Lenovo laptop - garbled display

[azkiwi]

Daughter's Lenovo B570 Notebook is only a year or so old and has had zero issues. Couple of days ago she had the display extended to a Dell 23" touch screen and left it running overnight. At some point the lid got closed and presumably the machine went into hibernation.

On wake-up the laptop display is completely scrambled and unusable. If I boot from a Windows 8 CD; the extended display comes up and it recognizes that there were start-up errors. I tried the recovery options but it failed to restore from the last restore point (unspecified errors). Any time it completes a boot from the HDD (or the second display is disconnected) it defaults to the single screen ... which is indecipherable!

As far as I can tell the rest of the machine is OK, the BIOS reports all the memory and drive as being present.

Any ideas?

 

[Ketchup]

So are the BIOS and startup screens indecipherable on the laptop or just the Windows desktop?

 

[azkiwi]

So are the BIOS and startup screens indecipherable on the laptop or just the Windows desktop?

BIOS screen comes up only on the extended display (black screen on notebook). If I disconnect the second monitor, the lappy stays black.

This model has Intel integrated graphics.

 

[alzan]

I'm not sure which Fn key combo controls the display output on a Lenovo (on Dells it's the Fn+F8) but there should be an icon on one of the F-numkeys that shows two little display icons.

This page has a pic looking down at the laptop base/keyboard, when you click the pic the zoomed view shows that it may be the F3 key combined with the Fn key:

http://www.laptopreviews.com/lenovo-b570-review-2011-10

Usually the display options for a laptop are laptop display only, laptop display and external display, external display only; the laptop may be stuck in external display only.

Try disconnecting the ext. display and pressing the Fn+F3 key to get the display back to laptop display only.

 

[azkiwi]

Try disconnecting the ext. display and pressing the Fn+F3 key to get the display back to laptop display only.

That is the correct key combo and when I toggle back to the laptop display I get the garbled screen once again.

If the graphics chip had somehow failed, wouldn't you think it would fail completely? I don't know how to isolate this any better.

Is it worth trying to reset the CMOS? I'm guessing there is a way, though I've never done it on a laptop.

 

[alzan]

That is the correct key combo and when I toggle back to the laptop display I get the garbled screen once again.

If the graphics chip had somehow failed, wouldn't you think it would fail completely? I don't know how to isolate this any better.

Is it worth trying to reset the CMOS? I'm guessing there is a way, though I've never done it on a laptop.

I doubt the graphics chip has failed since you get a proper display on an external monitor. I think one of three things has happened; the cable connector that goes from the motherboard to the display is loose or the cable is crimped, the display inverter is bad or the display panel itself is shot.

Troubleshooting and/or fixing any of those are things you may not be comfortable with attempting. Since it's only a year old it may be worth taking to a reputable computer repair shop.

Resetting the CMOS to defaults is the same on a laptop as it is on a desktop, enter BIOS and look for the Reset To BIOS Defaults option.

 

[azkiwi]

I can get a replacement screen for $80 or less. I doubt it is affordable to have repaired by others. How can I determine if it is the display or the inverter?

 

[alzan]

I can get a replacement screen for $80 or less. I doubt it is affordable to have repaired by others. How can I determine if it is the display or the inverter?

Good question. When I used to work on Dell laptops a couple of years ago I was always able to order both parts and send back the one I didn't need; that was partially due to the type of warranty we had on them though.

FWIW my money is on the display being bad. If you can get the inverter as well and it's not too expensive then go for it.

This unit is a low end unit; unless you're good with small parts and of a calm demeanor you may not want to attempt this.

Disclaimer: My instructions are based on two things; my experience with Dell's and the fact that laptops are made by only a couple of main mfrs. and are similar in construction.

If you're going to attempt this yourself there're are several things to keep in mind if you've never done it:

See if you can download the service manual for the laptop from Lenovo's site, it'll be of help. If not available you'll have to proceed on your own.

Before buying display and/or the inverter, you should check the connection of the display cable at both the display panel and the motherboard end. You'll have to remove the display bezel and the palm rest assembly to do so. If the connection is loose, reconnect it and see if that brings the display back to normal. If so you've saved some money. Use caution/care, the connectors are delicate.

Disconnect the battery and AC power before you start disassembly of display portion of the laptop. There are several different screw types used. Get a couple of sheets of white paper and use scotch tape to tape down the various sets of screws from various parts of the display portion of the laptop, label each screw set for proper re-assembly.

The main display cable is thin; handle with care when you disconnect it.

The display panel is probably bolstered with two side frame pieces; once you have the display panel out of the laptop remove the side pieces.

Take extreme care when unhooking the old panel and hooking up the new; the circuit board on the back of the panel(s) is delicate and is also where the cable connects. A light touch is necessary.

Once you have the side frames on the new panel connected and the panel sitting in the laptop frame, hook up AC power and boot the laptop; if all's gone well you should see a normal display. Power down and remove AC power and start re-assembly.

Be careful not to use too much torque when tightening the screws.

Replacing the inverter is a modicum easier but you'll most likely have to remove the display bezel to access it. As with the display panel use care and caution.

 

[Ketchup]

Lenovo is one of the best manufacturers I have seen at providing service manuals. Dell is also good at this, or at least they used to be.

As alzan pointed out, just take extra care and this should be a doable task.

 

[Burpo]

Remove the battery and find & remove CMOS battery. Wait a few minutes & reassemble. Test display.

 

[corkyg]

Seems to me to be a display drivers problem. It may be trying to use the ext monitor drivers on the internal display. Can you do a System Restore to a date before you added the external?

 

[Tamron]

I would guess that it's trying to force the external monitors EDID/resolution on the internal LCD, if you can, connect it again to the external monitor and drop the resolution down low, uninstall the graphics drivers and shut down, disconnect external monitor and boot up.

 

[lenovouser]

I am Experiencing the same problem i.e., the scrambled screen with my Lenovo laptop. If I am trying to restore using the recovery button everything goes fine on the same monitor. But when I restart it after the restoration completes the screen does not load. Can I get any help in this regard. Thanks in advance.