How to troubleshoot LCD?

[Mike02906]

I have a T510 about 3.5 years old. This has the 1440-res LCD and on-board Intel graphics. The internal display suddenly stopped working: the backlight is on, but there is no video. I do get video through the external connector. No amount of rebooting, tapping the case, flexing the top, etc., has helped.

I don't think it's relevant, but a few weeks ago, I made several upgrades to the unit: installed an SSD as the main drive; increased RAM to 8 Gb; and put in a new 6300 network card. The machine was working fine for several weeks before the display failure.

I have tried the following--

• In Windows device manager, uninstalled then reinstalled the internal display.
• In the display settings menus (both Intel and Windows), tried various settings.
• With the Fn-key shortcut, cycled through display options (extend, duplicate, one display only).
• After opening the unit, disconnected, then reconnected the internal video cable to make sure it was seated. I also looked for loose or pinched wires and didn't find any.

None of that has helped. The machine is out of warranty. Should I just take it to a local repair shop? (I'm in Portland, OR.) Any ideas? Any record of failures with this model? Any way to find out whether the LCD or the video circuit has failed?

Thanks!
Mike

[precip9]

Make a bootable CD. A Windows boot disk will do for a test.

1. Boot to BIOS.
2. Find the option to "reset to factory default" and execute it.
3. Set the boot order to CD first.
4. F10 to exit from BIOS.
5. Boot from the bootable CD.

If the internal display is active, there's a good chance the problem is not hardware. If the internal display is not active, you have a hardware problem.

[Medessec]

You haven't clarified if you get ANY video at all from the laptop's LCD. When you first boot up, do you see the Thinkpad splash screen, then nothing? Or, from the moment you power on your laptop, the backlight comes on but nothing else happens on the LCD?

If you're not getting ANY video at all from the LCD, then it's a problem with the video connector or the adapter. I'm not familiar with the T510, so I'm not aware of any common issues or other problems with the T510 concerning no video, but because External displays still work, I'd deduct that to an issue with your inverter or the display itself. Completely replacing the LCD with a whole new one might work, but I can't be sure. I'd wait for more replies.

[Mike02906]

Thanks for replies! NO video at all from LCD: No TP logo, no BIOS messages, no wiggly lines, and so on.

I don't know how I'd boot to BIOS under these circumstances, but I'll try.

Mike

[underclocker]

Sorry to hear about this issue. The only thing that I can think of (other than a bad panel) is that the LCD cable detached from the panel - either at the motherboard side or the panel side.

Check all the cable connections (four) due to two LCD cables on a T510/T520/W510/W520. My best guess would be that the 40-pin panel connection separated.

Make sure to remove ALL power from the machine, AC & battery, or you might blow a motherboard fuse (I learned this first hand).

Good luck.

[richk]

A detached cable gives you a white screen, not a black one. Most commonly, this problem is caused by a bad panel or a blown motherboard fuse. If it is a blown fuse, you will see a VERY faint picture if you look at the screen closely. It will be easier to see if you shine a flashlight into the screen.