HELP please - Monitor "snow" on new T410s

[wiltyb123]

My new T410s (5 days use) suddenly started occasional displays of "snow" (horizontal flecks in odd spots). Doing it now on forum as I type this msg. Below are specs:

2901CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM

45M3090 VBB GENUWIN7PROFES.64
45M4918 SBB G.WIN.7PROF64US ENGLISH
75Y2322 SBB RECOVERY MATERIAL:RDVD
60Y6838 SBB 14.1 WXGA+ TFT,LED BCKLGHT
60Y6826 SBB ITGRMA5700MHDIC2DPRI5-520M
42X6308 VBB 3GBPC3-8500 1067MHZ2DIMM
45M4839 SBB KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
44C7947 SBB ULNVTRKP,TCHPD)FNGRPRREAD
44C7970 SBB CAMERA SUB CARD
60Y6844 SBB INTEL 80GB SLD STDR,SRATA
60Y6840 SBB DVD RCRDBL8XMAXDLLAYULBSLM
44C7972 SBB EXPRESSCARD34
44C7954 SBB 6 CELL LI-ION BATTERY
41W1787 SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA
45M3043 SBB BLUETOOTH W/ANTENNA
45M4803 SBB SBB IN.CENT.ADVANCED-N 620
44C7950 SBB INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
60Y6850 SBB LANGUAGE PACK US ENGLISH
75Y1544 SBB MOHST2010NA ENGLISH
Status: Shipped on 08/13/2010 More info


Flecks don't seem dependent on the physical movement of the whole computer, but may be connected with keyboard and/or mouse usage. The faster I type, the faster they jump.

Machine started doing this today while on battery waiting in the car shop. I had just tested 2 different headphone sets (unlikely cause but I'm perplexed). Never been on straight wall current, only an APC UPS or battery. No drops, liquids, gaming, drawing packages, or any real stress that I can think of. I watched one video a few days ago and it performed flawlessly.

Reminds me of fringe TV reception with rabbit ears from the 50s or 60s. Or when someone runs a powerful appliance near the TV.

Thanks for any input.

[Harryc]

Contact Lenovo and send it in for warranty repair.

[wiltyb123]

Quick update, and thanks to the warranty repair advice.

I managed to upgrade to Onsite for one-year ($29), and the tech came to my house after I did a fair amount of phone calling (sweetly, sweetly). One of their phone techs in Atlanta concluded it was the LCD, so that was replaced in front of me (amazing how small and flimsy those assemblies are). We had over the phone dumped the previous software download and went with one slightly newer (sorry, can't find my note with the number).

But...................I've still got the snow! So, if it's the video, apparently I'll need a new motherboard (?).

Definitely glad, from the stories on this forum, that I held onto my T. Leaving on a long trip for fund-raising in the morning, and a snowy pc is better than none. From this, I'd suggest the 1-yr onsite in one's initial order if you go through Lenovo's site (upgrading it slowed down the process as it took time to clear my card, although someone named Inez did expedite it a bit, I think)

Does, though, make me wonder what else might be wrong, as the lenovo forum SHOWS a type A and a type B snow on some of the other Ts. Is there a problem with VT-d feature on these Txx Lenovos? Mine was not enabled in the BIOS, but I do have 3 gig ram, not 4. Tonight it balked at reading a new music CD, which is playing nicely in my beat up R50e as I write.


I may try them when we light in St. Louis. I will keep posting on progress to completion.

[CoolRunnings]

Sounds to me like an overheating video chip...

[wiltyb123]

OK, everybody. The saga may be ended on the "snow" (or artifacts, as some call them). My travels and lack of experience have dragged this out more than it should have.

Since I was traveling quite a bit, it was hard to be in one spot for the online service. LCD replacement and downloads did no good, and eventually (into November) I got what looked like a "black screen of death" alternating with a normal-looking desktop screen on which the icons mostly did not work when clicked. Amazing. A talented Microsoft engineer where I had traveled gave me hours of free diagnostic time and got it functional again; he dumped my virus checker and replaced it with Microsoft's. He also reset my screen savers and visuals to default settings. This cleared the snow off everything except the PowerPoint shows and still photos (jpeg). The snow transmitted onto external monitors and through projectors, as well.

Finally, a few days ago, I convinced Lenovo to replace the whole system board. That was Monday, and I'm fine so far. An experienced programmer friend convinced me to get all new RAM from crucial.com to max it out as I need to make all fixes before going back overseas in a few weeks. It's on the way. Also, the helpful Microsoft guy found online a reference to odd RAM chips (1G and a 2G, which I have) as having snow issues. No one at Lenovo had heard of that.

One remaining mystery: when I go to Lenovo's home page and type in my 2901CTO and the serial number on the warranty page, it tells me I have a "refurb" model. Does this mean refurbished? I certainly did not pay for that. No one at Lenovo could explain that. Not sure I would get another Lenovo. We'll see.

In future, I will always get onsite warranty with the original order.

[penartur]

There is some lenovo bulletin on that issue, although i doubt i can find a link right now.
It said that there is two different flavours of that issue; first is caused by old video drivers (so the solution is to update the drivers), and the second is caused by intel graphics bug, which occurs when VT-d option is enabled in BIOS and, in the same time, RAM modules of different capacities installed (so the solution is to disable VT-d or to upgrade from 2+1GB to 2+2 or 4+4 etc).

[wiltyb123]

LENOVO TECH CAME just before we flew to San Francisco and installed new system board. It seems to be fine on still photos, PowerPoint shows, and significant video (drum solos). No more "snow"!

NOW I get a warning in a plain screen before it goes to the signin screen: WARNING 2200: Machine type and serial number are invalid. Minor so long as I don't get locked out.

I'm hoping this is just because the tech did not update the data for the new board?

1. Can I update the i.d. myself to stop the message? Is it in BIOS? I'm tired of calling Lenovo/IBM in Atlanta.

2. ALSO, based on a reply here from the previous writer (I think), several techie friends and benefactors, and comments online, I got the complete 8Gigs memory (2x4) from Crucial.com and replaced the factory-issue. I've got the 64-bit OS. Since we leave to go back overseas soon, the rest of the one-year onsite warranty won't be of much benefit and I really got my money's worth (new LCD and system board). The new memory works well.

Thanks to all

[wiltyb123]

....Maybe modify my last to read,

"...got my money's worth, if you don't count the delay and aggravation."

[Harryc]

The tech forgot to program the machine type and serial # in BIOS. You'll have to call Lenovo back to arrange that service call.

[wiltyb123]

The tech forgot to program the machine type and serial # in BIOS. You'll have to call Lenovo back to arrange that service call.

Thank you, Harryc.

W.