Dell e1705 - intermittant LCD

[pcmaximum]

I am 99% sure this is video adapter related but i wanted to post here just to get a little input from the community.

Dell e1705 uses ATI 1400 Mobility module/adapter

the video will come up on the LCD occasionally hitting the FUNC crt/lcd with an external vga monitor attached, the external will have vertical bars of static periodically and then it will clear up and windows gui will appear, if i reboot, and hit the func crt/lcd couple of times, the LCD on the laptop will boot from pst and go to windows without problem, about half the time it will remain dark.

replace the video adapter?
300.00 + dollars for a refurbished one...hence the post just to cover my bases.

thanks
PCMAX

[Suspishio]

Your information isn't quite enough to enable a reasonable diagnosis at distance. First gut reaction to the LCD remaining dark is that the system still thinks it should be booting and displaying on the CRT. But detail is everything so:

1/
Do you mean that only occasionally, when you bring on the external CRT via the function key, the vertical bars appear? At other times it's OK?

2/
Please describe "vertical bars of static". And how long does it take to clear up?

3/
Are you having a problem with the LCD when the external monitor is not attached and your previous picture was on the LCD?

4/
What is the CRT monitor and what refresh rate are you using?
name/model

5/
Are you 100% sure of your cable connexion between laptop and CRT? Firmly seated no dodgy pins.

7/
What happens if you do the following:
- With the dujal monitor system in a stable working condition, set one monitor to Primary the other to Extended Desktop.

- Reboot into that configuration. What is the beahviour ofd your system then?

[pcmaximum]

(quote)
Your information isn't quite enough to enable a reasonable diagnosis at distance. First gut reaction to the LCD remaining dark is that the system still thinks it should be booting and displaying on the CRT. But detail is everything so:

1/
Do you mean that only occasionally, when you bring on the external CRT via the function key, the vertical bars appear? At other times it's OK?

-------------- reply
everytime, the laptop will not show anything even during post, so i immediately use the func crt to switch to external, about that time post is done, and the windows splash page is up, there are 4 vertical lines about 1 inch wide, spaced almost evenly apart going across the screen " | | | | "

2/
Please describe "vertical bars of static". And how long does it take to clear up?
-------------- reply
see above
it clears up when the windows gui loads and the login screen appears.

3/
Are you having a problem with the LCD when the external monitor is not attached and your previous picture was on the LCD?
-------------- reply
yes, it doesnt have anything displayed, ergo its dark
"occasionally" after rebooting the screen will work normally,
and it will boot up and go through windows with normal operation,
this imo rules out backlighting, (inverter board) rules out a defective screen, and after taking it apart and making sure that the connectors were not damaged and are properly seated .. those are out, for now.

4/
What is the CRT monitor and what refresh rate are you using?
name/model
-------------- reply
The CRT ? the external LCD flatpanel is just an ACER and works fine on all other systems, its a test bench monitor.

5/
Are you 100% sure of your cable connexion between laptop and CRT? Firmly seated no dodgy pins.
-------------- reply
this has no bearing on the question, but to be clear, yes
we are an IT shop, with 10 years + exp each.

7/
What happens if you do the following:
- With the dual monitor system in a stable working condition, set one monitor to Primary the other to Extended Desktop.
-------------- reply
That has NEVER happened so far, this entire thread is about the LCD on the laptop not working properly.

- Reboot into that configuration. What is the behavour of your system then?
-------------- reply
this testing is uneeded, as the laptop is not used in this configuration the only reason an external monitor is involved is for testing, the laptop motherboard, harddrive, memory and functions of the unit except for display or display adapter are working normally as shown by the external monitor.

[pcmaximum]

to clarify the question:

I am looking for ideas or second opinions on the causality of an infrequent intermittant LCD laptop display issue.

the laptop is an e1705 dell, it uses a PCI-E mobile ATI 1400 video adapter and can be upgraded or swapped out.

the issue is that external VGA works fine 100% of the time, but the LCD on the laptop only works about 25% of the time.

so I either replace the video adapter (i am leaning toward this today)
or replace the LCD which i am more and more convinced is functioning but not recieving a video signal for some reason from the adapter.

both parts are about the same price 300.00 USD, refurbished.

again just wanted to bounce this around out there due to the situation
with part of an adapter working (external vga port) and the primary display portion failing or intermittant.

the lcd seems to work fine when it comes up, but this is where the doubt comes in, there is not a way for me to test the lcd any further, it becomes an assumption, something i am loathe to make.

[Suspishio]

If you compare your post #4 with your post #1 you can see why I asked my questions. Was it the laptop LCD or the "vga monitor" (hence my describing it as CRT) with its vertical bars.

Anyway, your question is entirely reasonable. From a distance, it looks like percentages, screen vs adapter. The balance of probability, because of the vertical bars on the external monitor, lies with the adapter being at fault.

When you boot, until you've logged in, the screen is in VGA mode at first and is still in VGA when those rectangles go across the screen. It strikes me that you're seeing a distortion of this on the external screen. That has surely got to be an adapter problem.

Hope that helpps.

I notice that the hoardes haven't yet climbed in to add their weight to help you.