It finally happened....

[Jake]

So what actually happened to it? My 9800 GTX broke and I was able to fix it. Perhaps yours is fixable too.

 

How did you fix it? Im having the same problem as matt. My pc will start but the monitor won't show anything :/

[Dirk]

How did you fix it? Im having the same problem as matt. My pc will start but the monitor won't show anything :/

 

First thing is to go though troubleshooting. Isolate various parts to see what is the problem. If you have a spare machine or parts that works best but there are other steps you can take. If your motherboard is giving errors check your manual for what those errors are. If not, I would say first check every connection, unplugging and replugging them all, the pluggs from the PSU often come undone. Then test the ram by first reseating it, then testing each stick on its own (one in the machine at a time) and and then by using a known working replacement. If the machine is not powering on at all (no fans or anything) check the power supply. If the machine is powering on and you have confirmed that the other components work then its probably the GPU. In my case I had a second 9800GTX so confirming the dead card was easy.

 

If you have confirmed it to be graphics card failure then I would say reflowing it is worth a shot. Basicly you remove the heat sink from the GPU and carefully apply heat (I did 650 degrees) with a hot air gun to the GPU its self. I covered the rest of the card in aluminum foil to protect it from the heat. The idea is that cards commonly fail when the solder joins between the GPU and the board crack. The heating melts the solder again and fixes the cracks. That in mind you need to make sure that the card is NOT moved at any time while the solder is still hot. I would say read how to properly do this first and make damn sure your card is dead first because this does risk damaging the card. When I did this on my first 9800GTX it went from completely dead to working fine again.

 

It should be noted that this might only fix the problem temporarily. The solder joints may crack again or they might not be completely fixed by the process. In my case the card lasted annother 6 months before it failed in the same way again. Of course, while a likely cause of GPU failure, broken solder joints are not always the problem so this may not work at all. I is also possible to replace the solder points completely but that brings in a whole new level of difficulty.

 

p.s. some people say you can do this in an oven. It probably does work sometimes but its unreliable and you are likely to get nasty toxic stuff in your oven. Capacitors dont like ovens. so dont do it.

 

and yes this is also how you fix the red rings of death.

[Jazz]

;683479']You lost your virginity?

 

rofl exactly what i thought when i read the title

[BoM]

How did you fix it? Im having the same problem as matt. My pc will start but the monitor won't show anything :/

 

Memory, harddrive, or Video card... If you're monitor doesn't start up on boot, its almost always hardware.

 

You people call yourself gamers. tsk tsk

 

Also I doubt its what Dirk is talking about, if you can't even troubleshoot that your hardware is fucked don't apply 600 fucking degrees of heat, AND DON'T PUT YOUR COMPUTER IN AN OVEN.

 

Really dirk? -_-

[Dirk]

Memory, harddrive, or Video card... If you're monitor doesn't start up on boot, its almost always hardware.

 

You people call yourself gamers. tsk tsk

 

Also I doubt its what Dirk is talking about, if you can't even troubleshoot that your hardware is fucked don't apply 600 fucking degrees of heat, AND DON'T PUT YOUR COMPUTER IN AN OVEN.

 

Really dirk? -_-

 

I said DONT put it in an oven. When you look up reflowing online they always say to do that but its a stupid idea.

 

BoM does have a point though... dont do this unless you actualy know what you are doing. In my case it was an out of waranty card that was going to be trashed otherwise and I spend several hours reading profesional guides on how to do it.

[matt]

rofl exactly what i thought when i read the title

 

I put a lot of thought into my titles when I make threads. Im tricksy like that.

[shoiep]

I put a lot of thought into my titles when I make threads. Im tricksy like that.

 

How I read this.

 

I put a lot of thought into my titties when I make breasts. Im ticklish like that.

[Jake]

I tried testing all the parts but nothing seemed to work. I just gave up and asked my dad to bring it in to one of his friends who owns a repair shop and he fixed it for free. Asked my dad what he said he fixed and he forgot lol. So i guess ill never know what was wrong with it.