HP DV7 Graphics Controller Not Functional

Hi Guys,

I have an HP DV7 laptop that's approx 12 months old (just out of warranty). It came with 64bit Vista but I upgraded it to Windows 7 a few weeks ago. Last night the blue screen popped up and it shut down as if it were restarting. If there was an error code I didn’t have time to write it down.

Now when I turn it on you hear the fan start up but the screen is dead. After 15 sec or so the caps and num lock lights start to blink "blink code 4". The HP support website says this means: "Graphics Controller Not Functional" solution: "contact HP support".

Googling I found several people who sent theirs in under warranty and got it fixed and a few who paid between $400 and $500!! to HP to fix it. But nobody has posted what the fix was.

So far I've:
-Done a hard reset by pulling the batt and depleting the power ect.
-Swapped memory sticks around
-Tried to press function keys upon startup

I really don't know what else to do; I'm at the mercy of the Major Geek Wizards Lol

 

Does it have the Nvidia Go chipset? The entire DV series of laptops is junk, they have motherboard problems from the 1000 all the way up to yours. I recently repaired a Presario by reflowing the chipset and using a copper shim instead of the stock thermal pad. Its working fine now. Its not for the noob you've got to have the right equipment and the stones to do the job. Its funny instead of HP bringing Compaq up to its level, Compaq brought Hp down to theirs.

 

Thank you both for your input. I did try the disk but still no display. It has the AMD Turion chipset. When I got home today I pulled one of the top memory chip out and to my amazement it started up normally. I can swap the chips in the bottom slot and it boots fine; but if I put either chip in the top slot I get nothing but the 4 blink error code. Is it possible to replace/repair the memory slot?

 

For all intents and purposes no. You can try a bios update, but if its hardware related the average user is not capable. There are companies who specialize in component level repairs you can find them on ebay. They are usually reasonable, $100 - $200 usually. Personally, I'd fix it and sell it.

I hope this helps.

 

I just finished working on an HP DV4 1225dx. I was extra careful and when I got the 4-blink-code (graphics controller not functional) I lost my mind. After some careful dismantling and troubleshooting, I was able to get it back up with both RAM chips.

The procedure that worked for me was to strip the machine down to just a motherboard and chips. Then, connected each component one at a time until the machine wouldn't blink codes at POST.

What helped the most was attempting forcing the machine to POST without memory, then with only one memory chip. After the OS loaded successfully with 1 chip, the machine came back online with both chips. I was ready to give up and buy a new laptop until I read JesseJames' post.

 

This MoBo is a bad engineered piece of crap..I fought one for 3 days. I got a new one and it had the same problem. Turned out the foam rubber like crap would not transfer heat. The new board came with a couple copper shims, but the one on the graphics chip would not make contact. Same problem on a new board!

Solution:
BEND the heatsink tubing and aluminum support, till the shim is tight, when having the white silicone heat transfer paste on it. You will have3e to attach it and remove it a number of times to get it right. Make sure to double bend it (Z), so it lies flat on top of the chip.

HP is a rip-off and they suck. Wonder what their engineers are on, DOPE or DOG FOOD.

Rick Harvey

 

Please help, Jessse...
I am able to boot with one chip. Top chip causes black screen and graphics debilitation. Have you figured this out? What must I do?

 

Thanks the ram switch worked for me. I'm just glad i don't got to buy a new laptop. I will just buy a 4g stick and will be same as before. Again thanks man....

 

I tried all the things everyone else did, and I was able to get it up and running taking out the bottom ram. So now running on 2 gigs of ram. What do I need to do now to get the fix to be able to run it on all 4?

 

dv7-1245 HP laptop - worked fine for 3 years, suddenly the flashing LED problem appeared.

Taking out one of my memory modules and leaving the other in the top slot allowed the computer to reboot using on stick of 2GB DDR2 800 ram.

I am buying some new memory, hopefully that will fix things.

I will report back when I get my new memory.