I've known about this defect for at least two years now, but I thought I should bring this up here in case a member has one of these laptops or finds a used one for an incredible deal (they're out there like crazy right now). This is my brief explanation of the defect with the models:
The issue with this series of laptop is the Nvidia chip becomes too hot due to the fact that both the CPU and the GPU are sharing the same heat sink and fan! This was a VERY bad idea. The processor is an AMD and the CPU is an Nvidia. Both are the hottest type of CPU and GPU on the market and require very good cooling systems. The reason why the laptops eventually fail to turn on at all is because the thermal paste on the processor and GPU wears off leaving the components without the necessary cooling agents to properly cool the chips. The heat causes the GPU to become slightly loose in the board so you must heat it again and let it solidify once it's properly seated. It's a terrible, terrible issue and it was all done to save a few dollars for HP. That's why there's such an uproar about it. And on top of it they pulled that shit with the "recall" (or so they like to call that BS they pulled).
The "recall" was a terrible thing that HP did to its loyal customers. They put a limited recall out on the laptop series. Unfortunately they never contacted the owners of these laptops (not even the registered owners!) about the problem and didn't directly link to the page about the recall on ANY page of their site! It was just a hidden page deep in the HP website and they limited the time you had to redeem the recall. The limited recall lasted a few months before they ended it. Now if you call them up they tell you too bad and offer to fix it for you for $400. HP will never be getting a penny of my money due to this crap.
Now it is possible to fix, but it's a board level repair. The procedure is high risk and still experimental, but I've successfully repaired both a dv9000 and a dv2000 and destroyed another dv2000 (the dv2000, dv6000, and dv9000 were all affected by this recall). I haven't tried it on a dv6000 yet, but it should be fairly similar to the dv2000 and dv9000 models. This is board level repair with a high degree of difficulty. Computer repair places don't even do this. They send them out to specialized centers for repairs like this or just replace the board (which is usually cheaper). But I fixed the dv2000 and dv9000 over a month ago and they're still both working great. Unfortunately I cracked the Nvidia chip on the other dv2000 because it got too hot under the hand torch (this happens quite often in this type of repair which is why it's classified as high risk).
The procedure is fairly simple in theory. Take apart the entire computer down to the last part and locate the Nvidia chip. Heat the chip to around 210 degrees to weaken the solder joints then push down on it and wait for the chip to cool. Then apply a new copper conductor on top of the CPU and GPU and put Arctic Silver to each side of the copper conductor. Then place the heat sink on top of the CPU and GPU and wait. Push on the back of the board where the Nvidia chip is with approximately 5lbs of pressure for 10-15 minutes. Let the laptop sit for an hour to let everything settle. Then check to see if it will power on and operate normally. The process should take around 4 hours in total.
If you have one of these laptops, STOP USING IT. Take it in immediately and see if your model is affected. It's easy to tell because the thermal paste will be gone/almost gone and there will be other symptoms. There's a class action lawsuit against Nvidia regarding this issue (though from what I've seen I believe it's all HP's fault because they were being cheap with the cooling systems) and you may be entitled to compensation. Visit this website for more details:
http://www.nvidiasettlement.com
