Interesting find- M7700 clones/relatives, problem

I recently came across two M-Tech D900T laptop computers, after some research it seemed M7700s are almost exactly the same, aside from the fancy lid and branding.

One is in almost pristine condition, and the other is a bit scuffed up, but mostly good. I was able to get Windows 7 on a Hard Drive to swap between them, it seems one has the GeForce Go6800, and the other has Quadro FX Go1400, one has a 1680x1050 screen, and the other has a 1920x1200 screen, and one has a 3.2 GHz P4 while the other has a 3.8. Both work like a charm, and I've been able to work out most of the issues(broken screws, seating the components properly, thermal paste on the CPUs/GPUs). The batteries even hold a charge.

I do have an issue with both laptops that I need to ask about-it seems when I'm in Windows, the GPU fan doesn't come on at all, so the screen eventually artifacts, and will actually flash black. The fan is plugged in, and the card is seated properly, so I assume it was either a BIOS issue or a Windows 7 issue. I've updated the BIOS to the latest version, and the problem still seems to be present, so I need to ask if anyone else knows of a possible solution.

If I get desperate enough, I may mod the GPU fan to instead be wired to the RAM's fan, or something else just to make sure the GPU fan is running appropriately to keep the card cool.

 

Pretty simple but have you checked to see if the fans are even good by hooking them up to a 12v or 5v power source? They could just be bad fans. Also have you run any tools like HWMonitor to see how hot the cards are actually getting? If so post the temps here. Lastly, if these cards have been baking to the point where you see artifacts you may have burned them out.

 

I haven't hooked the fans up to a direct power source, but I have simply plugged them into the RAM fan controller and powered up the computer, and they spin up perfectly fine. So I'm very certain it is the controller. I don't want to test the controllers by shorting them or plugging other devices in, as I don't want to risk losing another controller.

Since the previous post I've downloaded this GetThermal tool that is supposedly what was used to test these laptops-it has options to apply User control to the fans and it shows temperature readouts on the internal temp, CPU and GPU. Moving the slider around for the CPU and RAM fans works very well, but nothing happens with the video card fan. And sure enough-the tool shows the video card getting progressively hotter, it climbs to about 80C before I decide to shut off the computer, I don't want to risk further damage to the video card in case I wish to part out the laptops(something I don't want to do... but may end up doing.)

 

You can try that or you can also use Hwinfo to control them manually.

 

I have since modded the video card's fan to simply be connected to the RAM fan's controller, and it's worked like a charm. I actually might wire it to the CPU fan instead... it'll take more work, but it'll be much more effective in cooling the video card since the CPU fan comes on much more frequently than the RAM fan.

It has taken a toll on the machine's originality... but this does make it a working unit, otherwise I'd have to part them out.

 

HwInfo's fan control feature is not supported for these models, unfortunately.

 

Alrighty... update on these machines-I basically set aside a whole day to make the mod cables giving power to the fans a bit stronger, to make sure they don't come loose. I've also reflowed the graphics chips, this time at higher temps and in turns, because the Quadro was still flickering the screen and the GeForce 6800 is still artifacting. I haven't been able to fix the GeForce, but other than that, both machines work beautifully.

 

Another update on these two units:

The lower-end one with the 3.2GHz P4 I'm parting out and selling the bits on ebay. However the Quadro-chipped one I'm going to keep for awhile, but if I ever sell it, it'll be parted out as well. The Quadro chipped one still has the fan mod, and runs like a champ. It's 1920x1200 screen is fantastic for my personal use.

No one really wants a full unit of these things... people just want to keep theirs going.