advice needed - repair or buy?

[mswinzow]

I have a lovely t60p (A11-8741-epp refurb about a year ago) whose 15.4" display has been on life support for a while. It's a fabulous display, but started getting a 'bar code' effect across the lower third of the screen. At first I could push on the corner of the screen or bend it a bit and the whole thing would do fine for a while. It went downhill from there, enough that I took it to the local repair guys (not cheap, but good). They say the screen needs replacing to the tune of about $200.
Question 1) has anyone seen this behavior before to confirm the diagnosis? and 2) is it worth repairing? I can get another for not much more than that but this is a fine machine. So - repair or sell for parts and buy another?

I'm not much at DIY - I'm a DBA and hardware is better off without my tinkering.

Thanks for the help...

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the forum.
What happens if you hook up an external monitor, same lines?
If so, you'll need a new motherboard.
If fine, then replacing the LCD will probably solve the problem, though if not in DIY, this can get expensive.
The 'bars' point to faulty row-drivers in the LCD electronics, not repairable by mere mortals.
What is the screen resolution? (15.4" widescreen WXGA, WSXGA, WUXGA ?)
Sad as it sounds, a used T60 can almost be had for the price of a new(ish) LCD.

Let's hear it from some other readers...

[mswinzow]

Thank you. There's some good information here.

Unfortunately, I don't have another monitor to try. In fact, I don't have that machine here to check the resolution - it's still at the repair depot waiting for my decision. I have an FRU from the order - 13N7020 - if that helps. It is one of the brightest and sharpest ones I've ever seen on a Thinkpad. However, it sounds like you've confirmed their conclusion, as well as mine that it's a toss-up cost-wise. I'll have to make that decision; flip a coin, I guess.

[RealBlackStuff]

13N7020 is LG-Philips WSXGA+ 1680x1050
On eBay a used one (pull from working) for ~$100.-: http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-TP-15-4-WSXGA-L ... 0570366927
New on eBay from leonworks2003 for $112.-: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-IBM-LENOVO-13N7 ... 0121913954
Never dealt with leonworks, maybe someone else on TPF?

Alternative is a Samsung 42T0329. R60/R61/T60/T61 15.4" LCDs are interchangeable.
Cheap on eBay (pull from working) for ~$78.-: http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-LENOVO-R61-15-4 ... 0526702215
Probably your cheapest bet, worth going for.

[mswinzow]

Well, armed with this info, I went ahead and OK'd the repair. They assured that the part is new and exactly what the original was, with a year's warranty, as well as 90 days on their work. I guess that's even-steven for those of us who are hardware-challenged, along with not having to replace all the installs and setups I'd already done.

Your input is much appreciated!