Hello all.:

I have an HP Pavillion Laptop dv800 and I bought it maybe over 2 years ago. But recently, it has been encountering some problems (monitor wise). It would turn on fine, all programs are fine... but the monitor would occasionally choke and twitch. and now, when I physically move the laptop monitor.. it would twitch insanely with a black choking screen with some colors in it.

What should I do? Is this solvable? or should i just get a LCD Screen Laptop replacement?

It's called an LCD display, not a monitor. Speaking of a monitor, try connecting a external monitor to the laptop

ricekrisp33, this is videochip failure. this is typical problem for all zd8000,dv8000,zd7000,zv8000 series of HP laptops. you can look for new MB, or you can give it to someone who can repair it(videochip replacing), there are two types of videochips in these laptops ATI x600, or Geforce FX5700.

Yes lamo,
if the video chip is bad, an external monitor will not work either. I suspect that the video chip may be damaged from overheating

that's right. and again, that's because of lack of heatsink(those damn developers!)

Here in the US, "A penny saved, is a penny earned"... That video chip heatsink probably cost several cents, as long as the laptop works to the warranty period (usually 1 year) why spend the extra money on a video chip heatsink?

I have has some of the same issues. My screen started to have lines in it. I would move the screen alittle or tap the side then it would clear up. It started to get worse to where I would have to bend or twist the left side alittle and then it would be fine. Now I can only use an external monitor because the screen is so bad. I have replaced the invertar with to new ones and that did not fix it. I checked all the wires to see if they where loose or that they might of had a break in them and that did not fix it. I see you said that the video card is not bad if you can use an external monitor. Is that always the case. If I can still use it on my external then it must be something else other then the vidoe card? Could it be the screen itself or is it possible that it is the video card.

If you were skilled enoug to replace the LCD inverter successfully congratulations. You have checked the cable(s) that connect the LCD to the motherboard, but by flexing the LCD over and over again, you might have damaged it beyond repair. The LCD panel may need to be replaced

I only flexed it a small amount and about only 2 times. I did not want to damage it. Ijust started to use an external monitor. It was more like when the screen started to mess up i would move it back and for to see if it made the picture better and i think i flexed it a little. If it is not the screen what else could it be?

I used to have a dv8000 which had the same problem. Unfortunatly there was not way to repair, I changed the display cable and had it completely serviced, but short of replacing the entire display (costs more than the laptop) there is no fix.

dblam, there's a solution. the solution is to find a good serviceman, who understands how laptops work, and replace a videochip(geforce 7600 eh?). problems with chips occur more often than with LCD's

lamo, I was not aware of this. I had taken my dv8000 into to several service places who all told me the same thing. It is possible they are wrong. What is the cost in replacing the videochip and do you have any suggestions on where to find such a serviceman?

Where are you located in this World?

Located in Calgary, Canada

I'm not that far from you... About 300 miles straight south. The Calgary phone book would be a good place to start looking

the videochip is soldered to mainboard, the mainboard has very poor quality(compal, afaik).
tmagic, can you do BGA soldering?

I have reapplied paste flux and reflowed solder on some BGA chips

ok, but be aware of leadfree components in this laptop,quality of the MB itself and remember to shield the crystall when you do soldering of the chip(that's of course, if you're using the IR-station).

I'd rather pay a younger tech with better eyes, steadier hands and better equipment, do this type of repair for me now. Paying $150 or so for a working laptop is ok with me

I have an HP dv8339us with a similar problem. The LCD will function properly for a various amount of time, then fail. Then if I leave it, it may come back on and function properly. If I close the lid and go to sleep mode, it may work when I wake it back up. Or it may not.

It is completely unpredictable when it will function or not and there is no telling how long or when it will work or not.

However, the external display port always works and this is why I have not trashed it or taken it apart to experiment yet.

When it doesn't work, the screen may start to turn black, or white, and there is a faint picture of what was displayed before it failed which begins to fade out. Sometimes it will jump back to normal in a few minutes, sometimes I will be waiting a few hours.

The laptop has the GeForce7600 graphics chip, but as mentioned, is it really a problem with that if the external display has no issues?

Too bad HP doesnt have an out of warranty offer to fix this like they do for the left hinge on select notebooks.