T-30 LCD Dead because it was dropped

[jamman]

I have two questions:

1. how difficult is it to disconnect the LCD from the cables and reconnect another screen? Is it something that a novice person could accomplish? (I've added cards, memory, etc...but nothing more complex)

2. How generic are the screens? Do you have to exactly match the Part No. or would any IBM compatible laptop sceen of the same size swap in?

Thanks for any input on this question.


BTW...the screen is lighting up with kind of a whitish glow...and the monitor out is working, so I can hookup the laptop to an external monitor...so I assume it's my screen that needs swapped.

Also...after dropping...I'm not getting any sound through the speakers or the headphone jack, but devices all indicate they are working...any ideas on what/where to look? wires, etc?


Thanks again.

[vanaya]

The Hardware Maintenance Manual should be the first thing to read prior to dismantling your lappy. I have replaced LCD on T2x and is not hard at all. You can download your HMM HERE.

[Robbyrobot]

1. how difficult is it to disconnect the LCD from the cables and reconnect another screen?

It's not really that difficult, assuming you don't have two left hands, can use (and have) small screwdrivers, and - most important - have a number of small containers for the screws you remove (I use a heat sealer for refrigerator bags to make small pouches and put the screws into these), taping or attaching the containers to the parts the screws belong to. This is vital in my experience, since otherwise you're nearly sure to put screws in the wrong places or end up with too few or too many screws when you reassemble everything. The advice to get the HMM first is also vital. Don't take a screw out of a Thinkpad without the HMM if you know what's good for you (and it).

Incidentally, you don't have to dismantle the whole computer to work on the display. Except for the LCD cable, you can replace everything just by removing the display bezel while the display is mounted. But be careful when you do this, since IBM liked to put little strips of adhesive tape behind the bezel to hold it down in various places (this is generally not mentioned in the HMMs), and if you try to just take out the screws and pull off the bezel like in the pictures, you're likely to hold it broken into several pieces in your hands. So remove it very slowly and carefully, using just enough force to pull it free from the tape beneath.

2. How generic are the screens?

Unfortunately very, except when you're talking about screens for the same series - in this case the T3x series - and even then you can get into trouble since in your case both XGA and SXGA+ screens (panels) were used, and each requires a different LCD cable. The safest (and easiest) thing to do is to replace an entire display - housing, interver, cable and panel. If you don't want to do that, you have to be careful that the components match.

BTW...the screen is lighting up with kind of a whitish glow...and the monitor out is working, so I can hookup the laptop to an external monitor...so I assume it's my screen that needs swapped.

Possibly, but it's be worthwhile first reseating the display connector on the mainboard before you start to replace the display. If you're lucky, maybe it was merely loosened/dislodged when the computer fell.

Also...after dropping...I'm not getting any sound through the speakers or the headphone jack, but devices all indicate they are working...any ideas on what/where to look? wires, etc?

That's a harder call. The speaker assembly is hoioked up on the front side of the base (away from the display), and the contacts are on the underside, pressing on contacts on the mainboard. It's just possible that the contacts have been disturbed, but frankly that would surprise me. As for the headphones, no idea. Have you tried adjusting the volume with the buttons on the front (next to the display) left side of the keyboard? Maybe the volume is just off.

Hope that helps at least a little.

[jamman]

Wow!! You called it...the sound had just got knocked to off somehow...the two buttons next to the Thinkpad button turned it back on! Big D'oh!

Many thanks.