Remember that big brouhaha over Nvidia's notebook GPUs failing at an "abnormal rate" due to a manufacturing defect? It was never entirely clear exactly how many models were affected, until now. As part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit, Nvidia has agreed to compensate affected owners of certain Apple, Dell, and HP/Compaq models, including repairs of the defective chip, providing a replacement notebook of equal value, or reimbursing for repairs, depending on the model you purchased.

There are around 50 models listed in the settlement with manufacturing dates ranging from November 2005 all the way up to February 2010 (Dell XPS M1710). Here are the symptoms indicative of a bad part:

• Distorted or scrambled video on the notebook computer screen (All)
• No video on the notebook computer screen even when the notebook computer is turned on (All)
• Random characters, lines, or garbled images on the notebook computer screen (Dell, HP)
• Intermittent video issues (Dell, HP)
• Failure to detected the wireless adapter (select HP models)
• Failure to detect the wireless network (select HP models)

The settlement includes a $2 million fund for reimbursement subject to court approval. A judge will decide whether or not to approve the settlement on December 20, 2010.

Nvidia Settlement Homepage
Affected Laptop Models

Picture this: It’s late at night, you’re sitting at your computer playing a game or working on a project when, suddenly, Windows freezes completely. All your work is gone, and you find a blue screen full of gibberish staring back at you. Windows is dead, Jim, at least until you reboot it. You have no choice but to sigh loudly, shake your fist at Bill Gates and angrily push the reset button. You’ve just been visited by the ghost of windows crashed: The blue screen of death.

Also known as the BSoD, the Blue Screen of Death appears when Windows crashes or locks up. It’s actually a Windows “stop” screen, and is designed to do two things: tell you the reason for the error, and to calm your nerves, hence the use of the color blue (studies show it has a relaxing effect on people). Though Blue Screens are difficult to decipher, all the information you need to figure out what caused it is right there in front of you in blue and white—and that’s where we come in. We’re going to show you how to dissect the blue screen error details, so you can fix the problem that’s causing them.

Hit the jump to get started!