Is my thinkpad dead??

[febuld]

A friend of mine's Thinkpad 600 started having LCD troubles recently. The LCD would show the display and colors and such, but everything's very dim even with the display setting at max. When i switch from an external monitor back to the laptop LCD, the display gets bright for a split second, but then it becomes dark again. You think it's a backlight problem? And if it is, can I replace it easily? Thanks!

 

[montag451]

There was a post recently where someone had a problem like yours.

The solution was to get into a dark room with a very bright torch and see if the LCD screen shows anything when the torch is shone on it from various angles.
If there is something, then the backlight is at fault.

 

[compusaguy]

Just take it to one of those little computer shops where they overcharge you for service and tell them you don't know what's wrong, but you'll pay as much money as it takes to get rid of this problem. If they attempt to explain any warranties with you concerning service or parts, just waive your hand and tell them you don't bother with that garbage.

 

[Slikkster]

heheh montag..."Torch" might not be the best word. That conjures up a big flame. Anyway, compusaguy, I don't know why you even bothered posting the above. That was anything but helpful.

Febuld, what montag451 was referring to was a thread that another guy had about a Thinkpad who's screen wasn't displaying. The test is to use a bright flashlight in a very dark room with the laptop on. Sounds like you can still see something on the screen, regardless.

Read this thread here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=32&threadid=1513371&enterthread=y

The problem (if you can still see something on the screen) is either bad lamps or a bad inverter. It appears that a bad inverter is usually the culprit.

 

[daMachine]

Yeah, try the flash light trick as Slikkster mentioned.

I replaced a inverter a month or two ago for a Dell Insp. 8200 which was displaying similar problems. I was able to use the flash light at different angles to eventually see the screen (it was still pretty dark, but could tell the lcd itself was OK).

I screwed around with disabling/enabling the LCD and external monitor a bit. On one instance the LCD went to full brightness, but after a second went back -- couldn't replicate it again. At that point, I figured the bulb was OK. So, I got the new inverter on ebay and it's been running great since. FWIW, inverters are usually much cheaper than the backlight bulb.

Good luck,

--daMachine

 

[Paperlantern]

Originally posted by: Slikkster
heheh montag..."Torch" might not be the best word. That conjures up a big flame. Anyway, compusaguy, I don't know why you even bothered posting the above. That was anything but helpful.

Febuld, what montag451 was referring to was a thread that another guy had about a Thinkpad who's screen wasn't displaying. The test is to use a bright flashlight in a very dark room with the laptop on. Sounds like you can still see something on the screen, regardless.

Read this thread here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=32&threadid=1513371&enterthread=y

The problem (if you can still see something on the screen) is either bad lamps or a bad inverter. It appears that a bad inverter is usually the culprit.

Yes this man has the answer, the inverter or the backlight are at fault, both usually run fifty-ish dollars (the backlight is the hardest to change, so pray its the inverter), on one rare occasion i had though, the issue was the motherboard, the board wasnt supplying the inverter with any voltage, the customer was none too happy about that

and i agree compusaguy, that really wasnt necessary, especially since comp usa is one of the most overpriced places i know of as well, i once payed $100 just for a reload of windows back in 1997 when i was still a computer noob... actually it was that that got me into this, i vowed never to pay to get a computer repaired again, and i havn't, now people pay me to fix them for them