HP Pavilion dv6700 Laptop Repaired
My friend Michelle brought me her HP Pavilion dv6700 laptop that needs to be repaired. She had already paid a “computer guy” that works for the company her daughter works for, that charged her $100 to fix her laptop, and he didn’t fix it! I told her to find out if he still works there and demand her money back! Worse still, he didn’t even clean the fan and put new thermal compound on the heat-sinks!
The laptop would turn on, but the display would not light. I couldn’t see anything on the display even when shining a light on it. Since the inverter board does not cost much and it’s 6 years old, I went ahead and ordered a new one. I also ordered a CCFL backlight tester so I could test the backlight also. I wanted to get a CCFL tester anyway, so this repair gave me an excuse to get one now.
While I was waiting for the inverter board and my CCFL tester to get here, I disassembled the laptop and checked everything I could see. The fan was dirty and full of lint and dust and stuff! Also the thermal compound on the fan heat-sink and CPU was dry and hard! The screws holding the heat-sink down were loose too! So I cleaned the fan, heat-sink, GPU, and CPU real good and put some fresh thermal compound on them, then I tightened it down good. Before I put the fan & heat-sink back, I checked the CPU and made sure the pins were not bent. Two components on the inverter board looked kind of like SMD fuses. I sent a picture to Mr. Yong and asked him what they were and he said they were high voltage capacitors. My Peak Atlas LCR45 also confirmed that they were capacitors. Thanks Mr. Yong for taking time out of your busy days to help us out!
The backlight tested good with my CCFL tester. I wanted to take a picture but the instructions say not to keep the backlight lit very long with the tester. When the new inverter board arrived I put it in the laptop and the display was still not coming on. I disconnected the backlight from the inverter board and turned the laptop on. While the laptop was on, I lit the backlight with my CCFL tester for a second and noticed that the screen was blank. So I have some other problem. I plugged the backlight back and put the display back together because I know now that the display is good.
According to my e-book on laptop repair, the next potential suspects are the hard drive or motherboard. The hard drive just seemed to be too quiet for one that is 6 years old. Also, I can’t hear the hard drive spin up when I start the laptop. So I removed it and turned on the laptop and the display came on! When I shut it down and restarted the laptop, it did not come on again! As you can see, the hard drive is only a 120 GB. She said that she wants to upgrade to a better hard drive anyway. So I ordered her a new 1TB hard drive hoping that it is the problem. I also told her that there is a new Version2 motherboard available for the laptop that has an upgraded GPU.
When I received the new hard drive, I installed it and found out that it is at least not the main problem. The display is still not coming on! Also the display did not come on when I removed the new hard drive! I removed the RAM memory modules one at a time, and both at the same time, and it still made no difference. The display still did not come on. Removing the optical drive didn’t help either. I didn’t think it would. I gave her the bad news that she needs a new motherboard. She wants her laptop to be like a new one, so I ordered her the brand new Version2 upgraded motherboard instead of the cheaper used board.
When the “brand new” motherboard arrived, I noticed right away that it wasn’t a brand new board! They are trying to rip me off by charging me for a brand new board and delivering me a refurbished board. Here is a picture of the board.
Companies like them give the USA a bad name. We decided to get a refurbished board, but not from that Connecticut company that tried to rip me off, that’s for sure – It cost me $20.55 because I had to return the board to them. I’ll try to get the money back. People like them claim they made a mistake, but it’s actually a gimmick because they know most people will just install the board and take the loss instead of paying to ship it back and waste more time! They said they would give me my money back, but they haven’t yet. I’ve had to open a case against them!
I also received my Orico tool free 2.5” SATA External hard drive enclosure. The 120GB hard drive I removed from the laptop works fine in it, so that wasn’t the problem. I didn’t think it was- I was sure that the motherboard was the problem.
So I ordered a used motherboard from another USA company and look at what they sent me- a damaged board! Can you believe it! Whoever passed the board and put the red sticker on the board put the sticker right beside the damaged spot on the board! And they can’t blame it on the Postal service because the box it was sent to me in is undamaged. The motherboard was damaged before it was put into the box!
I’m going to give them one more chance to send me a good motherboard.
Well Notebook Mechanix sent me another motherboard and it’s a good one! They stand by their word and I didn’t have to pay to send the damaged motherboard back either. They have good customer service also and were very kind to me and took care of the problem. I would recommend them.
I’m glad the laptop is finally fixed and I’m sure my friend is happy! This is my first laptop repair and it’s been a fun learning experience even though I did have some trouble with getting a good board.
I hope you enjoyed this article and please leave any comments or suggestions below. Thanks. And I would like to give a special thanks to Mr. Yong for always being available to help us out and doing so very quickly! Thanks Mr. Yong!
Robert Calk Jr. is a Hobbyist from the USA and loves learning electronics and how to repair electronic devices.
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JimW
September 17, 2014 at 11:36 am
I have a DV9010US and it has the same problem, after doing some looking on line HP was sued for improper design of the heat sink on the GPU which after long use becomes unsoldered, which is probably what happened to her MB, there is quite a procedure to resolder the GPU back onto the MB
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 12:25 pm
Hi JimW,
I also believe it was the graphics chip that was the problem. I didn't see anything about a law suit.
Of course, people need to keep their laptops cleaned every now and then to help keep them running cooler. Her fan was completely plugged up with dust and stuff.
beh
September 17, 2014 at 12:31 pm
HI ROBERT
i think you have passed a very hard time to repair this laptop
with bad mother boards and complicated problems but i am happy you fix it at the end yes some times to find a bad component in the board is very difficult and the only way is just to replace the bad board with a good one
and as you told this was a very good experience for you
but how much this repair consumed money?
thanks for sharing you ex prince
beh
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 4:59 pm
Hi Beh,
Thanks my friend. I got my money back for the new board that I had to send back, but not yet for what I paid to send it back. I'll never buy anything from them again.
It wasn't very expensive. She wanted a bigger hard drive anyway. It was $72. The refurbished motherboard was $78, all including shipping.
The inverter board was $18.
My CCFL tester with a 12V 4A wall wart was $22.50. My hard drive caddy was $11. The service manual & schematics was $9.50.
beh
September 17, 2014 at 11:15 pm
ROBERT: also your test equipment is completed during this repair .
have you got the diagram from SAMS PHOT FACT COMPANY?
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:47 am
www.laptopschematic.com
VPVALENTINE
September 18, 2014 at 12:31 am
where did you get manual
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:50 am
I think I got it from www.freelaptopmanuals.com but I really don't remember exactly. I think I just had to pay for the schematics.
beh
September 18, 2014 at 9:52 am
ROBERT: INTRODUCE the name of that bad company please.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:58 am
I really don't know for sure that they are bad. Maybe it was just a mistake. They did refund my money for the board, but they didn't offer to pay to have the used board returned to them so I did lose $20.55 for trying to do business with them.
Their name is A Plus Computer Parts.
Abubakar Shuaibu
September 17, 2014 at 1:15 pm
I have come across such problems too, sometimes heating the VGA solves the problem.
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Yes, but it's only a temporary fix. I don't do things like that unless I have no choice.
john
September 17, 2014 at 9:14 pm
i agree having done all the other tests as mentioned the one that finally works for me is the reheating of the vga chip on youtube there is many great explanations on how to successfully do this and i have a success tate of at least 80% regards celestica john
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:06 am
If she was concerned with saving money, I could have tried that.
Yogesh Panchal
September 17, 2014 at 1:20 pm
Dear sir,
Informative article thanks for sharing.
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 5:03 pm
Thanks my friend, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Atish Chand
September 17, 2014 at 1:41 pm
Hi
Robert,its a very good article ..........
thanks......
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 5:05 pm
You're welcome, Atish. Thanks.
reza
September 17, 2014 at 2:35 pm
hi robert
i enjoye this article
thank u
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 5:06 pm
You're welcome Reza. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
BearCat
September 17, 2014 at 3:49 pm
Hi Robert,
job well done 😉
But I have to ask you,
why you don't use an ESD mat while working with open electronics ?
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 5:12 pm
Thanks BearCat. I do have an ESD mat on my work table. I wear my ESD wristband all the time. I haven't had a problem with static on my little roll around table, but I probably should get a little mat for it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Gerald Millward
September 17, 2014 at 4:06 pm
Robert displayed the gritty determination often needed for laptop repair! Others have mentioned the video chip as the probable culprit - the BGA solder cracking being the cause. An earlier report https://www.jestineyong.com/hp-laptop-repair/ gives an account of fixing the problem by reflowing the BGA video chip. Sadly, such a repair all too often proves to be short-lived. However, many laptop makes and models suffer from VGA, ICH etc BGA soldering faults and a good tip when confronted with the possibility of such problems, is to heat up the chip to 100 degs+ Celsius using a hot air rework tool (but make sure you don't exceed the chip thermal limit). If the BGA soldering is the problem, the chip will usually come to life when warmed up in this way and the display will appear. This may save extra diagnostic work. Nevertheless, Robert reached the right decision - a replacement motherboard!
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 5:22 pm
Thanks Gerald. I agree with you. Really the main reason why I didn't mess around with my Rework station is because the laptop is around 6 years old, and because of the clogged fan and grandkids playing video games all the time on it. I thought considering the abuse the laptop has taken to just replace the parts.She wanted a brand new board, but after the aggravation with that first company, I can't trust the companies and didn't want to take the chance of losing more money than I already did.
Jason Teh
September 17, 2014 at 4:34 pm
DV series laptop all have this problem GPU failure chip made in year 2008 and below have this problem, the only solution to this is to replaced the GPU chip manufacture in 2009 onward.
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 5:26 pm
After cleaning that fan, I'm surprised that it lasted as long as it did!
j.vijay sagar
September 17, 2014 at 7:48 pm
i want a laptop of hp dv6000 repaired. and i want a new motherboard
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 12:12 pm
My friend paid for all the parts. I just supplied the labor & schematics.
Michael Theobalds
September 17, 2014 at 7:49 pm
I am getting a lot of HP with AGP problem and as my collegues said Reheating the chip solves the problem but not for very long or for someone who does not have the device to do this reheating, leave the laptop on for about 48 hours, with the exhaust of the fan kinda blocked and the heat of the motherboard will repair the chip by itself. Did it like 9 times and it worked, untill I bougt the device to reheat the chip. I do warn my customers that it might not stay alive for a long time and I don't charge them, as HP soldering works is the worse.
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 9:55 pm
I haven't tried that yet. Most people say that it's an undependable fix. I don't have the proper equipment to do it right.
Philip odhiambo
September 17, 2014 at 7:50 pm
I wish you could repair for the same problem again so that you gain more experience. It will greatly depend on your profit after repair that will allow for orders you make and time you spend. Imagine sometimes cost of repair exceeding cost of a new laptop.
Robert
September 17, 2014 at 9:49 pm
I'm a Hobbyist, I don't work on much. And she is an old friend of mine so I didn't charge her anything. I was just helping a friend.
randy warren
September 17, 2014 at 11:36 pm
yes, a good point, but I believe that Robert fixes for free of his time, is that true, Robert? My experience is that when friends find out that I am an E-tech, they either bring me things to fix (for free, of course) or want me to tell them how to fix it, for free of course. Too many techs GIVE away their hard-earned knowledge and expertise, I don't do that except with other techs, repairing is my income these days! Also, finding a niche repair service to make income is important, I won't repair any cheap items that cannot bring in a decent income, too many techs don't value their service, I learned that the hard way!
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:14 am
Hi Randy,
I understand. I'm just a Hobbyist that repairs a little every now & then for the experience and fun of it. Some day I might need some help from her for something.
Martin
September 17, 2014 at 8:07 pm
Nice article. I too do a lot of laptop repair and the amount of fluff/lint that I have removed from cooling systems recently is amazing. (If I had kept it all I would be well on the way to having enough for a small cushion for my chair)
One thing I normally try when I have a blank screen is to attach an external monitor (vga) and then its much easier to see if the problem is with the screen or not. Also you can then bring up the BIOS menus and check the health of the unit and see if its detecting the drives correctly and other items.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 12:05 pm
Hi Martin,
Thanks. Her laptop doesn't have a HDMI port. I don't have a monitor that uses USB. If the laptop had a HDMI port I could have used my TV as a monitor.
Martin
September 18, 2014 at 5:01 pm
Hi Robert. Its very unusual for a laptop not to have a 15 pin vga output. Even the most basic models seem to have them. I do see quite a few that dont have an HDMI port though.
Robert
September 26, 2014 at 9:14 pm
You are right Martin, I need to get a VGA cable. I'll order one next week. I guess it's a good thing that I admit to being a rookie.lol
Waleed Rishmawi
September 17, 2014 at 8:19 pm
I am very glad that you finally got it fixed. usually people quit after a certain time spent on such problem. You have gained a lot of experience from this repair and it is worth the time and money spent. keep up the good work my friend.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:19 am
Hi Waleed,
Good to hear from you my friend. Thanks. I don't believe in the
word," quit". I hope things are getting better for you.
Dominic
September 17, 2014 at 9:13 pm
Just writing to say that I recently had a desktop with a "Gigabyte" motherboard.It ran ok but often the screen would "pixel-late" with random black pixels appearing wherever the mouse would cross the screen.Tried to fix by swapping the graphics card,but still did the same thing so I realized it wasn't the graphics card. Swapped the power supply,& resoldered the motherboard around the CPU & power connections,but all that work did not solve the problem.In fact problem became worse till OS wouldn't load.Finally came to the conclusion that it must be a faulty motherboard which I threw out after removing anything salvageable from PC such as HDD,CD ROM & power supply.
Just wish somebody could tell me exactly what component on the motherboard might have been cause of problem.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:22 am
I don't know, hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will tell us. It does sound like a graphics chip problem.
Evan
September 17, 2014 at 11:11 pm
LOL I always enjoy reading Robert's postings!
Being a "Technical Engineer" i.e. no degree, just a lot of experience, I can appreciate the man who hangs in there until the end with a particularly aggravating mend.
Whilst I will never quite figure out why users will not clean or otherwise protect their equipment from dust, dirt, lint, pet hair ........ (quite easy solutions to such) I understand and respect this man's perseverance!
KUDOS!!!!!!!
Hold your torch high and ever onward, dear friend.
KUDOS!!!!! again
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:29 am
Thanks Evan, I really appreciate the kind words & kudos! I think most people just assume the fan will blow the lint & dog hair out. They don't realize how the stuff tends to dam up inside, or they just don't think about it.
Not only that, Techs don't get together and advertise! I never hear them advertising on radio or TV. If they did they would get much more business.
josh
September 17, 2014 at 11:37 pm
Great job...enjoyed reading it.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:30 am
Thanks Josh.
Igor Levin
September 18, 2014 at 12:59 am
Very useful information, I think.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:31 am
Thanks Igor.
marco tapia
September 18, 2014 at 4:29 am
Hi Robert, love your article and it's true what you say that some companies send you refurbished boards as new thinking you would just install it rather than going through the trouble to send it back and that's why I request information first from reviews on the Internet of the company before I buy anything but I give it to you because you never gave up, job well done.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:35 am
Hi Marco,
Thanks. I've seen people lying in the reviews before so I really don't trust them. That company also had reviewers telling lies on Ebay saying how great their board was. So you can't always depend on reviews. I don't know if that company had someone put those reviews up, but it sure seems like it.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 1:05 pm
Well maybe they weren't lying, maybe they got good boards. But a lot of companies don't allow people giving bad comments - all they allow are good comments. Anyway, I found a good company to buy boards from.
Gary Gemmell
September 18, 2014 at 8:44 am
Most problems with laptop of the hp and dell variety are with the gpu chip usually nvidia - its a thankless task unless you have a proper reballing jig and stencil to fix the motherboard - If you have a heat gun you can attempt a reflow but the fix is rarely permanent - You spend more time replacing parts when a new laptop would have been cheaper!!!
Litte tip ~: If you had plugged an external monitor onto the vga port output that would have confirmed the gpu chip problem so you wouldnt have had to open the laptop up. Unless its an expensive laptop like an Apple Or Sony its not economical to repair!
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 11:40 am
Thanks Gary. Yes you are right. Her laptop doesn't have a HDMI port and I didn't have an adapter, so I did it the hard way. But I wanted to learn so I wasn't worried about the time. I took the laptop apart and put it back together 3 times. It was fun. My new Dell Inspiron is much easier to take apart and put back together.
Pellican
September 18, 2014 at 9:06 am
Thnkx yong I hve e laptop it e samsang du de same bate naw I knw wht most I dd thnkx yong
Joshua oloo
September 18, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Thanks Mr.Robert for sharing the Article.Keep it up sir.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 12:57 pm
Thanks Joshua, I'll try my best.
zed
September 18, 2014 at 12:25 pm
great learning from you robert. Thanks for sharing.
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 12:59 pm
You're welcome Zed. It was my pleasure.
Rudi Wijaya
September 18, 2014 at 12:26 pm
Unfortunately, the time to repair wasted just because the board sent is already damaged. I hope they fix their service and product soon.
Thanks for your sharing mr robert. Keep up your work !
Robert
September 18, 2014 at 1:01 pm
Thanks Rudi. Notebook Mechanix is a good company and stands behind what they say. The board is working great.
Tyrone
September 19, 2014 at 11:05 pm
Very good article Robert.
Robert
September 20, 2014 at 12:57 pm
Thanks Tyrone, I'm glad you liked it.
Humberto
September 20, 2014 at 12:12 am
Hi Robert, first of all I'd like to thank you for the professionality you got this repair, congratulations and keep up. I'd like you to send me the website where you ordered a CCFL backlight tester.
Robert
September 20, 2014 at 12:56 pm
Hi Humberto,
Thanks my friend, I appreciate it. I got my CCFL tester & 12V 4A wall-wart for it on Ebay - the CCFL tester from carlkoba, and the charger from insidecomputer. The CCFL tester was about $14 US, and the wall-wart for it was $9.
junsan2u
September 21, 2014 at 1:10 pm
sir i want to know where to buy CCFL tester and 12V 4A wall-wart, the exact add on ebay thanks.
Robert
September 21, 2014 at 8:45 pm
Sorry, I don't know how to do that. Just go to ebay, type in CCFL tester, then scroll down to the one sold by carlkoba. Do the same for the wall-wart and find the one sold by insidecomputer.
junsan2u
September 21, 2014 at 12:56 pm
Thanks for new informative experience you shared, i learned alot in laptop repair here, Congratulations.
More power....
Robert
September 21, 2014 at 8:47 pm
Thanks Junsan. I'm learning myself and enjoy reading the articles that people send in. I wish more people would send in articles.
Thomas Wanje
September 21, 2014 at 2:36 pm
how many parts do a keyboard have and where can be fixed?
Robert
September 21, 2014 at 8:53 pm
Hi Thomas,
Every book that I have read says that they are not repairable - you just have to replace them when they go bad.
As soon as I replace one, I'll take the bad one apart and check it out.
marco tapia
September 22, 2014 at 1:33 am
Hi Robert, writing you again to thank you for your articles and for taking the time to reply to my comment,you have given us good information on what company has reliable boards like notebook mechanix thank you again and keep up the good work.
Robert
September 22, 2014 at 7:22 pm
You are very welcome Marco. It is my pleasure.
rogel reluao
September 24, 2014 at 9:26 am
hahahaha hard working to repair that laptop i suggest before buying spare part check first the motherboard, disconnect hardisk and cd rom, remain the DDR, then turn on the laptop if they work if work shut down then turn on again do this 3x or many u want to make it sure there is no problem in their cmos bios.
used spare good DDR for test
tnx
Robert
September 24, 2014 at 12:58 pm
Hi Rogel,
Thanks. Well the inverter board is inexpensive, so a new one made sure that it wasn't the problem. Plus the age of the laptop was another reason to replace it. Her laptop only had a 120Gig HD, and she needed more anyway, so why not try the new HDD and see if that fixes the laptop, especially since she wanted it anyway?
I have a spare HDD now. I'm also keeping an eye open for a monitor that I can use to check computers with. Anyway this was my first laptop repair and it was a lot of fun. I wasn't concerned with the time, but it was a pain trying to find a dependable motherboard supplier.
shahid ahmad
September 29, 2014 at 4:27 am
very nice
shahid ahmad
September 29, 2014 at 4:29 am
very good job
Robert
September 29, 2014 at 1:25 pm
Thanks Shahid, I'm glad you liked it.
Davide
November 7, 2014 at 9:12 am
Hi from Italy i'm Davide, apart this very basic repair story, i wanted to thank mr. Yong that with his passion and altruism share all this articles with its free newsletter to us novices.
Pateresio Laliqavoka
March 2, 2015 at 12:16 am
THIS IS A GREAT ARTICALE ITS ENLIGHTENING TO THOSE WHO ARE SEEKING ALREADY ESTABLISHED FACTS TO USE.THANK YOU FOR THE GENEROSITY TO HELP OTHERS AND ME INCLUDED. I WILL SHARE TO OTHERS.
HAVE A NICE TIME REPAIRING.
Pate
Robert Calk
March 2, 2015 at 11:00 am
Hi Pate,
You are very welcome. I'm glad that you liked it.