Messed Up Display (56K Warning)

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elite-elitist · #1 Post by **elite-elitist** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:22 pm

The display on my R40 broke somehow. It's showing a black screen with some lines. It changes colors when it displays different screens. What could be causing this?

#2 Post by **jdhurst** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:23 pm

It got cracked? Sounds like that from your description. Plug in an external monitor and see if that works fine. If so, that pretty much confirms a bad display. ... JDH

elite-elitist · #3 Post by **elite-elitist** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:26 pm

It didn't get cracked, everything looks okay.

elite-elitist · #4 Post by **elite-elitist** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:34 pm

Yeah, I just plugged in a monitor, and it works that way.

#5 Post by **jdhurst** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 1:25 pm

So the display is gone or the inverter is gone. Usually an inverter failure dims first. Could also be a cable connection. ... JDH

elite-elitist · #6 Post by **elite-elitist** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 6:22 pm

This is how it broke. Everything was working, the laptop was on my desk, and I was shutting down. I almost closed the display, then I lifted it back up to see if it was shutting down properly and the screen was messed up. I thought it was just an OS error so I closed it and thought nothing of it. The next day it is messed up.

To check the connection I need to take apart the whole display right? I took off the keyboard today and everything looked fine.

The screen changes colors depending on what it is displaying, but it just shows thick lines. Also, it didn't lose any brightness.

elite-elitist · #7 Post by **elite-elitist** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:42 pm

So what parts would I need to remove to make sure all the connections are okay? I'm willing to try that. If it doesn't work I'm giving up and selling it.

#8 Post by **tomh009** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 4:29 pm

So an external monitor displays correctly, if I understood your post right?

Inverter provides the backlighting, so that's not it. It sounds like the video chipset freaking out (my X31 used to do that sometimes when the battery ran out) but if the external monitor works then the video is OK.

elite-elitist · #9 Post by **elite-elitist** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:29 pm

Yes, external monitor displays correctly. The backlight seems okay. So I'm thinking that a connection got lose. Or could it be something else?

Here is a picture of the screen after I press the "Access IBM" button on startup. It doesn't display white screens very bright, but it displayed orange, and blue very well. When I move the cursor some of the lines move.

mitchellst · #10 Post by **mitchellst** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:38 am

From looking at the picture, there's definitely a good shot that it's a loose cable.

elite-elitist · #11 Post by **elite-elitist** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:56 pm

It is unlikely that it is the cable going to the motherboard meaning I would have to take the whole LCD apart. Is it difficult?

How do you remove the plastic caps that cover the screws on the sides of the LCD housing?

#12 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:38 pm

To get to the connector on the back of the LCD you would have to disassemble the LCD. Use the tip of an exacto knife for the screw covers.

elite-elitist · #13 Post by **elite-elitist** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:20 pm

One more question.

Besides the connection to the board and the connection to the back of the LCD are there any other connections I should check? Should I unplug them, and plug them back in?

Thanks for the help.

#14 Post by **Harryc** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:47 pm

For the LCD it's just the (2) connections. Keep in mind that it could be the actual ribbon cable to the LCD that is bad. Good luck.

elite-elitist · #15 Post by **elite-elitist** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:52 pm

I finally got around to taking the laptop apart and checking the connections. It look me about an hour to do it. Assembly was quicker than disassembly because I knew where everything goes.

Sadly the problem re-occurs. It must be something else, unless I accidentally pulled out the connection when re-installing the inverter.

elite-elitist · #16 Post by **elite-elitist** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 8:21 pm

Okay, here is a much better picture of the problem. This is what the screen looks like when it is supposed to be showing the "Access IBM" screen.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc30 ... C01663.jpg

Robbyrobot · #17 Post by **Robbyrobot** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 2:03 am

I've seen this kind of thing in another thread (in a T2x), and the poster finally found that the LCD panel was defective. That surprised me, as I had assumed a connector/mainboard issue and don't really know how an LCD panel could become defective in this particular way.

At any rate, a panel replacement might help if all else fails.

cirthix · #18 Post by **cirthix** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 6:47 am

that's almost guaranteed a cable problem. you can find them on ebay for pretty cheap.

elite-elitist · #19 Post by **elite-elitist** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 2:56 pm

The cable that runs from the board to the back of the LCD? Could there be something wrong with the LCD itself or the inverter?

#20 Post by **rkawakami** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 3:25 pm

LCD cable (the one from the motherboard to the back of the panel), LCD itself, connectors between the two and a motherboard issue with the video chipset are the suspected areas. Inverter is NOT involved as its only purpose is to provide power to the backlight as mentioned before. If this happened during a lid movement, my money would be on the LCD cable.

elite-elitist · #21 Post by **elite-elitist** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:27 pm

Thank you for your help. I appreciate it.

I took the risk and got a replacement cable. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Messed Up Display (56K Warning)

Messed Up Display (56K Warning)

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