best manner to acquire replacement screen for T43

[Oldgeezer]

I need to replace the screen on a T43 2686dfu that's away traveling. I’ll have to pre-order the screen before I can see the broken one, since I can’t take it apart till the machine returns home at the holidays, then I have to swap it in just a short week before it goes away again.

The HMM lists the following FRU numbers:

AUO 92P6765
CMO 92P6731
HYDIS 92P6733
HYDIS 13N7044
LG 92P6726
Samsung 92P6759

One website crosslists the FRU 13N7044 as being a Hydis 14.1" 30 PIN XGA HT14X1B-210. Haven't had much luck finding other manufacturer's numbers for the other FRUs.

By specifying it via IBM FRU, the price for a new 13N7044 is $295.

By specifying it with the Hydis HT14X1B-210 part number, the price for a new screen is $185.

Can anyone recommend the best practice for specifying the screen?

Is specifying the screen as easy as asking for a “14.1 inch 30 pin XGA”, or is there more to it.

Can I choose any of the manufacturers listed above or must I replace it with the same manufacturer as originally installed? Are the manufacturer's products similar in quality?

Additionally does anyone know if I can improve the resolution to SXGA, and if so, how do I get the part numbers and manufacturer’s numbers for screens of improved resolution that would be drop in replacements?

I would be delighted to hear the views of those in the forum who have experience in purchasing and installing replacement screens.

[Harryc]

That machine has a 64MB ATI Radeon X300 GPU. You can upgrade to SXGA+, but you will need a new LCD cable, or an entire 14" SXGA LCD assembly. You can use the same inverter. Any of the LCD screen FRU's listed will work if they are on the T43 14" LCD parts list. I don't know which screen is best, and I don't know if a non-IBM FRU LCD will work.

[SteveS]

The easiest and most reliable way to replace a damaged screen in a T4x series is to replace the entire lid assembly. That way you get the LCD, correct cable, inverter etc. in one piece. Look in the marketplace or on e-bay for a used one. There are several T40-42 machines sold used with bad GPUs that go pretty cheap now. Screens on used machines come in various states of quality. If the seller does not explicitly state it, I would ask if the screen has any scratches, keyboard marks, or white spots from pressure marks. Also make sure the backlight is still white and not turning pink or red.

Refer to the Hardware Maintenance Manual (available from the Lenovo web site) for instructions on how to make the swap. The same manual describes how to replace the LCD only. This is a bit more tricky, and probably has more risk of damaging the LCD. I have done it both ways on several machines, and prefer to swap the entire lid.

As Harryc stated, the GPU will support a SXGA+ (1400 x 1050 resolution) display as well, so you might consider that. IMO, it is the only way to go with a T43. Once you have used one, you can never go back to all the scrolling needed to read word documents and web pages