Thinkpads Forum

I just dropped my 4 month old x61 tablet on Friday. Physically it seemed ok (other than a weird crack around the Thinkpad logo, 1st picture) but the screen doesn't work, sort of.

I can turn it on, and by using the function key switch to external monitor it shows up no problem there, and the computer is fully functional. Also, I can use the pen on the thinkpad screen, move it, click, etc, and it responds exactly as it should on the external monitor.

The actual thinkpad LCD is another matter! It has a solid blue vertical line on the left side of the screen, and the rest is kind of a patchy, random pattern of lines (2nd picture). When I do something like open the start menu, it remains bad but there is at least a change in pattern, so something is registering (3rd picture).

Anyone have an idea of what might be wrong? What are my options? I have a 3 year on-site warranty, but would like to get some advice before calling, i have no accident protection. How will a tech support guy deal with this case, I assume no resulting problems would be covered?

By the way, I'm studying in Wuerzburg, Germany at the moment. My German is passable, but it's one more reason I'd like to get advice on my options before calling! Writing this from a 4 year old laptop I never dropped, sigh...

Thank for any help!


1. Crack near Thinkpad logo


2. What the screen looks like


3. Screen with start menu opened, see it's changed a bit, so something still registers at least.

Warranty won't cover that damage, unless you had the accident protection with it. If it were my machine I'd look for an entire LCD assembly and swap it in. You can try taking the machine apart and reseating the LCD cable both at the systemboard and at the rear of the LCD, but I suspect that you've permanently damaged the LCD itself.

Harryc wrote:Warranty won't cover that damage, unless you had the accident protection with it. If it were my machine I'd look for an entire LCD assembly and swap it in. You can try taking the machine apart and reseating the LCD cable both at the systemboard and at the rear of the LCD, but I suspect that you've permanently damaged the LCD itself.

Hm, if I try to reseat the LCD cable, would that void the warranty, or can the machine be taken apart without anyone noticing as long as I'm careful? Also, will tech support even bother talking to you if they know you dropped it or is it possible they'll at least try to find the problem?

Tech support will ask you to send it in, take one look at it, then tell you it will cost a lot of money to fix it. As far as voiding your warranty, the risk involved with doing that went out the window when the tablet hit the floor, wouldn't you agree? It will not void the original warranty as long as you do not break anything else in the process, but you do understand that anything in the machine that went bad would be suspect to the repair center due to the unit being dropped. So, basically your warranty is worthless at this point until you get the LCD repaired either by yourself or by paying someone to do it. As an example, your systemboard could go bad this afternoon, and the repair center could say it was due to the unit being dropped, and they might be correct.

I think i'll still try at least calling warranty before doing anything myself, but in case I try it...

Do you have a good link for a guide to removing the LCD? I looked it up and it seems the hardware maintenance manager is a good source for how to take it apart, but a step-by-step picture guide would be better for me (for example, how do you remove the plastic screw cap covers without ripping them apart, etc, small but useful items like that that you only know if you've done it before.). I did take apart a laptop and put it back together successfully before, so I have at least a little manual experience.

The easiest way to remove the screw covers is to use a pair of needle nose tweezers, or a very small exacto knife. The best guide to removal is the maintenance manual, you are correct. I have never seen another guide specific to an X61 tablet, but you can try google.

Harryc wrote:The easiest way to remove the screw covers is to use a pair of needle nose tweezers, or a very small exacto knife. The best guide to removal is the maintenance manual, you are correct. I have never seen another guide specific to an X61 tablet, but you can try google.

Thanks for the info.

Dan

Harryc wrote:I have never seen another guide specific to an X61 tablet, but you can try google.

don't forget lenovo's own video guide...

http://www.lenovoservicetraining.com/ion/ThinkPad X60 Tablet/index.html

That doesn't look like a cable problem. The cables are taped on the back of the panel and are hard to remove. The other end is screwed to the motherboard. I wouldn't bother taking it apart without a replacement panel. The only question is whether the digitizer is damaged also

richk wrote:That doesn't look like a cable problem. The cables are taped on the back of the panel and are hard to remove. The other end is screwed to the motherboard. I wouldn't bother taking it apart without a replacement panel. The only question is whether the digitizer is damaged also

Ah, that brings up a question I'd forgotten, is there a difference between the LCD screen (aka, panel?) and the digitizer? Or are they all in one unit? I have this idea in my head of a multilayered screen, one of which being a digitizer that records pen input and another layer LCD. Like I mentioned in the first message, the pen input seems to work fine, so I take it that's the digitizer function.

All I see for parts is the entire LCD assembly, which seems to include digitizer, i believe the right one for mine is FRU 13N7231. If so, why would it matter whether the digitizer is damaged as well, richk?

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 67024.html



ps, pardon my gross overuse of the the word "digitizer" : )

My guess is that the thin ribbon that goes between the LCD controller board and the panel matrix itself has been damaged. These are all integrated onto the LCD panel and not separable -- my guess is you'll be up for a new panel. You won't know until you crack the system open and see what the damage is like inside. You can usually tell a frayed ribbon cable by moving it around and seeing if that has any effect on what the panel is displaying.

The digitiser is a separate item that covers the back side of the LCD panel, and it can be separated relatively easily if you wanted to do so -- it's stuck on with a tacky but not overly powerful adhesive.

Replacement refurb panels (incl. digitiser) can be sourced from eBay for about 250 USD. It is not a particularly difficult job to DIY a screen replacement, you just have to remember not to manhandle any of the connectors or plastic pieces.

If you are not buying new screens from IBM, the panel and digitizer are sometimes (often) sold separately.

Thanks for all the tips, the videos are especially useful. I have some big tests the next week or so, so will set this aside for a few days, but whatever solution I decide to go for I'll eventually post an update.