The Nvidia Defect Forum

Well, I have had the laptop since March 2008.

A year and a day or so after purchase I encountered my first problem. The laptop ran to overheat and would shut down, refusing to turn on again.

I took it to an independent computer repair shop and they cleaned out the cooling system, wiped off some computer virus nasties and bad software and it worked fine once more.

On Saturday 26th I booted it up and started surfing the web, only for the screen to black out and produce scary looking basic colour lines across the display. I powered it down and switched it on again to be greeted by six screens (nine if you count the two lines at the bottom of the screen) segmented by black lines. I was concerned that it was a virus, so I started in safe mode, but the laptop crashed. I started again and set it to restore to a day when it was operating ok. It crashed again.

On the third attempt the laptop was still displaying six screens and I used startup repair. This crashed twice. Once bluescreening and citing software, then the next it was hardware.

I took it back to the same place it had been repaired before, where it started up fine and had no problems. They cleared the fan and advised keeping as cool as I could.

When I got it home I ran it for 20 minutes (youtube, e-mail, flash animation. The lot) with no issues, on a flat surface etc

Later that evening, (about three or more hours since I used it last) I booted up, it had just finished logging on and loading my desktop when the screen lost resolution (it resembled safe mode) and it crashed. I booted it up again and the six screens had returned. It then bluescreened and crashed again.

Is this mroe than likely the nvidia defect? (It is a bit preturbing to find this site as the top result when I google my laptop model number) I have been advised to just replace the card (by work colleagues...). I plan on taking it back to the repair shop today, but I may just ask for data recovery if fixing/ replacing the card is pointless. I have been looking for a new laptop since the battery packed in on this unit, should I just cut my losses and buy a new (non nvidia) laptop?

Would I be able to claim some money back?

Hello Pepper and welcome to our forum.

Sorry to hear of the problems you are experiencing with your laptop.

The problems you mention are manifestations of the Nvidia defect.

I have worked on a large number of your model laptop and they were all crippled with the defect.

I would not bother putting any money into repairing it as it will fail again.

Your best bet would be to pursue the retailer for a refund or a replacement laptop.

I have a few questions to see if I can help:-

1) Who did you purchase the laptop 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.

Hello, I would like to know what the options I have with this broken laptop mentioned in the title of this post. My girlfriend has had the laptop for about 2 yeasr and 10 months and then it decides to do the 6 screen thing and not load up at all! A laptop which costs nearly 900 new and that happens, something must be wrong. She originally bought it from PC world but the paper work has been lost. Is there any possible way of getting a replacement or anything at all because it is pretty horrific that a laptop can break so soon, i swear hamsters live longer than these electronic things!

Hope you can help, Thanks.

Hello Quicksilver and welcome to our forum.

Sorry to hear that your girlfriends laptop has failed.

How did she pay for the laptop? If it was by credit or debit card then the statement showing the transaction would be sufficient proof of purchase.

Alternatively, if she paid in cash, then you should give PC World a call and explain that you would like a copy receipt and give them the date of purchase and they should be able to find it in their records.

Finding the proof of purchase is your first hurdle. Once you have done that then you can proceed with your claim.

I agree with you about the lifespan of today's electronics.

It is pretty scandalous and typifies the throw away society that we live in. Products used to last much, much longer than they do today. Thirty years ago products were built to last, but that seems to have changed dramatically.

I do hope that you can find some form of proof of purchase though.

Any questions 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.

Thank you for the reply! When you say proof of purchase, can that be anything i.e. Credit card bill statement or even the statement from pc world? I believe the laptop was paid by debit or credit card, she isnt 100% sure, but would pc world still keep records of this? Can pc world not get receipts from their system from the manufacture number or anything like that?

Hello Quicksilverboi,

Yes, a credit or debit card statement will suffice as proof.

PC World will probably have her details on file so if you get her to call and ask if they can provide a copy receipt then it has to be worth a try.

If they refuse or don't have it then you will have to go down the credit/debit card statement route.

Hope this helps.

Any questions please let me know.

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.

Ok just before i progress on, i just spoke to pc world and they said i had to contact packard bell?? Is this correct? As its a common fault on this type of laptop, isnt it the retailers responsibility to make sure all there products in the first place were in working order and had no faults at all before selling them. Isn't there something under contract law or consumer law and i heard something about that if the warrenty runs out, it dosent matter as there is 6 years where the retailer has to take responsibility? because the fault was a something GPU fault? Am i correct?

So to carry on, once i have the statement, then what do i do?

Hello Quicksilberboi,

Take absolutely no notice when they tell you to contact Packard Bell. In law it is entirely PC Worlds responsibility to resolve the situation as they are the ones who sold you the laptop.

Furthermore, the warranty status is irrelevant as you have six years from the date of purchase in which to take action against a retailer when the goods in question are inherently defective.

Please take a look at the step by step guide on this forum that will help you reach a positive resolution. That is available here:- post13.html#p13

If you follow my advice in that guide then you will be successful.

Any questions please let me know.

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.