I thought I'd go ahead and create a thread just for this, as a convenient reference for answers on QXGA swaps.

I'll edit this post as needed to keep it up to date. R6x people, sorry, but you'll have to look in here for it, this is usually done on a T60p, so...

What machines can the QXGA panel work in?
All 15.0" 60 machines - R60e, R60, T60, T60p
Possibly all 15.0" 61 machines - R61i, R61 (has anyone tested this?)
Frankenstein machines using a 60/61 15.0" chassis and a 60/61 14.1" standard screen motherboard (T61p motherboard in T60p case is most common, but others may work)

What hardware do I need to buy?
If you have an XGA machine, I would recommend buying the SXGA+/UXGA inverter for your model. For the R6x machines, this is 41W1467. For the T60, this is 42T0079. Obviously, you'll need to buy the screen, which goes under several different part numbers, I'll list them in the next question. Otherwise, no additional hardware is needed - unlike the R5x and T4x machines, the 6x machines use the same cable and hinges for all screens, and uses an EDID ROM chip on the LCD to detect the screen resolution and that the panel is a Lenovo panel (which will have to be worked around.)

What part numbers translate to this screen?
There are two different screens that are otherwise identical, that will work for this. I'm currently trying to find datasheets, though, there may be additional panels that will work. IDTech part numbers are listed first, followed by IBM part numbers.
IAQX10N, 07N2890
IAQX10S, 92P6673, 92P6684

IAQX10S is the panel that IBM used in the R50p equipped with this screen. I believe the IAQX10 (not listed yet) was used by NEC in the Versa Pro VA20S/AE (way back in 2002) and the IAQX10N possibly used in a certain configuration of the LaVie G Type C in 2005.

The IAQX10N is what's flooded the market - if you don't mind a refurbished panel, you can get one as low as $59. New ones are as low as $139. Either one will work, though, so if you've got a cheap IAQX10S (or even an old one from a R50p that you want to move over,) go for it.

So what's this about an EDID ROM?
Most monitors have a ROM containing Extended Display Information Data, or EDID. This information is used by the machine that the monitor is connected to, so as to provide resolution, timing, and manufacturer information. The R5x and T4x machines stored this information in the BIOS, I believe, and used a set of resistors in the LCD cable to choose which EDID the system would operate with.

The 6x machines change this. They store the EDID info in a chip on the LCD that's meant for this purpose, and also have a vendor string in the LCD. The purpose of that vendor string is to identify the LCD panel as a Lenovo genuine panel, and the machine refuses to recognize the LCD if it's not Lenovo.

Here is the current EDID data as of 2009-06-22, created by cirthix with some information from Troels:


Or, download a copy of it from: http://bhtooefr.ath.cx/files/qxga.dat

Do I need to make a reflash cable to do this mod?
No! Member cirthix has found a way to use the registered version of PowerStrip to perform the reflash, no additional hardware needed.

How do I do the mod?
The question you've all been waiting for. I personally did this mod on a T60p with bluetooth, but no WWAN. Your mileage may vary, especially if your system has WWAN. At least for a non-WWAN system, the Hardware Maintenance Manual's procedure is extremely complex compared to what's actually needed. Make sure you have a way to organize all screws, and make sure to note all cable routing.

1. Before touching any hardware, purchase a copy of PowerStrip, install it, reboot, and be sure that it starts up, and allows you to disable the tips on startup. That's enough to know it'll work. Then shut down the machine.
2. Remove the three round screw covers and screws on the LCD bezel.
3. GENTLY pop the LCD bezel loose. Set it aside.
4. Now that the bezel is removed, you can lift the inverter up out of its well, and unplug the LCD from the inverter.
5. Remove the three rectangular screw covers and screws on each side of the LCD.
6. Being careful to note cable routing, slowly lift the LCD out of the cover, grabbing it from the bottom first, so as to clear the latches.
7. As soon as you can remove the cable from the back, STOP removing the LCD, and remove the tape, going from the top of the LCD to the bottom. Unplug by pulling down on the cable, carefully. You'll probably end up disengaging the ThinkLight, note how it goes into its holder. That's fine. If you didn't disengage it, go ahead and do so - it'll give you more cable to work with.
8. Now the old LCD is free. You'll need to remove the two rails from the old LCD, being sure to note the orientation.
9. Install the rails on the new LCD in the same orientation.
10. Here comes the fiddly part. Take the LCD cable, and fold it in an S shape (NOT SHARPLY, though) so that the ThinkLight cable is higher than it would be, plug it into the LCD, and tape it down.
11. Make sure the ThinkLight is above the LCD, and all cables displaced by removing the old LCD are put back into place, and guide the new LCD into place. Plug the LCD into the inverter, and make sure the inverter is roughly in place.
12. At this point, plug in an external monitor, power on the machine, and press Fn-F7 immediately to switch to the external monitor. Boot into Windows. Start PowerStrip, go to Options, and Monitor information. Go to Options at the bottom of the dialog, and select Update EDID. You will get a dialog saying "EEPROM Found:" and a monitor name. Be careful to not reflash your external monitor, which will most likely be the first thing that comes up - hit no, and reflash the other monitor that will come up (make sure it actually is different.) Use the qxga.dat file.
13. Now that the monitor's reflashed, shut the machine down, unplug the external monitor, and power back up. You should have a working display at this point. Either way, power the machine off. If you don't have a working display, make sure all connections are intact. If it's still not working, and the backlight is off, shine a flashlight at the LCD, to see if there's an image. If the backlight is on, try flashing the LCD again.
14. Insert the ThinkLight back into its holder - I believe you need to insert the back of it first. Make sure the LCD is fully installed, and that the inverter and all cables are in place.
15. Insert the screws that go on each side. You may have to push down slightly on the LCD to get the screw holes to line up.
16. Power the machine up again, and make sure it it's working. Yes, you're checking again. And make sure the inverter is lined up.
17. If all is good, go ahead and install the bezel. Be sure ALL the clips all around the LCD are clipped in, screw it down, and reinstall all the screw covers. Congratulations, you're done!

If there are any additions or corrections, post in this thread or PM me.

Edit 2009-06-23: The $115 price was determined to be an LCD that was both out of stock, and not actually the IDTech panel, but a drastically inferior Samsung panel. Still worth investigating whether that panel will work, but for now, I've revised the post to say $139.

Edit 2 2009-06-23: Added another part number for IAQX10S, revised the panel info, watch this space.

Excellent post! - - Which version of PowerStrip is recommended - will the 30day trial of version 3.85 Build 645 Final be ok?

It must be the registered version, but 3.85 build 645 will work just fine.

You mentioned "you can get one as low as $59. New ones are as low as $115". What would be the source for those prices? The cheapest one on EBay right now is $240.
http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-92P6684-15-0-UX ... 0364087584

Great work putting this together bhtooefr!
I am sure it was alot of pain to (finally) get the QXGA on a T60/P
I wished you have post this earlier....(before I ordered a flashed QXGA )
Thanks for posting ..

Refurbished for $59: http://www.eurekaelectronics.com/07n2890-iaqx10n-.html
New for $115: http://store.compuaim.com/product_info. ... ts_id=5621

I haven't purchased from either of those sellers, though - I purchased from an eBay seller that only had one.

And, I shipped my panel off to spacejunk for reflashing... literally a day or two before cirthix posted the PowerStrip method.

Did anyone notice that the guy selling pre-flashed panels dropped them to $350 from $400 after cirthix's post, though?

Awesome price on the brand new one. If someone decides to be an experimental guinea pig and try that one, please post results here.

Hi,
I was contacted on a PM from another forum user early December '08 regarding Compuaim and the IAQX10N. It was also $115 at that point - it seems to be there just to get customers interested in their shop - they're out of stock on it. I was told that what they would have sold even if stocked would be a "compatible" model. In best case this would be the Samsung LTN150Q1, which is a 200:1 CR, TN panel, but still QXGA.

Another source may be http://www.hypermicro.com. They have them in stock, but the two i have got from them have pressure marks even though they are "new", and i have seen pictures of another one from the same place also having a slight pressure mark. Packed excellently though, and does in fact not seem used at all. No adhesive screen protector is applied, eventhough this is applied straight from the IDtech factory. Not saying that all of them have any kind of defect - just that this can be expected, and it is a luck of the draw

Interesting.

My QXGA panel (from Hyper Microsystems, but on eBay, actually) had no adhesive screen protector, was sealed, and had a sticker mentioning "Crestline Panels," and having a defunct URL on INTEL'S site. But, it seems to be new and no pressure marks, although backlight color is a touch uneven. I can deal with it.

I wasn't aware of the Samsung panel, though. More info on that? I'm now wondering if that's what the Versa Pro VA20S/AE used, although 170 PPI and IPS was definitely in the range of IDTech in 2002, the IBM T220 with 200 PPI and IPS came out in 2001.

Hehe... yeah, i am still a bit puzzled by that URL on the label and the SAS part - sounds like it is stock from a personal hardware replacelement "store" at Intel (which they didn't need anymore and sold off). But it sounds like you lucked out and got a good one at least, backlight unevenness or not - any obvious light leakage?

Not completely sure regarding the Versa Pro with QXGA offering - this was the only "source" i could go by. http://store.karin-jp.com/IAQX10N-15%E3 ... 83%AB/126/ which says that it features an IAQX10N, so i hope this is true.

I don't have much info on the Samsung - http://www.ryutu.inpit.go.jp/pldb/chart ... 2-19-1.pdf is what i could currently find regarding the specs. Introduced in 2001, with CR of 200:1, 150 nits of brightness, viewing angles 45/45/25/50 (L/R/U/D or maybe L/R/D/U, don't know.)

OK, here's what I think is going on.

In February 2001, IDTech (IBM, actually, for the first revision) published a datasheet for an IAQX10 (this is a 2002 revision,) and IDTech published a datasheet in November 2001 for the IAQX10M (this is a 2003 revision.)

All of the following LCDs are 400:1 contrast and 170 degree viewing angles in both axes. Specs on the IAQX10N and S are from googling, not from datasheets - if I could get the datasheets, that would be helpful.

IAQX10 specs:
150 cd/m^2 brightness center
60 ms response typical
4.1 W typical LCD power consumption
4.5 W typical lamp power consumption
690 g typical weight

IAQX10M specs:
200 cd/m^2 brightness center
60 ms response typical
4.1 W typical LCD power consumption
8.6 W typical lamp power consumption
1065 g typical weight

IAQX10N specs:
150 cd/m^2 brightness presumably center
30 ms response presumably typical

IAQX10S specs:
150 cd/m^2 brightness presumably center
60 ms response presumably typical

Based on this, I'm gonna go ahead and say IAQX10N is where it's at. IAQX10 and IAQX10S don't seem to be better.. Although, I haven't found datasheets on the N or S.

As for IAQX10M... IDTech says it's for standalone monitors, and IAQX10 is for notebooks. The M also has different dimensions, so it's not gonna fit in a ThinkPad, and shouldn't be considered.

Now, I'm finding some references saying that there were a couple versions of the Clevo D500P that may have used the Samsung panel. This is, of course, an exercise in frustration and uselessness, but I just have to know the answers.

On the topic of light leakage... there's a very small amount on the right side, and I only notice it if I'm actually looking for it. In normal use, or even 95% of abnormal use, I can't see it.

Oh, and the NEC Versa P700 from circa May 2003 also has a QXGA panel, and was at least sold in the UK.

Ah yes, M was a version with larger CCFL meant for desktop LCDs. It's depths was double that of the N/S, so was it's weight. Never heard anyone selling a 15" QXGA desktop LCD, but it might have been available in the medical equipment world at some point. Who knows.
Not really sure why they needed to identify them by S and N parts - they did the same with the 15" IPS UXGA panels in the A31p too - IAUX14S. A P and an N version also existed, but not a hint of what the differences ares.

Yes, it is surprisingly hard to find much information on the internet regarding it. Just spotted this: http://laptopkb.kleppinger.com/index.ph ... 500P_specs .... I'll nearly bet that the 15" UXGA offering was what IBM offered as flexview at that point - IAUX14(P/S/N)

Ah, that's fine then - sounds like a good LCD.

Interesting.

You know, I wonder if this is what happened...

NEC ordered the IAQX10 for the Versa Pro VA20S/AE and Versa P700.

Clevo ordered the IAQX10N for the D500P. I KNOW they used IDTech stuff for UXGA, so going to IDTech for QXGA makes sense... and, the faster refresh rate makes sense, Clevo makes gaming laptops, too. And, that might be why there's a glut of the things on the market. The LaVie G Type C config that used a QXGA panel might have used it, or maybe it used the Samsung panel - not sure what the Sammy was used in yet.

IBM ordered the IAQX10S for the R50p, as an IBM-specific remake of the (likely discontinued) IAQX10, maybe? The fact that a UXGA panel had multiple models and S was the IBM version lends credence to that theory.

Help Troels and bhtooefr

just put in my QXGA ...booted up first time no everything work 2048x1536 but in 16 bit..
so i went in Display>Setting to adjust to 32 bit ...then everything returned to 1920X1200...
so now the QXGA screen is running at UXGa resolution ...so its not clear/sharp as its native resolution should be..
this is showing in Display1
on display 2 --its showing 2048 x 1536...QXGa...
how do I make my screen into display 2 so its running QXGA...
let me know what iam doing wrong..
thanks

That seems odd. That's indicating that you don't have enough VRAM to drive the display at 32-bit color at 2048x1536. If my math is right, that's 12 MiB RAM needed. Alternately, the EDID requires too high of a pixel rate for 32-bit color? But it's an 18-bit panel, so it shouldn't matter... although what's coming out of the GPU is 32-bit...

Where did you get your EDID? Because the monitor is working, a reflash with PowerStrip is simpler - just start PowerStrip with no external monitor, and flash it.

Chazz, did you use PowerStrip or the cable method? As Bhtooefr asked, what EDID did you use?

Right-clicking on the desktop -> Properties -> Settings -> Advanced -> Monitor -> Make sure that "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display" is UNCHECKED. When unchecked, try setting the display settings again.

Do you have the LCD monitor drivers from Lenovo installed? If yes, what is the name listed in the "Monitor type" list, in the monitor tab?

When you use Regedit, goto:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\DISPLAY\
What are the names of the available displays listed in there?

Bhtooefr, you do have a good point there, sounds very reasonable.
Would be nice if someone from Idtech could confirm how this works it would be nice. Sent a mail to them in 2007 regarding something else, when their homepage was still working, but never got a single reply. Might be better to talk to Chi Mei about this today...

YYES! Success !!! Thanks so much Troels...unchecked the hidden mode...and it worked..
I wish i had know about flashing QXGA..I end up caving in and bought QXGA "fleebay" flashed..at a reduced price...so unfortunately now I have 2 QXGAs...
its a almost perfect screen. I will test it more with movies and photos later..
thanks again

Great to hear.
I'm actually suffering somewhat the same issue, and i have yet to find something which fixes this for good.
Do you by any chance have an entry in regedit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\DISPLAY\LEN4040 ?

In this entry, an EDID is written at what seems like EVERY boot of windows. LEN4040 is Lenovo jargon for XGA resolution. This means that i cannot run programs polling the EDID information at this location at higher than XGA, unless i rename hex 0x0A from "40" to "49", which it should be for QXGA. This probably means that i should remove the Lenovo display monitor inf files altogether, so that it won't do this "detection". I don't see where-else the LEN4040 should come from.

FWIW, is there any harm to having multiple entries in there? I checked mine just for fun, and I've got DEL5178 (my Dell P991 CRT,) LEN4046 (the old UXGA panel,) and LEN4049. I haven't deleted LEN4046, though. Should I bother?

Speaking of that, can you post the contents of the EDID data? Follow the Display tree down. Some EDIDs are for LEN4046, I believe, some are 4049. Then, there'll be one subfolder, open that, and then Device Parameters in there contains the EDID. That way, we'll know what EDID this guy's flashing, if it's putting it into the registry.

Thanks for the great summary of the QXGA mod, bhtooefr.

I just won a T60p from ebay with smashed screen and various missing bits and pieces. I've been looking for a IAQX10N panel for it, but it seems a bit difficult to find a source shipping to Europe with reasonable prices. If anyone knows reliable sources shipping to Europe, please post them. I'd also be interested if someone has an extra panel for sale.

I wouldn't bother personally.


Who, me?
Did some further digging into this subject, and this LEN4040 seems to be created by a security catalog by the name of TPLCD.CAT. In some sort of encoded format, it contains some sort of indication of hardware ID.... For the 15" XGA, the value it has is:
"06...H.W.I.D.5.3.......m.o.n.i.t.o.r.\.l.e.n.4.0.4.0..." How this and an EDID is created in the registry after each boot i'm unsure about - but it seems to be related to the Thinkpad monitor driver package only.
The EDID of the LEN4040 created each time is:

00,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,00,30,ae,40,40,00,00,00,00,00,0f,01,03,80,1e,
17,78,ea,4e,d0,96,58,51,89,28,25,50,54,21,08,00,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,
01,01,01,01,01,01,01,64,19,00,40,41,00,26,30,18,88,36,00,30,e4,10,00,00,18,
28,15,00,40,41,00,26,30,18,88,36,00,30,e4,10,00,00,18,00,00,00,0f,00,61,43,
32,61,43,28,14,01,00,32,0c,00,00,00,00,00,fe,00,31,35,22,58,47,41,20,32,30,
30,6e,69,74,00,7b,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00

Decoded into ascii again, it contains the monitor name: "15"XGA 200nit"

I was referring to chazz's registry, I want to see what EDID the eBay guy is flashing.

sure, show me how to "get in" and see what registry it is
But This is all very new to me.so please give instruction on how to even find the registry
This is very interesting..I would like to flash my original R50P QXGA..
just wondering -so would a flashed T60P QXGA able to work in a R50P once it ahs been flashed?

Yes, you can reflash a QXGA panel for a T60p, and then use it in an R50p. My flashing directions will not work when it's in an R50p, though, and the EDID ROM is never used by the R50p.

If you don't know how to get into your registry... this is going to sound elitist, even though I don't mean it, but maybe you shouldn't. It's easy to inadvertently change something, and if you change something without knowing what you're doing, you could damage your Windows installation badly.

This is the EDID that eBay guy used:

Offset 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F

00000000 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 24 94 CE 22 00 00 00 00
00000010 00 00 01 03 80 1E 17 78 0A CD 71 91 55 4F 8B 26
00000020 21 54 56 00 00 00 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
00000030 01 01 01 01 01 01 29 40 00 60 80 00 13 60 10 10
00000040 11 00 30 E4 10 00 00 1E 00 00 00 FD 00 30 32 4C
00000050 4D 11 00 0A 20 20 20 20 20 20 00 00 00 0F 00 A9
00000060 43 32 A9 43 28 14 02 0A 0A 0A 0A 0A 00 00 00 FE
00000070 00 49 41 51 58 31 30 0A 20 20 20 20 20 20 00 3D

Are you sure that's not the original EDID? It's showing a vendor ID of IDT and a model of 22CE, with a manufacture date of 1990.

The color characteristics are different from the qxga.dat I've got in front of me.

This also has none of the standard timings set, which makes me wonder how well it handles lower resolutions (especially stuff like 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768, which are established timings on the EDID here.

On detailed timings... both are using a 164.25 MHz pixel clock.

In block 1, this EDID's horizontal sync is the same, although its H blank is wider, whereas cirthix's EDID has a wider sync offset. Probably no big deal. cirthix's block 2 has a narrower horizontal sync, though (64 pixel blanking instead of 80.)

This EDID's vertical blanking is wider (19 pixels instead of 5,) although cirthix's sync width is wider (3 instead of 1.)

Interestingly, in his block 2, this has monitor range limits instead of more timings. The minimum V-sync rate is 48 Hz, max is 50 Hz. Hmm...

The other thing that may or may not mean anything... block 4 has the ASCII string set to IAQX10. Not IAQX10N, not IAQX10S, just IAQX10N. Is this an original EDID from an IAQX10?

Anyway, it doesn't have LEN in the vendor field, so unless what's in block 3 is what the machine's checking for...

If you don't know how to get into your registry... this is going to sound elitist, even though I don't mean it, but maybe you shouldn't. It's easy to inadvertently change something, and if you change something without knowing what you're doing, you could damage your Windows installation badly.

no problem ..I have no idea...thats why to be on the safe side I end up buying a pre-flashed screen to make my life ezier..
after unchecking the "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display"--everything works quite well..the computer recognize the screen without any issues..

The EDID I posted was taken from the pre programmed eBAy QXGA panel (IAQX10N) I helped my friend install in his T61p "frankenpad" as described in this post

viewtopic.php?p=508018#p508018

As I am considering doing a QXGA panel upgrade I convinced my friend to let me try to update his panel EDID with Powerstrip using the EDID data provided in this thread. The update proceeded without problems and the old EDID was saved in a backup file called "old_IDT22CE.bin". It is the contents of this file that I posted in my previous post.

We could not really tell any significant difference in display "quality" between the EDID that the eBay guy used and the one in this thread when running 2048x1536 (we did not test other resolutions). However, there were a couple of differences between the two EDIDs.

When using the previous EDID, we had to unselect the option "hide modes that this monitor cannot display" in order to be able to select 2048x1536 as a valid resolution in the display properties (without it the maximum possible resolution was 2048x1280). With the new EDID the 2048x1536 resolution is available even when the "hide modes that this monitor cannot display" is checked. Also, with the previous EDID there were two refresh rates possible at 2048x1536, 49Hz or 60Hz (although I am not sure the 60Hz came from the EDID data). With the new EDID only 60Hz is available.

When we initially installed the QXGA panel, we did try a couple of different resolutions and they did seem to work OK with the old EDID. However, we did not perform any exhaustive tests so I cannot give any details. I remember that we did run 1024x768 for 3D-games as we believed that it would be the optimal 3D-gaming resolution for a QXGA-panel if each XGA pixel would be upscaled to four QXGA pixels.

EDIT ... The EDID I posted seems to be very similar to the "original" EDID as shown in mani99s post viewtopic.php?p=512738#p512738

I'm just surprised it worked at all, with the IDT vendor prefix... maybe the thing the LCD is checking for is the data in the third descriptor block...