Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
A friend has given me a broken laptop and I have narrowed down the fault to a problem with the onboard GPU (radeon 4330). Its a dell inspiron 1545 btw. As the motherboard is effectively useless as is I'm really tempted to give this fix a go, in case anyone hasnt heard of it here's a video http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G65-ncBxdHA and a guide http://www.computerrepairtips.net/ho...p-motherboard/ The procedure effectively remelts and then sets the solder, hopefully repairing hairline fractures in the solder balls that are causing the chip to malfunction (if i've got it right :P).
So remove CPU, RAM, any stickers
Place motherboard balanced on balls of aluminium foil on a layer of foil on a baking tray
Bake for 8-10 minutes at 200 degrees C and then open door and allow to cool and set for 20
reassemble laptop and hopefully WIN :rockon:
Has anybody on here tried this before? Did you get a positive result also?
I think i'm going to do this anyway but itd be good to get some feedback before I proceed lol
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
The GPU shouldn’t have chewed itself up like that, sounds like an inherent fault with the machine. Forget about shoving it in the oven for now, get in touch with Dell and invoke the Sales of Goods Act, if the machine is reasonably young, i.e. it died earlier than you’d expect the machine to last then you have a case for the retailler where you bought your machine from to repair the machine free of charge.
My Dell Vostro 1400 died a sudden unexpected death past its warranty period, with the SoGA behind me I got in touch with Dell who agreed to repair it.
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
200 degrees isn't enough to reflow the solder so I'd be surprised if that fixed hairline fractures in the soler balls. Temp would need to be something like 280 degrees (assuming it's lead free solder)to get the solder to reflow.
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
never worked for me, you need a reflow unit.
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
It was bought in New Zealand 18 months ago and the UK version has a different motherboard so support from dell is a bit dicey. I can fit a UK motherboard (intel GMA not discrete 4330) and am looking at buying one from ebay if this doesnt work but I thought what the heck its worth a try maybe?
So you dont think 200 degrees will do it? Thats the temperature most frequently recommended in the guides I've read, one did say 220 though... I appreciate even if this works the problem may recur within a few weeks, It doesnt really seem worth it to get it reballed professionally as the same could happen in that case.
Also Gonzo did you try this with a laptop mobo/ a desktop gpu/ a laptop gpu?
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
At my work for lead solder reflow we use 260C and lead free reflow we use 280C
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
Thats interesting to know, out of interest do your company do repairs of this kind and if so what sort of cost is involved?
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
i baked my gtx 285 over a year ago after it "died",its still running strong now.
i say go for it.its dead already ,what could you possibly have to lose ?
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
A bit worried its going to stink out the oven, was this a problem for you Chunter?
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
Is it a fan oven? Remember to adjust cooking times :mrgreen:
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
dont forget to sprinkle some herbs and onions while your at it
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
yes it smelt a bit but after half an hour it had gone.just follow the rules exactly and let it cool down in its own time you should be alright.
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
awesome, I'll give it a go in a bit and report back, thanks for the comments people
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
I would be interested in this as i have a Ps3 which needs the same done.
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Blackmage
I would be interested in this as i have a Ps3 which needs the same done.
I fixed 3 ps3's with the YLOD death problem but I did it with a heatgun. It works for a few months but then you have to do it again. Maybe it will last longer with the oven method.
Re: Baking Laptop Motherboard in Oven to reseat faulty graphics chip
Well i tried it at 200 degrees for ten mins, wrapped the rest of the mobo in tin foil, leaving the chip exposed, propped it up on tin foil balls etc.
I just reconnected everything and lo and behold the display is working, need to reassemble the laptop fully and apply some new thermal stuff to the heatsink before Im totally sure but so far so good,
Looking like a massive success :surprised: