Red tint on initial bootup

[omdemarseille]

Hi,

A T41p with red tint on boot up but goes away immediately and the screen looks bright and normal afterwards in BIOS, is this a sign of bad backlight/CCFL? Also the machine then fails to boot (stuck at initial POST screen) would the red tint be due to motherboard or LCD? is the LCD salvagable (SXGA)? I have another 14.1" LCD from a T40 (XGA) would it be possible to use the backlight/CCFL from that one to repair the other if it turns out to be the screen? Thanks

[RealBlackStuff]

Red tint is an unfailing sign of a dying CCFL. In all fairness, it could take months (or even years) before the LCD stays red.
If you can live with it, and symptoms do not deteriorate (i.e. red only for a few seconds, then normal), don't worry too much.
But if the reddish period gets longer and longer, time to swap out the CCFL.
Most 14.1" screens can use the same CCFL, although there are different models for 150nit and 200nit LCDs.
You can use the CCFL from the other screen. Just hope you don't have a Hitachi LCD, they are a pain too work with.
Samsung and LG/Philips are easier, and IDTech is the easiest.
If you do a transplant, keep the CCFL complete with its cable harness.

Your machine getting stuck in POST could be a sign of a (beginning or worsening) GPU problem.
Read the T4x GPU Problem sticky at the top of this forum.

[omdemarseille]

Thanks for your reply,

If i get hold of another machine such as a T43p off ebay with a working SXGA screen, but dead motherboard (not water damaged) is it possible to transplant/upgrade a t41/t40 with parts such as bluetooth, long fan, LCD? Would it also be a case of swapping the LCD across and plugging it in? Can a ATI radeon 7500 drive an SXGA from a t43p? Is there also a way to find out part numbers installed in a particular system without taking the thing apart?

[Harryc]

If you are going to get a parts machine, my recommendation is to get a T42P. The T42P would have more parts in common with the T41P you already have. LCD's would be common across all 14" T4X machines though. An SXGA+ LCD should work just fine on an ATI 7500 GPU machine, but heed RBS's warning about keeping LCD's and signal cables together as a set.

[carbon_unit]

If you get another T4x for parts it would be easiest to just swap the whole lid assembly. Then you keep the cables with the correct LCD.