You won't believe this... I got a DV9000 for $300!

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

I just let my friend borrow my DV5 as he needs it for a few days, and the job he needs it for will bring both of us some $$$ so i agreed to leave him my laptop till Saturday.

Now, i had $350 that i was still debating what to spend it on. Then, a post in my local hardware trades forum caught my eye. Some guy was selling a faulty DV9000 for $320. He said that the laptop runs for about 20 minutes then shuts down due to overheating. Everybody told him that it's likely the 8400GT fault again and it's not worth fixing (he was out of warranty). He was getting ready to take it apart and sell it part by part.

That's when i came in. I like to gamble on "faulty" hardware sometimes. And 80% of the time my gambles turn out good for me, so i phoned him and told him i know someone who can repair the motherboard for me, and that my offer is $300. Obviously i was lying, if the mobo was broken i wanted to try the "baking" method on it. He said, "alright, but if you want it for $300 come get it tonight". So i went to check it out.

He had just backed up his data and restored the system from the recovery partition, so in terms of software it was clean, besides the usual junk HP installs of course. Sure enough, within about 15 minutes the thing started getting hot. I installed Everest and CPU temps were at 77C, GPU over 80. He said "Well that's what it does, and then it just shuts down. The fan is running". I put my ear besides the fan vents and i couldn't hear anything. But i kept my mouth shut. "Yes, the fan is running." I gave him the $300 and left with my new toy.

So what's wrong with it after all? A faulty fan of course. I'll be taking it apart now to clean it, and i hope it'll get going. If not, i still have the stock cooler of my Sapphire HD3870. Its fan looks exactly like a laptop fan, and i have this feeling that it'll fit.

Okay now the specs, and some pics of this thing. It's got a 17" display at 1440x900, Turion x2 2GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 250 gig, and 8400GT with 256MB. Oh and it's got a 12-cell battery. That makes pretty much on par with my DV5 in hardware specs, and it wins in screen and battery. Also i have to say it's much more elegant. The DV5 is just too flashy.

And look at it - it's almost mint!

[msrie]

I remember reading about this lappy, i was going to buy one on ebay last week for 250 pounds, but looked on the net and it said the problem was unfixable and needed new motherboard.

I did not buy it, maybe you got lucky.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Well, i know for a fact that the fan is dead, so i hope that's the only failure. The guy said he bought the laptop from a friend half an year ago, and that this issue has only been going on for a week.

The heatsinks seem to be pretty well designed, as it takes quite a while till the thing heats up bad. If the fan on my DV5 would fail, i bet it would shut down within 5 minutes at most.

Edit: Alright boys, naked pics round one. Kudos to HP for free service manuals.


quality assurance inspector checking the job


um, you sure that's all the screws???? uh, no.

that's better.

[optimustarzan]

yep good find.

[sendmarksmail]

So, we're you able for fix it? That's an awesome find. Nice little secondary computer...would have gone lower to $200 just to give it a shot! Haha.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

So, we're you able for fix it? That's an awesome find. Nice little secondary computer...would have gone lower to $200 just to give it a shot! Haha.

Still working on it, but i believe all i have to do now is clean it a bit and put it back together. Btw, i tried $250, he didn't accept it as he had found someone that would buy (only) the LCD for $180.

See naked pics round two:

if a screwdriver won't work, a knife will.


lo and behold the mobo in all her naked glory.


finally got to flip 'er over, nice heatpipes there


the fan removed. not too much dust really, but it's FRIED DUST.


the fan. soon to be cleaned a little.


wait a little. I SWEAR I DID NOT UNPLUG THE FAN. so why is the fan cable down here, and the connector up there? now don't tell me i had to take the whole damn thing apart because the fan cable got loose. DAMN.


Edit: I plugged the fan in, ghetto-rigged whatever ribbon cables were needed for the board to get power, and plugged 'er in. Sure enough, the fan started... Now i just have to get the laptop back in one piece. And glue the fan cable to the connector.

[Teraforce]

I'm glad you got that fan working again! Just button her up and she's good to go!

A loose cable... who would've thought?

[ramgen]

wait a little. I SWEAR I DID NOT UNPLUG THE FAN. so why is the fan cable down here, and the connector up there? now don't tell me i had to take the whole damn thing apart because the fan cable got loose. DAMN.

Sometimes big problems may have trivial solutions. And you have come across one of them...

Sorry for the poor dude who sold his lappy for $300.


--

[weinter]

LOL OMG sold laptop for 300 because of a loose fan connector what a joke.
Lucky for you bad for him.
The heat sink must be pretty good for it to last a while without fan.

[DarLog32]

LOL, now all you need is a lottery ticket, ya lucky SOB! Great find there, btw!