Ack, screen randomly doesn't work

[BranE]

So I've had my thinkpad for 29 days and all of a sudden I get this problem:

I boot up my thinkpad and it goes through the first windows loading screen (the black one) and then i get pure blackness.

I try to use the recovery console but it hangs.

I try to boot up in safe mode but the same thing happens.

I call up IBM support and they tell me that I should send it in for depot repair (3-5 days), I say that I'll think about it.

I put it away for an hour or so and come back for a last ditch effort and it miraculously boots up normally and fine. (?).

Later that day I put it to sleep and when I wake it up the screen flashes off for about 10 seconds but then comes back on. Since then it's been working fine.

Here are my questions:
1) Is this a Harware or Software problem?
-If it's software then why don't I just reformat myself?
-Would IBM repair do anything else?

2) If it's hardware then should I just use my 30 day window to exchange it for a new model? (They tell me 2-3 weeks for this)

Thanks for any feedback, I have to decide quickly!

[Flightvector]

You need to figure out if it is the actual LCD inverter connection, the video card, or the HDD image first. If the issue is purely display connection hardware, you would expect issues to occur when shifting the panel. Furtermore, you should take the effort to figure out whether the backlights ae shutting off or if the display is commanding black; you should be able to easily tell by looking for any light leakage even with the lights on.

The fact that it shut off briefly for only 10 seconds later on tells me it is probably not the OS or HDD image. If the backlights stay on, you may have a video component issue, which would be slightly more of a concern. Try working out the video card by running something like 3dMark and see if any issues arise. If verifying that the inverter cable is properly seated does not solve the issue and if the video card seems to be strong, you may have an issue with the actual LCD, in which case you may want to return it.

I justify returning rather than depot support since sporadic display issues make me lose confidence that the depot will target the issue correctly. These types of multiple component possibility issues may often result in blind (no pun intended) LCD, motherboard, and video card replacements, and may leave you with a refurb component that did not need to be replaced in the first place.

[BranE]

I think I'm leaning towards it being a software problem as the recovery console and safe modes both wouldn't work.

I've already reformatted twice and done that windows registration twice, is there any limit to how many times I can do that?

[Flightvector]

You don't need to register multiple times, but as long as you are using XP on a single system, I don't think that you are breaking any rules. I doubt there is any clause about installation except that it be on the original IBM Machine and only on that one machine.

What was the reason for two reformats, did they seem to resolve the issue with your system?

[BranE]

The prior reformats were unrelated... when I first got my system.

[Nolonemo]

I think this is a no-brainer. You have an intermittent (= hard to pin down) problem that turns the Thinkpad (functionally) into a very elegant doorstop.

I'd suck it up and exchange it for another new one.