So apparently there are known issues with certain models of Dell laptops going back to '07 with nVidia graphics cards. Wish I would have known that before I bought this most recent laptop earlier this year.
So I’m posting this to get the word out to folks who are in the laptop market or have the affected Dell laptops so they know what to do before they are having problems or if they are having problems.
Basically the problem is the nVidia card reaching temperatures that eventually damage the motherboard…causing it to need to be replaced. I will post the most recent blog posting on Dell’s support forum listing the affected models and giving the links for BIOS updates. If you are not having problems you can update the BIOS if you have an earlier version. This is really just a band aid, though. It will keep your fans on longer to increase cooling and down clock your graphics card when it starts reaching high temperatures.
Dell has extended the warranty on all affected models by 12 months. I’m not sure, but I think it only extends the warranty for this specific problem.
For me it started with graphics driver issues. My screen would freeze then flicker and recover giving me a balloon error message saying the graphics driver failed and was recovered. Eventually it would freeze and not recover and I would have to hard shut down. This was relatively infrequently in the beginning. But after a week or two, it was doing it a lot.
At this point, I found that if I booted in Safe Mode with networking, it wouldn’t happen. That sucks of course, because my screen resolution is off, volume doesn’t work, etc. I’ve found porn with no volume…sucks. It has gotten worse because now it does happen Safe Mode…but it doesn’t lock up the computer…I just get blue vertical lines, that give me a head ache when looking at the screen. So I basically have to stop doing whatever it is I am doing when the blue lines appear and pick up a magazine or something, until they go away on their own. I’ll attach a screen shot of the blue lines.
So as far as a resolution goes? Dell wants me to send it back to depot and have them replace the mother board. That’s fine, but of course it has happened at a particularly inopportune time. I have 29 days before I leave Iraq for good. So it’s not worth sending it back to them now because I won’t get it back before I leave. And I don’t want to send it back because then I have to live this last month in Iraq with no internet in the tent, which will make already slow days that much more boring. So I have to wait until I get back home to send it in.
I got a “Gateway timed out” server error message each time I tried to post this…which is what it was reposted a few times. I reported the other posts for deletion by the mods…
You have a lot of unread mail. And you were looking at pushmepullme’s hub.
Seriosuly though, thanks for the info. I’ll take a look at the models they were talking about. Hopefully this doesn’t affect me if I get a new laptop for Christmas, as I was hoping to get it from Dell. But then at least from your post I gathered that it affected some older models, correct me if I’m wrong.
[quote]LarryDavid wrote:
You have a lot of unread mail. And you were looking at pushmepullme’s hub.
Seriosuly though, thanks for the info. I’ll take a look at the models they were talking about. Hopefully this doesn’t affect me if I get a new laptop for Christmas, as I was hoping to get it from Dell. But then at least from your post I gathered that it affected some older models, correct me if I’m wrong.[/quote]
It affects current models. It’s just some of those models go back a few years.
It shouldn’t necessarily stop you from buying a Dell. Even if one of these models is the one you want, you will generally have a choice of at least two graphics card. If I had taken the ATI card instead of the nVidia, I wouldn’t be having these problems. And of course if you choose a different model altogether, you wouldn’t have these issues.
[quote]JPCleary wrote:
Sick Rick wrote:
So you decided it would be a good idea to open up 4 of the same threads?
Also, what’s with PMPM’s page on the right in the screenie? You a creep, bruh?
You’re not serious, right? There’s simply no way your dumbass missed the previous post about the Gateway errors.
And PMPM’s are on the “Most Recent Photos” at the bottom of the forum page…which is why I clicked on them.
Are you under the impression that looking at someone’s pictures that they have posted on T-Nation makes you a “creep?”
And did you really just call me, “…bruh?”
There’s only two things that I hate in this world…people who are intolerant of other people’s cultures…and the DUTCH!
[/quote]
Haha. Fuckwad.
I already edited my post before I read the your 2nd one.
And that quote’s been overused, man. You’re not being original.And the bruh? I guess you haven’t been here for long have you? You can’t possibly think I was serious.
What’s with these oversensitive little bitches here all of a sudden?
[quote]JPCleary wrote:
LarryDavid wrote:
You have a lot of unread mail. And you were looking at pushmepullme’s hub.
Seriosuly though, thanks for the info. I’ll take a look at the models they were talking about. Hopefully this doesn’t affect me if I get a new laptop for Christmas, as I was hoping to get it from Dell. But then at least from your post I gathered that it affected some older models, correct me if I’m wrong.
It affects current models. It’s just some of those models go back a few years.
It shouldn’t necessarily stop you from buying a Dell. Even if one of these models is the one you want, you will generally have a choice of at least two graphics card. If I had taken the ATI card instead of the nVidia, I wouldn’t be having these problems. And of course if you choose a different model altogether, you wouldn’t have these issues.[/quote]
Ahhhh, yes. It wasn’t until “fuckwad” entered the conversation that I remembered that you’re somewhere around 16 years old.
Yeah…genius…how about you read everything before responding with your douchery. Seeing as how my second post was there about an hour and a half before your response.
Originality not being my goal…
Given your consistent record of douchery…yeah, the “bruh” sounded pretty authentic. Obvious douche is obvious.
If getting called on your douchery gets your little panties in a bunch, feel free to avail yourself of the back button.
When I built my PC a couple of years ago, I purchased the nVidia 8800 GTS. It started having the same problems. My screen would flash and I would get a message saying that the “nvldmkkm driver has stopped responding.” I tried updating drivers but that didn’t seem to help. Then I updated my BIOS (I have the n680i motherboard) and that seemed to do the trick. It hasn’t happened since. And to make sure I installed a program to monitor temperature and to change fan speed accordingly.
I’m not a fan of Dell anyways. I’d prefer to go to with Asus.
It sucks with your timing, but at least they are willing to fix it.
I had similar issue with an older HP I had, where it came out that the laptop had been manufactured with a fault that HP would not own up to. My screen died - once in warranty and once out of it. The second time I had to cough up $400 for a repair which is their flat rate for repairs of any kind.
Bastards.
I opened the laptop up and physically damaged all the parts (not in such a way that it would look intentional), so they had to replace everything. I then sold it on to some other poor guy to deal with once it was fixed - because the issue of their stupid design was still there so it was bound to happen again.
It has gotten worse because now it does happen Safe Mode…but it doesn’t lock up the computer…I just get blue vertical lines, that give me a head ache when looking at the screen. So I basically have to stop doing whatever it is I am doing when the blue lines appear and pick up a magazine or something, until they go away on their own. I’ll attach a screen shot of the blue lines.