The Incredible Disappearing Dead Pixel

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NJRonbo · #1 Post by **NJRonbo** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:07 pm

Hi...me again!

Here is one for yuh....

Ever see a dead pixel appear...disappear...relocate and
disappear again?

This is what is apparantly happening to me.

Saw a dead pixel on the corner of my screen yesterday. It was
there for 20 minutes...then gone.

Today it reappeared almost dead center of my screen.

Now it's gone.

Anybody know what this may be all about and whether there
is cause for concern?

Thanks

christopher_wolf · #2 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:08 pm

That isn't a dead pixel, that is a stuck pixel.

Subtle difference.

You can actually generate stuck pixels and then get them "unstuck"

No cause for concern, I have done that on more than a few LCDs that were fine otherwise; every LCD panel has small variances in tolerances, matrix build, etc.

NJRonbo · #3 Post by **NJRonbo** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:11 pm

Are you serious or playing with me?

Never heard of that. Explain.

Do I have a problem here?

I can still return this T60.

christopher_wolf · #4 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:14 pm

I am perfectly serious; I did this on my T43 testing out a program that happened to go through a number of colors very quickly. I have done it on other systems as well, no problem.

There is nothing wrong with your T60 is regards to this, uhh, "Disappearing dead pixel."

NJRonbo · #5 Post by **NJRonbo** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:18 pm

Chritopher,

Just so you don't think I'm on serious medication...

I did see the dead pixel twice in two days. Just a blank
dot on the screen.

I really saw it!

Thanks

Scratch · #6 Post by **Scratch** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:31 pm

Is it a white pixel?

If you creep up on it very slowly does your mouse pointer grow a miniature scroll bar?

I thought that I had pixel problems until I realized that it only happens when I'm using the scrolling features of my TrackPad.

Whenever I saw it on the screen I would look at what apps were running via Task Mgr and there was always one there called Syn Visual Window. It turned out to be the scrolling TrackPad "pointer" getting hung out on the desktop when used in conjunction with a USB mouse. You can see and trap it with Task Manager Applications and then look for it as a white "stuck" pixel on your dark desktop.

I hope that this is all that you're seeing as well.

NJRonbo · #7 Post by **NJRonbo** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:33 pm

Scratch,

You nailed it on the head.

Yes...miniature scroll bar (white)

I can see how something like that can scare someone.

Can this feature be turned off?

Scratch · #8 Post by **Scratch** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:34 pm

You can disable it by turning off scrolling in the TrackPad options.

christopher_wolf · #9 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:39 pm

The Infamous UltraNav driver Pixel

Just so you know, those things happen with stuck pixels as well. The trouble is, just about all stuck pixels are either white or black...So it could be difficult to tell without further information to diagnose when it happens and such.

Glad you fixed it

#10 Post by **archer6** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:17 am

My T60 was fine for 2 weeks. No dead or stuck pixels. Then 2 stuck pixels (white) appeared in the center of the display. I googled it and found a suggestion that sounded a bit odd but I tried it anyway. Take a damp soft cloth and rub the affected area with a fair amount of pressure. Then restart the computer.
WoW! worked perfectly. Then the next day same pixel issue in a different area of the display. Used technique above and just like magic, the stuck pixels returned to normal. It's been a week now and I have not had any problems.
Wonders never cease!

zzyss · #11 Post by **zzyss** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:23 am

So this isn't the UltraNav problem where all you have to do is press the middle scroll button on the ultranav, and then voila, the stuck/dead pixel magically disappears?

NJRonbo · #12 Post by **NJRonbo** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 4:26 am

zzys,

Dunno. Haven't tried that yet.

I saw the floating dead pixel (which isn't dead) yesterday
again and just let it disappear on its own. Next time I'll
try clicking the middle button.

Scratch · #13 Post by **Scratch** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:22 am

It is the Ultranav Scrolling pixel, but in my case on and on my machine the Middle Button has no effect on it. All that does in bring up the TrackPoint Scroll Ball: the pixel remains the same.

Using the scroll function back inside the actively scrolloing window will make it go away.

johhn14 · #14 Post by **johhn14** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:01 pm

Wow...I've had this as well and it was driving me nuts. I'm really glad its just a crazy software problem and not a hardware issue.

Weird

atesti · #15 Post by **atesti** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 4:20 am

Hello!

For two months I have been discussing this topic with a support technician of IBM and he bounced the problem of (cannot reproduce). I also told him that many people on the internet suffer from this (linked to this forum) and that they can save some "defective pixel" return rate.
I also regularly BCCed sales@synapsis.com, info@synapsis.com etc.

After he found out that I'm not using the official IBM-image (you know, the one with all the craplets) I got an old T41p (I currently have an T60p and called for this one) from my company which was currently between rotation and reformated it with the recovery CDs.

I was only able to reproduce the problem if Firefox installed.

So my question:
CAN ANYBODY OF YOU REPRODUCE THIS WITHOUT FIREFOX?

If yes, then I can reopen the case and maybe they'll finally fix it or at least forward it so Synapsis.

I also found a Mozilla-developer with an IBM Association, but he didn't reply for my plea that he forwards it to the right person, skipping the support technican of IBM

Of course it would be great if all of you call IBM support, tell them that you don't own a credit card and that your computer costs 2000EUR and then tell them about the defective pixel, the Syn Visual window in task manager and how you reproduced it.

christopher_wolf · #16 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 4:27 am

Hmmm, don't you mean Synaptic? And what do you mean by Craplets? Interesting first post.

Anyway, welcome to the Thinkpad Forums.

atesti · #17 Post by **atesti** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 4:36 am

Please see also these threads:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=1953
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=21681

Welcome! I found this forum and this topic by google and am trying to get it fixed because it already cost me time over the last two months and I'm quite annoyed by this pixel.

Yes, the driver is from Synaptics. Better help Google find this and mention the correct name. Sorry for the typo.
The two processes are SynTPLpr.exe and SynTPEnh.exe.

With craplets I "might" mean all the stuff that IBM/Lenovo installs on my computer when I bought it. But I'm sure that many of you like e.g. Access connections (I don't like it and only installed fingerprint reader software and Active proctection, no other stuff). But I'm sure that nobody really liked it to get their new T60 full with stuff like Nortin Antivirus Advertisement-Edition, Diskeeper Advertisement-Edition, Google Desktop Search, Toolbar, Picassa and so on. I reformated it immediately and put plain XP on it. But IBM wants me to have this pile of ads installed to do any support. And of course no Firefox... (I'm a bit annoyed by the whole problem and how it was handled so far).

A "craplet" is a taskbar icon in the Systray in the lower right corner of Windows desktop. But by definition only one that you don't like and that was originally written to annoy you.
I think I found that term here:
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/WindowsEx ... ForMe.aspx

Nachtkriecher · #18 Post by **Nachtkriecher** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 6:08 pm

ok... so is there any way of fixing this problem while still being able to scroll with the touchpad? there oughta be a way...

what i usually do is stop the process/application and restart it - i have a shortcut on my desktop. it usually works for a good while, but not consistently.... i just want it to go away, and i like the touchpad scrolling too much to get rid of it completely!

anyways, i realize this thread is old and all, but just in case anybody takes a looksee.....

brikeh · #19 Post by **brikeh** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 3:46 am

This is a really bizarre problem, will it be resolved if I disable my touchpad? I rarely use it anyway. This has happened to me once on my new T60 and happened all the time on my old thinkpad.

#20 Post by **GomJabbar** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:29 am

I disabled my TouchPad using the UltraNav Wizard, and I never see this problem.

brikeh · #21 Post by **brikeh** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:49 am

GomJabbar wrote:I disabled my TouchPad using the UltraNav Wizard, and I never see this problem.

Yeah I think Ill do the same thing...

The Incredible Disappearing Dead Pixel

The Incredible Disappearing Dead Pixel

Has this something to do with Firefox?

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