I have an Alienware laptop with a D900K motherboard in it. Despite its age and weight, this is still a fairly powerful computer and I really like its features (which are pretty much unfindable these days). I’m having a problem with the video card, however.
The video card is removable. There are four mounting pins attached to the motherboard for screwing the video card/video fan/heat sink assembly to the motherboard. One of the mounting pins keeps popping out of the motherboard, and every time this happens the laptop stops booting. I THINK because the video card is no longer properly seating.
The pin has been resoldered into the motherboard several times, but the solder isn’t holding. (Note that the screws used in the video card/heat sink assembly have some sort of spring inside them. Not sure if that makes a difference.) The curious thing is that it’s only this one pin having the problem, the other three hold just fine.
I have a PDF file of the page from the service manual showing what the mounting pins look like, if anyone needs an illustration.
Can anyone suggest a better way to secure that mounting pin to the motherboard? Please? I’m wondering if superglue will work, or one of those compound epoxies.
A diagram would help.
Generally speaking, solder is going to be stronger than epoxy, but if the plating has been ripped out of the mounting hole, solder isn’t going to work. If you can get to the back of the board, it might be possible to insert a screw through the bottom of the board into the post, which would hold it firmly.
Also, it might be worth considering wedging some foam on top of the video card to hold it down from the top, and just give up on the post.
Would pictures do? I copied these out of the manual and put circles around the mounting points. The pictures were uploaded to a Facebook album that is set to let everyone see it. Let me know which size is better for figuring things out, and I’ll make them both that size.
This is identified as the “top” of the motherboard. The video card is actually attached to the bottom side, but the circles show where the mounting pins come through the board itself.
This is identified as the “bottom” of the motherboard, where the video card actually connects. The circles are around the mounting pins, again. This is where the screws holding the fan and heat assembly are screwed in.
beowulff, I don’t think the foam is a good idea. I think it would block the fan.
I’ve been given a suggestion of using a thermal adhesive, such as Arctic Silver. I’m not sure if transferring heat to the motherboard is a good idea; on the other hand, those posts shouldn’t be heating up. I think.
Edit to add: This is a link to the PDF of the Service Manual, where I got the pictures from. No sign in necessary, does have a captcha before you can download:
Arctic Silver isn’t an adhesive - it’s a thermal paste. It has almost no mechanical strength.
Do the posts have holes that go all the way through the board? If so, maybe you can get a very small zip-tie and just tie the card to the board.
Apparently, Arctic Silver makes both the thermal paste you are familiar with and a thermal adhesive. They’re not the same thing. It even says specifically to not use the adhesive between a processor and a heat sink.
The holes do indeed go all the way through the board. I’ll suggest a zip tie. I think the issue then is that the screw may not come out of the fan and heat sink assembly. There seems to be a spring involved, but it’s inside the tube.
This is the video card’s fan and heat sink, from the top. You can see the tubes the screws are in.
When posts have been broken off conventional motherboards in the past I have sometimes used nylon nuts and screws, which are strong, come in a variety of sizes, are non-conducting and can be cut to any size length wise for specfic height offsets.
If the hole is not too huge a simple click in nylon MB stand offmight suffice.
Another possibility is installing a washer, to spread the load so the screw head doesn’t pop through the motherboard. Obviously a non-conductive nylon washer is best, and that may mean replacing the screw with a slightly longer one (by the depth of the washer). Also need to make sure there is room underneath the motherboard for the washer & screwhead to stick out more.
I think I am not describing the problem or this mounting point well enough.
The mounting point, or whatever it’s called, has a pin on one side (call it the bottom) that goes through a hole in the motherboard. The pin is soldered to the motherboard. The top side of this mounting point has a receptacle into which the screw from the heat sink assembly is screwed. The top side is ALSO soldered to the motherboard.
The pin part of the mounting point keeps popping out of the motherboard, despite the solder, possibly because you have to exert a great deal of downward force when screwing in the heat sink assembly. It is not (luckily) snapping off.
The heat sink assembly has four screws used to attach it to the motherboard, with the video card in between it and the motherboard. The screws are located in tubes of some sort. Each tube also apparently has a spring in it, which is probably why you have to bear down to get the screw to screw into the mounting point. I don’t know why there are springs, but it certainly pushes back at you when you’re trying to screw things down.
I find it odd that the other three mounting points aren’t having the same problem. I also don’t understand why, when the mounting point has nothing to do with the circuitry, the computer won’t boot unless the heat sink assembly is properly screwed into all 4 mounting points. The video card is properly seated. There’s good contact between the video GPU and the heat sink assembly even without the fourth screw, so why doesn’t it boot? I tell you, it’s frustrating. :(:mad:
I wish the pictures were better. I’d take some of my own, but it’s with techs at the moment. And the only diagram I have is from the back of the same manual I got the pictures from, and it’s one of those exploded diagrams with teeeeeny print. I did provide the URL for where to download the PDF of the service manual, didn’t I? <checks> Yes, I did. Good. You can really zoom in with that PDF, but it makes it hard to see much of the diagrams when you do.
