Thinkpads Forum

Hi guys, just received my T61P yesterday but unfortunately I'm not rhappy with it as something's wrong with the display geometry. It's kind of distorted or off-kiltered. For example when I maximize windows then the 3 icons (close, restore down, minimize) in the upper right hand corner are partly cut since their position is too high. In the lower right hand corner the icons on the taskbar are not at the bottom of the screen but too high. Last but not least the round Windows Vista Symbol in the lower left hand corner is partly cut aswell and one can only see slightly more than it's upper half.
On a CRT screen it wouldn't be a problem to fix the geometry within a few seconds. Does anybody know this problem and it's solution? Should I contact the Lenovo customer service (I have on site warranty).
Except for this problem I'm happy with the machine although Windows Vista is somewhat slow... thinking about to install XP on it.
Thanks for your help.

Kai

Mmmmm...I'm not sure that I really understand this complaint since LCDs have inherently perfect geometry, unlike CRTs. There's a reason why the geometry on an LCD cannot be adjusted. On a CRT, there's an electron gun in the back that makes several passes across the face of the display per second, while in an LCD, you have perfectly-formed and lined-up pixels that never change size, shape, or position.

I can only think of a couple things that might cause the effect you are seeing. One is that you have the display set to a non-native resolution. Make sure that the display properties for Windows is configured with a resolution that matches what the LCD was *made* to display; otherwise the scaling that takes place in order to make the non-native resolution fill up the entire screen can make for some unpleasant viewing. (So if you have a WSXGA+ screen, make sure Windows is actually configured for 1680x1050, for WUXGA it should be 1900x1200, etc.). Although in most cases non-native resolutions just makes things look "blocky," if you have a widescreen laptop and you set the LCD to run at a non-WS resolution, everything will also look "stretched." Perhaps this is what is happening and could explain why you think the geometry needs adjusting.

Also, the Vista GUI elements are a "bit" different than their XP counterparts. I'm not sure how much experience you have with Vista, but for example, the round Vista logo (the new "Start" button) in the lower-left corner is not a complete/full circle...the bottom of it is supposed to be cut-off. Now, if you can't see the entire Windows logo that is ON the 3/4 circle and part of THAT is cut off, well, then that is unusual.

The last possibility I can think of is that perhaps the plastic bezel surrounding the screen got installed incorrectly by the assemblers, and is physically cutting off parts of the display/image.

-- Nathan

It sounds like a faulty LCD cable or faulty controller logic on the LCD itself. If it's the latter you'll get a new LCD.
Just out of curiosity, since i've never heard of this before - could you post some photos of this defect?

Thank you so much for your reply!The screen looks as if it may have installed inccorrectly. Or maybe it's even the plastic bezel. On the top left of the screen there is about an 1/8 on an inch of black space. As you look at the top of the screen and scan right, this space shortens to the point where by the time you get to the top right of the screen, when a window is open, the close button has about an 1/8 of an inch that looks about of screen. Thus, the view is actually at a slight angle. Little angle but enough where it is noticable.
I'm a college student and had to save money for a long time in order to buy a T61P. I'm now pretty disappointed about the screen. Do you think this is a reason to call the customer service or do I just have to get along with this?

NathanA wrote:WUXGA it should be 1900x1200, etc.).

WUXGA = 1920x1200

Please update your GPU drivers via Thinkvantage System Update or do it manually, if you've already done so then you may call lenovo.

I didn't change resolution, which is still 1680*1050. I have the newest GPU drivers installed. 7.15.11.155.
I strongly believe that it is the incorrectly installed plastic bezel. I'll call Lenovo this afternoon to hear what solution they suggest.

deeastman wrote:WUXGA = 1920x1200

Yes, of course...thank you for the correction.

-- Nathan

kafri wrote:I strongly believe that it is the incorrectly installed plastic bezel.

If you are actually seeing the image "tilted" (which just isn't possible with an LCD display) as you described in an earlier post, I would have to agree that this must indeed be a physical problem. It could be the bezel, or I suppose it could also be that the LCD was incorrectly mounted within the LCD cover, maybe even mounted/screwed down incorrectly to the rollcage.

This is probably going to take the intervention of Lenovo to have corrected, unless you feel like taking a whack at fixing the problem yourself. If you're handy with a screwdriver, you can download the Hardware Maintenance Manual for your model.

Since I was recently viewing the hardware manual, here is the URL for the T61p:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-67980

I called the IBM customer service this afternoon and after some initial trouble they seemed to be very helpful and nice. At first it was not registered in their database that I've purchased the on-site warranty for my t61 but after I forwarded them the confirmation via email they called me back and promised to send somebody out on upcoming Thursday. I'll report how the customer service's going to solve the problem.

Hi guys, this afternoon the Lenovo customer service has been here and fixed my display simply by exchanging it. The one I got now is also from LG/Philips made in Korea and as far as I can tell it seems to be quite good. Very bright and clear colors, good geometry. It's not perfect though as I still have approx. an 1/8 of an inch of black space at the top but it's now not tilted anymore.
My impression of th Lenovo customer service so far is very good. The technician was friendly, did his work professionally and fast.
. Recommendable!