Thinkpad R50 Display and boot problem

[MadsBo]

When my Thinkpad R50 is turned on the screen lit up in coloured dots all over. The dots may change when I activate various keys, but the screen remain unreadable and coloured all over. An external monitor display exactly the same picture. Removing all detachable devices make no difference. Removing ram prevents screen in functioning and a beep sequence can be heard. Does anyone have a clue
regards
MadsBo

[phool@round]

It sounds IMHO to be related to the video issues others are having. The symptoms are similar in that there is a video issue. What is different is exact symptom itself. Have you tried to gently push down just above the trackpad? You may need to reboot in order to see a change. If the artifacts change or go away it is the video chip itself. There is a little known but becoming more evident manufacturing defect that the video chip is loosing physical connection to the mainboard. It only takes one lost connection, one pin of the chip to start malfunctioning. Which pin connection is lost is where the difference in malfuntion takes place.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=33560


http://www.technotaste.com/blog/thinkpa ... mment-2903

Read these links and see if your issue is similar. The easy work-around is replacing the mainboard itself. Ebay has them but they are in the mid $200 US range right now. If your ThinkPad is still under warranty then I would take it in to have it serviced. My R50 began displaying the issue a few months after mine expired.

If you feel comfortable doing this I would suggest re-seating the video cable (unlikely since it is held in place with tension from a screw and metal tab) and also testing with the lid in different postitions to check for a frayed or broken wire in the cable where it exits the body leading up to the display. One other connection to test that is harder to get at is the wide connection at the back of the LCD panel itself. That requires disassmbling the lid in order to check that the connector is fully seated in it's socket. (Usually taped to the LCD to prevent it from loosening.)