T30 horizontal lines on display and lockup

[ironduke2010]

hi, my t30 (2366-21u) just started locking up while the display freezes and starts showing horizontal lines that eventually cover the whole display. it happens seemingly at random times and requires a hard reboot to fix. sometimes it'll reboot fine, other times it'll freeze again right after post, other times it'll lockup again after a few minutes.

i know that some t4x laptops have a problem with the video chip, and there is the postit note/paper "fix". will this work with the t30 also? is this definitely a video chip problem? i've looked at the graphics chip, it looks fine on visual inspection anyway.

the t30 is out of warranty at this point, and i'd rather not have to switch out the mainboard myself. but if this is definitely a video chip problem, i'd consider it at the right price before going t60 or something.

[ajkula66]

One way to find out would be to test it on external monitor, and let it run there for a while. If the same thing occurs, that's a video chip/MB issue, and if I had to place a bet, I'd put my money on it.

Does moving the machine around make it worse?

Does temperature have any effect that you could see?

If yes, that points to the issue above as well, although you're not necessarily in the clear if these are not applicable.

[ironduke2010]

One way to find out would be to test it on external monitor, and let it run there for a while. If the same thing occurs, that's a video chip/MB issue, and if I had to place a bet, I'd put my money on it.

Does moving the machine around make it worse?

Does temperature have any effect that you could see?

If yes, that points to the issue above as well, although you're not necessarily in the clear if these are not applicable.

sounds like a good idea, thanks, i'll give it a shot.

i can't tell if moving it around makes it worse or not. it happens when it's moved around, and it happens when it's just sitting there.

it does not seem to be temperature based. sometimes it happens right out of hibernation when the temp is really low, other times it happens when it's in the middle of some video.

it seems to happen for several boots in a row, then it'll be fine for a few days. so this may take a while.

so, what happens if it doesn't happen when it's running an external monitor?

[ajkula66]

Then you'd be looking somewhere along the lines of inverter and/or LCD...but, as stated previously, I honestly doubt that.

[dogma420]

Might be the lcd cable--

move the lcd lid back and forth through its range of motion--see if the lines change/flicker, etc....then you know it's either a bad cable, or it has loosened slight on the planar or the back of the LCD.