HP dv7 beats audio edition - Dead CPU???

[Nethriel12]

Hello,

I have a strange issue. My friend has a highend dv7 beats audio edition laptop. Core i7, 6GBs DDR3 10600, 500GB HDDs x2 and I believe it has onboard ATI Radeon HD 5450.

Anyways, so it started with a 0x000009c error code which I googled and had something to do with over/under clocking and a vcore or something. I'm not into the overclocking scene, I understand the principle and purpose of it, I've just never done it. My friend doesn't even know what overclocking is, he simply bought the laptop from Future Shop (ya, I know).

So the error code was the starting issue. It also was getting incredibly hot (typical HP dv series) to the point where it wouldn't shutdown but just the screen would turn off and wouldn't come back on. I ended up running Memtest and same thing, get hot and screen shut off but everything stays on. I tore it apart and cleaned out the cpu fan which was clogged up.

Now it turns on but no screen at all, screen doesn't turn on for even a second. I get the "CapsLock" blinking error code though, it flashes once every 2 seconds which according to HP forums means "CPU not functional". Now this is a Core i7 cpu and I don't have the money to buy a new one just to 'Test" if it really is the cpu and I personally never seen a cpu die before. So I got my hands on a used Intel P4600 cpu that fits the same socket but I don't know if its fully compatible with the board.

So after putting that P4600 cpu in and firing it up, still no screen but no blink code either... I put the Core i7 back in and blink code comes right back.

I'm stumped on what to troubleshoot next, is the cpu really dead? Could the screen not coming back on with the P4600 cpu just be because its not compatible?


Thanks For Any Help!

 

[sk1939]

First off, it does sound like the CPU is dead fro the sound of it; probably got too hot due to the dust and finally had enough. Is the machine still under warranty?

That wouldn't be the only reason, but it's possible.

 

[Nethriel12]

No, the warranty expired about 7 months ago.
I'm thinking that to, maybe heated up so bad it fried it. It would only take about 10mins till I could not put my hand near the fan because it was too hot. When he gave it to me originally (about 3 days ago) it was turning on and the screen working, hence how I saw the blue screen.

I would think that the board would fry before the CPU though but I don't know. What other reasons could there be? I just wish I could have the same cpu to test to make 100% sure it is the cpu and not the board or something else.

 

[FinneousPJ]

My first guess is you either broke it or dis/reassembled it wrong, meaning it might still work when assembled properly.

 

[Nethriel12]

No I'm a hardware technician and I take laptops and desktops apart for a living. The assembly and dis-assembly is not a factor in this particular case.

 

[popatim]

Call HP and pretend your cutomer beleives he bought the HP extended warranty. They will chack and most likely deny but if this was an ongoing problem for this model they might have extended the warranty without many people knowing about it. I've run into that serveral times though it was with the older dv9400 series.

 

[sflo19]

i had the same exact problem with the same model. returned the first one that i only had for like 2 weeks. screen turned off..computer would be on but the screen was just black and the same keys flashing like yours. i returned it to costco.. got the same model though. and had it for about close to 6 months and its starting to malfunction. i never dropped it or anything. the screen will freeze and little fuzzy lines will start appearing and they get darker until they cover the screen. then the screen will be all white for a while and itll either go back to normal after a bit with the screen light flickering sometimes i have to open it and close it. also, it started making a weird noise inside..dont know what it is and it never did it before, luckily i still have the warranty.