Do LCD Panels Have Digital Signatures?

[Jim Olson]

Do LCD panels used in laptop computers have standardized hardware and software interfaces?

I have tried to upgrade another trusty Thinkpad T43 from 1024x768 pixels to 1400x1050 pixels. The beast needs another year on the road before I throw in the towel and buy her a new Thinkpad Carbon X-1. (yes, I'm a cheap husband.)

I purchased two different 1400x1050 LCD panels from two online retailers. The panels were both new and delivered to me in their manufacturers' original sealed packaging. Their mechanical bracket footprints match the original IBM bracket footprint. The flat ribbon connectors fit fine. Their LCD backlights work on my CCFL inverter and light up the panel. The computer boots based on the progression of Windows sounds coming from the speaker.

But the LCD panels make no images or digits, not even during the boot BIOS phase.

What am I missing about these non-native LCD panels? Like they did with disk drives, does IBM's BIOS check for a digital signature on these LCD displays and disallow some that did not come from IBM's chosen vendor?

Anyone need a couple of perfectly good and new 1400x1050 14.1" panels?

[ajkula66]

If that's a T43 with Intel graphics - model number starting in 187* - it will not run a SXGA+ panel...

[Jim Olson]

Thanks, George. As always, you are the most informed of the Thinkpad'ers.

This particular computer is a Type 2668-61U and the panel is stamped T43.

[Neil]

That T43 has ATI Radeon X300 GPU, and will drive SXGA+ without difficulty, but you will need the matching LCD cable, you can't just swap LCD panels. However, you could swap the complete lid containing a SXGA+ panel and cable.

[systemBuilder]

All 14.1" inverters are the same across the series so there is no problem with the inverter.

I have replaced about 4x 1400x1050 14.1" displays and have not had trouble. There are at least 2 different pinouts for SXGA+ 14.1" displays and you need to get the NON-DELL pinout (if it says Dell run away !!) for it to work. The Dell panels are offered very cheaply on EBay so it's easy to shop by price and get the wrong panel!

There are at least 4 different brands of panels that work, you can see all the available (out of production) panels at http://www.panelook.com, here are some that will definitely work :

Hydis HT14P12-100, 101 (**)
Samsung LTN141P4-L02 (**)
ID Tech IASX16H
Toshiba LTD141EN9B

I think the Hydis and the Samsung are the most-loved displays. The Samsung is more blue and the viewing angles are slightly less, whereas the Hydis is warmer and has better viewing angles, but might not be quite as bright. In my experience, the Hydis panels last longer.

I have used the (**) panels, both new and use, 2x each. The following website lists panels but it is incomplete and nobody can edit and fix the mistakes :

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/TFT_display

Here is another discussion with more details about 14.1" SXGA+ Thinkpad T4x panels:

http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopi ... =2&t=75264