The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hi everyone,

Just found this fantastic website after trawling the web trying to diagnose a problem with my laptop.

I've got a Sony VGN AR41E with an nvidia 8400M GT GPU. A couple of weeks ago, weird stuff started happening when I booted the machine up, when vista was loading I'd get stuck with a black screen with dashed lines all over. The only way to get it to boot up has been to enter safe mode and de-activate the graphics card.

When i then reboot, i get a message that rundll32.dll has stopped working and that there was a problem with nvapi.dll, (part of the graphics drivers).

The only way to get the graphics card back is to uninstall the driver, reboot several times, then download the driver again and install. The next time the card is worked (or even if the PC is left on), then the screen goes black and I get those weird lines again.

The PC also gets damn hot at the top right of the keyboard.

Speaking to my mate who knows a bit about PCs, he reckoned that the card was on the way out. Does anyone think that my symptoms could be due to an inherrent fault with the GPU?

The PC is a month over 3 years old and I'm a bit disappointed that it appears knackered.

I'm gonna have a read through the Comet section (as thats where I got it), any advice you can offer would be great.

Cheers for now!

marky_sparky

Hello Marky and welcome to our forum.

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

The problems you describe are certainly manifestations of the defect. Coupled with the fact that you have an Nvidia 8400 GPU I would say it is highly likely that your laptop is inherently defective.

Sony's "list of affected models" is, like HP's, wholly inadequate and in need of updating. That is available here:- http://tinyurl.com/qaonuz

Don't worry that your model of laptop is not on Sony's list, what is important at the end of the day is whether or not your laptop is inherently defective.

There is a step by step guide available on this forum that will help you reach a positive resolution and that is here:- post13.html#p13

If you follow my advice in that guide then you will reach a positive resolution.

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

Please keep us updated on your progress.

Good luck and best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

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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,

Thanks for the welcome.

I have now contacted Comet and have had some discussion with customer services.

After intially asking for the serial number, they have informed me that after contacting Sony, they regret to inform me that my laptop was not manufactured with a faulty GPU. They have also offered to inspect the PC at my cost.

From reading the many topics on this forum, this would appear to be the stock response, so I have asked for the Head Office address and will move onto the next stage.

Cheers for now,

marky_sparky

Another update...

turns out I was emailing Head Office.

Paul, looks like I need to organise a report, can you confirm that I can remove the hard disk from the laptop, its got loads of pictures and music on that I don't want to lose.

Cheers,

marky_sparky

Hello Marky,

No problems with removing the hard drive as this will not affect our ability to test your laptop.

Any further 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.