hp compaq nc6000 problems

[lehnaps]

I have just spent some time pulling apart a newly acquired and faulty NC6000. I read all the forums and the most likely culprit is the max1987 chip. I bought a very fine point battery soldering iron ($20 from dick smith), it had a much finer point than my weller temp controlled station. Using a high power magnifier and a steady hand, I carefully re-soldered each leg of the max1987 chip, reassembled and all was okay for about a day, then the same problem. After pulling it apart again I was looking for why this chip is breaking connections and found that the lcd hinge closest to the heat sink was very stiff. It was so stiff it was causing the case to distort when opening and closing the lid. With the screen removed I carefully placed a little penetrating oil on the hinge and moved it through its full travel to loosen it. It is still firm but not as stiff as it was. I have again resoldered the max1987 chip and reassembled with everything okay again. Hopefully this time it will last.

[lehnaps]

Okay it failed again after a few boots and opening/closing the lid. Someone said that soldering with an iron will not work, it has to be reflowed with hot air due to paste under the chip.

So the 2 fixes that make sense, reflow with hot air and add a piece of rubber to give support to the max chip when reassembled, plus loosen the hinge to stop excessive flexing on opening & closing the lid.

Okay, did all of the above and it is working again, so far so good. I used a hot air gun on a low setting to reflow the solder. I will provide an update in a few days.

[gvaughn@mec.cuny]

My nc6000 will some times lockup and require a hard shutdown. Too, it may not boot after sevarl tries. A post suggested that I hold down or apply pressure to the right upper portion of the laptop. This method worked to force a boot. It works all most all of the time. the machine may still seize at will. It has been suggested that the revision of motherboard that I have may be the problem. Hp denies knowledge of any problem and offer no suggestions. I found this hard to believe that they have no knowledge but rather they are playing the percentages. The problem may be a known hardware problem (with a cost factored in) that they will not address unless they are forced to.

If there is an interest, I would be willing to champion a class action to force their hand and make them addresss the problem, one way or another. If there are a number of you who have the same problem, contact me with the specifics of your problem and the steps taken, so that I can develop a list of affected users, and I will file an action in New York State court.

Professor Gregory A. Vaughn Sr.,
Department of Computer Science
Medgar Evers College, C.U.N.Y.
gvaughn@mec.cuny.edu
http://webpage.pace.edu/gv60907w
(718) 636-1045


A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.
Matthew 13:57

[gvaughn@mec.cuny]

My nc6000 will some times lockup and require a hard shutdown. Too, it may not boot after sevarl tries. A post suggested that I hold down or apply pressure to the right upper portion of the laptop. This method worked to force a boot. It works all most all of the time. the machine may still seize at will. It has been suggested that the revision of motherboard that I have may be the problem. Hp denies knowledge of any problem and offer no suggestions. I found this hard to believe that they have no knowledge but rather they are playing the percentages. The problem may be a known hardware problem (with a cost factored in) that they will not address unless they are forced to.
If there is an interest, I would be willing to champion a class action to force their hand and make them addresss the problem, one way or another. If there are a number of you who have the same problem, contact me with the specifics of your problem and the steps taken, so that I can develop a list of affected users, and I will file an action in New York State court.

Professor Gregory A. Vaughn Sr.,
Department of Computer Science
Medgar Evers College, C.U.N.Y.
gvaughn@mec.cuny.edu
http://webpage.pace.edu/gv60907w
(718) 636-1045

A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.

[alexiordan]

Hello, everyone!
Just like everybody else I hit this forum due to my HP NC6000 failure. I'll try to be as specific as I can.
As I was using my notebook one evening, the display went into black, and I couldn't control the situation from the keyboard or anything. I was using also a stand-alone monitor at that moment.
I tried to Ctrl-Alt-Del but nothing happened. I turned it off from the ON/OFF button and tried to turn it back on.
Pressing the ON/OFF I got BLUE and ORANGE LEDs lighten and FAN at high speed. Nothing on the screen and the notebook turned itself off in about 6 seconds.
After reading this topic on my cell phone's screen I have tried many of the solutions described here. Booted with and without
- battery
- cd-rom
- ram
- hdd
- keyboard
- touchpad
- modem
- fan
And nothing helped.
Still one of the advices here lead me to success.
Better screwing the top left screw of the fan case.
It seems indeed that there is a contact problem leading to a missing ground connection. That's why maybe many of you succeeded by pressing the keyboard in a specific area. Maybe you were just making that contact work.

Back to the solution now. You have to get the reparations manual in order to properly make your way inside.
You have to remove the keyboard, ON/OFF and WiFi buttons plate and the metal sheet underneath.
Now you can see in the top left the FAN. In its top left there is a screw that makes contact with Motherboard. That screw needs to be very strongly screwed.

I have to mention that lately I have traveled a lot with my laptop and also for about a month my FAN didn't work due to some dust accumulation.
All I can hope now is that this solution to last and help as many of you as possible.

[lehnaps]

Now, almost 2 months after my last repair effort and post, the NC6000 is still performing reliably

[karbaan]

Expanding on what Alexiordan had mentioned earlier, remove the years of oxidation on both contacts of the fan chasis and motherboard by scrapping them with a pointed tool. Dont have to scrape too hard, light scratches on the surfaces will just do. Fold a small piece of Aluminium foil in between the contacts and screw them together as per normal. This would ensure that you will not overtighten, enhance better contact and the Aluminium foil serve as a additional padded conductor. Hav Fun!!

[discardage]

I have just brought my NC6000 back from the dead by tightening the fan-screw.

I'd had never opened a laptop before, so the really *hard* part was getting to understand how the zif sockets operate - I yanked the ribbons out without unclipping them and only realised that the clips needed to be tugged upwards for release.

[paul naraine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gummipolarbear

You don't need to change the motherboard, but the . The harddrive will have to be changed if it's locked. You get to the motherboard by removing the keyboard. The part to change is probrably the curcuitboard attached to the motherboard, but first try resetting the bios by unplugging the cmos battery(you'll see it once the keyboard's removed)

can you advice me how to go about replacing the LED boad ribbon cable on my compaq nc6000. I already have the new cable.
Thank you

[paul naraine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gummipolarbear

You don't need to change the motherboard, but the . The harddrive will have to be changed if it's locked. You get to the motherboard by removing the keyboard. The part to change is probrably the curcuitboard attached to the motherboard, but first try resetting the bios by unplugging the cmos battery(you'll see it once the keyboard's removed)

can you advice me how to go about replacing the LED boad ribbon cable on my compaq nc6000. I already have the new cable.
Thank you