Garbled Screen is here ... What to do dilemma - Help, Please

[GregAZ]

Friends,

Today I got visited by an unwanted guest. The dreaded garbled screen of ThinkPads is upon me. Searching the internet on my wife's computer, I am thinking that this is the culprit. The way I read it, this means that my motherboard is toast. Of course, my T42 (2373-H6U) is out of warranty as of 10/2008.

So, I am faced with a dilemma for which I summon your collective wisdom: I love my laptop and it is sufficient for my needs, except that I would like a larger hard drive. But, this can be solved by uploading more photos to Picasa Web and cleaning off my hard drive. Perhaps more importantly, I rely on my computer for work - so if this is a sign of problems to come, it may be time to get back into a warranty covered computer for me.

The way I see it, my choices are three-fold:

1. Buy a new laptop from Lenovo.
2. Buy a used T42 (or similar) from here or eBay.
3. Repair my current laptop and keep using it.

All suggestions, opinions and even offers are welcome.

Many thanks in advance!

[dsvochak]

You may want to read these for some background:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=33952
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=57021
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65505

And this one about repairs:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 74&start=0

You should then have a better idea of the pros and cons of the alternatives.

[GregAZ]

Thank you - very helpful! This sounds VERY promising. How do I know that this is what I need? My issue appears to be heat related, if I let the computer rest for an hour, I can keep it up for five minutes. If it ran in the last 15, it will stay up for 1 minute, if I restart after that, it melts down immediately. My issue is that I can't even keep it alive long enough to run the GPU test utility!

[ajkula66]

Garbled screen equals loose GPU. No need for extensive testing.

Your machine sounds like a high-end T42, and is well worth saving IMO. I'd risk $60 if it were mine.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[GregAZ]

Quick update - sent my T42 for reball at Superior Reball on March 3rd, received a working laptop on March 16th. Fantastic service, communication and value. Cannot recommend Dale and company enough!