Hardware Red dots on Dell Boot Up Screen!?

[Centrix]

Does any one know how to fix this? I hear it's a graphics card issue, I have, well I had given my brother my Dell XPS M1530 for xmas and its about to be 6yrs old this year I believe. This has never happened to me for as long as I have had this laptop until my brother got his hands on it I swear he's a bad omen for anything electronic LMAO

Any hoot, I tried flashing the bios last week and it worked the problem I had thought was fixed but nope it has showed its face once more, dose any one have any ideas as to how to fix this? any help would be wonderful thanks!

 

[Rydian]

JUST on the boot screen, or does it show elsewhere?

 

[Centrix]

only on the boot up screen with the dell logo, my brother hooks the laptop up to a external monitor as well and he says that when he tries playing games or emulators the cpu spikes between 90 and 100 which I know for a fact shouldn't be happening, especially with games like Maple Story!

 

[Rydian]

Is the CPU still running at the stock clock rate during the games, or is it downclocked?

 

[Centrix]

It seems like its over putting more than it needs to, when I had the laptop before giving it to him I was able to play the DS emulator, GCN emulator and PS2 Emulator with no more than say a 50% to 80% spike in CPU but now it spikes to 90% to 100% on those things hell even on a nes or psx emulator it spikes to that. It does it on Maple Story to everything runs slow according to him!

 

[Rydian]

Well the percentage is of the current clock, not the total capability. If the CPU is downclocking itself due to heat, then even small tasks will cause a large percent number.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

Pop the bottom covers and clean out the cooling system (Providing you can if not consult the dell site you can normally get PDF's of disassembly guides there) and repaste the GPU and CPU, Give the fan and cooler a good clean up and pop it all together. Thats what I would personally do in your shoes and see....

But wait you say about that old right? does that have a Nvidia 8xxx Series GPU? if so it could be the GPU going out (Fracturing solder joints... My MB-85 I am on has a 8600 that did have it till I reflowed it)

 

[Gokou25]

thats what i was thinking that the nvidia geforce 8600 gt is going out but like my bro said he flashed the bios the first time this happen and it fixed the problem and then tryed it again the second time it happen and it didnt work so if it is the gpu is there any way to replace it with a new one ?

 

[Gokou25]

 

[Originality]

For laptops, the 8600 was known as a defective series and most died within 6 months. That said, my own laptop with a 8600 is still hanging in their 4 years after buying it.

As for replacing the GPU... For a laptop, even if it was possible (socket GPU instead of hard soldered), it would cost too much to be worth it (not to mention you would have a hard time sourcing it).

 

[Gokou25]

could this work? http://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/heat-gun-gpu-reflow-fixes-laptop/
i dont want to try it till i no for sure