Another 600X screen flicker question ...please help *PIC*

[Medicopter]

Hi Everyone,

Greetings from Southern California!

I have been browsing this forum for a couple days
but couldn’t find an answer to my problem.

I have a ThinkPad 600X 2645-9FU, Windows 2000.
(original owner ).

A few days ago my screen started to flicker and then
became slightly brighter. The colors look slightly faded
now but still somewhat normal. The flickering is random
and not continuous, with horizontal lines of different width,
all over the screen as if it wants to go back to normal.

On an external display everything is normal, there is no
flickering and the colors are normal.

I can still adjust brightness with the slider, and moving
or tapping the display does not trigger or replicate the
flickering.

The display does not become dim at anytime and has no
red or purple tint. No graphic distortion or other problems
are present.

If I have to replace the LCD, which is the correct FRU #?
The IBM support site shows 3 options:

LCD unit (Samsung) 05K9546
LCD unit (LG) 05K9547
LCD unit (HITACHI) 05K9466

Any ideas of what the problem could be:
LCD, inverter, cables/connections, backlight,
system board, ...?

Thanks for your help.

GG-Pilot

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com from Northern California!

To answer your last question first...

Any ideas of what the problem could be:
LCD, inverter, cables/connections, backlight,
system board, ...?

.... possibly.

Some of those items could possibly cause the problems you are seeing. If I read your description correctly, it could be alternately described as looking "washed out", correct? If so, then most likely your inverter and backlight are fine. The problem could be in the connection of the LCD panel to the motherboard, something in the LCD itself, or possibly a motherboard issue.

Start with a copy of the 600X Hardware Maintenance Manual and then try the following:

- re-seat the LCD ribbon cable connector to the Sub Card
- re-seat the LCD ribbon cable connector on the back side of the panel

As far as a replacement LCD panel is concerned, the HMM says that the 05K9546 and 05K9547 panels are interchangable. Not sure about the 05K9466 but as long as it is a 13.3" XGA panel then it should be fine.

[tfflivemb2]

I agree with exactly what Ray said....he beat me to it, but in a more extensive manner...

[rkawakami]

My daily driver T23 (2647-HNU) has an occasional problem with the screen. At times there are narrow and/or wide horizontal bars present across the screen in which the normal pixels appear to be slightly washed out. Very rarely will the entire display go "ghost white" with all pixel activity disappearing behind an all-white LCD screen. It always goes away if I move the panel slightly. Pushing on the ribbon cable where it enters the laptop base does not seem to help so I don't think my problem is in the cable or motherboard connection. My feeling is that it's where the ribbon cable plugs into the back of the LCD panel.

This just happened a few minutes ago and I was able to get a (fuzzy) picture of it before it went away by itself:

(click on thumbnail for 40KB full size picture)

The light-colored band should also be the same grey as the rest of the background (edit: well, it should be the same tint all of the way across the screen but the camera angle makes it look darker at top). Is this sort of what you are seeing?

(edit2: Sorry Steve for being so wordy !)

(edit3: Apologies as it appears I forgot to tag the subject line with a "PIC"! It is only a 4.6KB image...)

[Medicopter]

Ray,

Thanks for your welcome. I'm sorry I couldn't reply
sooner. I'm glad I found this site - great community!

Today, I opened up my ThinkPad and reseated all the
cables (behind the LCD panel, on the inverter card, and
below the keyboard on the sub card and motherboard)
as you recommended.

I downloaded the maintenance pdf, taking things apart
and putting them back together went smoothly. I also
cleaned everything out (there was a lot of dust).

After starting up the computer, the LCD still looks kind of
washed out like you described it in your posting.

The flickering is still there although less frequent. When
it flickers, it goes from washed out to normal with horizontal
bands of random width (like in your image).

I have the Phillips LCD unit (LG) 05K9547 in my 600X
(2645-9FU, Windows 2000).

On an external display everything is normal and I have
no other problems (distortion, red/purple tint) with the
LCD. If an external display works fine, does this rule out
a problem with the motherboard?

Moving or tapping the display does not trigger or replicate
the flickering. It just stays washed out.

Any other ideas what my problem could be?
What would you recommend next?

Which items should I start replacing? I really would like
to get it back up to speed as soon as possible.

While searching for the same LCD I came across this site:
http://www.partstore.com/sl/1/thinkpad-600x

The IBM site doesn't recognize FRU 05K9547 when I
search for it.

Thanks again for your help.

GG-Pilot

Landing on Mt. Baldy near Los Angeles (10,064 feet)
http://www.gg-pilot.com/ggupload/BALDY4.JPG

[rkawakami]

As you've re-sat all of the connections between the motherboard and the back of the LCD panel, then I'd say the next step is to closely look at the ribbon cable for tears, breaks or cracks (which may be hard to do since it's wound up in a coil). That said, if this were my system I'd locate an entire lid assembly (lid, LCD panel, ribbon cable, inverter) from a known good system and see if that works. There's one currently on eBay for about $40-$50 (shipped):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0119416649
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0113453963

Side note: Forum rules dictate that if you post an in-line picture, that the subject line reflect that. When I add a picture to the thread, I normally go back up and edit the original subject line (as a mod I can do that). It seemed like I forgot to do that this time . In any event, keep the size of the image below 50KB for our friends who are still on dial-up or browsing with their cell phones.

[Medicopter]

Thanks Ray.

[Medicopter]

Well, I ordered a few parts from IBM and replaced all the
LCD cables and the inverter card, but no luck. The problem
still persists with occasional screen flicker (darker horizontal
lines which are random in width) and the display has a kind
of overexposed appearance. There are no distortion or other
display problems.

I guess that leaves me with replacing the LCD unit
or I have a problem on the motherboard.

Is there any way to test this without hooking up a
different LCD unit? As mentioned above, everything
looks fine on an external display.

On a side note, I was impressed with IBM's customer
service.

Thanks again for all the advise.

GG.

Btw, does anyone know where I can get a single license
of the Symantec Security Client 3.1.?

[Medicopter]

Quick update:

I called IBM today. I'm probably going to order
a new display (FRU 46L2209).

The friendly tech guy also suggested to
first update the video driver. Does this
make sense in case of my display problem?

Could a corrupt driver cause screen flicker
and a washed out (overexposed) display
while at the same time an external monitor
shows nice colors and no flicker?

On my second question in my last post regarding
Symantec Security Client, Thinkpad users are able
to purchase a single license from them.

[Medicopter]

I updated the video driver which did not help.

[Medicopter]

Good news!

I received a brand new LCD (FRU # 46L2209, Philips LG)
from IBM this week and everything works fine again.

There are no dead pixels on the new display either, which
was one worry I had when I placed my order.

IBM's service was great also, including next day delivery!

Now a have an all new upper half.

Thanks again for all your advise.

GG-Pilot

[BillG]

Medicopter, aside from the fixed pixels, how does your new LCD screen compare to your old LCD screen when you look at the color, contrast, and brightness?

[vanaya]

What was the cost of the parts from IBM??

[Robbyrobot]

What was the cost of the parts from IBM??

That's the bottom line, of course. You can fix anything if you're willing to spend enough money to do it. I'm a "cheapie" and would have followed Ray's advice to get an entire lid assembly at Ebay. But naturally you can't go wrong buying from the source...

[vanaya]

I too would have gone the "cheapie" way. But curios on how much would the difference be to know "exactly" instead of "not exactly"...

[BillG]

And I'd like to know how the new LCD compares to looking at the old LCD.

Is there no difference, or does the new LCD obviously look better?

[Medicopter]

Medicopter, aside from the fixed pixels, how does your new LCD screen compare to your old LCD screen when you look at the color, contrast, and brightness?

Sorry guys for my late reply. I haven't been on
here for a while.

The new original LCD from IBM ($576 incl. Tax and shipping)
was well worth it. The colors look very fresh and bright and
my 600X looks brand new again.

Why did I spend so much on an old ThinkPad? Well, because
it is simply a great notebook and with Windows 2000 and
Symantec Client Security I feel I have fast, smooth and stable
running setup that meets all my needs.

[Charles Good]

I have a 600e with occasional screen flicker and less occasional loss of all video. When I squeeze the screen everything returns to normal. I put my thumbs on the left and right edge of the screen frame and then push the screen from the back with my fingers, squeezing the screen. No hardware modification or replacement required (yet).

[Robbyrobot]

The new original LCD from IBM ($576 incl. Tax and shipping) was well worth it.

Glad you're satisfied, but... whew!

[tfflivemb2]

The new original LCD from IBM ($576 incl. Tax and shipping) was well worth it.

Glad you're satisfied, but... whew!

WOW...no kidding!!! You could have had a nice T42 for that price!

[gator]

you must really love that 600X!

[Medicopter]

WOW...no kidding!!! You could have had a nice T42 for that price!

I considered a new X60/X61, but decided to stick with the 600X for now. After 7 years, mine still looks almost like new

Any suggestions for a new future ThinkPad? I would like to buy a new one within 1-2 years. Wait or buy now? Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Medicopter]

you must really love that 600X!

I really do, it never let me down in all these years.