TX 1000 does not start!

[mkesurf]

tx 1000 wont start up... fan starts for a second and lights flash. but then it just dies. What could it be?

[kenmob]

Neither does mine!

I was hoping an HP person might have replied to you?

[mkesurf]

I was hoping that too... And calling their technical support will only leave you with frustration.

[Chojun]

The TX1000 series laptop is plagued by a design flaw that will cause the computer to essentially self-destruct after a year or two of use.  It's unfortunate because it's a very nice (and expensive) laptop.  I've done a lot of research into this problem.  HP refuses to acknowledge that it is a problem.

You have a couple options:

- Pay about $400.00 to HP for a replacement motherboard.  Keep in mind that this computer has a design defect and the new motherboard will die within about a year, sometimes sooner, sometimes later.

- Look on youtube for "HP tx1000 fix".  You will find a video of an elaborate do-it-yourself fix for the laptop.  A lot of people have had success with this fix and with variations of it.

- Call customer support and ask for a supervisor, and then ask the supervisor for a case manager.  Explain the problem (blank screen, won't boot/shuts off after switching on) to the case manager and (politely) demand a fix.  Again, HP will NOT acknowledge that this is a widespread problem with this series of computer, but some people have had success in HP offering to fix it at a reduced (sometimes free) cost.  Once again, this is a design flaw and EVERYONE who owns a tx1000 series laptop will have this problem.

There are some preventative things you can do:

- Update the BIOS.  I believe it has a fix that will run the fan more to keep the computer cool(er).

- Try your best to keep the computer as cool as possible.  I would not run games or CPU/GPU-intensive applications on it (sorry, this kind of thing is out of the question for this computer).  Heat very significantly reduces the lifespan of this computer.  Most computers in my extensive experience will last on average of 5-8 years.  The tx1000 series laptops will only last about 1.5-3 years because of the thermal problems, which is completely unacceptable for a computer in this price range.

- Set your computer to go into standby mode after a short time when it's not being used.  Don't let it idle for a long time.. it just gets too hot.

- Upgrade to Windows 7, it seems to be a bit less taxing on the system than Vista and seems to stay a bit cooler.

- Don't watch movies on this computer (sorry).

- Buy a cooling tray for your laptop

- Set the performance settings in windows to be less agressive

Also, it should be noted that in the process of the laptop's self destruction, the wireless card typically goes out (in most cases, this happens first), so it is a good warning sign that your laptop only has a few months left to live.

[kenmob]

Thanks,

I am in the process of rescuing data from the drive, and taking the thing apart. My son works in surface mount electronics, and I am hoping he can do a more professional repair than that shown.

Will let you all know!

[alex548]

My TX1320us had the same symptoms. I'd hit the power button, the lights came on for 1 second, then turned back off.

Obviously the warranty is gone and I don't trust HP at all so I fixed it myself. I sanded down an old copper penny (both sides) to use instead of a copper shim. If you're gonna do this repair, I suggest you buy an actual CPU copper shim from ebay, then cut it to size. While you're at it, get yourself a dirt cheap heat gun as well. 

When taking the board out of the laptop, I noticed one MAJOR problem. There was a gap between the copper heat pipe and the GPU die. Yes, that thermal pad was still there, but appeared to be rather useless. I believe the culprit on all these laptops is that gap and crappy thermal pad. 

Back to my story,  I applied heat to the nVidia GPU by waving the heat gun in small circles (I held it about 6 inches from the chip). After about 1 minute, I gently pushed down on the chip with the back end of my screwdriver to make sure everything is re-seated. I let it cool for 10 minutes before reapplying Arctic Silver thermal paste on both the GPU and CPU. 

I placed my home-made copper shim on the GPU, then put the heatsink/fan on that.The large gap was gone & I screwed down the heatsink.

Once everything was put back together, the laptop powered up without any problems now.

I still don't like my temps (probably because of the penny instead of a real copper shim), but it's working now.

My new temps at idle are:

GPU: 57

CPU:  45

Temps while watching youtube HD videos:

GPU: 68

CPU: 70

The base feels slightly warm to the touch now whereas before it was way too hot. 

EDIT: Temps are reported in celsius

Message Edited by alex548 on 12-02-2009 03:20 PM

[Chojun]

Alex,

Thanks a bunch for the update   I've seen that method on youtube and I think that's what I'll probably do to fix my laptop.

I just have a couple of questions for you.

1)  Did you have a problem with your Wireless card before the fix?  If so, did your fix bring the wifi back?

2)  How big would you say the thermal pad is (surface area)?  1x1 cm (estimate)?  How big is the gap?  >1mm?

I'm having a problem with #1; and on #2 I'm curious because I'm seriously considering manufacturing a thermal kit to repair the problem and prevent it from coming back.  I know a machinist and I think we could custom design and machine a thermal conductor from copper that would be a more permanent fix than a penny, and if it works I'd be more than happy to mass produce and sell on e-bay.

If anyone would be interested in such a kit, post here and let me know.

[notx1000]

HP wont reply to anybody....they claim that because is a hardaware part, it can break....sounds like a bunch of lies to me to be honest. Now we are stucked with a very expensive piece of junk

[unni111]

i have been experiencing the same problem with my tx1003au laptop. This is the third time that is happening to me in the last one year.I changed the motherboard only 4 months ago and still it is happening again

[Chojun]

Here is an update:

My laptop has been running fairly well ever since I was able to get it to start up (although admittedly I did not use it very much, or at all).  I did not have anything important on it so I ran the recovery program and restored it to its original factory condition.  After that I went through and uninstalled the vast majority of the pre-loaded junk, except for the programs that are genuinely useful (3 or 4 programs, in this case).

So far, it has been running just fine, although I have only been using it for occasional light web browsing.  The factory restore did not restore the wireless, as some people are experiencing.

So, I had a hunch.  I am a BOINC / SETI@Home user and thought I might be able to 'burn' the chip in without disassembling the laptop, using heat guns, or applying pressure.  I installed BOINC (attached to SETI@Home project) on my laptop and set it to run at 50%.  I then set the laptop down on a table like this:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/Chojun/IMG00122.jpg

I ran it at 50% for about a day, then bumped it up to 70% for a day.  Finally, I bumped it up to 90%.  A day later, I restarted the laptop, and the wireless came back.  So, now I suppose I can say that my laptop is in full working order.. sort-of.

My hunch was that the GPU die is on the underside of the laptop, and by turning it upside down and running it hot for a long period of time, the die would 'sink' back into the socket.  I think that if the die were on the top-side (keyboard side) of the motherboard, we wouldn't be here complaining about this stupid laptop.  HOWEVER, I will STILL need to fix the heat sink, because under typical use the GPU will 'slide' (relatively speaking) out of the socket again if it gets too hot (which it will).

So as a recap, if you can turn your laptop on, or otherwise get it to run hot, then do this:

- Install a CPU-intensive program, like BOINC and attach to SETI@Home (or some other scientific computation project, there are lots)

- Rotate the screen around, flip it back, and rest the laptop upside down, like in the picture.  I placed DVD cases under the edges of the keyboard to keep it propped up and allow air flow.

- Let the computer run continuously for several days, gradually increasing the CPU load through BOINC preferences.

- After peak/semi-peak load, restart the laptop.  Let me know if your WIFI comes back.

Optional steps after this:

- Shutdown the laptop, and let it cool for an hour

- Disassemble it and follow the "penny trick" in the youtube video to give it some added thermal dissipation

Please post back here and let me know if this works for any of you.