Ok, I finally figured one out to what was happening. These are an older motherboard as the board isn't made anymore and the ones on Ebay are going for a mint!
My first post here so don't kill me!
ok,whew! I finally figured out what was wrong with my MCP73M02H1 motherboard.
First, the problem. I have a HP A6403w pavilion desktop with the above mentioned motherboard. When booting the computer, it would start up, flash the lights on the keyboard but would not show the bios screen. There would be no screen activity, harddrive activity, no mouse and the keyboard would not show any activity when I pressed the caplock or numlock. There was also no beep from the motherboard.
I tried changing the ram (DDR2) with some spares that I knew were good. I tried changing the CPU to a known good one as well with no success. I pulled the motherboard and inspected it for any deformities, blown capacitors, anything out of the ordinary. I replaced a capacitor by the upper expansion slot just because I didn't like the way it looked. It had some crust around the top that looked like it might have been leaking but again, this was not the problem.
After looking on the web for quite some time, I came across a video on Youtube.com where they were repairing a HP laptop with a problem with the video card coming loose from the motherboard due to overheating. The computer I was working on did have alot of dirt and dust accumulated in it which I had cleaned out before starting to work on it. I thought, what the heck, and I did the same thing to the motherboard and WALLA! It starting working like new again!
Start by removing the motherboard following all the precautions to reduce the amount of static as much as possible. Ground yourself to the case and try not to do this over a carpeted floor.
In the center of the motherboard, you will see the cooler with the Foxconn logo on it. You have to remove this to get to the video chip connected to the main board. On the back of the motherboard you will see where the plastic locks go through the board. Squeeze the tabs together and pull the pins out and remove the cooler.
Clean the old heat transfer paste off of the video chip and the bottom of the metal cooler. You will need some new thermal grease prior to reassembling the cooler.
I highly recommend 'Artic Silver 5' which you can purchase from Radio Shack for around 10 bucks.
Next, you will need a pencil torch and some metal foil. If you have a steady hand, you can do this without the foil but I recommend you use the foil.
Lay the motherboard down flat on a stable table with the processor and video chip face up. Take your foil and cut a piece around 3 inches square. In the center of this, cut a square out the size of the video chip. Lay the cut out square around the video chip and lay the rest over the components around the chip. Using the pencil torch, heat the video chip around the outer edges being careful not to heat directly over the center chip and don't hold it over an area for too long. All you want to do is heat the chip enough to resolder it to the motherboard again. The recommended temperature is from 200-210 degrees F. or you can crack the chip making it totally worthless. It doesn't take long to heat it up.
After you have heated it for around 10-15 seconds, remove the heat and allow the chip to cool for about 5 minutes. Apply the new paste to the center of the metal cooler and just a light film will do. The stuff is heavy and sticky so a little bit is all you need.
Reinstall everything and see if your monitor starts working again.
Hint, take a picture of where everything connects to before you remove it. That way you have it all put back where it goes!
If it works, you did it right and that was your problem. If it doesn't you can try the proceedure again or you have something else wrong with your motherboard.
Hopefully this helps someone.
My first post here so don't kill me!
ok,whew! I finally figured out what was wrong with my MCP73M02H1 motherboard.
First, the problem. I have a HP A6403w pavilion desktop with the above mentioned motherboard. When booting the computer, it would start up, flash the lights on the keyboard but would not show the bios screen. There would be no screen activity, harddrive activity, no mouse and the keyboard would not show any activity when I pressed the caplock or numlock. There was also no beep from the motherboard.
I tried changing the ram (DDR2) with some spares that I knew were good. I tried changing the CPU to a known good one as well with no success. I pulled the motherboard and inspected it for any deformities, blown capacitors, anything out of the ordinary. I replaced a capacitor by the upper expansion slot just because I didn't like the way it looked. It had some crust around the top that looked like it might have been leaking but again, this was not the problem.
After looking on the web for quite some time, I came across a video on Youtube.com where they were repairing a HP laptop with a problem with the video card coming loose from the motherboard due to overheating. The computer I was working on did have alot of dirt and dust accumulated in it which I had cleaned out before starting to work on it. I thought, what the heck, and I did the same thing to the motherboard and WALLA! It starting working like new again!
Start by removing the motherboard following all the precautions to reduce the amount of static as much as possible. Ground yourself to the case and try not to do this over a carpeted floor.
In the center of the motherboard, you will see the cooler with the Foxconn logo on it. You have to remove this to get to the video chip connected to the main board. On the back of the motherboard you will see where the plastic locks go through the board. Squeeze the tabs together and pull the pins out and remove the cooler.
Clean the old heat transfer paste off of the video chip and the bottom of the metal cooler. You will need some new thermal grease prior to reassembling the cooler.
I highly recommend 'Artic Silver 5' which you can purchase from Radio Shack for around 10 bucks.
Next, you will need a pencil torch and some metal foil. If you have a steady hand, you can do this without the foil but I recommend you use the foil.
Lay the motherboard down flat on a stable table with the processor and video chip face up. Take your foil and cut a piece around 3 inches square. In the center of this, cut a square out the size of the video chip. Lay the cut out square around the video chip and lay the rest over the components around the chip. Using the pencil torch, heat the video chip around the outer edges being careful not to heat directly over the center chip and don't hold it over an area for too long. All you want to do is heat the chip enough to resolder it to the motherboard again. The recommended temperature is from 200-210 degrees F. or you can crack the chip making it totally worthless. It doesn't take long to heat it up.
After you have heated it for around 10-15 seconds, remove the heat and allow the chip to cool for about 5 minutes. Apply the new paste to the center of the metal cooler and just a light film will do. The stuff is heavy and sticky so a little bit is all you need.
Reinstall everything and see if your monitor starts working again.
Hint, take a picture of where everything connects to before you remove it. That way you have it all put back where it goes!
If it works, you did it right and that was your problem. If it doesn't you can try the proceedure again or you have something else wrong with your motherboard.
Hopefully this helps someone.
