Oven baking a graphics card

Contrails · Feb 2011

My nvidia 9800 GT broke down yesterday

I have red boxes, green line artifacts everywhere from boot up and a black screen after the windows 7 window animation finishes. I was able to get into safe mode and reinstalled drivers, but that didn't do anything so I'm thinking it's a hardware issue.

Doing some research, I came across this:

http://www.addictivetips.com/hardware/fix-your-graphics-card-by-baking-in-oven/

http://www.overclock.net/graphics-cards-general/529271-bake-your-graphics-card-oven-fix.html

The idea is (as I understand it) basically that if you've got cracks that have formed over time in connections between components, popping the card in the oven for a couple minutes will melt the solder and hopefully repair those connections.

My question is have any of you done it? I'm figuring I'm going to try it as I've got nothing to lose - I'll either end up with a working card again or it'll stay broken, so those of you who have done it, do you have any tips? Anything I should keep in mind so I don't mess up? (Also anyone have any ideas as to the problem with the card? Are there other potential fixes other than baking the card?)

XenoKratios · Feb 2011

Actually I posted a Russian video in the awesome thread of a girl baking a card... here I thought she was crazy! (since it was a review of the card)

She took out the card and popped it in the over before using it. It seemed to work fine after, so no harm done.

Just be careful not to overcook it!

Slum · Feb 2011

lol this sounds like the worst idea ever

Uly · Feb 2011

so tempting to make lame texture baking pun

Entity · Feb 2011

Sounds a lot like the hot towel fix people used for the 360 RROD problem.

xvampire · Feb 2011

Contrails wrote: »

The idea is (as I understand it) basically that if you've got cracks that have formed over time in connections between components, popping the card in the oven for a couple minutes will melt the solder and hopefully repair those connections.

it will blend
like a hot chocolate cake ...

Ferg · Feb 2011

Zipfinator · Feb 2011

This has been discussed on here before I'm pretty sure. From what I've seen and heard it's a valid technique to possibly fix your card if it's not working. If you do it right it shouldn't harm the card but it will resodder loose connections as you said. If your warranty is out then why not at least try it.

Wahlgren · Feb 2011

I did it with my laptops gfx card when it was fucked. It completely revived my laptop and it lasted an extra year (haven't tried fixing it this time). When you got nothing to lose, go balls to the wall.

My little setup xD

notman · Feb 2011

It shouldn't do damage to other parts. We use devices to remove bga micros, that use very extreme heat, and the PCB does not get damaged. I guess I just didn't think the oven would get hot enough, but I guess it can. Just don't remove it too soon after heating it (you don't want components to slide/move after the solder is softened).

HonkyPunch · Feb 2011

just make sure to preheat the oven first.
don't want your graphics card to be cold in the middle.

Progg · Feb 2011

Make sure to flip it over every few minutes and baste it with BBQ sauce so the meat falls off the circuits.

Seriously though, I haven't done a PC card but my roommate baked an Xbox board and got the solder to reflow... so I guess it could work if you are desperate. :P

Yozora · Feb 2011

Its refreshing to see a thread about graphics cards and baking that actually involves baking graphic cards.

Esprite · Feb 2011

Yeah this is reflowing solder. If it's dead anyways might as well give it as shot. You can use heatguns to do this a well but the oven trick works on the whole board

If it's too hot there is a risk of melting plastic parts or blowing capacitors.

Contrails · Feb 2011

Thanks for the advice (and the jokes)

would you happen to know how hot is too hot? I've seen 400 or 385 F at 8-10 minutes - I'll probably err on the safe side of 385... that should be fine, right?

It is a desperate move, but this is a BFG card so there is no company to honor the warranty any more

I have thought about getting a new card, but the computer itself is getting kind of old, CPU especially is showing its age, so I'll probably be building a totally new one sometime in the future... would be a nice plus if I could put that off a bit by reviving the 9800

Yozora · Feb 2011

whoa, I try to keep up to date with the latest tech news with RSS feeds but I had no idea BFG quit the GPU market! And it was a almost a year ago!

BFG have been awesome to me for the past 5~ years, they replaced (and upgraded) my broken PSU and GPU for free and really quickly too. Although arguably, the stuff shouldn't of broke in the first place.... still... free upgrades for the win!

arrangemonk · Feb 2011

i did that already on my geforce 6800 it worked, but i spilled orange juice on it and then it didnt work anymore
if you still have guarantee you should use that, its much saver (dit that on my 9800gt, got me a gts 240)

almighty_gir · Feb 2011

i just upgraded my machine and have a BFG 9800 spare if you need one.

don't need any cash for it except shipping costs.

Mark Dygert · Feb 2011

Sounds like your tower was running so hot that it already baked the solder or GPU, which is a typical problem with video cards (a lot of the 360 RROD's where heat/solder related). You can bake it... and it MIGHT work, but if you don't solve the heat problem that lead to the damage its only going to get worse.

ALSO know that the GPU's are made up of tiny tiny chambers, like you need an electron microscope to even see them, they make these chambers by scoring ultra thin strips of metal with a laser, if you upset some of those chambers you're pretty much screwed. Once a few of those start to go, the electricity that is normally stored in those chambers can spill into the others overloading them and doing more damage. Which is something you already probably did if its heat damaged since the heat to melt the solder would mostly come from the GPU, its probably unrepairable... If you bake it, you run the risk of screwing up the already fragile GPU even more.

You can hope that something else besides the GPU heated up the solder and blew a simple connection, but its probably not the case.

DrunkShaman · Feb 2011

arrangemonk wrote: »

i did that already on my geforce 6800 it worked, but i spilled orange juice on it and then it didnt work anymore
if you still have guarantee you should use that, its much saver (dit that on my 9800gt, got me a gts 240)

abusing your GPU.

Lucky you guys are tough enough to try to experiment your stuff. I am too afread to even open the cpu.

oXYnary · Feb 2011

I wanna know how someone spills OJ on a graphics card..

EarthQuake · Feb 2011

Nitewalkr wrote: »

I am too afread to even open the cpu.

You should be, most contain deadly boobie-traps.

almighty_gir · Feb 2011

im serious btw. BFG 9800GT here if you need it, you just gotta pay for shipping. it was used for about 18 months before i upgraded my machine, and it works just fine. never been overclocked or anything.

Zipfinator · Feb 2011

oXYnary wrote: »

I wanna know how someone spills OJ on a graphics card..

Perhaps he was making it breakfast and he clumsily smacked over the glass while he was pouring the card a nice glass of OJ!

Ruz · Feb 2011

oven chips?

Justin Meisse · Feb 2011

On a related note, I've stuck failing hard drives in the freezer in order to get them functioning long enough to copy data off (make sure you pack them in a well sealed bag to keep moisture out)

moof · Feb 2011

I wasn't aware of the capabilities of thermal fixes...

mind= blown

leilei · Feb 2011

oXYnary wrote: »

I wanna know how someone spills OJ on a graphics card..

I've spilled coffee on an AT PSU once some years back. Fortunately it wasn't running, and one week later it appeared to be just fine. Luck, probably.

There's that time I fixed a 4X CD-ROM drive by physical means (DROPPING)... not nearly as impressive as exploiting heat, but in the 90s it was still pretty unorthodox.

HonkyPunch · Feb 2011

I accidentally knocked my external hard-drive from my desk. Now for some reason, I don't have to worry about using the safe eject feature.

PogoP · Feb 2011

Make sure you don't overcook it, your dinner party won't go down as well if it's got that crisp after taste.

eld · Feb 2011

It will cause damages that will shorten the life of the hardware considerably, but in the case of where something broken down to not function at all, shortening it down to one year is still one year more than you would've got otherwise.

e-freak · Feb 2011

Justin_Meisse wrote: »

On a related note, I've stuck failing hard drives in the freezer in order to get them functioning long enough to copy data off (make sure you pack them in a well sealed bag to keep moisture out)

that one never worked for me. 30097_128016173893231_100000545477660_245007_1527794_n.jpg

Contrails · Feb 2011

Going to bake it... have it all ready waiting for the preheat to hit 385

wish me luck...

Lamont · Feb 2011

EarthQuake wrote: »

You should be, most contain deadly boobie-traps.

BOOBIE TWAPS?!!?

XenoKratios · Feb 2011

Did it work man? What happened??!?!!

cdoublejj · Feb 2011

So at work we make money doing this, I have found with the right tools we don't even have to bake the cards. i also found with baking i like to do short intervals like 5 minutes at under 375F, ifn eed bake it more i have revived 1 dead laptop and 2 gfx cards at home and at work we pretty much got 750 dollars worth of laptops (3) for free and all they needed was little magic.

Contrails · Feb 2011

SUCCESS

all is well - I'm getting a floppy diskette seek failure on startup (I don't have a floppy) but I'm guessing it's not graphics card related... will need to look into it as it's strange itd appear just after baking the gfx card.

edit - if anyone is curious, what I did was 385 F for 10 minutes, then I let it cool to room temperature for about 15 minutes

XenoKratios · Feb 2011

Woooooo congratz man!

Take that skeptics

leilei · Feb 2011

Contrails wrote: »

all is well - I'm getting a floppy diskette seek failure

The BIOS has resetted for sure. Floppy drives are often enabled on default settings so be sure to check the BIOS settings out.

cdoublejj · Feb 2011

holy crow 385 is way over at those temps the parts can fallout as i have done that before of course i'm startign to doubt baking upside down.

Oven baking a graphics card

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