works but I’m not using it every day. It was a test laptop.
Some people say this fix might last for a few months maybe even longer.
October 28th, 2011 at 2:08 am
I’ve watched this for a while now and am about to try the method. I’d like to know since you said this…..
“Will it last for a long time? I don’t know. Still testing.”
How long did it last? I’d like to have an idea of how much time between repairs it would be.
Thanks for the great guide and all your help!
Thomas
October 27th, 2011 at 10:04 am
@ smoby,
It’s hard to tell what’s going on. It’s possible those 2 USB ports got disconnected from the motherboard and have to be resoldered.
Do you know if 2 not working USB ports located on a separate board? Maybe this board is defective and has to be replaced.
I cannot help you without looking at the laptop.
October 27th, 2011 at 9:50 am
pls help me i have 3usb port one is working fine but the other 2 is not when i plug a usb card reader the system wil not read it but when i put it in other one it wil boot up.but the 2 that is not working stil have current in them but not has full as the working one
October 27th, 2011 at 8:07 am
@ vin,
It’s hard to tell what is causing the problem but it could be one of the following:
1. Bad AC adapter. Test your laptop with another AC adapter.
2. Laptop DC jack is bad or not making good contact with the motherboard. If that’s the case, you’ll have to replace the DC jack. Maybe the jack is bad and shorts the AC adapter.
Here’s how to remove the motherboard: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/.....oard-1.htm
Here’s how to replace DC jack: http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....air-guide/
If it looks difficult, I would suggest taking the laptop to a repair shop.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:28 am
Toshiba Satellite P10-873 charging problem
My problem is as follows
When I socket the AC Charger into a power supply, the led light indicator on the charger will be on showing that the charger is working properly, but when i try to connect the charger to the laptop, it will give off a small electric spark upon making contact with the laptop charging port, the laptop itself will show no sign of charging, meanwhile the charger will stop working. But when i disconnect the charger from the laptop again, the led indicator on the charger will come on again showing that the charger is working properly.
I use the specified charger for the laptop. My laptop model is
Toshiba satelite P10-873.
Pls anyone with a step-by-step guide to solve this problem should please help me out urgently.
thanks.
October 26th, 2011 at 7:04 am
@ marian,
I have a post dedicated to white screen problem: http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....ned-white/
It’s possible the video cable not making good connection with the LCD screen. Try reseating the cable.
Here’s how to take apart HP Pavilion dv5 notebook. It’s not easy.
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/.....v5-laptop/
October 25th, 2011 at 9:47 am
my laptop have the same problem although i have a home made cooling pad but it sims not 2stop the over heating so i opened it just as before but wait a sec i notice some thing the fan stress was not as before when playing game i looked under and saw the gpu on top of d cooling pad….may be this might work wat about if a fan can be fix facing the nvida gpu chip…….
October 25th, 2011 at 12:29 am
my hp pavilion dv5-1250 ev have desktop white bat if i connect a old desktop i see very good