sceen blanks randomly (?)

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rexd · #1 Post by **rexd** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:57 pm

I have a t42 that's about 2 years old. The screen blanks on me shortly
(but not always) after startup. I have to do a forced shutdown, but for a while
it will not show up even on a restart. I can see the hard drive running some of the time, though.

I have hooked the computer to an external screen and get the same results on the external screen. I have booted in Linux and get the same. Tried a Knoppix disc and got the same.

Is there any hope?

Thanks,

Rex du Pont
rhett3@comcast.net

Thinkpad_T43_Fan · #2 Post by **Thinkpad_T43_Fan** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:00 pm

rexd wrote:I have a t42 that's about 2 years old. The screen blanks on me shortly
(but not always) after startup. I have to do a forced shutdown, but for a while
it will not show up even on a restart. I can see the hard drive running some of the time, though.

I have hooked the computer to an external screen and get the same results on the external screen. I have booted in Linux and get the same. Tried a Knoppix disc and got the same.

Is there any hope?

Thanks,

Rex du Pont
rhett3@comcast.net

I had a T20 that behaved in a similar way. I used the T20 for presentations, so it was hooked up to projectors frequently.

Sometimes it would boot up as if it was on external monitor, and not use the LCD.

Pushing Fn + F5 key would resolve it. Never did figure out why. The problem did go away after rebooting after making sure it was not set on external monitor...

#3 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 1:45 am

next time it boots with a blank display, connect an external display to the VGA out..

you might also need to cycle between external display and internal display using Fn-F7..

if the external display works then it is, obviously, a hardware problem..

the FIRST thing i would check is the display plug under the keyboard to be sure it is fully connected..

there are other causes of a blank display..
like a flaky backlight, bad plugs in the display assembly and more..

#4 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 3:02 am

next time it boots with a blank display, connect an external display to the VGA out..

you might also need to cycle between external display and internal display using Fn-F7..

if the external display works then it is, obviously, a hardware problem..

the FIRST thing i would check is the display plug under the keyboard to be sure it is fully connected..

there are other causes of a blank display..
like a flaky backlight, bad plugs in the display assembly and more..

rexd · #5 Post by **rexd** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 10:13 am

Thanks for the responses.

I tried it with an external monitor connected, and the screen showed up on both, and then blanked on both. I will check the connector plug and let you know.

I have also noticed that it lasts longer when the computer is started cold, and sometimes won't show a starting screen at all if I try shortly after it has blanked.

Rex

rexd · #6 Post by **rexd** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:40 pm

I have tried to get at the monitor connection, but could not get to it.
So far a connected monitor does just what the T42 screen does. I think
it must be somewhere in the hardware. Once it happens, the screen will not stay up long enogh to restart. However, if I leave it for an hour or so, it will run for
up to ten or fifteen minutes.

Rex

sceen blanks randomly (?)

sceen blanks randomly (?)

Re: sceen blanks randomly (?)

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