Two broken Geforce FX Go5700

[Frolic]

Hello,

I'm new to the forums here, first I would like to thank you all for all this great video card driver support.

I hope you don't be frightened to read my a bit long story, but I think you profs could help me. :P

(Of course I would be very grateful, if I finally get my video card working again. I'll submit some benchmarks :) )

broken old video card

I've bought my Acer Aspire 1712 with a Geforce FX Go5700 64Mb on 07-JUL-2004.

More than a month ago I got some display and crash problems in World of Warcraft (WoW). After a week logging in to the game would crash it. I thought maybe the last WoW patch in has caused this, so I installed some other video drivers (I used 77.30 before).

But after the restart the new drivers weren't installed right according to Windows, besides there were vertical flickering red lines on my screen (not visible on a white bg or text) and the videocard chiptype etc was unknown. The same red lines were on a monitor attached to the video out and exists before/when the BIOS starts. The next day (not the next restart) Windows crashes at the log in screen.

By starting in save mode and uninstalling the nvidia drivers, even though I could use my laptop again (because of the build in VESA drivers), it was without hardware acceleration and with red lines on my screen.

(I've never overclocked my card, and the max. tempure it had reached was around the 90 °C so I was quite surprised to find it broken so fast.)

new video card

So I ordered from the service partner of Acer (only 1 year garranty) a new Geforce FX Go5700 128Mb.

The ordered card (€386,-) wasn't on supply at the Acer storehouse, so after 4 weeks(!) I finally got my card.

(In the meanwhile I've bought this laptop cooler,

because I thought that maybe heating was the source of the problem.) I carefully replaced the video card.

Installed the 81.85 NVidia drivers, and closely monitored the temperature.

Everything seemed fine for the first two days.

new video card broken

Then in WoW after I've alt-tab out and in once, I get occasionally some strange effect. Like a normal screenshot is made, then pasted a few times vertically and horizontally near each other, then this whole picture is resized to the normal screen size. So I see myself a few times. Alt-tab in and out fixes this for a while. The temperature of the cards stays between the 35 °C and 60 °C.

And today when I turn the laptop in the sleeping mode I get the famous blue screen.

Restarting lets the laptop freeze before I see the BIOS status, and with vertical green lines now. :(

I've taken the video card in and out, but that didn't help. So now I use my old broken video card again to type this post, without acceleration and with red lines.

You can imagine my feelings now. :)

Thank you for reading so far.

what to do now?

• Is it possible that the 81.85 drivers has damaged my card? (I don't think so, but I would like a confirmation)
  
• What do you think has damaged my second videocard? The mainboard?
  
• Could the laptop BIOS have anything to do with this?
  
• I've 3 months warranty, should I send back my broken card for a new one, or could I better send in my laptop to let them repair it?
  

The problem with let them repair is that the first days it seems all right, so when they send it back it's breaks again soon. :( The last option also means I won't have a computer to use anymore.

I'm desperate now, what's your advice about what to do?

ATTACHED: Systeminfo.txt

Systeminfo.txt

Edited November 9, 2005 by Frolic

[Teraphy]

Welcome to the board :)

All I can say is I had a similar issue with my Dell Inspiron 8100. I took great care with travel for the first few months and it eventually started to lock up by getting weird anomalies on screen, including lines during startup and blue screens (but this was also in part due to the crappy 2x.xx series NV drivers). It appeared at the time if I lifted the opposite corners of the laptop it would be OK. I did all of the basic seating the video harness etc. I sent it in and they replaced the motherboard and card and was fine after that. I'd have to guess replacing the motherboard would be best. Unfortunately I will say it was risky business sending my Dell in as it came back a few times with issues as well. Not sure how Acer is with support.

[alexandertyler]

I think you should send in your laptop to get the MOBO replaced. I have a Clevo D900T and the MOBO died after 6 months. I had done nothing to it and had not been overclocking etc. Highly recommend you send it back as soon as possible. The people who made my laptop do a 48 hour burn-in for all of the components, maybe you can ask Acer to do that in the special instructions part of the RMA form you fill out. Let them know the full history and ask them to monitor it for a week after fixing it before sending it back to you.

It'll be some time before you get it back but hopefully all of your issues will be resolved.

-- Alex

[Frolic]

Thank you for your advice. :)

I'll send him to Acer's servicepartner. It will be a complicated RMA.

I will let them know the full history and ask them to monitor it for a while after fixing it before sending it back.

Unfortunately I've no warranty now. I've already waited 1,5 months, and now this repair on top of that.

So I'm thinking of buying a year warranty (repair, laptop replacement) from this service partner after this repair.

:)

[bestvex]

I have exactly the same problem with an identical laptop, Aspire 1710 (1712SMi). First the display died and in service they replaced the LCD display inverter (?170,-). I received the laptop back and I started C.Strike to test the display in "action". After 10 min the screen freeze and no key combination was able to close the application. After restart I got the same vertical flickering blue-green-red lines even before the BIOS routine.

And of course, uninstalling the original drivers solved partially the blue screen but again, without hardware acceleration and with the vertical lines. Same situation if I use an external display.

I searched over the internet for the 128MB version of nVidia GeForce Fx Go5700 but I could not find anything, not even on acer support site.

Please let me know where you find and ordered this video card (128MB "version") and how you solved in the end the problem with your laptop. Does anyone knows other compatible video cards with nVidia GeForce Fx Go5700 ?