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Inspiron XPS GEN 2, medium well.

post #1 of 22
7/10/10 at 4:43pm
Thread Starter 
My XPS GEN 2 seems to have gone fins up. I get corrupted gfx on boot and it only gets worse. Opened it up and found no dust bunnies clogging the fans but I did notice some discoloration on the chipset heat pipe. Anybody else think that the chipset heatsink pipe went bad?. Any other ideas or have I identified the issue?





If we are in agreement that it is indeed the chipset, can someone please post a link(s) to a good source(s) to get a replacement mobo and a new heat pipe?
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post #2 of 22
7/10/10 at 5:39pm
Discoloration is normal on copper when it gets hot over time. Since you have it off why don't you try applying new thermal paste on the CPU and GPU? Put it back and hook it up with an external monitor. If the problem persists then it is likely that your GPU is failing.

cheers ...
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post #3 of 22
7/10/10 at 5:56pm
Thread Starter 
Oh, I know that discoloration is normal over time but the contrast in oxidation between the two pipes in that pic says volumes. It's not a matter of reseating. What you see in that screen pic is what I get on boot when the system is cold. Something is fried.

Unable to get a secondary monitor running. So, yeah, it could be GPU related, too (suggested links for new card appreciated. There are so many and I am not all that savvy with notbook parts... desktop, sure, but not notebook).

Bessie always did run hot. Maybe too hot.
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post #4 of 22
7/10/10 at 6:05pm
If you want to replace the heatsink/fan unit - go for it I personally doubt that it is the cause for your screen distortion.

As mentioned, your screen distortion is caused by either screen failing (hopefully) or GPU failing. eBay is the best place to find a replacement GPU for this model, or post in Want to Buy section and see. GPU failure in Dell systems is notorious, more than other systems that I know

cheers ...
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post #5 of 22
7/10/10 at 6:07pm
Moved to Dell Section for more input.

cheers ...
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post #6 of 22
7/10/10 at 6:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
If you want to replace the heatsink/fan unit - go for it I personally doubt that it is the cause for your screen distortion.
Geeze, read, please!...

Replace MOBO, not just a fan and heat sink. That's like fixing the weather stipping on a broken window.

If the Chipset is fried, the mobo willhave to be replaced. I am leary of that heatsink because it is soo much more discolored than the video card heatsink pipes. It looks like it got EXTRA hot.

If it is video card, that makes it an even more expensive proposition. I am not going to tunr this 4 year old PC into a money pit. THe more I dig for parts and see the prices, the more I think it's time for the trash bin or sell it for parts, as is.
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post #7 of 22
7/10/10 at 6:46pm
If any part of the motherboard (besides the GPU) itself is fried you would not even see a picture on your screen.

In your case I would also try "baking" the GPU. 9.999 out of 10 it does fix the problem in your pic

Hopefully other members can come by soon and give more input as what they think what the next step would be. I have put in my 2 cents

cheers ...
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post #8 of 22
7/10/10 at 10:41pm
Test on an external monitor to confirm if it is the GPU

IF you do get the same thing on the external monitor time for a new GPU.

The Heat pipe is fine, Yes it has been hot, probably more to do with the poor fan operation than a failure of the heat pipe, Unless the pipe was physically damaged it should be fine.
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post #9 of 22
7/10/10 at 10:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
In your case I would also try "baking" the GPU. 9.999 out of 10 it does fix the problem in your pic cheers ...
My Betty Crocker cookbook fails to mention how to "bake" my GPU.

What exactly is it are you indicating that I should do?
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post #10 of 22
7/10/10 at 10:48pm
Thread Starter 
Oh dandy! 385°F for 10 minutes. THis'll be fun. Don't have much to loose, do I?
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post #11 of 22
7/11/10 at 12:56am
no lol
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post #12 of 22
7/11/10 at 5:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LawnDart View Post
My Betty Crocker cookbook fails to mention how to "bake" my GPU.

What exactly is it are you indicating that I should do?
Quote:
Originally Posted by LawnDart View Post
Oh dandy! 385°F for 10 minutes. THis'll be fun. Don't have much to loose, do I?
Don't forget the sauce and the stuffing to go along ... Bon Appetit

cheers ...
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post #13 of 22
7/11/10 at 3:43pm
Thread Starter 
Well I'll be baked, broiled and braised.... It worked!

I also discovered that my video fan is dead... which probably precipitated the failure. Off to Ebay! $17 delivered. Hope this is the last I have to post about this.

To anyone who tries this... watch the heatsinks on the ends of the heat pipes. They fall off. I had to resolder one on. Not fun. Required a rebake to get it evenly up to temp and then some fancy work with propane torch, flux, silver solder and some jiggered up clamps to hold it all together. Just like sweating copper pipes together, luckily.
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post #14 of 22
7/11/10 at 3:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LawnDart View Post
Well I'll be baked, broiled and braised.... It worked!

I also discovered that my video fan is dead... which probably precipitated the failure. Off to Ebay! $17 delivered. Hope this is the last I have to post about this.

To anyone who tries this... watch the heatsinks on the ends of the heat pipes. They fall off. I had to resolder one on. Not fun. Required a rebake to get it evenly up to temp and then some fancy work with propane torch, flux, silver solder and some jiggered up clamps to hold it all together. Just like sweating copper pipes together, luckily.
Another crazy baker just graduated Congrats.

Let us recap our fee here.. Saving $$$$ on a mobo = you owning us some pics on your soldering

cheers ...
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post #15 of 22
7/11/10 at 7:04pm
Thread Starter 
Nothing interesting to see, really. Clean it good to remove oxidation, apply some flux paste, clamp parts together, apply heat, apply solder and let it wick in. Done. That was a thirsty joint. The cleaning and prepping allowed the solder to get sucked in, used a few inches of 0.032" flux core. No gobs on the surface and a nice bond, visually. Cleaned it really good when I was done to remove all the flux residue. Don;t need that corroding a hole into that heat pipe.




PSB
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post #16 of 22
7/11/10 at 7:17pm
Nice pic Now don't stress the "baked" GPU too much and it would/should last you for quite a while.

cheers ...
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post #17 of 22
7/11/10 at 10:10pm
Thread Starter 
This laptop isn't very stressed. It gets used for the web and my wife does some scrapbooking with it (cut, paste, crop... not heavy duty photo editing). Here's hoping it was just that dead fan. The left fan that is on the left video HS and chipset HS works fine. The right is dead, never kicks in. Don't think it is a temperature sensitive and the system was on long enough for the card to warm up. Either that $17 gets me out of the woods or it's a lost cause. We'll see.
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post #18 of 22
7/12/10 at 11:10am
the fan should start up during post then slow down/turn off

I would have thought the Dell BIOS would have reported a fan error as well, but perhaps not
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post #19 of 22
7/12/10 at 1:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave-p View Post
the fan should start up dueing post then slow down/turn off

I would have thought the Dell BIOS would have reported a fan error as well, but perhaps not
The fan weakly twitches at POST and never turns after that. After a few minutes of operation I can feel warmth where the GPU is situated and the video glitching starts again so heat is building up.


If you can tell me where in the BIOS I will find that report, I'll be quite happy. The BIOS on my desktop will tell me what color shirt I am wearing but the Dell BIOS in this laptop doesn't tell me a thing about the machine. I can find settings for fan LED intensity and color... but can I find something important like... well... are the fans turning?

I wonder if there is a more utilitarian BIOS I can flash to, something that is useful. As far as I can tell, no. I have A05 and that is the last BIOS rev indicated by Dell on the product support page for my service tag number.

My level of confidence is slipping.
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post #20 of 22
7/12/10 at 1:51pm
It would not hurt to change the fan, you should be able to clearly feel the air moving out the exhust port if it was working.

As far as the BIOS, it typically does a fan check during post, it the fan is turning all be weakly, it may still pass.

There is no other BIOS you can use, Its Dell or Brick/
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