Thinkpads Forum

What do dead pixels look like? I have tiny shining specks that keep coming up on my screen CRT), and I'm able to scratch them away, but they keep appearing elsewhere. Or, do they only occur on LCD's?

I'm trying to decide on the laptop to buy, and I don't know what certain things are, such as a port replicator, is this already installed in the laptop, or do I have to buy that separate?

Is the docking station popular to have, since I will not be moving it that much?

Are there any extra things to buy, like cables, etc.
What is the cable that you are able to connect everything in to with just one port?

Is there anything else to order with it?

Thanks,
Sand

Dead pixel are dots on your screen that stand out. It's a manufacturing defect or a defect after you've used the computer. Very uncommon to have since most laptop manufacturer will not ship a screen with dead pixels. However, if you have some , depending on each manufacturer specific policy on dead pixels , they'll take it in for warranty repair if you accumulate enough dead pixel per "area".

Port Replicator are the same as docking station, you probably don't need it unless you don't have a slot in the back of your laptop to hook your devices. They are useful if you have a light laptop that doesn't have a CD\DVD driver or you prefer to use your PC keyboard or mouse at home.

You probably need an extra battery, a good laptop case(Targus brand), and time to enjoy your new laptop to see what else you like to do with it.

No cables to buy. Your new laptop should come with everythign you need.
(USB cable and USB hub is only one I can think of getting).

Dead Pixel Buddy will show you what they look like, I downloaded it free and it works great, the page below also explains what dead pixels are.
Dead Pixels on Notebook Screens
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2211

This will be the second brand new X40 I'll be returning! (the third also had dead pixels)
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=7921


Sorry, don't know about your shining specks or CRT. But as far as what else to buy, it all depends on what you want to do. Even the cable that you are able to connect everything in to with just one port may not be of any use to you. I have a printer, a CD burner, an external drive, a PDA, a digital camera, and a digital camcorder which all connect via USB and I don't have a need for one.

The only one I see is a bright lit red speck left of center screen. Will this spread, or cause problems other than just being there?

What concerns me more are light rings that appear in the upper left and lower right corners.Trying to illustrate, they look like rings that you would see in a picture denoting sound, getting larger as they go out. The ones in the bottom right corner have colors to them. I only notice them so far on the Welcome screen.

They worry me because I have these on my crt monitor, and now that monitor screen turns from light to dark pink many times a day. Can problems with one computer be passed on to another that it is connected to by wireless, and does anyone know what causes these rings and color pulses?

TIA,
Sand

the bright red speck is a stuck on pixel
it's not likely to grow or spread, though it may come and go
in rare instances tapping the screen gently in that area will help

the 'light rings' are not all that unusual, if they are bothersome then avoiding dark or solid backrounds & wallpaper will help.

to check my understanding, you're saying you are seeing a corner with colored rings/bands in an LCD screen?

no, screen problems will not transfer from one computer to another.

Yes, the colored rays were at the bottom right corner last night, but so far, have not seen them today. But, that's the way it went with my desktop monitor too, until the whole screen started turning pink.

Is this a bad sign?

Thanks,
Sand

Usually colored rings will be the result of pressure of some sort like a touch or a squeeze on or near the screen. Could even happen if you have a carrying case that's too tight.

Usually they will go away if the screen is simply left alone awhile, I'm glad to hear they did. Since they went away it's highly unlikely that the screen has been damaged.

I'm glad that's the case, and also that problems are not transferrable by wireless, because this old monitor/computer has many to share.

So, networked computers can/do not affect one another in any way, like viruses, bad drivers, and things like that, even though they share documents and files and programs?

thanks,
Sand

well, no, excepting that many viruses in particular will explicity look for unsecured network resources, both locally & elsewhere.