(HP Pavilion dv6-2030SA When booting, I get nothing, just fan & lights

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HP Pavilion dv6-2158nr

This multimedia-geared dv6 comes with a 15.6-inch display, a built-in stereo, and weighs just under 7lbs. It is simple to disassemble- only a small screwdriver and a paper clip are required.

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Lewis L. Foster @sniff122

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Posted: Jun 16, 2019

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(HP Pavilion dv6-2030SA When booting, I get nothing, just fan & lights

I have a HP Pavilion DV6-2030SA (the Pavilion dv6-nr was the closest model i believe) where when i power up the laptop, i get just the fan spinning and no beep codes or anything, i did get the caps lock and num lock before i started getting nothing, i have had the blinking caps and num lock key issue before but i was able to solve it be removing the CMOS battery and reseating it. I have tried removing all unnecessary devices like hard drive, wireless card, bluetooth module and have tried different DDR2 RAM. I have asked on the HP forums but they said they cant help because i use linux on the machine (what does not affect a potential BIOS issue) and the fact that it is an old model.

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Have you tried an external monitor to eliminate the screen?

Jun 16, 2019 by mike

Yes, i have tried to boot without any ram just to see if the machine will provide a beep code what it usually does with no ram but i got absolutely nothing.

Jun 17, 2019 by Lewis L. Foster

Hi, this is almost certainly a GPU solder failure, do you have a Nvidia or AMD GPU? As a test, wrap the laptop in a bath towel covering all fan outlets, basically cover the top and bottom of the laptop completely and snug, with the screen open and powered by mains, turn on the laptop and keep checking every 10 mins to see if it boots. It will sit with the fan running for a while then with luck eventually boot up. If so you have proved the GPU needs reflowed, unfortunately this will only work for a short period. I DIY reflowed several of these laptops using a IR heat detection gun and a gas soldering iron as a blowtorch. It worked for a few months then I had to do it again. Eventually I gave up as it’s way to frustrating.

Jun 17, 2019 by Stephen

It has an AMD GPU, bot sure if it is built into the CPU bot not, I don't think so from what I saw inside when I was cleaning it once. Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try

Jun 18, 2019 by Lewis L. Foster

I can confirm that it is an issue with some BGA component in the laptop, probably the GPU as the CPU is in a socket. The machine only works when it's warm/hot so umm. At least I know what is causing the problem (the GPU and not the BIOS like I thought it was). Oh well. Thanks for the help guys, at least o was able to get it to boot and stuff for months and I know what the culprit of the issue is.

Jun 18, 2019 by Lewis L. Foster

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Joshua Freeman @joshua12585

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Posted: Jun 19, 2019

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I had a similar issue with my Compaq laptop. I ended up trying this method that I saw on youtube where you strip down to just the motherboard, and place the motherboard into the oven at about 200 degrees F. After about 15 minutes, I took it out and pressed down on the GPU to help reflow. Surprisingly, it's been working fine ever since. At that point I didn't have anything to lose, so I tried it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMyxKzyU...

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Yes, i have tried to boot without any ram just to see if the machine will provide a beep code what it usually does with no ram but i got absolutely nothing. — Lewis L. Foster
Hi, this is almost certainly a GPU solder failure, do you have a Nvidia or AMD GPU? As a test, wrap the laptop in a bath towel covering all fan outlets, basically cover the top and bottom of the laptop completely and snug, with the screen open and powered by mains, turn on the laptop and keep checking every 10 mins to see if it boots. It will sit with the fan running for a while then with luck eventually boot up. If so you have proved the GPU needs reflowed, unfortunately this will only work for a short period. I DIY reflowed several of these laptops using a IR heat detection gun and a gas soldering iron as a blowtorch. It worked for a few months then I had to do it again. Eventually I gave up as it’s way to frustrating. — Stephen
It has an AMD GPU, bot sure if it is built into the CPU bot not, I don't think so from what I saw inside when I was cleaning it once. Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try — Lewis L. Foster
I can confirm that it is an issue with some BGA component in the laptop, probably the GPU as the CPU is in a socket. The machine only works when it's warm/hot so umm. At least I know what is causing the problem (the GPU and not the BIOS like I thought it was). Oh well. Thanks for the help guys, at least o was able to get it to boot and stuff for months and I know what the culprit of the issue is. — Lewis L. Foster