Screen problem on Thinkpad T30

[jdoutt]

I have an old Thinkpad T30 running one of the "light" versions of UBUNTU.

It has a display problem: after a short time the graphical display disappears. Bringing up another window (with <CTL> <ALT> <F2> for example) displays a new window. However, after a short time that window also disappears - but the original can be brought back with <CTL> <ALT> <F7>.

The interval that a window stays displayed can vary from about a minute to many minutes.

I originally thought this was a hardware issue, but the fact that switching displays immediately brings up a new display makes me wonder if it is a software issue.

[Neil]

I used to have a few T30 Thinkpads years ago, and IIRC had one or two that acted like you are describing. Pretty sure it was a case of the CCFL going out, as hitting the display switch would bring the display back for a while, until the lamp went out completely. Might be the case with yours (these are getting really old, you know), or maybe not.

[brchan]

If the screen is pinkish when the laptop starts from a cold boot then the CCFL is on its way out. A screen replacement would be in order.