Fixed your loose GPU with paper? Please take this POLL

[pianowizard]

My T42's GPU became loose and I temporaily fixed it with a stack of paper between the keyboard and GPU. It has been working fine for about 30 hours. Previously, it was freezing once every several minutes.

If you tried this trick on your T4* before, how long did it work until the problem came back?

[sojourner]

My T42's GPU became loose and I temporaily fixed it with a stack of paper between the keyboard and GPU. It has been working fine for about 30 hours. Previously, it was freezing once every several minutes.

If you tried this trick on your T4* before, how long did it work until the problem came back?

Never had the dreaded GPU failure but I did want to comment on the paper trick.

Yes, it works for some. This tip was posted years ago on this forum, however, remember the GPU gets HOT, especially when doing graphic intensive work. If the chip is completely covered with paper it's effectively like throwing a blanket on it, trapping heat, which can lead to bigger problems (like complete GPU failure)! I'd recommend doing this only as a temporary 'fix' for a short time (until it can be reballed) and avoid graphic intensive programs.

[pianowizard]

however, remember the GPU gets HOT, especially when doing graphic intensive work. If the chip is completely covered with paper it's effectively like throwing a blanket on it, trapping heat

The paper isn't directly on the GPU. The fan's copper material is still on the chip, conducting heat away from it. But I do agree that the presence of the paper will still impede the heat dissipation to some degree. Perhaps I should install TPFanControl to get the fan to blow harder.

UPDATE: I played some YouTube videos on full screen and the GPU temperature went above 70 deg C. Worried that the paper was causing the GPU to overheat, I replaced it with a heat sink from a desktop Pentium III processor, which is about as thick as that stack of paper. That seemed to reduce the GPU temperature by about 5 deg C.

[Mike Blake]

But I do agree that the presence of the paper will still impede the heat dissipation
to some degree. Perhaps I should install TPFanControl to get the fan to blow harder.

I must say that while people talk about TPFC being good because it gives them less noise and a quiet fan, on my T42 I use it in the opposite way: monitoring the GPU temp and turn the fan up when advisable. (I live in a no-AC apartment, and it's been a hot summer. Rather have fan noise than no Thinkpad.)

[fasteez]

I must say that while people talk about TPFC being good because it gives them less noise and a quiet fan, on my T42 I use it in the opposite way: monitoring the GPU temp and turn the fan up when advisable. (I live in a no-AC apartment, and it's been a hot summer. Rather have fan noise than no Thinkpad.)

+1

same here, noisier but colder

[yak]

The paper isn't directly on the GPU. The fan's copper material is still on the chip, conducting heat away from it.

That isn't necessarily the case. ThinkPads with Radeon 7500/32MB have a short fan which does not cover the GPU. Granted, that GPU generates less heat but still, by design the air is moving above it and dissipates some of the heat.

I was able to keep my T41 running for several months by constantly improving the way the pressure was applied. At the end I had a quite sophisticated system with my own radiator and thermal paste. However it never was perfect and eventually I attempted the heat gun reflow. Shortly thereafter I had to buy a T60.

[pianowizard]

That isn't necessarily the case. ThinkPads with Radeon 7500/32MB have a short fan which does not cover the GPU.

Of course that's true for some T42's -- I knew about the long versus short fans. But I was saying MINE has the long fan and I was putting the paper on the copper, not directly on the GPU.

I was able to keep my T41 running for several months by constantly improving the way the pressure was applied.

Thanks for the info. I rarely move my T42, and when I do, I move it extremely gently. So, it may be good for several more months (ajkula66 told me the same thing). That's good to know, because I wasn't sure if I should get the replacement for this T42 right away, or will have several weeks or more to shop around.

[RealBlackStuff]

With a US motherboard depot for T4x coming up, replacing the mobo with a reflowed/reballed mobo may be a viable alternative!

[rookworm]

I tried this trick with a stack of copper pennies (thinking that would avoid causing heatflow problems), but it had no effect that I could discern.

[pianowizard]

I was the one who started this poll but still can't participate in it because the loose GPU symptoms haven't come back! Actually, the first time I put in the above-mentioned metal sheet, the GPU did come loose within several hours but I realized that I hadn't seated the metal properly -- I had positioned it in such a way that pressure was applied only onto one side of the GPU. So I re-positioned the metal to ensure it would press down on the entire GPU. After that readjustment, I haven't had any problem again, since early August. So, if this trick hasn't worked well for you, make sure you do it right. On my T42, the metal sheet is thick enough to cause the keyboard to bulge upward at least 1 mm, and I made the keyboard screws very tight to ensure that enough pressure is applied to the GPU.

But there are two more things that you need to do after this temporary fix. First, you must handle the laptop more gently; if you continue to abuse it like you used to, this fix probably won't last long. Second, try to avoid performing GPU-intensive tasks on this machine, but use another machine instead.

I tried this trick with a stack of copper pennies

I think pennies might be too small, and thus would exert pressure onto a fairly localized area of the GPU. My metal sheet measures about 1.2 inches by 1.2 inches, and is about 1.5 mm thick.