HP Mini-Note motherboard failure rate?

[stefcep]

Its this fear of motherboard failure after 13 months that resulted in me selling mine. I would strongly advise against storing important data without backing up.

BTW I stupidly bought a HP dv4 pavillion laptop to replace my 2133, thinking that the heat issue was just confined to the 2133. It also runs hot. Its vent is placed at the back, so that the screen can block it when you open it. It has very few vents underneath. I went back and checked all 10 HP models on display at the retailer and checked other brands. HP models were ALWAYS the hottest to touch. ALWAYS. And none had vents on the side. FYI Toshiba were the coolest. My brother just boght a Toshiba. His notebook is always at least 15 deg C cooler than mine, esp the hard drive.

Has anyone had the same motherboard for 12 moths yet?

[azotyp]

So you had after 13 months good motherboard and then out of the sudden it would broke, I dont believe that, IMO motherboard failure is made because of high heat rate , but If you use always low performance settings plus some cooling equipment it should be fine (I think)
I use this for cooling my hp
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7588
and run always on low energy settings, hope my motherboard will last long,
but if it will ever fale after quarranty is over I will always have best memories of good times with my 2133.
You know nothing last forever people die motherbords burn, thats life

[gregw]

So you had after 13 months good motherboard and then out of the sudden it would broke, I dont believe that, IMO motherboard failure is made because of high heat rate , but If you use always low performance settings plus some cooling equipment it should be fine (I think)
I use this for cooling my hp
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7588
and run always on low energy settings, hope my motherboard will last long,
but if it will ever fale after quarranty is over I will always have best memories of good times with my 2133.
You know nothing last forever people die motherbords burn, thats life

Unfortunately, unless you ALWAYS shut down instead of putting it to sleep mode like what happened to mine, there is always a chance that it may "wake up" unexpectedly in the case and kill itself by overheating... :x

[azotyp]

I always hibernate, still I'm aware that it have faulty motherboard, but will have to live with it. As I said nothing last forever. (but still thinking that for the price I paid in my country for that, that was a good deal),

[stefcep]

So you had after 13 months good motherboard and then out of the sudden it would broke, I dont believe that, IMO motherboard failure is made because of high heat rate , but If you use always low performance settings plus some cooling equipment it should be fine (I think)
I use this for cooling my hp
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7588
and run always on low energy settings, hope my motherboard will last long,
but if it will ever fale after quarranty is over I will always have best memories of good times with my 2133.
You know nothing last forever people die motherbords burn, thats life

Most 12 month warranties are based on a significantly increased failure within 2 years. The 2133 has IMHO an even higher failure rate than usual. Theres no doubt in my mind the longer you have your mininote the greater the risk of heat failure. OK if its still under warranty, but not when you get into the 13th month, because then you pay a fortune to fix it. And this failure can happen at any time without warning.

Nothing lasts for ever? No but it should last 3-5 years given its price and what the current expectation of how long a computer should last. There are 25 year old small factor Zx spectrums still going strong..If you are happy with this risk then fine. I wasn't, so I sold it. But its the best of its kind if you ignore its questionable reliability.

[gregw]

Quick update on my Mininote..

It's still at HP for repair. I've called HP the last two days and the official status is still "Waiting for parts".. A technician is supposed to be calling me today to tell me what parts they are waiting for and how long it will take to repair my Mininote. Today is the 8th day since it's been with HP.

From the symptoms, I can easily diagnose that my Mininote has the same "Dead Motherboard" problem as everyone else.. I guess HP must be running out of 2133 motherboards due to the many suddenly dead Mininotes sent in for warranty service. :roll:

-edit-
Latest update..

Instead of a technician calling, HP Service Centre just called me to say that my Mininote has been repaired and is now ready for pickup.

I'm going to take an early day to pick it up. We'll see how the repaired Mininote performs tonight.

-edit2-
Got my Mininote back!!

Installed my SSD and a bluetooth module before turning on and it works fine.

And yes, it was a dead motherboard which was replaced.

[DaveP]

Got my 2133 back from HP on Nov 21 after they replaced the MoBo.


Guess what??



Yep, a month and a bit later and it's died again. :-(

I'm seriously thinking of sending it back to the suppier and demanding a replacment - NOT another HP2133.

[gregw]

What were the circumstances that caused it to die? I doubt very much the vendor would be willing to replace your Mininote with another laptop though..

[DaveP]

What were the circumstances that caused it to die? I doubt very much the vendor would be willing to replace your Mininote with another laptop though..

Both times it was sat on my desk, next to my work issue laptop. I work for the Gov so my works laptop is locked-down - I use the 2133 for 'private' stuff and for reasearch that I can't do normaly.

Basicaly it went into 'sleep' after a while of inactivity ( PSU plugged in ) and does not come out... Holding the power switch shuts the machine down ( no lights ). Powering on lights the power and WiFi LEDS, but does nothing else.


I'll have to check on UK consumer laws. :-(

[batitude]

What were the circumstances that caused it to die? I doubt very much the vendor would be willing to replace your Mininote with another laptop though..

Both times it was sat on my desk, next to my work issue laptop. I work for the Gov so my works laptop is locked-down - I use the 2133 for 'private' stuff and for reasearch that I can't do normaly.

Basicaly it went into 'sleep' after a while of inactivity ( PSU plugged in ) and does not come out... Holding the power switch shuts the machine down ( no lights ). Powering on lights the power and WiFi LEDS, but does nothing else.


I'll have to check on UK consumer laws. :-(

My Motherboard failure was just like the above. However, my experience with HP support was absolutely the best experience I have had when I have been so upset. The technician ran me through the remove battery, hold down power for 15 seconds, plug in with power with no battery and attempt turn-on, and then again with battery. Then cheerfully sent me a shipping paid box to return it in, and emailed me PDF instructions to remove my hard drive so that I would not risk any data lose. I had it back in less than 5 business days, popped the drive back in, and it worked like new.

The information I got from a few questions (I was quite upset - I had my Mini for almost 4 months at this time, but it had seen very little use) was that it most likely was a "common" power problem, but that they would most likely replace the entire mother-board. I asked weather the heat issues could have caused it, and was told that it was unlikely.

I got unbelievably fast service from them, and it has worked flawlessly since. I still believe that the heat is the root cause, and once my warranty is over, I will remove the mesh from the grill, and maybe even attempt to make the bottom vents bigger (but really don't want to scar the great looks of the machine).

I have been looking for one of the laptop coolers with USB powered fans that would blow up onto/info the bottom vents, forcing more air in through and around the machine. Most of them I have looked at suck the air down, and vent out the back or sides of the cooling platform - I believe that will have the exact opposite of the desired cooling airflow.

The precautions I take now are - I never run it with the lid closed - even if I am using an external monitor. I always make sure it is on a hard surface - I got a lap desk for lap/bed use, have nothing blocking the left or right sides that could reduce air-flow, and shut it down when not using it (no sleep or hibernate).

It is running much quieter and fan doesn't speed up as much since I replace my 160 Gb drive with a 32 GB drive (see posts in other forum topics), but it is still operating in the 130-140 degree F range, with is almost 20 degrees hotter than my HP DV9000 - which I had thought was the hottest laptop I have had in the last 10 years.