No LCD, DVI and VGA output working what next?

[brucehe]

Hello all,

My t42 has seemed to lost its backlight. I can push the case close switch and get flashes of screen images but that is it. With the machine in the docking station I can get DVI and VGA output, However when I use the mouse wheel the screen refreshes slowly and when I right mouse click the menu comes up faint before solid. This maybe unrelated. Is the best solution an entire LCD assembly replacement? What is happening with the refresh rate? Any assistance is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Bruce

t42, SXGA, 14.1,

[Harryc]

Before this recent issue, did the LCD show a red tint when you first powered the machine on that cleared up after a few minutes?"

[brucehe]

No red tint. In fact I had no screen in the afternoon and it came back in the evening but now seems gone for good. I can see the image on the screen with a bright light shining at it. I found the problem with the sluggishness, the Omega driver SmartGart did not initialize.

Thanks,

Bruce
t42 14" SXGA

[RealBlackStuff]

You'll need to replace the CCFL by the looks of it.
It could also be a faulty inverter (cheaper/easier to replace).
Having a spare one won't cost you an arm and a leg, if yours is still OK.

[brucehe]

Hello again,

Well, I have the LCD screen back. Not sure why, but I continued to play around with presentation director, got a quick flash of display and then a solid one. PD now works well, although it does not go back to the docked scheme as shown. One thing I did find out was the refresh rate must be at 60 hz to make the dvi output work with the Dell flat panel. What happened? Operator error? or is there an erratic hardware problem.

Thanks,

Bruce
T42 SVGA 14"

[Poohba]

Everything was working fine with my T43p 2687 D5U on Vista 32 Ultimate. I took the laptop to my mom's and installed Windows 7 Professional 32 and then I started to get this red tint that cleared up after a few seconds but then a few moments later the screen would go blank. The system was still on and working and I can remote into it but it keeps blanking out. If I hurry and put a dvd in it will play fully, at least it did the one time when I watched Transformers on it earlier today. How do I resolve this issue? I did not install any video software since I didn't see any available for this hardware/os combo.

Any suggestions?

[RealBlackStuff]

You definitely need to replace the CCFL (or the LCD panel or even the whole lid, if you find that easier).

[brucehe]

So, the saga continues. The display will not come back after the unit sleeps most times however if I plug in the AC adapter and close the lid a few times I can get it back. I thought it was the lid switch but that does not seem to be the problem. I have ordered an inverter to see if that helps since that is an easy cheap fix. Very bizarre.

Bruce

t42 14" SXGA , t22 14"

[brucehe]

Hello all,

Just wanted to close out this thread. The problem was the display and I am assuming backlight since replacing the inverter did nothing. I got a display on eBay from Synaptec Systems for about $50. The first one they sent me was XGA. I found out after I installed it. Next time I would check the part number on the LCD cable. When I did that it came up XGA. They sent me a replacement SXGA+ that was in very good shape. I checked out the part number before installing it and it was correct. It worked fine. I am wondering how much time I will get on it before the backlight goes again. When that happens it maybe time to replace with a unit with LED backlight.

I also replaced the display on my wife's t21 since it was in bad shape with misc vertical lines. I purchased on ebay however it was not in great shape with white light coming through at the bottom of the display. They refunded my money and I let me keep the display.

Bruce
t42 SXGA+ 14"
t21

[brucehe]

I ordered a LCD cable as it seems like that part has a more likely chance of failure because of the twist hinge. We will see....

Bruce