Any advice? Gonna stick a bad board in the oven.

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u c

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May 22, 2012, 12:57:17 AM5/22/12
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After googling an unrelated topic, i stumbled upon the notion of "reflowing" a motherboard. Sounds crazy, i know, but hear this out.

One removes everything possible, covers any exposed doodads with foil, and bakes the board at 385 F for about eight minutes. This melts and resolders any cracked contacts, in my case the ION GPU.

It seems, after more googling, that Nvidia mobile GPUs of a certain vintage are susceptible to becoming brittle at their soldering points and then cracking, due to spectacular heat fluctuations. Well, spilling soda and not being quick enough to turn off my 1201N i would imagine caused quite the sudden cooling needed to break the contact.

This is a last resort. It is already dead. But i want to up any chances of success so feedback is most welcome.

And by dead, i mean there IS a zap of electricity that i can hear when i plug in the adapter, but none of the LED indicators light up, such as "plugged in" or "charging."

Again, this sounds crazy, but imagine if this works! Many people report success, varied though. From another month of operation to still going after a year. For science, will be my attitude.

Christian Wacker

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May 22, 2012, 1:07:56 AM5/22/12
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I’d make 2 suggestions:

1: make sure it’s an electric oven. A gas oven may not work the way you want it to.

2: 8 minutes sounds like a rather long time. If possible, watch it the entire time. As soon as solder starts melting, turn OFF the heat and let it cool.

3: If you can, get your hands on a heat gun instead. They work much better and can spot-heat just the GPU to see if it can clean it.

 

You mentioned that you spilled something on it? Try soaking the board in rubbing or pure alcohol for a few minutes and then seeing if there’s anything in it. It should rinse the board of any contaminants. That could be your only problem.

u c

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May 22, 2012, 1:16:24 AM5/22/12
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Thanks for not flat out calling me nutty.

I left out many of the detailed instructions, but electric oven, check. Watching it the entire time, check. Face mask and/or ventilation. Letting it cool half an hour. 

I have cleaned it with alcohol, but not soaked it. A final thorough cleaning sounds like a good idea. As well, a shorter cook time is a good idea, though it is recommended that if the first cook doesn't fix it, to try a bit longer duration.

I can see if i know anyone with a heat gun, but that seems slim. But i have a couple ideas now that you mention it.

Christopher Satterfield

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May 22, 2012, 1:23:35 AM5/22/12
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I did this once before to an HP tablet with a GeForce 6150 or something like that onboard that had the display problem. It worked fine for about 2 weeks before going back into a non-working state. 

Hopefully this works for you though, I would be more worried about liquid connecting stuff that shouldn't be connected than it messing with cooling.

Kris Tilford

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May 22, 2012, 1:27:33 AM5/22/12
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On May 22, 2012, at 12:16 AM, u c wrote:

> I can see if i know anyone with a heat gun, but that seems slim.

Harbor Freight Tools, $10 on sale.

u c

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May 22, 2012, 1:29:34 AM5/22/12
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Yes. But i have dried this guy out. 
I didn't even plug it back in for almost a week, and cleaned and dried and was patient and dried and inspected and then some.
I am very heartened by your success with the tablet. Partial though it may be.

u c

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May 22, 2012, 1:30:28 AM5/22/12
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For reals!?! Let me check that out. I read they cost more than that. Good thing to have around.

u c

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May 22, 2012, 1:32:35 AM5/22/12
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By gum you are right, and there is a store three miles away from me. Ten bucks is cheaper than stinking up the kitchen!

David & Bernadette Culpepper

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May 22, 2012, 9:15:55 AM5/22/12
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I read about this on the internet, so it must be true. You've got nothing to lose but time.  If you're really going to try invest in an IR thermometer, today's your lucky day!  You can get one for under $20!  http://1saleaday.com/wireless/
 
dc
David Culpepper

mosslack

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May 22, 2012, 10:13:08 AM5/22/12
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I believe this to be an extreme long shot as I don't believe sudden cooling of a bad solder joint to be your problem. With nothing at all working, even the power LED, the problem almost has to be a component failure, most likely in the power circuitry. I know you want to keep the cost low, but this looks to be a good way to go IMO:


In the meantime, what you have proposed can't hurt anything, so go for it!

Just a message from mosslack...
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u c

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May 22, 2012, 10:22:43 AM5/22/12
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Hey, that is an awesome deal. I had been scanning the eBay and had not found anything. The best i could find was the motherboard itself being sold for something like $380. Well, let's see if i win. And if i do, then i'll get that ten dollar heat gun and maybe i'll get two working machines in the end!

mosslack

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May 22, 2012, 10:30:13 AM5/22/12
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On May 22, 2012, at 10:22 AM, u c wrote:


Hey, that is an awesome deal. I had been scanning the eBay and had not found anything. The best i could find was the motherboard itself being sold for something like $380. Well, let's see if i win. And if i do, then i'll get that ten dollar heat gun and maybe i'll get two working machines in the end!

Hope you can win it at a good price. Also good luck on your hot mobo project!
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