Thinkpad T41 is possessed!

February 13, 2006 5:28 PM

Huge (hopefully not) monitor issue: Thinkpad T41. Are there any good hardware troubleshooters out there?

In the last few days, my monitor's been acting up. I would not get a visual at all, like I turned the monitor off. But then I would push a certain part of the laptop in, and then it would flicker in and out.

I thought it may be an issue with the power adapter connection and a conflict hardware, because I unplugged it and then I got a visual again.

Just a few minutes ago, though, the visual started going crazy. The visual started getting fuzzy in a horizontal way and was shaking back and forth, like it was some effect. I unplugged my laptop and then it stopped. Plugged it back in and it started doing it again.

Ok so it's an issue with my cord. Any help please?? My knowledge with computers stops here with hardware malfunction.

posted by jadanzzy to computers & internet (2 comments total)

We're going to need some clarification -- are you talking about the inbuilt screen of your laptop, or an external monitor? When you say "unplugged your laptop", do you mean you unplugged the power from the laptop, or unplugged the cable from laptop to external monitor?

If you don't have it on an external monitor, and it's an issue with the panel, then try plugging it into an external monitor -- if the picture is fine on the external, it's an issue with the panel. If the external is dodgy too, it's a motherboard issue.

If it's an issue with the panel, your talk of 'pressing making it good' might indicate an issue with the internal cable connecting the panel to the motherboard - a cheaper fix than the alternatives, being a panel replacement or a motherboard replacement (both in buy-a-new-laptop territory).

If you are talking about an external monitor, and your interal panel is fine, try a different monitor -- if it's dodgy too, then it's either the VGA plug, or a motherboard issue.

Finally -- a T41 should still be under warranty, cos those bastards (affectionate term ;) shipped with a 3 year warranty. Call support, but only after you've answered the above questions -- support will ask you the same.
posted by coriolisdave at 7:54 PM on February 13, 2006

What coriolisdave said.

I work with IBM and other laptops. What you describe sounds exactly like either A) a failed cable between video card/motherboard and LCD, or B) A failed/failing video card unit.

In my experience it's most likely choice "A". The thin, flexible, internal video connection cable - usually ribbon cable or ribbon-cable-like - is fragile and prone to failure after X amount of screen openings and closings. Other points of failure include where the cable terminates and connects, or the connections to the cable connectors themselves on the printed circuit board.

All are repeatedly stressed over time and can develop small breaks or stress fractures (metal fatigue style, just as if you bent and rebent a paperclip until it broke) which can lead to the sporadic symptoms you describe.

Usually when the LCD fails or the video card (or integrated video device on motherboard) fails it's an all or nothing scenario, especially in the case of video card/device failure.

Usually.

Sometimes the LCD controller or LCD itself will selectively fail and you'll get bars or blank areas of the screen, or huge blocks of color or what have you, but even these failures usually aren't sporadic like the video cable failures, and the whole "When I touch it here it gets fixed!" thing.

If it's under warranty, send it in.

If it's out of warranty, it's not a huge deal to replace an internal video cable, but is pretty high on the list of laptop service hassles due to the way the cables are (compactly) routed through the laptop's innards. For an IBM Thinkpad, though, it should be a relatively trivial issue.
posted by loquacious at 8:06 PM on February 13, 2006