T60p Widescreen Flicker Problems

Message

absolut 0 · #1 Post by **absolut 0** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:01 am

Hello,

I know there are a bunch of threads addressing the screen flicker issue on the T60p but I have yet to find a solution for the T60p widescreen models so I hope this thread can be a reference for all new T60p widescreen owners with flicker problems.

I am using the latest BIOS available for the T60p widescreen (1.01) but I have a screen flicker on both the main LCD and the external monitor I have hooked up via D-sub on my advanced mini dock. The flicker seems to occur at random intervals for a split second.

I am using an ATI Mobility 256mb FireGL V5250 and an advanced mini dock. I have a 19' widescreen Samsung monitor hooked up to the dock.

Does anyone else have any ideas or solutions to this problem? Thanks in advanced for the help!

Cx · #2 Post by Cx » Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:50 pm

Check out the "Thinkvantage" Power Manager Settings. I had this problem on my T60 as well and modified the "Scheme name" setting from the "Power Source Optimized" to "Maximum Performance" setting and the problem went away. This was after I had it sent back to Lenovo twice because I thought something was wrong with it.

It certainly seems to me though, if you want to run "Power Source Optimized", shouldn't they create a design that doesn't flicker the screen every 5 minutes?

iatacs19 · #3 Post by **iatacs19** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:57 pm

i get this as well. I have a T60p with V5250. I am guessing it has to do with refresh rate lowering in the ATi power saver options. I haven't played with it since it doesn't bother me much.

speedi · #4 Post by **speedi** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:07 am

absolut 0 wrote:Hello,

I know there are a bunch of threads addressing the screen flicker issue on the T60p but I have yet to find a solution for the T60p widescreen models so I hope this thread can be a reference for all new T60p widescreen owners with flicker problems.

I am using the latest BIOS available for the T60p widescreen (1.01) but I have a screen flicker on both the main LCD and the external monitor I have hooked up via D-sub on my advanced mini dock. The flicker seems to occur at random intervals for a split second.

I am using an ATI Mobility 256mb FireGL V5250 and an advanced mini dock. I have a 19' widescreen Samsung monitor hooked up to the dock.

Does anyone else have any ideas or solutions to this problem? Thanks in advanced for the help!

Is this a flicker that happens every 10 or 20 mins or is this a flicker as in monitor refresh rate? Mine is the prior... and I have spoken to Lenovo on multiple occasions... they are at a loss. I will try the suggestion of Maximum Performance and see if this works. Man, I sure hope it does!

Thanks!

jtheun · #5 Post by **jtheun** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 1:51 pm

I looked around the Lenovo site, and I cannot seem to find a place to order such a beast... The widescreen options don't seem to include an option for this video card... the only option I see is upgrading to a ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 128MB

absolut 0 · #6 Post by **absolut 0** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:14 pm

Thanks for the quick responses! I checked my power manager settings and I already have the power scheme set to maximum performance so i don't think that's the problem here.

Speedi: My problem is also the prior where the flicker happens every 10 or 20 minutes and the screen blurs for just a second.

I'll keep searching forums and hopefully I'll find some kind of solution to this. If I do, I'll be sure to post it here for everyone else.

own6volvos · #7 Post by **own6volvos** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:25 pm

Have you guys tried locking the ATI Powerplay settings to either full performance, or maximum battery life for all 3 modes? If the laptop switches between profiles, or goes between states, the gpu core and video ram clock speeds change, causing a bit of a screen flicker during the transition.

speedi · #8 Post by **speedi** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 7:07 am

own6volvos wrote:Have you guys tried locking the ATI Powerplay settings to either full performance, or maximum battery life for all 3 modes? If the laptop switches between profiles, or goes between states, the gpu core and video ram clock speeds change, causing a bit of a screen flicker during the transition.

I just made this change in the ATI Catalyst "Power Play" settings. I'll let you know how this works out. I suppose this will probably not work, only because the machine is docked and there is no transitioning occuring when the flickers are displayed.

I have my box for the depot, but I'm trying not to let that happen. And while I typed this message I just got a flicker.

mmonty · #9 Post by **mmonty** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 4:02 am

Hi

I have the same problem as you guys but with a T60... I have flickering screens though I set the Catalyst Driver of my X1300 to Maximum Power. I also got 2 bluescreens the last 3 days. In google I found that bluescreens could occur because of an old version of Enery Power driver... I updated this driver too and now I hope no more bluescreens occur at least...

regards
markus

speedi · #10 Post by **speedi** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:11 am

speedi wrote:
own6volvos wrote:Have you guys tried locking the ATI Powerplay settings to either full performance, or maximum battery life for all 3 modes? If the laptop switches between profiles, or goes between states, the gpu core and video ram clock speeds change, causing a bit of a screen flicker during the transition.
I just made this change in the ATI Catalyst "Power Play" settings. I'll let you know how this works out. I suppose this will probably not work, only because the machine is docked and there is no transitioning occuring when the flickers are displayed.

I have my box for the depot, but I'm trying not to let that happen. And while I typed this message I just got a flicker.

Just as an update, this didn't solve the issue. One of my two LCDs (right now the DVI LCD) still changes resolution (the flicker) every 20 mins. I did go ahead and add the LCD drivers just in case, but of course this did not help.

mmonty · #11 Post by **mmonty** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:20 am

Hi

I still have the same problems (flickering screen) and bluescreens of death

Anybody solved this?

regards,
Markus

sveintore · #12 Post by **sveintore** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:37 am

I've had flickers in XP, but not since I upgraded to Vista, so it's definitively something to do with software/drivers (strange)

mmonty · #13 Post by **mmonty** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:06 am

sveintore wrote:I've had flickers in XP, but not since I upgraded to Vista, so it's definitively something to do with software/drivers (strange)

Vista? This is my office computer... And I'm not allowed to install another os ;-( ... maybe I have to change the Catalyst Drivers...

speedi · #14 Post by **speedi** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:28 am

mmonty wrote:
sveintore wrote:I've had flickers in XP, but not since I upgraded to Vista, so it's definitively something to do with software/drivers (strange)
Vista? This is my office computer... And I'm not allowed to install another os ;-( ... maybe I have to change the Catalyst Drivers...

I'm in the same boat... this is my office computer, so there will be no installation of Vista for a LONG time. I think it's a driver, too, especially since folks have sent their laptops to IBM and have been unable to get this fixed, it seems.

absolut 0 · #15 Post by **absolut 0** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:17 am

A new widescreen bios was released about a week ago. Does anyone know if it's any good or fixes the problem?

BIOS 1.04 for Widescreen T60
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-67018

speedi · #16 Post by **speedi** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 10:24 pm

While at work, I wanted to try a few things during lunch in an attempt to rectify the "flicker" problem, which is actually a change in resolution for a split second. I performed the following, and it went away...

The initial setup (where I start these instructions) is that the laptop is docked and using the external monitor port(s) on the dock with the laptop closed. Now continue with these instructions:

1. Open the laptop.
2. Change the video using Presentation Director to use the Laptop LCD + an external monitor
3. Change the video using PD to both external monitors, or NOT using the laptop LCD.
4. Close the laptop. You will see a quick "flicker" at this time.
5. Continue using laptop throughout the day to see if it ever flickers again.

What I saw was that it never flickered again, until I undocked and re-docked? Then if I did this procedure again, it never flickered again, until undocked and redocked.

I'd like someone else to try this to see if it resolved the issue.

Thanks!

chordstrummer · #17 Post by **chordstrummer** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 5:55 pm

First post:

Hello all. Just bought a T-60 widescreen (8743, T7200, 1 gig RAM, ATI X1400) and have had the flickering issue when running the built in LCD together with an external CRT connected via the Advanced Mini Dock. Mine shipped with the most recent BIOS update (1.04).

I read through this and another thread, and tried everything, to no avail.

Then, I came across a solution totally by accident: Make sure the CRT is connected and powered on. Dock the notebook and power on. After initial boot up, go into standby manually (FN + F4), and then come out of standby.

Following this procedure, I see no more flickering, until I turn the notebook off again. Hope this helps to shed some light on the issue.

I’d be interested to hear if this works for anyone else, too.

speedi · #18 Post by **speedi** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 8:17 am

chordstrummer wrote:First post:

Hello all. Just bought a T-60 widescreen (8743, T7200, 1 gig RAM, ATI X1400) and have had the flickering issue when running the built in LCD together with an external CRT connected via the Advanced Mini Dock. Mine shipped with the most recent BIOS update (1.04).

I read through this and another thread, and tried everything, to no avail.

Then, I came across a solution totally by accident: Make sure the CRT is connected and powered on. Dock the notebook and power on. After initial boot up, go into standby manually (FN + F4), and then come out of standby.

Following this procedure, I see no more flickering, until I turn the notebook off again. Hope this helps to shed some light on the issue.

I’d be interested to hear if this works for anyone else, too.

Well, I just tried this, this morning, and it works, just as you say. Oddly enough, both methods mentioned in this thread works.

So, now that we know how to work around the issue, can Lenovo actually provide a real BIOS fix for the issue? I was planning on sending my laptop in for a MB replacement, but now I am doubting this will help.

Thoughts?

#19 Post by **RonS** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:14 pm

chordstrummer wrote:First post:

Hello all. Just bought a T-60 widescreen (8743, T7200, 1 gig RAM, ATI X1400) and have had the flickering issue when running the built in LCD together with an external CRT connected via the Advanced Mini Dock. Mine shipped with the most recent BIOS update (1.04).

I read through this and another thread, and tried everything, to no avail.

Then, I came across a solution totally by accident: Make sure the CRT is connected and powered on. Dock the notebook and power on. After initial boot up, go into standby manually (FN + F4), and then come out of standby.

Following this procedure, I see no more flickering, until I turn the notebook off again. Hope this helps to shed some light on the issue.

I’d be interested to hear if this works for anyone else, too.

It appears that this works! Monday morning, I did just as chordstrummer suggested. It's now Tuesday morning and I haven't seen any flicker. I'm going to keep monitoring, but perhaps other people should try this work-around to see if it works.

chordstrummer · #20 Post by **chordstrummer** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:23 am

Very cool, glad to hear it works.

It's been a week now, and *knock on wood* so far so good.

Miller88 · #21 Post by **Miller88** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:23 pm

I didn't have the problem for a good month or two ... until Monday. I was in a class and I had like 45 minutes left of battery. The class lasts 1:15. I turned everything down and the problem is back. Thing is, I don't remember whether or not I was in standby or not. I used to just leave my laptop in standby and turn it off only when I needed to (quicker to come out of standby and go into standby than waiting to start up and shutdown).

I started a Linux class and I'm switching between Linux and XP Pro - laptop is set to dual boot - so I'm powering down and back up quite a bit.

I'm going to try the standby trick and actually pay attention.

btw - I only have the problem on battery.

speedi · #22 Post by **speedi** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:50 pm

Well, isn't this a common hardware problem, then?? Do I dare send it to depot to replace the system board?

phillipk · #23 Post by **phillipk** » Wed May 16, 2007 11:54 pm

Not much to add here, but with my new T60 WS I was beginning to give up hope on this issue--every few minutes (when attached to a projector) the screen would flicker --it almost looked like I was dropping to 640x480 for few milliseconds). Anyway, the tech support at Lenovo even suggested sending the machine back in. I may still do that if anything like this pops up again... but...

My main response here is that (for me) going into standby (not hibernate) while connected seems to fix the problem!

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