Red vertical artifacts on X61s screen - no easy fix?

[Edward Mendelson]

I recent sold an X61s on the forum - and when the buyer got the machine, the screen was showing reddish (magenta?) vertical artifacts, almost as if someone had taken had a Magic Marker and dragged it down the screen. The damage obviously occurred in USPS shipping (never again...) and I've asked the buyer to return it.

But I'd like at least to think about trying to fix it.

I've asked the buyer for permission to post one of the photos he sent me, but, in the meantime, does this symptom sound familiar? Is it possible that there's a cable that needs to be tightened, or is it more likely the panel is damaged?

I've looked at the HMM and replacing the panel is a task far beyond my abilities. I'm not sure it's worth the money to have someone else do the job. If there's no easy fix, I'll offer the unit at a very low price in case anyone wants to repair it themselves. Except for this screen defect, the machine is in beautiful condition, and comes with a dock and five dock modules.

EDIT: If this video about the X60s is true of the X61s, then maybe I can manage this fix after all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZLNluuHTZo

[Edward Mendelson]

And here's a photo which the buyer sent me, showing the artifacts. Do these look familiar to any of the experts here?

https://imgur.com/a/jHjvUpj

[axur-delmeria]

If the magenta artifacts appear even in the BIOS setup screens, then it's likely to be an issue with the panel.

As for the video, it appears to be an Ultralight screen. Not all X60s and X61s have the Ultralight screen-- I've personally disassembled one equipped with the same screen as the regular X60 and X61.

Here's a disassembly video for the X61: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_ezBEotJL4, and the screen disassembly part starts here: https://youtu.be/J_ezBEotJL4?t=612.

[Edward Mendelson]

I think it is an ultralight screen. I had forgotten that. The HMM is on this site:

https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_p ... 550_04.pdf

The screens seem to be on pp.201-202, but I can't figure out which is the Ultralight.

[RealBlackStuff]

The Ultralight screen is the 13N7092, made by TMD (Toshiba Mobile Display).

The purple problem seems to be a faulty column-driver.
You can try to carefully/gently rub the top of the screen above that spot, or even put a piece of paper/carton there.
No guarantee though...

[Edward Mendelson]

I'm in touch with the buyer and maybe this will work. Could you tell more details about putting the piece of paper there - do you mean under the bezel? Meanwhile, thank you!

EDIT: And I found a screen; not cheap but maybe worth it rather than losing the whole machine:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-Lenovo-Gen ... 3236092894

[RealBlackStuff]

You need to remove the LCD bezel first, and then put the "pressure-material" (paper or carton) between the edge of the LCD and whatever space is there above it.
I don't think that between LCD and bezel works.
But this is only guesswork.

For that LCD price from Israel you could buy a whole other machine!

[Edward Mendelson]

For that LCD price from Israel you could buy a whole other machine!

Very true! I'm trying to make this right for the buyer - and the rest of the machine is in really beautiful shape, so it would be nice to get it working. I'm perfectly willing to take a total loss on it, but it would be better to see the machine working...