HP Pavilion dv9700 should also be on the list - but it is not even with a NVIDIA 8600 GPU

[sbqsam]

Hi, I want to add my voice to the cacophony.  I have a HP Pavilion dv9700.  Screen is blank.  Machine boots because I can hear the Windows musical sound.  I've had two different repair places look at it and spent about $200 so far.  Each place fixed it for only a few days then it went blank again.

My laptop is less than 2 years old.  This was my first HP laptop, I'd always bought Dell in the past, but I wanted the 17" screen.  What a mistake.

-Sam

[KRawls1972]

Ill add my voice here too. Had my dv 9700 for roughly 3 years, got it for graduation before i left for college. Now the screen wont stay on for more then 10 minutes at a time without goin LED berserk on me. Had it sent in already about 4 months ago for a MB replacement, and now 3 months later, about 2 months after the warranty ran out, the thing is takin a dump on me again. My moms had a dell laptop for shoot...6 years now and shes never had any problems bigger than some spyware and easily fixable problems. Not gonna spend 400 bucks to fix a terrible company's terrible product, rather spend another 1500 on a better company's better product.

[peace4us]

Just got off the line with customer service and got the same crap story.  Customer service says it's not a problem, but this freakin' web site says it is.  I used to recommend HP to everyone, but now I'm joining in to say:

DO NOT BUY HP

Every repair shop I have taken the **bleep** thing to confirms that it is known motherboard/wireless/NVIDIA issue and that HP refuses to honor the recall.  More than disappointed.

[TopGun]

Add my name to this growing list of unhappy campers. I bought my Pavillion dv9700 CTO less than 2 years ago. Last month the screen died and I spent $400 to have the motherboard replaced. Three days ago the screen failed, displaying vertical lines only, i.e. no horizontal sweep. From all the posts in this thread it looks like the NVIDIA 8600 problem. If HP knows about this problem with the dv9700 then I would have expected some kind of notification since I had registered the product.

[Barbapapa123]

why dont they freaking rocognize this issue, there are clearly hundreds and probably thousands of us who has this freaking problem. if they do a recal i would just refund this useless 5kg brick.

[WThesing]

I just wanted to chime in again.

Shipped my DV 9700T off to Reeboot IT in Kissamee Fl for repair yesterday. They specialize in repairing these problems for a flat $125.00 repair fee, which includes a full diagnostic check. If the GPU chip needs to be replaced, it is $ 50 additional. They have an infra red oven which will redo all of the solder joints on the motherboard. Most of the problems are caused by the board flexing due to heat, and the solder joints failing. They will also perform corrective measures to help eliminate the problem by better disapating the existing heat buildup. Average turn around time is 10 days. They also warranty their work for 90 days. Very high percentage of solving the problems for good.

I also added multiple PC coverage to my Verizon FIOS account for $10 a month, which will cover all of my PC's for everything in the way of repairs, theft, accidents. Maximum out of pocket deductable for replacement is $75. If the problem presents itself again, and repeats, I will eventually be entitled to a new laptop of equal value. There is a 30 day wait for this to go into effect, so I am not defrauding the coverage, as repairs will be complete before hand.

I will keep you posted. Hope this is helpfull to some of you.

Just an indicator as to how wide spread the problems are. A cottage business has been created just on this HP issue. The folks at Reboot IT are knowledgeable & friendly. They have informed me that they are getting units in from all over the world with the same common issues, and have a seperate department to deal with this alone.

[907ak]

I have the same problem!!! Even while gaming i take precaution like a laptop cooling pad, i clean it out with compressed air, and there was absolutely nothing i could have done to prevent the problem, short of not using the computer. it is just very disappointing such a good company made such crappy machines. In my opinion this is not nvidia's problem, its hp's. I did not buy the product from nvidia, i bought it from hp. I expect them to use good quality products, and when they don't they need to admit they screwed up and fix it. 

[pete_577]

I am in a pretty similar boat to you.  Bought my DV9740us in Germany from an USAF base and now live in the UK.  It developed problems 20 months after purchase and is sat collecting dust in the cupboard.  I cannot believe that the same fault is reported here on the same machine.  It beggers belief that HP wont recognise a fault in the design/manufacture.  The customer service is also the worst I have ever come across (South African call centre, calls/e-mails not returned, left on hold for many minutes at a time) it is incredibly frustrating.  I have now contacted the Citizens Advice Bureau [Text removed].  I will never buy/recommend another HP product as long as i live.

[jackiewayne]

Same problem...no help from HP, I've bought my last HP product. There are lot's of good products in the marketplace today for me to choose from. I'm finding I like them much better than the HP's that I have been so loyal to all these years. I replaced my dv9727us with a Macbook Pro I also bought an Acer and have been impressed with both. I'll replace another of my Hp's soon with a Toshiba or something similar. My loss of business for HP won't hurt them but if we all stick together and find other options they will feel it over time.

[dansx6]

This pretty much says it all...

http://lifehacker.com/5524704/laptop+reliability-study-highlights-the-most-sturdy-laptop-makers