PROBLEM
Last week when I turned on my laptop HP dv2750, there were multiple screens appearing on the display instead of one screen, and some times the screen even didn’t appear. I reinstalled and updated the nvidia drivers (as it has nvidia 8400GM) assuming something might be wrong with the drivers, but when the notebook restarted the multiple screens appeared right from the time it restarted, i.e. there were six boot screens, instead of one. I logged on to the HP website and updated my bios, but the problem didn’t solve. I ran the system restore, but that was also useless. I searched for the problem on the net and found that there is a die-packaging manufacturing defect in nvidia GPU of G84 and G86 which was officially announced by NVIDIA. These nvidia GPU are in most of dv2000/dv6000 series of HP pavilion laptops
Solution:
My laptop’s warranty expired last and was also not covered by HP Limited Warranty Service Enhancement. I talked to HP, they confirmed it as a hardware malfunctioning of nvidia GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), but refused to repair it free of cost (estimated cost by HP was $300+shipping charges). I being a student couldn’t afford that much. As I was out off options so I decided to get it repaired locally.
The local techinian immediately identified the problem. Actually the problem is in the Ball Grid Array (BGA) of Nvidia GPU. With the passage of time (approximately 1 year), the Ball Grid Array Soldering of the GPU gets damaged due to heating. When it gets damaged, some pins of the GPU loses the contact with the motherboard, and hence displays nothing. The local technician told that there are two methods to repair it
- Temporary Repair
- Permanent Repair
Temporary Repair
In temporary repair he would air heat the GPU, as a result the soldering balls in BGA would get settled and connections would be re-established, but the problem may show up again in a week or a month.
Permanent Repair
The permanent repair was more risky then the temporary one. There is 80% chance of getting it permanently repaired and 20% chance of permanent damage. I took the risk and finally the problem was resolved. In this repair the GPU was be detached (Desoldered) from the motherboard, and the new balls were made for BGA and the GPU was again fixed to the motherboard. When the laptop was turned on, the problem was actually resolved. The technician told that he has repaired many dv2000/dv6000 notebooks with the same problem, and none have reported the issue to him again.
BGA
Ball Grid Array are surface mount packages (smd) that uses metal balls and spheres to provide electrical interconnection
The problem is the same as reported in XBOX 360’s GPU’s BGA. Another BGA is shown below
Note: If you have any queries, post them in the comment section below
