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The N900 is now 15 years old! (9)
to Nokia N900 by Arno_11 - 5 hrs, 10 mins ago -
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2011-04-19
, 18:29
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Posts: 42 |
Thanked: 19 times |
Joined on Dec 2007
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#42
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Originally Posted by cr0c0
I assume you're talking about Pavilion laptops.. I've kinda been glad that mine just has plain old Intel graphics. This thing runs hot enough as it is.
I have successfully reflowed the dreaded Nvidia video cards in three laptops, and they continued working for 2-6 months afterwards. I did not bake the motherboards. I covered them completely in tin foil, leaving only the video chip exposed. Then I used a heat gun to reflow them (there is a great video on youtube of a thinkpad being reflowed using this technique).
But the situation in your case is both better and worse at the same time. These laptops still had the video chips attached to the PCB, which made reflowing easy. However the original manufacturing defect was still present which is why the fix was only temporary.
If you manage to line up the chip with the PCB and then you reflow your N900, the chance is pretty decent it will work as new.
I've watched quite a few of reflowing videos on youtube of varying degrees of professionalism/equipment used, mostly of Xbox 360s but a few others too, using everything from ovens to the tin foil + heat gun method. It definitely seems doable, I'm just afraid because of the scale of the board and how many other things are around or on the opposite side of the chip. Plus I'm in Germany til August and don't have easy access to soldering equipment, heat guns etc. Plus I don't have a backup phone if it doesn't work :/
Originally Posted by tvogel
Thanks for the tips, it's cool to know that somebody has successfully done it. The camera looks like it'll be a *****, for sure. I don't have an excellent history with soldering on boards (i.e. things break), so yea my biggest concerns really are with other things floating away and shorting. Did you use a heat gun then? What temperature? (approximately?)
I reflowed my N900 after being dropped. The flash wasn't completely loose as in Durango's case.
If you ever think about it:
Peel off the keymat, store it on a CD jewel case. Can be reused.
Desolder the tiny button cell backup battery (double-layer capacitor). It will get fried by the preheater.
Remove the camera. This is the hardest part if you don't have the official tool.
It's very difficult to remove the border of the cage around the flash chip. I damaged some of its solder pads. Not crucial, though.
I needed four attempts until I was brave enough to apply enough heat for reflowing ;-) Don't push on the chip. Let it flow.
Take care of the tiny static discharge protection chips. They easily fly away or move. Then, you'll have shorts between USB pins and ground.
Now works again since a few months :-))
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2011-04-19
, 19:57
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Posts: 79 |
Thanked: 21 times |
Joined on Sep 2007
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#43
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Originally Posted by Durango
The advantage is that the N900 flash, while being a manufactured "problem zone", does not seem to be failing on its own. In all cases that I heard of, it took being dropped. So, I have hopes that if reflowed once, it has some chances to last. The graphics chips are under much higher thermal stress.
I assume you're talking about Pavilion laptops.. I've kinda been glad that mine just has plain old Intel graphics. This thing runs hot enough as it is.
Originally Posted by Durango
Actually, I got a used backup N900 off ebay beforehand. Now my girl-friend is a happy user of the reflowed N900.
Plus I don't have a backup phone if it doesn't work :/
Originally Posted by Durango
I didn't dare to point my fat heat gun at a delicate board like this. There is a lot of plastic (for the elevated SD card holder) which would melt away like ice. So, I went and bought a hot-air station ZD-939L and after finding out that it doesn't make any sense without a preheater, I also bought a second-hand preheater off ebay which was a real bargain because the previous owner had modded it with a great mechanism for holding PCBs perfectly fitting the N900 board.
Thanks for the tips, it's cool to know that somebody has successfully done it. The camera looks like it'll be a *****, for sure. I don't have an excellent history with soldering on boards (i.e. things break), so yea my biggest concerns really are with other things floating away and shorting. Did you use a heat gun then? What temperature? (approximately?)
I also bought an IR thermometer but the one I got is crap and shows funny values and doesn't focus well.
About temperature: I can't really tell. Preheater was at about 120 °C. The hot air, I cannot exactly remember and I took about four attempts until I dared to go high enough. It takes quite some heat to melt the balls below the chip. I guess something like 350°C which is quite high, but I used a small nozzle and constantly moved around in order to spread the heat. I guess that's why I needed more then generally recommended. Of course, it's much better not to take four attempts because that all stresses the PCB layers and eventually will lead to delamination. Really glad, it didn't happen to me.
I also added some flux paste around the chip which melts well due to the preheater and flows under the chip. I removed that with isopropanol afterwards.
Also: I tried on the tiny static discharge chips to reball them: It's terribly difficult with mere solder and a solder iron. Solder just prefers to stick to the iron due to surface tension. So, even though it's recommended to reball: If the balls on your flash still look OK, I would maybe resolder the surface of your PCB and try to keep the balls on the chip.
Also: The interface to the flash chip is serial, so only very few of those like 70 balls actually carry a signal. It's enough for them to have good contact. The rest is mechanical support.
Where in Germany are you? PM me.
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2011-07-30
, 00:16
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Posts: 39 |
Thanked: 10 times |
Joined on May 2010
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#44
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Originally Posted by michaaa62
Can anyone help out?
I suppose you never applied a file system to the 2nd partition of the external card, i think you did not create the swap as well. So please try firstThen carry on with mount and copy like in the previous tries.Code:sudo gainroot mkfs.ext3 -m 1 -L home /dev/mmcblk1p2 tune2fs -o 0 -i 0 /dev/mmcblk1p2 mkswap -L swap /dev/mmcblk1p3 swapon /dev/mmcblk1p3
Ive been using durango's zip file of readmes and scripts (thank you by the way) and am stuck at this point.
when I run:
Code:
mkfs.ext3 -m 1 -L home /dev/mmcblk1p2
Code:
tune2fs -o 0 -i 0 /dev/mmcblk1p2
Code:
tune2fs 1.41.3.maemo0 (12-Oct-2008) Setting interval between checks to 0 seconds Invalid mount option set: 0
edit:
Then again, I might go this route:
Originally Posted by vi_
Friend of a friend kind of thing. I'll have to see this weekend. But I want to have this working incase.
Just get some local bro to re-flow the solder on the BGA...
edit2/...:
Then again I might just buy one of these two and try it myself? Can't be that crazy right?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ATTEN-AT858D-858...item4aaaed2cc6
http://cgi.ebay.com/2IN1-SMD-SOLDERI...item5ae18b62f4
Last edited by lordnibbla; 2011-07-30 at 00:55.
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2011-07-31
, 23:18
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Posts: 42 |
Thanked: 19 times |
Joined on Dec 2007
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#45
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Originally Posted by lordnibbla
I never actually ran that code since I ended up setting up my partitions through Ubuntu. I don't know exactly how to use tune2fs, but looking at the expected syntax in the documentation, something is wrong with the "-o 0" part.
it goes through fine, but the second command:
gives me the error:Code:tune2fs -o 0 -i 0 /dev/mmcblk1p2
any ideas?Code:tune2fs 1.41.3.maemo0 (12-Oct-2008) Setting interval between checks to 0 seconds Invalid mount option set: 0
http://linux.die.net/man/8/tune2fs
"-o" means mount option, after which one or more of the following strings is expected: debug, bsdgroups, user_xattr, etc... (see page).
I'm kinda thinking that he meant to write "-c" (for which 0 is a valid option), but I don't understand at all what that option is supposed to do. I'm still a Linux n00b
Once I get back to the States and have another phone, I'll probably trying repairing my N900 as well. Nothing like a good excuse to buy more tools
@tvogel: sorry I completely missed your question before. I'm living in Braunschweig in Niedersachsen, but I'm leaving 17. August. My year is up, time to move back home.
Last edited by Durango; 2011-07-31 at 23:20.
| The Following User Says Thank You to Durango For This Useful Post: | ||
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2011-08-01
, 12:38
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Posts: 39 |
Thanked: 10 times |
Joined on May 2010
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#46
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Ok, I formatted the card in the live cd... trying it out now.
update:
NICE!! I got it working, formatted with the live cd using gparted. I had to change some of the references of mmcblk1p1, 2, 3 ect for the scripts used, but other than that I have a working N900 again
me=happy camper.
Thank you everyone involved in making this possible
but I'm still tempted to buy the hot air rework station... youre right, its always fun to buy a new toy ;p
Last edited by lordnibbla; 2011-08-01 at 17:24.
update:
NICE!! I got it working, formatted with the live cd using gparted. I had to change some of the references of mmcblk1p1, 2, 3 ect for the scripts used, but other than that I have a working N900 again
me=happy camper.
Thank you everyone involved in making this possible
but I'm still tempted to buy the hot air rework station... youre right, its always fun to buy a new toy ;p
Last edited by lordnibbla; 2011-08-01 at 17:24.
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2011-09-15
, 05:25
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Posts: 80 |
Thanked: 1 time |
Joined on Aug 2011
@ Egypt
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#47
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Sorry For Annoying
But i really need to ask u because i have problem with my N900 not fixed yet..
I am trying to fix it for 2 months.. And i tried (useless nokia care centers).
My problem seems like to this thread " No eMMC and how to install Maemo to microSD"
Really My EMMC is useless now.. i cannot use it any more..
I don't want to annoy u with bore description, I just need u to tell me.. can i use my SD card instead of The EMMC and put maemo with system files on it... and don't use EMMC permanently?
If there anyway to do it software please tell me.. if it's hardware tell me from where can i buy spare parts for n900... i cannot find parts for it
Sorry again,
Vielen Dank im Voraus
But i really need to ask u because i have problem with my N900 not fixed yet..
I am trying to fix it for 2 months.. And i tried (useless nokia care centers).
My problem seems like to this thread " No eMMC and how to install Maemo to microSD"
Really My EMMC is useless now.. i cannot use it any more..
I don't want to annoy u with bore description, I just need u to tell me.. can i use my SD card instead of The EMMC and put maemo with system files on it... and don't use EMMC permanently?
If there anyway to do it software please tell me.. if it's hardware tell me from where can i buy spare parts for n900... i cannot find parts for it
Sorry again,
Vielen Dank im Voraus
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2011-10-15
, 15:55
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Posts: 11 |
Thanked: 4 times |
Joined on Jul 2011
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#48
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Originally Posted by nourgomaa
yes you bet! thats what the thread is all about!
.. can i use my SD card instead of The EMMC and put maemo with system files on it... and don't use EMMC permanently?
well I suggest that somebody will make a resume or a howto of this in his blog
my friend has the same problem and it would be great if a simple howto of these steps to help us (when he get the 16Gb uSD)
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2011-10-15
, 16:39
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Posts: 2,102 |
Thanked: 1,937 times |
Joined on Sep 2008
@ Berlin, Germany
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#49
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Originally Posted by lordnibbla
Sorry! Please excuse me for really writing that sh*t
Can anyone help out?
Ive been using durango's zip file of readmes and scripts (thank you by the way) and am stuck at this point.
when I run:
it goes through fine, but the second command:Code:mkfs.ext3 -m 1 -L home /dev/mmcblk1p2
gives me the error:Code:tune2fs -o 0 -i 0 /dev/mmcblk1p2
any ideas?Code:tune2fs 1.41.3.maemo0 (12-Oct-2008) Setting interval between checks to 0 seconds Invalid mount option set: 0
edit:
Then again, I might go this route:
Friend of a friend kind of thing. I'll have to see this weekend. But I want to have this working incase.
edit2/...:
Then again I might just buy one of these two and try it myself? Can't be that crazy right?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ATTEN-AT858D-858...item4aaaed2cc6
http://cgi.ebay.com/2IN1-SMD-SOLDERI...item5ae18b62f4
Should be the -c option! Silly me, and thank you for pointing out again!
Code:
tune2fs -c 0 -i 0 /dev/mmcblk1p2
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2011-10-15
, 16:48
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Posts: 2,102 |
Thanked: 1,937 times |
Joined on Sep 2008
@ Berlin, Germany
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#50
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Originally Posted by nourgomaa
Gern geschehen!
Sorry For Annoying
But i really need to ask u because i have problem with my N900 not fixed yet..
I am trying to fix it for 2 months.. And i tried (useless nokia care centers).
My problem seems like to this thread " No eMMC and how to install Maemo to microSD"
Really My EMMC is useless now.. i cannot use it any more..
I don't want to annoy u with bore description, I just need u to tell me.. can i use my SD card instead of The EMMC and put maemo with system files on it... and don't use EMMC permanently?
If there anyway to do it software please tell me.. if it's hardware tell me from where can i buy spare parts for n900... i cannot find parts for it
Sorry again,
Vielen Dank im Voraus
Basic setup information start here http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=933228&postcount=8
The actual howto here http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...4&postcount=10
Did you try to revive the emmc (and to what success or failure) of the other thread http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...81&postcount=7 ?
Last edited by michaaa62; 2011-10-16 at 06:04.
| The Following User Says Thank You to michaaa62 For This Useful Post: | ||
emmcfix\run\startoverremove.txt
-At the bottom of the file, you'll see this:
What I really recommend doing is reformatting the card again, so that you have 3 partitions: fat32, Linux ext3 and Linux swap. Without a fat32 partition, you won't be able to access the SD card at all in Windows. Not without a lot of trouble, anyway. Read through the "ReadMe_Partitioning.txt" file for some tips, ask me if you have any specific questions.
If you just want to get the phone somewhat working for now, you have to make these changes:
-edit this file:
emmcfix\run\setupswap.txt
-find:
-edit this file:
emmcfix\run\copyhome.txt
-find:
-edit this file:
emmcfix\sysbak\etc_event.d_startup-script.txt
-find:
-edit this file:
emmcfix\sysbak\etc_event.d_rcS-late-NEW.txt
-find:
echo "/dev/mmcblk1p2 /home ext3 rw,noatime,errors=continue,commit=1,data=writeback 0 0" >> $tmp_fstab echo "/home/opt /opt none bind" >> $tmp_fstab echo "/dev/mmcblk1p1 /home/user/MyDocs vfat noauto,nodev,noexec,nosuid,noatime,nodiratime,utf8,uid=29999,shortname=mixed,dmask=000,fmask=0133,rodir 0 0" >> $tmp_fstabecho "/dev/mmcblk1p1 /home ext2 rw,noatime,errors=continue,commit=1,data=writeback 0 0" >> $tmp_fstab echo "/home/opt /opt none bind" >> $tmp_fstabI THINK that's everything.. those changes assume that you have an ext2 partition setup on mmcblk1p1. If you partitioned it using ext3, just change "ext2" to "ext3" in all of the above changes. If you're not sure, ask me (-or post here-)
Last edited by Durango; 2011-04-19 at 18:32.