Overheated Omnibook XE3???

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Dynamod

Geek Trainee
Hi,

I have just got hold of an HP OmniBook XE3 GF model. The previous owner says that he had to hit the underside of the CPU to make it boot. As it stands when I turn it on the fans whir up and then die. I have tried hitting it and it does not make it work. I have opened iit up and found that when the new fan was installed (The old one stopped working) that no thermal paste was used. I put some on but it still does not work. Is it possible that the processor has overheated and the processor is now useless. (I also noticed that the underside of the heatsink/fan was blackened which I would not expect). This machine runs a 1GHz Celeron processor. If I have to replace it is it possible to get a Pentium 3 laptop processor instead.

Thanks
 
Well ill tell you one thing, Hitting it WONT help!
But yes it does sound like its overheated and died!
It might be possible to replace it as long as the socket is the same and you might try emailing HP and asking or look at the FAQ's for information on replacements!
(providing the CPU didnt take your mobo with it to the afterlife)
 
It could be a number of things but overheating maybe one possiblity. Its not eas to repair laptops though.
 
You're probably SOL on the CPU upgrade as very few laptops in recent history have started to allow for upgradeable CPU's. More than likely, that CPU is soldered onto the motherboard. Getting a P3 mobile version is going to be tricky and if you get ahold of one, you're going to have to be very, very good with a soldering iron to pull it off. And this is assuming the CPU is the problem.

Now, I do believe that laptops do have a controlelled fan that will shut off when the machine is idle for awhile. I know my P3 lappy does, and I don't think it happens to be a Compaq exclusive.

I really don't think, based on the info being provided, it's the CPU. It's possible the motherboard has been damaged and hitting it has only exacerbated the situation. The other part that could be giving you trouble is the power supply beginning to go out.

Given the variying designs of laptops, this is one of the rare instances I'm going to tell someone to take it to a computer shop or see if HP will look into it. With the internal designs varying, there's a little bit different set of standards in laptops. Outside of your external ports and the PCMCIA slot(s) the innards like the motherboard layout and power supply are going to vary.
 
I don't think it is soldered on - it should be a ZIF scocket, and i can get hold of a P3 cpu for the laptop off ebay as I have found several allready at very cheap prices they should fit I hope but I think that is is most likely the CPU but what are the other possibilities that it could be?
 
You may be right, but I would check first before you purchase. It's very common to see the CPU soldered onto the motherboard.

As for the other possibilities, read my previous post. Honestly, it doesn't really sound like a CPU heating issue given what you've done with the new heatsink and paste. Now, this assumes that you've used a thin coat (as in paper-thin) of thermal paste on the die part of the CPU (as I believe the mobile P3's are like the Socket 370 with the flip-chip design).

If the onboard fan-header is flaky, that's related to the motherboard. That's just a guess, but again, this doesn't quite sound like a CPU issue.
 
If it was just the fan that was not working the laptop would stilll boot wouldn't it ? I mean it has a therostatically controlled fan but nothing happens with the computer after the fan dies on bootup. The monitor shows nothing but there are signs of HD activity. Would that suggest that the motherboard is still working as it is talking to the HD?
 
i forgot to ask, when you took off the heatsink were there any signs of damage on the CPU?
Well i dont know about laptops but on desktops if there is no/or damaged CPU in the socket the monitor normally does'nt turn on, but then again it could be a loose/broken ribbon cable to the screen.
Does the mobo beep at all?
 
The mobo does not beep but I have never heard it beep at me before as my father has an almost identical laptop. When I removed the heatsink there were some signs of blackening to the heatsink and to the processor as well I think. However I have found out from the HP site that this does appear to be a common problem with XE3's but they have not found a way to solve this problem. However some users claim to have found the answer so thank you for all your help on this issue.
 
Dynamod said:
If it was just the fan that was not working the laptop would stilll boot wouldn't it ? I mean it has a therostatically controlled fan but nothing happens with the computer after the fan dies on bootup. The monitor shows nothing but there are signs of HD activity. Would that suggest that the motherboard is still working as it is talking to the HD?
Click to expand...

Not entirely. If a certain part of the motherboard has an issue, but it's not accessed all the time, that might explain something.

However, if this is a known issue with the laptop, I'd look at the remedy by some users. Depending on what it is, you may find it less of a hassle to just get something else.
 
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