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Baking the Motherboard

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DerStrom8

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Hey everyone. Got an interesting proposition for you guys!

I came across an old HP Pavillion DV2500 laptop with a supposedly fried video card (I turn on the laptop and I get nothing but a black screen). Since the video cards are built into the motherboard, I figured I'd probably have to spend a fair amount of money to replace the motherboard entirely. However, I came across a few bits of documentation saying that this issue (damaged video card) was extremely common in the HP DV series, and that an easy, cheap fix is to put the motherboard into a 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Somehow this is supposed to fix the problem.

My question is do you guys think it's worth a shot? The way I see it, if I'd be spending a few hundred dollars for a replacement motherboard anyway, why not try this supposed cheap fix? I wouldn't lose anything if it didn't work--I'd still have a motherboard with a damaged video chip, right?

Anyway, if any of you have ever tried this, how'd it work out? Have you heard of this fix before?

Any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Best wishes,
Matt
 
Sounds very much like you would be reflowing a dodgy chip, quite possibly a BGA. If you already have the board and don't care if it breaks forever then why not try it.
 
Sounds very much like you would be reflowing a dodgy chip, quite possibly a BGA. If you already have the board and don't care if it breaks forever then why not try it.

My thoughts exactly. If this doesn't fix it, I'd still have a damaged motherboard, so I'd have to buy a new one anyway. The issue now is where to find a well-ventilated oven that I could use without the owner getting worried about toxic fumes :p I don't want to use mine for the same reason.
 
Some Tektronics Hybrid IC's are being repaired that way. You buy a toaster oven and eventully convert it to do PCB's by solder re-flow and you haven't wasted your money.
 
Matt;
I Have been baking the network card for an old HP for years now.
Problum is the repair does not seem to last.
Every once in a while it will not work after a power down, so I just bake it again.
Maybe I never get it hot enough to stick.
With a laptop the heat inside may make it fail again faster, so it may not be worth disasembling it all the time to fix it.
The NIC card of the printer comes right out.
I have used the oven in the kitchen without any ill effects. I think
Just dont do it with the other half home.;)
 
Matt;
I Have been baking the network card for an old HP for years now.
Problum is the repair does not seem to last.
Every once in a while it will not work after a power down, so I just bake it again.
Maybe I never get it hot enough to stick.
With a laptop the heat inside may make it fail again faster, so it may not be worth disasembling it all the time to fix it.
The NIC card of the printer comes right out.
I have used the oven in the kitchen without any ill effects. I think
Just dont do it with the other half home.;)

Thanks Andy.

I started a thread at badcaps.net as well regarding this suggestion. One of the responses suggested adding liquid flux under the joints to make the "repair" last longer. Perhaps this will help with your problem....?
 
You might try a SMT soldering profile rather than "just baking". The service that does if for Tek parts, collects them until they have enough and then they are shipped overseas for the process. If it works, your fix cost you x money, if it doesn't work, your try cost you x money.

There is always freeze spray and wiggling.
 
Thanks Andy.

I started a thread at badcaps.net as well regarding this suggestion. One of the responses suggested adding liquid flux under the joints to make the "repair" last longer. Perhaps this will help with your problem....?
Maybe but you would have to clean it vary well afterwards.
 
You might try a SMT soldering profile rather than "just baking". The service that does if for Tek parts, collects them until they have enough and then they are shipped overseas for the process. If it works, your fix cost you x money, if it doesn't work, your try cost you x money.

The benefit of baking (if it works) is that it doesn't cost any money. ;)

Maybe but you would have to clean it vary well afterwards.

That's a good point.
 
With the profile you can get it hotter but you may have some undesirable side effects like fumes and parts moving.
Either case cool down is the key.
 
With the profile you can get it hotter but you may have some undesirable side effects like fumes and parts moving.
Either case cool down is the key.

Exactly. I heard the best way to do it is to turn off the oven and open the door slightly and leave it to cool down, still in the oven, for 45 minutes or so. This way it doesn't get moved until after everything is re-solidified.
 
Exactly. I heard the best way to do it is to turn off the oven and open the door slightly and leave it to cool down, still in the oven, for 45 minutes or so. This way it doesn't get moved until after everything is re-solidified.
Thats how I do it.
Also I only bake when no one is around to shake it when its cooking and cooling.
 
Thats how I do it.
Also I only bake when no one is around to shake it when its cooking and cooling.

Sounds good. Somehow I'll need to set up a bunch of fans and open the door/windows to let the place air out, too. That's the tricky part here, especially during the winter. I also don't know if I want to use my oven that I use to cook food to cook a solder-covered mobo :p
 
I just found this video that does essentially the same thing, except it's a lot faster and doesn't require filling an oven with toxic fumes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crJOEGioLTg

Has anyone used the torch technique? Do you have any tips or tricks? Obviously you need to cover up the parts that could melt/burn, and you have to keep the torch constantly moving, but are there any other suggestions?

I might be able to get my hands on a heat gun. Any chance that would work just as well?

I've also been meaning to ask--I have a Weller temperature-controlled soldering iron. It's old, but still gives off really good heat. Is there any way to use that thing instead?

Sorry for all the consecutive questions. I guess I'm a little excited with this project. The guy who handed me this laptop said that if I can fix it I can have it. It's a really nice machine, and if I can get it to work again it might become my main computer. It'll need a few upgrades--RAM, OS, etc--but other than that, i really like the look and feel of it.

Regards,
Matt
 
People do this all the time to fix RRoD Xbox 360s.

Word on the street is it works 70~80% of the time but doesn't last long. Google "Xbox 360 oven reflow", And like KISS said, best results are with a proper heat profile. Alternatively, you can get a universal BGA reballing kit off ebay for $60 and do the job the professional way. *VIDEO* Best fix if that is for sure the problem.

On that note though... did you make sure to try the function key that switches video output from the screen to the VGA port? I have got a few "broken" laptops working for people with this "fix".

-()b
 
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i repair Onkyo receivers quite often. there's a particular series of HDMI boards with a flaky BGA chip on them, the original fix for them was to use a heat gun to reheat the chip causing the problem. this "fix", however would only work for a few months to a year, before the solder failed again, and Onkyo began replacing them(i.e. Onkyo began giving us authorization for a new HDMI board). if you want to try it with that motherboard, it's worth a try. it's better than baking the whole board (and the electrolytic caps as well, which might damage them).
 
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