T61 Replacement LCD wonkiness

[illgrill]

I purchased and replaced my T61's cracked LCD. Precautions and great care were taken, but obviously not enough. Upon boot-up test I see this:


-I have reseated the connections.
-I did not replace the inverter.
-The replacement is a Quanta SXGA+ panel.
-There does not appear to be any damage on the ribbon.

I'm on the verge of freaking out as I return to school tomorrow and this laptop is my anchor and bestest friend in engineering school.

tl;dr -- See this; what do?

[RealBlackStuff]

That replacement is not the correct LCD for your T61.
Quanta is not one of the IBM/Lenovo suppliers.
Only other option is to get the 'real deal', whether used or new.
One of these:
220nit, LG-Display 42T0406
200nit LG-Display 42T0427
200nit LG-Display 42T0579
200nit, CMO 42T0453
200nit, Samsung 13N7108
200nit, Samsung 42T0412
200nit, Samsung 42T0583

[illgrill]

Thank you RBS. This is terrible news. The seller swore up and down that this was a T61 replacement.

Edit: The above listed LCDs by RealBlackStuff are for the widescreen T61 models. For 14.1" SXGA+ models the replacement panels are
Hydis 42T0433 (this is the one I have that's broken- A.K.A. HT14P12-100)

Samsung 42X4582

Samsung 42X4687

TMD13N7063

Samsung 13N7108

[sktn77a]

Before you send it back, try changing the refresh rate of your video and also check you have the right driver installed (I realize you probably didn't change it but strange things happen when you put new hardware in).

[illgrill]

I can boot up to windows, but the screen turns black. If I boot Ubuntu off a USB key I get the double picture as you can see. Also in the BIOS. I can't imagine what settings would make this thing work.

[sktn77a]

I can boot up to windows, but the screen turns black. If I boot Ubuntu off a USB key I get the double picture as you can see. Also in the BIOS. I can't imagine what settings would make this thing work.

OK, could be an incompatible panel, then.

[illgrill]

Ok. I'm gonna go eat cat food and die now.

[RealBlackStuff]

To avoid mistakes like I made, always mention the 7-character TYPE (e.g. 2007-HBU).
If it's a xxxx-CTO, mention the specific details, such as 14.1", or 15.4" widescreen etc.

[Troels]

What is the Quanta model number of this LCD you got?

[illgrill]

You might like how meta the answer to your question is. It is the QD14FL07. If you type that into google along with t61 or thinkpad, your post comes up 1st.

[Troels]

Haha, how ironic
I couldn't find any data sheet for this LCD though - but since it shows an image at boot up and it produces no smoke, i'd say it's a LCD timing issue, which might be due to wrong contents of the stored EDID in the LCD.

You said you could boot ubuntu. Do that and run "xrandr -verbose" from a terminal (or "sudo xrandr -verbose" - can't remember if root privileges are needed).

It should return something along this:
http://launchpadlibrarian.net/29809287/xrandr-kms.txt

There's a part called EDID_DATA. Could you possibly post all the hex values in that EDID_DATA section here? You would probably need some means of reflashing this EEPROM on the LCD storing the EDID, but it is pretty interesting what this EDID contains...

Do you by any change have another monitor you can hook up via the VGA port?

[Erakis]

Hi there! (My 1st post here.)

It's funny because I too have a problem with a "compatible" Quanta LCD that I bought from an eBay shop (origin: New Jersey) for my T60. Not because my screen is dead, but because I came to learn that one could easily make an XGA to SXGA+ upgrade. It's the same model as Illgrill's (QD14FL07) and it was sold as a replacement LCD for FRU 13N7063.

Once I turned on the T60 after the replacement, I encountered the exact symptoms explained on this page: http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2 ... backlight/ i.e.:

- Laptop boots as usual but after some time the screen blacks out. You still can see an image on the screen but it’s very dim. You might even use a flashlight to see it better. Sometimes the backlight comes back for a while but then goes off again. In some cases you can turn the backlight on if you tap rapidly on the lid close switch.
[...]
- In some cases you might hear a buzzing noise coming from the area where the inverter board is located, it’s on the bottom part of the display assembly.

The lower I set the brightness, the longer is the time before the backlight goes off, and the quieter is the noise.

I didn't replace the inverter since the FRU is the same between XGA and SXGA+ (i.e. 41W1010), according to the Hardware Maintenance Manual.

I think the power output of the inverter isn't enough for the CCFL of the Quanta. Would you draw the same conclusion? Do you know if replacing the inverter with one made for 15" displays could solve the problem? Maybe the difference between 14.1" and 15" inverters isn't power output (but voltage, or a different connector), which wouldn't be good news.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,
Matt

PS: please tell me if I have to stop polluting this thread and start a new one.

[Troels]

Hello Matt -
(and welcome to the forum)

Hmm, that is quite interesting. When the backlight is on, does the image show up correctly (also in windows), or does it look something like what Illgrill have? If it looks fine, then you actually might be able to help Illgrill.

When the backlight is on, does it have a red/pinkish tint at the left and right sides of the LCD?

Does it have some sort of manufacturer date on it? If yes, how old is it and does it look used?

Theoretically the CCFLs for larger LCDs require a higher starting voltage to light up compared to smaller LCDs, but when the difference we are talking is between 14.1" and 15.0" LCDs, i would say it does not matter at all.
When the backlight shuts off it is actually due to a protection feature by the inverter board. When CCFLs get used, the require more and more power to turn on (when more and more mercury is depleted in the phosphorus layer). When this happens the current consumptions explode, and the CCFL will eventually heat up until they melt near their ends. A current limited power supply is therefore a MUST. This also applies to normal cathode tubes.

No-one can really say if Quanta used some sort of weird CCFL for this, with unusual requirements, so it's really hard to say. But the odds are that it's a bad or old CCFL

If the inverter doesn't work with your XGA either, try replacing it with a new inverter (for 14.1")
It would be nice with a data sheet, but Quanta is long gone - it was acquired in 2006 by AU Optronics.

[Erakis]

Many thanks Troels for your welcome and your information.

Yes, the image shows up correctly, except a few rows of pixels at the bottom edge of the screen that have a slightly different tint from the rest (bad positioning of an LCD layer?), but this is no issue, especially when considering what Illgrill is experiencing.

I didn't see any hint of red or pink at any side of the screen. No pink-white-pink or red-white-red gradient if this is the question. The whites could be wholly reddish or pinkish, but it's hard to say without any point of comparison.

The plastic casing does have a manufacturing date, but I didn't write it down before assembling it. It was something like 2004 or 2005 IIRC (older than my ThinkPad!). The LCD does look a bit used except the display surface that is in pristine condition. The warranty seal was cut as if the LCD itself had already been disassembled. This wasn't looking very professional, to say the least...

Your reflections on CCFL are very interesting and give a new insight into the trouble. I've learnt on laptoprepair101.com that it's possible (yet touchy) to replace the CCFL yourself. Maybe a way to explore...

I'll try to plug my XGA on the inverter (without removing the SXGA+ from the panel), but I don't think it's faulty. I keep you informed.

Rgds,
Matt

[Troels]

About the row of pixels with the different tint - maybe it could be light leakage or (simply) a polarizer sheets which is bent/dented a bit in that location. Hope it's not too distracting.

If there's not a single gradient, then either the CCFL is totalled (i.e. all tinted) or it is still fine.

Sounds like someone has tampered a bit with it, but probably nothing too serious. Some panels are easier do disassemble than others - really depends of the model/manufacturer.

[Erakis]

Hi,

A bit of news from my LCDs. I've just plugged the default XGA LCD (Samsung) into the inverter, and it's been ok since 30 minutes (and counting) even at full brightness. Does it totally clear the inverter of all suspicion? It could be okay (functioning) but unsuited to the CCFL of the Quanta, don't you think? Do all CCFLs need the same voltage and the same power output?

About the row of pixels with the different tint - maybe it could be light leakage or (simply) a polarizer sheets which is bent/dented a bit in that location. Hope it's not too distracting.

It's barely noticeable, at least on the Windows desktop, but I didn't have the opportunity to test my screen under many applications. What is sure is that I won't risk a disassembly of the LCD to attempt a repair (especially if I have a chance to get my screen replaced by the vendor).

If there's not a single gradient, then either the CCFL is totalled (i.e. all tinted) or it is still fine.

Now you told me that, I now find the whites a tad rosy, but not sure (it could be auto-suggestion as well ). I may add that at full brighness the screen still isn't very bright (you have to be quick to notice that before it blacks out!), but I don't know the official specs of the Quanta, especially max brightness; this could come from older technology.

Sounds like someone has tampered a bit with it, but probably nothing too serious. Some panels are easier do disassemble than others - really depends of the model/manufacturer.

It's also my feeling.

[illgrill]

I just purchased an exact replacement for the busted lcd (BOE Hydis HT14P12-100) -- It is still doing the same old shenanigans. So it is safe to say it isn't the LCD, so could it be the cable?

[richk]

Have you tried an external monitor? What was wrong with your original screen?

Go into the BIOS and hit F9 (load defaults)

Look at config/display in BIOS

[illgrill]

The original LCD was broken. Someone sort of sat on it.

When that happened I bought some Quanta screen which claimed to be a replacement part. It yielded this weird tiled double vision problem which I took a picture of. Since I was returning to school at the time, I have been using an external monitor which works brilliantly.

Three days ago I found a BOE Hydis, same make and model as the broken LCD and popped it in. It yielded the same tiled double vision problem. Now I am not so certain that the LCD is the problem. The ribbon looks intact, and I don't particularly know what the inverter does (provide power, right?) so I can't figure it all out.

[virge]

I have a similar problem with an R60!

See: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=80955

The R60 originally had a 14" XGA LCD which was bad. I replaced it with a 14" SXGA (Thinkpad OEM) and it was working fine for a while. Then one day it started displaying the tiled screen similar to what you have on your machine. It happens in BIOS and Windows.

I've replaced the LCD ribbon cable to no effect. I think the EDID for the panel is corrupt. A nice forum member recently sent me an EDID from a Samsung panel, so when I get the chance I will try that out.