HP G60 Laptop Screen Goes Blank

[Brannok812]

I have a three year old HP laptop running Windows 7 (64 bit) that is misbehaving. It would not boot up recently, and I believe the root was heat related issues. My son likes to use it while setting on his bed - fan gets covered up and the laptop overheats. I added some large rubber feet to the bottom to improve clearance for the fan and that has helped, to a point. The laptop will boot and I can log into my son's account. After 5-10 minutes, the screen goes blank (50% grey scale, neither bright or completely dark). At that point, nothing seems to bring the screen back, so it is unusable and a hard shut down is necessary. I have cleaned it with Malware Bytes in the past and now have Microsoft Security Essentials installed, so I think/hope any virus issues have been resolved. My suspicion is that this is heat related, but exactly what is failing I do not know. Two months ago I replaced the power jack in the laptop and the power supply because of power connection problems. The battery is shot and will not hold a charge, so the laptop can not be used unless it is connected to the power supply. Since I replaced the power supply and jack, the laptop has been functioning okay. It would crash on occasion, but I attributed that to malware. I had to purge the hard drive earlier this year and restore the system because of a malware infestation. Any help is appreciated.

[gman863]

The screen issue you're having is likely an issue of the on-board graphics card being on its last legs from overheating.

Turn the PC on and hold the fan output to your ear - do you hear it spinning? If it's broken, this is your overheating problem. If not, hit the cooling fins and fan intake with some air duster.

If the fan is broken (or the problem keeps repeating), the odds of fixing it are iffy at best. Although some shops can "reflow" the on-board graphics chip, the success of this repair is about 50%.

I've seen this issue on quite a few G60/G62 notebooks people bring into my shop for repair. Given the age of the PC, I wouldn't go over $100 or so on a repair - a new one with the same or better specs can be had for under $400.

Hope this helps.

[Brannok812]

Thank you for the prompt reply. The fan continues to spin after the screen goes blank. I have not tried to clean the fan and vent area since I had the whole chassis apart earlier this year to replace the power jack. I will clean it and see if anything changes.

[costac19]

Originally Posted by Brannok812

Thank you for the prompt reply. The fan continues to spin after the screen goes blank. I have not tried to clean the fan and vent area since I had the whole chassis apart earlier this year to replace the power jack. I will clean it and see if anything changes.

Hello Brannok812 "I have not tried to clean the fan and vent area"
My Compac A900 laptop had very similar problems to those you are describing! Slowing down and even not starting.
After several attempts at reinstalling windows etc I installed Speed fan and noticed that my temps were too high 80+, I then striped down the laptop and gave it a good clean. This helped me!
Perhaps when you have the laptop striped down you should re-apply some Thermal compound to the CPU and Gpu?
Hope this helps
PS good video tutorials are available to view on youtube that will show you how to strip down your exact brand of laptop.

[Brannok812]

Thanks for the response. I will get some thermal paste and try to reapply (a VERY thin coating. I have experience with heat sinks on fork lift controllers and that is a big factory/repair issue - to much paste becomes an insulator!). I will also try a chill pad or similar once I have cleaned and repasted the heat sinks.

[plodr]

I use my netbooks in bed alot. I have both sitting on blocks of wood that my husband cut to my size specifications then a passive mat on top of the wooden block and finally the netbook.
Passive mat (I do not want to give up a USB port to use a cooler with fans)
http://www.amazon.com/Targus-HeatDef.../dp/B003E1XI42
It is filled with something that turns into a gel as it absorbs the heat from your laptop/netbook.

http://www.targus.com/us/productdeta...x?sku=AWE45US1
I bought mine at Staples, on sale. I paid under $20.

[Brannok812]

Thanks for the response. Are you satisfied with the passive heat sink pad? I agree regarding the USB. Takes up a port, plus pulls more power and therefore generates yet more heat via the USB port/computer. I have looked for 120V powered laptop pads with fans and not found anything I liked.

[Brannok812]

Success of sorts. I have replaced the thermal paste on the cpu heat sink. The computer boots up successfully now. My problem now is that much of the software does not show up. The desktop is blank. Almost nothing shows up in the START menu. Checking the Computer utility, I can see the desktop icons, but they are not visible on the actual desktop. I tried to run Malware Bytes, but it stops responding after 2 minutes or less, even when uninstalled and reinstalled. Explorer works, but the Control Panel has disappeared, along with most other icons. I tried to access the system recovery through Computer, but it also stopped responding. What would cause this? Need to try a recovery disc? Thanks again for everyone's help.

[Brannok812]

So far, so good. I had the computer working and had recovered all files. That lasted 2 days, then crashed again. After much cursing and some reflection, I believe the issue is a bad battery. It won't hold a charge, so as long as it is in place, the charger is trying to charge the battery, thereby generating heat. I have replaced the thermal paste (again), have an external fan, and removed the defunct battery. So far, it is working. I will get a replacement battery and I hope that will be the end of the problems for some time with this laptop. I have lots of dis-assembly/reassembly experience now. Many thanks to all who commented and help me resolve this problem. It is one of three computers I have had to perform major repairs on this year.