LCD assembly 380ed vs 385ed

[onespeedbiker]

I have a 385ed with a fading 12.1" DSTN LCD and found a 380ed 12.1" TFT lcd assembly (entire LCD cover and hinges, less the bezel). I'm hoping I could just replace one with the other. Any thoughts?

[Thinkpad4by3]

As long as it's a full unit, I don't see any reason it won't be a direct swap since inverters ate also swapped and matched.

[onespeedbiker]

Thank you for responding! It good to know it has a real possibility of working. Would you think a TFT LCD is an upgrade or just lateral replacement?

[Thinkpad4by3]

Thank you for responding! It good to know it has a real possibility of working. Would you think a TFT LCD is an upgrade or just lateral replacement?

An upgrade you will not regret the moment you see how much better a TFT display is.

...there is a reason I refuse to buy vintage machines with DSTN displays.

[onespeedbiker]

Well I received the LCD and unfortunately it appears to be defective. I installed it and the screen has a dull green haze from boot to Windows 95. I'm already in contact with the seller to return it. Out of curiosity do you know what would cause this? Would it be the LCD or inverter? I'm also curious how to match an LCD to an inverter. I see some fairly inexpensive TFT screens for my 385ed but I don't know which inverter I would need. Do just match up a TFT LCD with a TFT inverter? Also would I also need a different harness?

[Thinkpad4by3]

I'd check the LCD assembly to check for a disconnected ribbon
The backlight is on but it only displays black?

[onespeedbiker]

No, images on the display are very visible, you can also see the colors, but everything has a green tint and the tint is visible even with the booting text.

[Thinkpad4by3]

No, images on the display are very visible, you can also see the colors, but everything has a green tint and the tint is visible even with the booting text.

Can you take a picture?

[onespeedbiker]

Good news, I will be keeping the monitor and it's because of you request for a photo. Turns out I just needed to leave it on for a little bit. When I first installed the TFT monitor, I saw the green tint and immediately turned it off. However, after leaving it on for about a minute to take a photo, it brightened up quite a bit. While the FRSTN LCD took no time to warm up, the TFT monitor apparently takes about 30-40 seconds to do so. Further I read several times that a TFT screen does not have as bright a white as DSTN screens, which may have been what I thought was a defective screen.