How to Fix Video Card Myself

[rm_dimns]

Hey, I have this old pc with a DDR2 Video Card 512 MB. It works fine but suddenly, a few months later, the pc wont display. I tried it several times already but still it won’t display. Therefore I remove the video card and switch to the built in display. It’s working back again.

I have found out that the video card fan is full of dust, so I clean it and put some oil. It’s spinning back again (still fast) but still it won’t display. My question: Are there any way to fix this video card?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Hey, I have this old pc with a DDR2 Video Card 512 MB. It works fine but suddenly, a few months later, the pc wont display. I tried it several times already but still it won’t display. Therefore I remove the video card and switch to the built in display. It’s working back again.

I have found out that the video card fan is full of dust, so I clean it and put some oil. It’s spinning back again (still fast) but still it won’t display. My question: Are there any way to fix this video card?

Short answer: No

 

[rm_dimns]

Oh, so it cant be fixed? The video card is dead? -_-

 

[BoomerD]

What's the card?

There are lots of problems with the nVidia 8800's that allegedly can be fixed in the oven...google "8800 GT oven trick" for more info.

 

[KGB]

Look at the capacitors on the card to see if any are bulging or blown.
If you can use a soldering iron, these can be replaced.

 

[rm_dimns]

Everything in the video card looks normal. No bulging or blown capacitors or something. But hey, maybe oven works. Ill try it.

What actually happens is that i left the pc on for a several minutes until the computer standby. I tried to move the mouse to wake it up but still not displaying. I turned it off and on and until now still not displaying.

One more thing, the keyboard is still working. When I press caps lock or num lock or scroll lock. Lights in the keyboard is working. When I press ctrl+alt+delete, i it restarts the pc (My proof: keyboard lights restarts) even though i cant see any display. No sounds i can hear though. My point is, maybe something might help to trigger the video card in order to make it work again. Any ideas?

 

[mindless1]

Dead video card is dead...


... though you could try putting it in a system that can use an alternate display adapter to POST as the primary adapter, to get it to boot to DOS or windows then try flashing the bios of the dead card.

Being full of dust, I suspect overheating. If there are no burst capacitors as reported, your GPU probably broke some solder joints so with the card otherwise being a total loss, it is not unreasonable to try the oven heating someone mentioned for 8800 on your card, except that the card probably isn't very valuable so it's a matter of how much your time is worth as you can buy used or on sale or with rebate low end video cards dirt cheap.

 

[MtnMan]

Captain Kirk: Bones?
Dr. McCoy: It's dead Jim!

 

[wafflethug]

I had a bad Gigabyte Video card and sent it back for RMA. Got a reply saying there was oxidation which meant it was physical damage and couldn't be repaired. They even sent me a closeup picture.

When they returned it to me, I took a q-tip, dipped it in rubbing alcohol, and cleaned the area that they said was "physical damage". It was a whitish type of oxidation that was bridging 2 connectors off a black chip (kinda like the spider legs). After I cleaned it, put it back into my computer and I'm still using it today.

 

[mindless1]

^ What happens there is that unlike years ago, manufacturers are using a water soluble flux. Though you "usually" can't see much if any of this flux when a card arrives new, it's a very thin film all over the card still because they didn't clean it off thoroughly during manufacturing.

Unfortunately if the card gets wet somehow, as the water droplets dry it leaves a concentrated pool of acidic solution that eats away at the metal creating a conductive crusty layer even after it dries completely. Sometimes when there is no reason to believe a card got wet, I have to suspect that there was a humid environment and the flux was hygroscopic so it became more and more corrosive over time as it became more fluid.

Note that in some cases you can clean the residue off and the video card will work again, but in other cases you may find the card has been permanently damaged.