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T30 screen not working

T20-T23 Series and T30. NOT for T25-Retro.
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missouri100
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Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:42 pm
Location: Kearney, MO

T30 screen not working

#1 Post by missouri100 » Mon Aug 08, 2016 6:40 pm

I have an older T30 that I use for programming older automation control components. I was in a plant today and let the thing slip off a chair onto a concrete floor. The cover was closed and there are no marks on the case from the fall. I have no idea if it hit on the corner, edge, or flat. I couldn't see the impact.

When I turned it on I could see the screen changing shades of gray/black while it booted up but it never displayed any text or the windows xp boot up screen. In the vast experience of the thinkpad community, do you guys think it is just the screen or some connection jarred loose?

If I plug an external monitor into the 15 pin port will it configure automatically like a mouse does?

Is there some test I can do to help identify exactly what got damaged?

Any help would be appreciated. This computer has been a real workhorse and I need the db9 serial interface on this thing. For some reason I don't have much luck with a USB to DB9 adapter on the older control stuff and I have tried many chipsets.
T42 *** T30 *** R60 *** T420 *** T500

new favorite word "frankenpad"

Neil
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Location: Paragould AR USA

Re: T30 screen not working

#2 Post by Neil » Mon Aug 08, 2016 7:06 pm

So, does the screens lamp light up to full brightness? Just doesn't display correctly? Any cracks visible below the surface?

Seems to me there is likely damage to the display. But, you can start by re-seating the LCD cable at the system board end, and remove the LCD bezel and re-seat the LCD inverter connections. The only other connector is on the back side of the LCD panel where the cable connects. That connection can come loose, but it's usually secured with tape, and a lot of trouble to get to.
Collection = T430 - T500 - R400 - X300 - T61 (14" WXGA+) - R61 (15" SXGA+) - T60 - X40 - T43p - T43 - T42p - A30P

thinkpadcollection
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Joined: Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:13 pm
Location: kingston, ontario, Canada

Re: T30 screen not working

#3 Post by thinkpadcollection » Mon Aug 08, 2016 7:54 pm

And a replacement PATA HDD, can be had for new from ebay for reasonable price from any of the chinese/hong kong. Keep under 120GB for assured compatiblity. Hitachi 100GB 7200rpm PATA is best choice.

Yes the LCD shattered. Good LCD can be had from ebay also.

Yes, plug into VGA port and turn on as usual, if not, wait for a minute for computer to settle then hold down Fn and hit F7 once, wait. If not try again in sequence every 30 seconds. F7 has a logo that looks like old fashioned glass CRT outline slash "commputer logo". It is a 3 choices: notebook LCD only, external display only and both together. Bootup default is set in the configuration section after F1 during boot up.

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

brchan
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Location: West Lafayette, Indiana

Re: T30 screen not working

#4 Post by brchan » Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:08 pm

Most likely the LCD display is busted, but it wouldn't hurt to reseat the cables like Neil discussed. You will need to disassemble the laptop to add a new screen, anyway.

This is unlikely, but if you plug in an external monitor and switch displays using the Fn keys and get the same garbled display, then the GPU on the motherboard is damaged.
Current Thinkpads: W530 (functional classic keyboard mod), X301, T61, T60, T43, A31p, T23, 600X, 770
Other: mk5 Toughbook cf-19, mk1 Toughbook cf-53

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