The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hello everyone,

It would appear that I am another victim! I purchased a HP dv2637tx Special Edition Notebook (with the Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS) in early feb 2009 and now its dead. Lasted less than two years! Had the exact same symptoms that everybody else is experiencing - machine getting extremely hot the month leading up to failure, crazy colours all over screen with random characters, vertical lines, machine locking-up and beeping, and now the blank screen and no booting what-so-ever - blue lights on computer all come on however.

My first question is; would you agree that my model is defective? It isn't on the enhanced warranty list (not that list means anything here in Australia).

My next question is; from my limited research thus far, it seems that most people say ALL 8400M GS chips are defective, would you agree with that statement?

Here in Australia we have very similar laws to you in the UK, so I have followed advise given at this forum and contacted the retailer. Of coarse, they say its not defective, out of warranty and that nobody else is having this issue. Is there anyone else out there, in Australia or otherwise, having this issue with the dv2637tx Special Edition Notebook? How common is this model?

P/N: KB084PA#ABG

Thanks in advance,
Hayesio

Hello Hayesio and welcome to our forum.

Sorry too hear that your laptop has failed.

I did a quick check on the HP support forum for your model of laptop and found the following:- http://tinyurl.com/4ny56d4

This is the BIOS update page and on the 8th April 2008 HP released an update for your model of laptop. The purpose of this update, according to HP was:-



This is proof that as early as 8th April 2008 HP must have known about the potential for your laptop to overheat - otherwise why release an update that switches the fans on continuously to the detriment of the battery.

I note that you purchased your laptop on the 8th February 2009 - some 10 months after the BIOS update. The question has to be asked why HP allowed the continued sale of a product that they must have known could potentially overheat?

With the above information you can tell them that it is surely proof of the potential for the defect in your laptop?



Well, it wouldn't be correct if I were to say that all 8400 GPU's were affected, but what I will say is that a very, very high percentage of them are.

It can also be difficult to differentiate between GPU's which have failed due to the manufacturing process and failures associated with the underlying BGA grid. The BGA grids fail for a couple of reasons but mainly because of the use of lead free solder. This type of failure is also associated with a manufacturing defect so you would still be able to make a claim.

I hope the above helps.

If you have any questions or if you need any advice then please let me know.

Good luck and best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Hi Paul,

Thank you very much for your reply. You have made an extremely good point! Clear evidence that HP new that there was a very good chance my machine would fail prematurely!

What is more interesting though, is that in the final days of its life it become so hot that I considered it to be a fire risk. I was not able to have the "laptop" sitting on my lap it was so hot. The RAM cover on the underside has even buckled from the heat! Now, if these dodgy HP machines have the potential to start a fire, well, I would consider that to be criminal on HP's part. Have you or anyone else out there ever heard of a fire starting from one of these defective machines?

Hello Hayesio,



To be honest I have not heard of a laptop actually catching fire but I have heard plenty of stories of users suffering burns to their legs from using the laptop on their laps.

What really galls me over this whole matter is the way that the manufacturers are claiming that if your laptop isn't on the list then it cannot possibly be inherently defective. This is despite the fact that the laptops are failing in exactly the same way with exactly the same symptoms.

Now either the manufacturers know something that we don't and they are covering up another defect or they are just plain stupid for not accepting that the defect is more widespread than what they care to admit.

The key to success is persistence. Stand your ground, stick to your guns and don't give up and you will reach a positive resolution.

We are here if you need any advice.

Good luck and best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Hi Hayesio,

Well I am also a victim of the same issue. I bought this in Feb 2008 and 3 years now, and its gone. It started by getting very hot since I have known it. Then in Jan 2011, I noticed I started getting BSOD pointing to the nvidia driver dll. I tried upgrading drivers and different versions, but all in vain. It then started shutting down randomly and after researching on the internet, I found many users have had issues and is probably related to heating issue and it probably frying the mobo/gpu.

I then upgraded bios to latest F.2E

I am also out of warranty and now the laptop is coming up with 6 screens and really bad resolution. I reverted the bios back to F.2A (which is what I have had for years) and it still has the 6 screens and has not made any difference.

I am wondering if you had any luck with HP since the post here?

Hello Pman and welcome to our forum.

Sorry to hear that your laptop has failed.

The problems you describe are all manifestations of the defect so I would say it is highly likely that your laptop is indeed inherently defective.

I did a quick check on the HP support site to see if I could find any further information relating to your model of laptop and found the following:- http://tinyurl.com/4ny56d4

This is the BIOS update page for your laptop.

On the 8th April 2008 HP released a BIOS update for your model of laptop named F.2A.

The purpose of this update, according to the HP support site, is:-



This proves that from as early as April 2008 HP must have been aware of the potential for your laptop to overheat - otherwise why release a BIOS update that switches the fans on continuously to the detriment of the battery?

I note that the update was released only two months after you purchased the laptop. Had HP contacted you to inform you of this update then you would have been legally entitled to have rejected the laptop.

You weren't and are now in the position that you are.

I have a few questions to see if I can help.

1) Which retailer did you purchase from?
2) How did you pay (Cash, Debit Card, Credit Card}?
3) Are you resident in the UK?

Please let me know and I will advise further.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.