The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hello everyone,
This is my first time on this forum so i hope you can give me some guidance.
I purchased two HP G6031 notebooks from Staples in Dec 2007,one for my daughter and one for myself. So far my daughters machine seems ok but mine has given some problems.Both run uncomforably hot.
On my computer the microphones stopped working over one year back but as i had little need at the time i let it go. Now I have a bigger problem, the wireless card is not working and is not being recognised by the computer. As a temporary expedient I have installed a USB interface.
I have contacted Staples and after some stonewalling they came back with the following email:-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr

Thank you for your email. We will be able to help you get this matter resolved.

Due to the age of the laptop, consumer law states that there is a “reverse burden of proof” in demonstrating that the unit is inherently faulty, as opposed to damaged through misuse or wear and tear. An inherent fault would be one which was present at the time of purchase. Examples are:
• An error in design so that a product is manufactured incorrectly
• An error in manufacturing where a faulty component was inserted.

In general, the onus is on all purchasers to prove the goods did not conform to contract (e.g. was inherently faulty) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time

I recommend that you speak to a repairer and ask them for an independent assessment, once presented with this report, If the goods are considered to be un-repairable or not economically repairable, then we will take steps to have the machine replaced. This practice is approved by Consumer Direct which is a service from the Office of Fair Trading.

The report needs to have a full header showing the company name, telephone number and vat number, or must be traceable on companies house and available for us to contact with any queries. It also needs to display the make, model and serial number of the unit concerned.

There should be a full diagnostic - details on what is wrong. Why and how they have reached that conclusion and what recommendations they make. We need a clear distinction that they consider this to be an inherent fault or not and some evidence to support this. It is also important to note that we will need to see some form of proof of purchase, whether this is a receipt, card statement, bank statement or a rewards card statement.


Staples pride ourselves on our high levels of customer service and if an inherent fault was found we would of course, refund the costs incurred in obtaining the independent assessment. Most assessments will cost no more than £35.

etc etc
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have also contacted HP and again after some tactics they rang me today to say that there were "no reported problems with the G range" " the problems were all with the DV range" and that as the computer was out of warranty they could offer me an "out of warranty repair at a price of £270" at this I nearly choked and told them that I could buy a new one for this price.

Needless to say I coud use some help with this.
Are the any reported issues with my G series computer? and am i wasting my time? A local repair company told me to "bin it" and charged me £40-00 for the privelage.
Please help.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Regards
Griffo

Hello Griffo and welcome to our forum.

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



Well, they would say that wouldn't they! HP have not been that forthcoming with any information regarding the actual scale of this problem and the exact number of affected models.

If you take a look here:- http://tinyurl.com/3agmxr4 you will see the search results on this forum for your model of laptop. You will note many other members who are suffering from the same problems with the same model of laptop as you.

The failure of the wireless card is one of the first manifestations of the defect closely followed by the failure of the GPU.

Irrespective as to whether or not HP actually admit to a problem in your model, if it can be proved that it is indeed inherently defective then Staples will have to refund or replace the laptop.

If you look at my signature at the foot of this post you will see a link with details on how to obtain an engineers report.

Staples have been very good with this forums members and as soon as they have been presented with one of our reports they have been quick to resolve the situation.

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

Hi Paul,
Many thanks for your quick response,i have now had confirmation from Staples that they will reund the cost of an engineers report if it proves that this is indeed an inherent fault.Before I make arrangements to send this laptop to you. Can you tell me if the Nvidea chip in the G6031 is one of those mentioned in the report in the Inquirer
(According to a report in The Inquirer, every single G84 and G86 GPU in the 8400M and 8600M series of cards is affected. Period. No exceptions. All of them!)
Can you also give me any idea if there have been any successful claims agaist Staples for this model of laptop.
I look forward to hearing from you and will arrange to get this to you ASAP.
Thanks again.
Best Regards
Griffo

Hello Griffo,

Well, according to the HP website, your laptop actually contains an Nvidia 6100 GPU.

I have worked on a huge number of this particular model of laptop and they all had the defect.

You were quite fortunate to have purchased from Staples as they are one of the better high street retailers.

You will find that once you have submitted your engineers report to them then things will move pretty quickly.

If you take a look here:- http://tinyurl.com/2w6qn4l you will see a number of customers with your model of laptop and their progress against some of the other retailers.

If you have any questions then please let me know.

Good luck and best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

Hi Paul,
I have downloaded a program to check the GPU temperature and it is currently running at 84 degees C although it does not feel as hot right now as it has in the past. What temp would be considered normal?
Regards
Griffo

Hello Griffo,

Is that temp the under load temp or at idle?

If under load then it is a little high, though not as high as I have seen.

If that is at idle then it is way too hot!

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

Hi Paul,
With the computer at rest ie just doing nothing the temperature indicated is 74/76 degrees C
just opening up a couple of Emails and loging on to your site the temperature is showing as 77/80 degrees C
How does that look to you?
Regards
Griffo

Hello Griffo,

Well those temperatures by themselves do not prove that your laptop has the defect.

Unfortunately, due to the bad design of these laptops the heat sink assembly can become clogged with dust (it is actually dead skin etc but all laptops suffer from this).

I am not saying your fans are clogged, I just don't want to state definitively that your laptop has the defect purely based on the temperatures recorded.

The loss of wireless is a better indicator that your laptop has the defect as this is more positive evidence that the defect exists.

I take it that the wireless card is not displayed in the Device Manager and the wireless switch stays at orange irrespective of whether it is on or off?

The test that we do will prove this and the report that will be produced will be sufficient for you to receive either a refund or replacement laptop.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

Thanks Paul,
There is an entry in Device Manager indicating that the NVidea GeForce Go 6100 is working correctly and another entry saying that the NVidea nForce 10/100 mbps Ethernet adaptor is working correctly but there is no entry showing that the wireless adaptor card exists. The wireless switch light is also permanently orange.
Does this look like the fault?
Regards
Griffo

Hello Griffo,

Yep, that is the defect.

If the wireless card is not in the device manager and the wireless switch is permanently orange then you have one of the fist manifestations of the defect.

It is now time to get a report and start the ball rolling to get either a refund or replacement laptop.

Remember, a repair is out of the question.

Any questions please let me know.

Good luck and best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team