T20 Display causes hard crash

[dfjelstul]

I have a T20 (2647-84U) that when I boot up, the LCD doesn't display. I hook an external monitor up to it and can use the computer just fine. If I hit Fn-F7 to switch to the LCD, I get a BSOD (actually it's kind of a greyish-blue). The laptop then reboots and hangs. I have to unplug the AC and remove the battery to get it to reboot.

During the initial boot, the LCD displays momentarily and then goes dark. If I hit fn-F7 during the initial boot after the LCD goes dark, I get the BSOD.

I looked through the forum here and it sounds like a backlight or inverter problem (the screen was sometimes rosey tinted), but I'm not sure if that is the problem, because of the hard crash I get. I didn't see anyone else with this hard crash problem when switching to the LCD. I tried reinstalling the s3 graphics savage ix 1014 driver but that didn't help.

I'm running Windows 2000.

Thanks for your help.

[vlyne]

First off, can you confirm that BSOD occurs on both LCD and external monitor - if possible?? This is to eliminate the possibility that the LCD backlight may be going out (reddish tint suggests this may be a possibility) and it's not really a BSOD.

Otherwise, I'm guessing a hardware issue so a number of simple things to try:

Check LCD cable connection
Check inverter connections
Reseat keyboard or try another
Check LCD lid switch

Beyond that you have to strip all removables and test each one in turn and if that doesn't work....replace mobo?

On second thoughts: it could be a software issue but I'm not sure which particular driver would be at fault (keyboard? ACPI?) - someone else would have to advise.

Cheers

[dfjelstul]

It only occurs on the LCD. The external monitor works fine. It's actually when I switch from external to LCD that the system crashes.

I'll check on the connections.

[truk]

I wouldn't go for hardware issue so fast. The external monitor runs on the same video card as the internal, so if it was a hardware issue it would have to be in the inverter or screen (check for loose cables if you have the time.) Try switching displays by right clicking the desktop, selecting properties, and going into the settings tab (the last one.) Click the grayed out box representing the LCD screen and select the "extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor" check box. If it's grayed out, you probably are on the wrong screen. If this works, it's a problem in the way Windows is handling the FnF7 combo. Try reinstalling presentation director.

[dfjelstul]

Thanks Truk. I can get the LCD to display using the Properties/Settings window. However, if I use the FnF7 combo I still get the crash. I'll try reinstalling presentation director and see if that fixes it. The other Fn's (FnF3, FnF4, FnF12) work fine so it looks like it's isolated to the FnF7 handling.