Superior Reball GPU Fix

[craigmontHunter]

Dale called and said that he would not be able to fix my motherboard, not a total surprise, since I really killed it with the heatgun. He said that he had a contact with motherboards and he would go and get them and see if he had any other boards that he could get working. That was on monday? and I have not heard back from him since. I'll keep praying, and if I get it back I will tell you.

About the password, if it is the supervisor password, you are knackered, but if it is a power on password, look in the HMM, it gives instructions. Otherwise, see if he can swap the video cards, since he is taking them off anyway, it should not be that difficult if they have the same video card to just swap them

Good luck

[shakefoo]

craighunter, if i was you i'd be calling him everyday. otherwise my guess is your pc's just going to collect dust.

to follow up, i finally got a hold of him yesterday (thursday). he told me that he hadn't got around to setting things up for the password retrieval but that he was definitely going to do it later in the day or today (friday) at the very latest.

i just called for an update like he told me to do and no one picked up, i left a message. the beat goes on...

[GregAZ]

Follow up on my saga.

Sent in my ill T42 (2373-H6U) on March 3rd, received a working T42 back on March 16th. Could not be happier with the service, communication and value of their work. HIGHLY recommend Dale and Co.

[shakefoo]

i wish my experience was better!

to update, i left messages with dale friday, monday, tuesday and now wednesday, no call back.

i'm honestly at wit's end. laptop held hostage, day 100...

[shakefoo]

has anyone out there actually heard from dale in the last seven days? i've left messages now with him everyday since last friday, but have yet to hear back...sheesh.

[underclocker]

Dale (owner of Superior Reball) is apparently a forum member as of this month, see this post --> http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=73945

Hopefully, he'll explain why he's been slow to respond to people and why he's held one machine for so long. Regarding the later, it just doesn't make sense. He could just buy a failed machine on eBay, there are countless available, fix it and send it along, free of charge. It just seems like the right thing to do, especially with so much potential business.

Like I said above, his work seems great. He revived four boards for me the first round and I have another five coming back to me this week. They shipped last week and I did receive tracking confirmation.

Anyway, I'd love to see Dale's business succeed, it'd be a great resource if it can be counted upon.

[rkawakami]

Before this spirals out of hand, I've been informed by a third party of some of the circumstances in Dale's repair of shakefoo's system. I am attempting to broker a solution to this. As of now, I've only responded to the person who brought this situation to my attention (i.e., not Dale or shakefoo) but I do intend to contact both of them shortly.

[underclocker]

Just wanted to provide an update on the boards that I sent for repair to Superior Reball.

I sent six the first time. Eight days later I received all six back. One had the GPU glued to the mobo and could not be repaired, no charge (I was pre-warned about this possibility). Four of the other five worked perfectly and still do. One seems to have had the GPU problem corrected, but a fuse must have gone as it won't light up any LCD's, repair refund received.

A couple of weeks later I sent in five more for repair. Twenty-one days later I received all five back. All perfect.

Perhaps Superior Reball is very busy. I really have to say that their work is amazing. IBM/Lenovo should set up this type of operation.

Summary;
1st time -> four for five successfully reballed, not bad.
2nd time -> five for five successfully reballed, great.

[poshgeordie]

Perhaps Superior Reball is very busy. I really have to say that their work is amazing. IBM/Lenovo should set up this type of operation.

Summary;
1st time -> four for five successfully reballed, not bad.
2nd time -> five for five successfully reballed, great.

Tend to agree about them being busy - that's my impression too.

Second the idea about IBM /Lenovo setting something up, especially because they've spec'd the chips in the first place. Maybe ATI should be involved too as the chip manufacturers.

In fact who else can we involve....there's the worldwide G20 conference next week. Maybe there could be a fringe meeting called the GPU695.......one for each solder ball on the chip

[fje]

For those in the European area of influence... have a look to my post in:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 51#p497851

and related.

Rgds.

[shakefoo]

clearly some of you are having better luck with dale than me!!

to update my sit, after about 6 straight biz days of unreturned phone messages, with the aid of a forum member here dale finally responded to an email of mine. that was on monday, march 23 when he told me that he would be shipping/returning my latpop back to me that very day.

i replied thanking him and to request a shipping confirmation #.

well...we are now some 11 days later, no confirmation # and of course no laptop. maybe he shipped super slow or just didn't do it, i don't know. but i sent him an email this morning (thursday) asking what's up. no reply.

(where's that bang your head against the wall emoticon when you need it. ha.)

[joseph]

If I send my laptop to this company is my data secure or should I remove my hard drive before sending? Also, will there by any issue with my bios boot pw upon return?

[Harryc]

Remove all passwords and drives.

[poshgeordie]

Adding to Harry's reply also don't send the battery coz it weighs a ton and you pay for every oz of carriage weight - you may get a 'shock' at the difference it makes!

Bios passwords on customer laptops can be a right pain because it makes booting a repaired TP into bios somewhat difficult - sorry, read impossible....

Your information is what the laptop is all about so protect it by not sending the HDD.

[Goldberry]

Hopefully someone can help me with figure out whether SR can fix my machine. About a month ago it started shutting off if I moved it without holding both sides (I know you shouldn't do this but when its on your lap and you need to move it sometimes xxit happens) The problem began happening even without holding by one side and has progressed to the point where even on a flat table it will now freeze up. How can I be sure it is the GPU problem which it appears to be?

Also I am in Canada, has anyone else from Canada used them for a fix? I saw a post that said they would for additional funds.

I was going to phone them on Monday and make enquiries, are they hard to get on the phone? This is their website
http://www.superiorreball.com/ correct?

I notice on their Ebay add that they talk about shipping just the motherboard whereas some posts seem to indicate some have sent the computer. Mailing costs from Canada are high so just sending the motherboard would be cheaper. How difficult is it to remove if you have never done this before?

[poshgeordie]

From what you're saying it's quite likely to be a graphics chip problem.

I can confirm that the address you have is correct. May I suggest emailing Dale and and I'm sure he'll get back to you.

Stripping a Thinkpad isn't difficult but with the T4x's there are a lot of different length screws. I've made a set of diagrams which you'll find under my sig.
Click on the "Here" of 'HowTo's and Documents Links' and download the list.
On the list click "T4x 14" Display Screw Locations in Pictures".

Regarding what to ship etc., I'm not associated with SR in any way so cannot answer about what to send etc, but I believe they don't need the battery, HDD and CD drive.
As to whether they accept just motherboards, they may well do but ask the question directly (and maybe post back Dale's reply).
If they do, I'd suggest leaving the motherboard fitted to the base plate. Strip it down as far as Page 4 Section 7 but leave in the processor and fan assembly (confirm with Dale BTW).

[underclocker]

Dale definitely gives a price break for sending in the bare motherboard. He doesn't need anything but the bare board; no brackets, no CPU, no memory, etc. Yes, this saves on shipping, too.

I have a third set of boards on their way back to me now. Touch base with Dale, then send in the board. You do not have to go through eBay.

[Goldberry]

Dale definitely gives a price break for sending in the bare motherboard. He doesn't need anything but the bare board; no brackets, no CPU, no memory, etc. Yes, this saves on shipping, too.

Thanks how easy is it to get the bare motherboard out? Is this a job for a novice?

Do you also think my problem sounds like it is a graphics chip problem?

[underclocker]

Definitely the GPU. In the event Superior Reball can't fix it, you won't be charged.

It's not novice work, but you won't be a novice when you're done!

It's easier taking apart than putting back together. My three top tips are 1) use the IBM Hardware Maintenance Manual, downloadable from lenovo.com, 2) stay organized, label everything, especially the screws, and 3) take pictures along the way, it's hard to remember how every little thing went (did the antenna wire go over or under the LCD cable?)

Go for it and good luck.

[underclocker]

Another update; I just received back a third shipment of boards that I sent off for repair. All three came back working perfectly, but it did take three weeks total to turn them around.

Updated results: 12 for 13 motherboards fixed.

Summary;
1st time -> four for five successfully reballed, not bad.
2nd time -> five for five successfully reballed, great.
3rd time -> three for three successfully reballed, great.

[FelisCatusLover]

I just wanted to warn ya'll about these guys. I sent in my iBook G4 logic board on Thursday 2 weeks ago and they received it on Monday last week (according to USPS tracking information). They say they contact you as soon as they receive it, but they didn't. So I emailed them on Tuesday. No reply. Emailed them again on Wednesday. No reply. Called them and left a message on Thursday. No reply. On Friday I emailed them and threatened with legal action. I'm hoping they reply. I think they're scammers. I wouldn't even send a dead rat to these guys now.

[poshgeordie]

Hi and welcome to the Forums.

I'm sorry you're having problems. There are however plenty of people on these forums who have had good service from Superior right up to the present day.

May I suggest that rather than seeing them as "Scammers" that they are simply not so good on the communications side of things.

As someone who runs a similar business in the UK, I do 100% appreciate your concern as a customer and indeed good customer service should be the norm; but I also know that when I'm busy my comms can also go astray.
So could I suggest cutting them a little slack and easing back on the daily emails and phone calls.

From my personal contact experience with Superior I can virtually guarantee that they will reply so please try not to worry too much.

<EDIT> 9th June 2009. I don't do this lightly but due to a lot of supportive evidence I withdraw the statements I made above and in any other previous post.

At the time I thought what I was saying was true and was trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

With a company who is poor at what they do but communicates effectively, you know where you stand.
A poor company who doesn't communicate is a menace to us all.

I am very sorry for everyone who's used this guy and I apologise to anyone who took me at my word and went ahead and got him to do work for you.
I can't change the outcome of the work but at least I can let everyone know where I stand.

[wonk]

PLEASE DO NOT SEND DALE MIEDEMA / SUPERIOR REBALL ANY MONEY OR YOUR EQUIPMENT BEFORE READING AROUND FIRST. PLEASE BE CAREFUL. MANY PEOPLE BURNED.

see my post for more details:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 79#p512579

[RealBlackStuff]

Looks like the honeymoon is over...

[poshgeordie]

Looks like the honeymoon is over...

Yup, agreed

[virge]

Any regular thinkpads.com members have a negative experience? I don't want to be that quick in writing off the company. I know there are some negative reviews of Superior Reball, but as one of those people that had a very good experience, its hard to imagine that service could be so bad.

[craigmontHunter]

Dale got my laptop on the 4th of March, and several times said that he had motherboards and would fix it. I got him on the phone yesterday and he said that it was working perfectly and that he would ship it and send the tracking number first thing this morning. No word from him, and he is impossible to get on the phone (the awansering machine pickup changes from 1st ring to 6th ring randomly). This is really starting to frusterate me, and I would reccomend that you avoid him untill tings get sorted out.

Jack

[sjthinkpader]

Hammerhead in Chico, CA is a possible alternative. Although Superior has changed their procedure where you pay after they confirmed a working MB.

Frankly, this is not a simple procedure. There are plenty of issues they may run into that they have to spend time on. So I would not depend on a MB coming back on any definitive schedule. If you have a machine in service break, get another working machine first before you send him the non-working one.

He should just say, "sorry, this is not a GPU problem and I can't fix it for $45" and be done with it.

[philbob57]

I very seriously doubt that Superior Reballing is a scamming operation. I think everybody would be delighted with SR, if only Dale actually communicated with his customers.

He was great to talk to when I had questions, but when I actually sent him my T42 (1 - 4 day turnaround, he said, IIRC), I heard nothing for 2+ weeks. Starting 5 business days after he received the T42, I e-mailed and/or called daily begging for a status and/or ETA. No response, even though I told him I depended on my laptop for income. All I wanted to know was whether I should buy a new laptop.

10 biz days after receipt, I got a call saying it was ready and working and he was going to ship it back that day, once I gave him a credit card, of course. Three days later, I got it, which means he shipped it 2 days after he said he would.

Very, very annoying.

The thing is, though, that I gave Dale a useless T42 for 2 weeks. I had to pay about $5 to get it to him. He requested no money up front. He disassembled the laptop, did something to the GPU, reassembled the T42, and shipped it back to me for $75, and it's been working flawlessly since May 7 - more than 6 weeks.

That sort of takes the sting out of the lack of communications, especially considering what my other options were. Especially since better communications might have delayed my repair even further.

Regards.

Phil Barry

[sjthinkpader]

I sent him 4 boards. One had a glue down chip. One he couldn't repair. Two came back working. It took a little over a week. That's great in my book.