Thinkpads Forum

Hi

Recently I 've bought a used Lenovo 3000 N500 4233-5LG (the one with the integrated Intel GMA x4500 graphics card) and soon it started to refuse go further than initial POST when powered on.

It gives this beep code: 1 beep a pause and 2 beeps, or "1-2" beep code in short. Do not confuse this with 1 long beep and 2 beeps. That exact beep code of "1-2" is very scarcely documented, really. It's almost non-existent even in bios related websites, and official pages of Lenovo, etc. But it's known among some seasoned computer repair workers, and one of them has said that "1-2" beep code refers to a failed gfx card and that the gfx card should be replaced.

I also agree that its graphics card has failed because it gets stuck about where the graphics card is controlled during POST, at the moment where normally the display is turned on.

Now the question is, has anybody had his/her Laptop's integrated GFX card replaced? Are there any advice you can give to me?

Thanks

Hello omero72,

I'm sorry to say that without some superhuman effort, replacing the x4500 on your computer will not be possible. Most integrated graphics systems reside on the chipset of the motherboard itself, so without a replacement chip and a BGA rework station, this would prove to be a nearly impossible task. Not to mention, would this even fix the issue at hand? Only maybe. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the problem turned out to be unrelated to the graphics subsystem. Be wary of what other sources have told you, because technically a system with Intel GMA graphics has no "gfx card" at all.

Have you checked the functionality of other components in your system? Memory? Add-in cards? CPU? I wish you luck with the issue you're having and I'm sorry to bring you bad news about graphics replacement.

MunkyCheez