What's Going on with my Display?

[Nigellus]

This regards my 600E ThinkPad, but I don't think the problem is necessarily 600E specific.

About two weeks ago, I booted my ThinkPad and got a screen that looked something like this: http://www.geocities.com/nigellus_albus ... isplay.jpg.

After one more attempt, it booted normally, so I didn't give it another thought. In the intervening time, it had booted normally on numerous occasions until last Thursday when the scenario repeated itself--first the fuzzy display and then a normal one upon reboot.

Yesterday, it happened again, except this time it took many reboots to get a normal display. I ran a system test and the diagnostic found nothing wrong with the display, the system board, or the memory.

This morning was a repeat of yesterday. The only difference is I let it boot completely into Windows before shutting it off and noticed that I am getting a partial/distorted display. For example, in Windows, I can see my icons in an obscured/distorted state (the top icons are on the bottom and the task bar with the start button is in the middle; everything is a little stretched and faded). It is not unlike what used to happen when I was getting a distorted television signal that caused the picture to "roll". In this state, I can see the cursor, but the mouse does not respond.

Any thoughts?

After it boots with a normal display, it continues to act normally until the next day so far.

Another symptom that may or may not be related is that sometimes upon shutdown, it freezes on a red screen. This has only occurred in the last six months.

I did replace the LCD a few years ago. Could a loose connection be causing this?

Also, back in October, I accidentally spilled some water on my keyboard. Could this be moisture related (though I would not expect such delayed effects)?

Any help will be appreciated.

[RealBlackStuff]

I would suggest opening up the LCD to check that the cable is not falling out/has become unstuck.
Check the same for the cable connector onto the motherboard.
Does that 600 have an external VGA connector, and does that work OK?

You may need a new LCD from the looks

PS: I'd be happy to sell you a decent T23.

[Stargate199]

I am going to assume its the LCD cable. Open it up and check the connections. Make sure everything is connected firmly. If the problem still persists, replace the cable. If the problem is still there, then it is a video card issue and the only place is a new motherboard.

[Nigellus]

I would suggest opening up the LCD to check that the cable is not falling out/has become unstuck.
Check the same for the cable connector onto the motherboard.

I am going to assume its the LCD cable. Open it up and check the connections. Make sure everything is connected firmly. If the problem still persists, replace the cable. If the problem is still there, then it is a video card issue and the only place is a new motherboard.

Yes, it's definitely a hardware issue. I do have an external VGA connector and an external monitor works fine. Unfortunately, I don't know when I'll have time to work on it. Thanks for the input; I really wanted to get another perspective before I opened her up. Having it on an external monitor seemed to warm her up, though. I just rebooted and the LCD was only messed up until Windows finished loading. Now it's clear.

[Nigellus]

Well, all this talk about the connections is now moot. As it happens, I will need a new LCD after all because an uncoordinated coworker knocked it off the counter not long after my last post. It happened right in front of me and there was nothing I could do--it was a somewhat upsetting experience. Despite the fall, my ThinkPad is surprisingly unscathed (whenever a classmate of mine would drop a [non-ThinkPad] laptop, it would cease to function and would have to be sent back to the manufacturer). The only injuries are a broken latch hook and a strangely damaged LCD. I say strange because it still works and the diagnostic can't find anything wrong with it. But it definitely looks cracked.

If you are curious, the damaged LCD can be seen at:
http://www.geocities.com/nigellus_albus ... racked.jpg
and the broken hook can be seen at: http://www.geocities.com/nigellus_albus ... n_hook.jpg