Thinkpads Forum

My 770e, running Windows 95 has lately developed some strange behavior. First, shortly after booting up the screen goes black, as if in standby or suspend. I have found that the best way to get it to come back is to repeatedly flash the screen closed button. This almost always works, but often the screen flashes a few times before coming back, or goes black again and I have to repeat it. The Fn 3 and Fn 4 combinations seem to work too, but they kill the modem connection. This has been happening with increasing frequency and now it is almost every time I boot up. It happens about 1-3 times a session, then everything is fine. I tried various combinations on the power, suspend, hibernation settings to no avail.

The second problem is that if I leave the computer on but don't use it for a while (between a half hour and an hour, it seems) it sometines shuts down and I return to find it going through the "didn't shut down properly" scan disk sequence.

Any ideas?

Thank you

TJ

I have the same problem, flashing, particularly at startup, usually 'solved' by closing and opening the lid, or even just changing the lid angle. I tried blowing air into the lid close switch at the top left hand side of the base of the machine, but without any definite effect. Quite worrying frankly. When hooked up to a monitor all seems well.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanx,

cure

The lid closure switch could be the culprit. Mechanical switches can get very flaky. I don't know if the 770's keyboard lifts up, but that would have a switch too.

And Fn+F4 SHOULD kill your modem connection... as well as turn off the modem card completely.

Most likely the inverter....can you see the image very faintly on the screen when it goes black...either that or the backlight,but prob the inverter....Use FN+F7 to toggle between external Monitor than back to LCD when it goes off....easiest way...Try tightening the middle screw by the slider(take the little black cover off carefully with a razor and just stick a little of it on something it will come off easily enough with)...You could also try tightening the screw that holds the inverter in place....take the 3 screws out from the bottom of the LCD,then lay the LCD all the way back,lift up where the brightness slider is,keeping the centre lifted off the slider,grab in each bottom corner where the surround meets the LCD and slide it down,then work it free along the top....BE CAREFUL AS WE ALL KNOW HOW PLASTIC CAN BE..!!!
The inverter is the little board under the LCD with the slider on it...try tightening the screw...boot it up without the piece back on and see if it happens again.....Good time to clean the LCD all the way to the edges while its off..!!!

Good luck...

Greg St.L

I should have added, not perhaps that it makes any difference in respect to the instructions of sickofit, that mine is a tp 600.

Yes, the screen image is very faintly visible when the screen flashes off. Does that prove that it is the invertor and not the backlight? If not, is there anyway to do so?

I have yet to open the thing up and would like to have a reasonably clean idea of what the problem is before introducing further variables. I will, however, try the screw tightening without further delay.

Thanx for any and all help with this.

cure