Vertical colours lines in my screen laptop (please help!)

[Fossy]

Hello friends:

I have laptop IBM ThinkPad 1200 i Series. Months ago the screen was broken, but I have bought a new LCD in ebay. I have installed it, but when on the laptop, the LCD shows vertical lines in RGB colours (see the picture attached).

The first image when ON the laptop is the IBM logo, I say this because this logo is in 3 colors (red, green, blue), and the vertical lines showed are also in these three colors. The laptop runs Windows 98, but that vertical lines is still, no changes does in the screen.

When I off the laptop and ON new, show the same lines but in another order. Shows in random positions and random colors every time, but the problem is the same.

The laptop work fine with external monitor.

Has been damaged the integrated VGA of the motherboard?, Can be the memory?..., please help!!!

Thanks.

[nizzy1115]

Hello friends:

I have laptop IBM ThinkPad 1200 i Series. Months ago the screen was broken, but I have bought a new LCD in ebay. I have installed it, but when on the laptop, the LCD shows vertical lines in RGB colours (see the picture attached).

The first image when ON the laptop is the IBM logo, I say this because this logo is in 3 colors (red, green, blue), and the vertical lines showed are also in these three colors. The laptop runs Windows 98, but that vertical lines is still, no changes does in the screen.

When I off the laptop and ON new, show the same lines but in another order. Shows in random positions and random colors every time, but the problem is the same.

The laptop work fine with external monitor.

Has been damaged the integrated VGA of the motherboard?, Can be the memory?..., please help!!!

Thanks.

my take on fixing litteraly hundreds of laptops like this for schools is that no everything is ok with your components, however try connecting all your comonents again and securely. you might have slightly pulled the cable that connects the lcd to the graphiics card (u have to open up the laptop to check) or elsewhere around it. Try reseeding everything you can around the screen including the button bar with the power button in it. If this doesnt work try opening it up and pull all the compnents and put it back together. Parts come ajar often and this has fixed 99% of my problem computers. Simple and free! couldnt be better! :mrgreen:

[Fossy]

Hello nizzy1115:

Thanks for your reply!!

I'm going to explain to you what I have done in these last days...

1) I have bought other new LCD, I have installed it and everything follows equal. Now I have two LCD's for this laptop, therefore, we can to discard that it can be a failure in the LCD.

2) I have verified the LCD ribbon cable, I have dissasembled the shield plates in both connectors (LCD and Motherboard) and I test it with an multimeter and all tests pin to pin is OK. Also I have verified the continuity with the connectors (in case some connector of the cable could be bad) and all is OK. We can to discard that the problem can be a failure of LCD ribbon cable.

The failure only can be in two sites:

- Can be that the motherboard connector of the ribbon LCD cable does not fit well with the connector of the motherboard. It would be rare because the connector goes plugged with two screws, but we cannot discard that the failure comes from here.

OR

- Can be the "Chip-Driver" of the VGA integrated in the motherboard. Some techs says to me that if the laptop work good with an external monitor, can't be of the Chip Driver (my laptop works good with an external monitor)..., but I'm not sure, because RGB out is different to LCD controller unless both controllers are in the same chip, in this case if the chip failures, will not work with an external monitor.

Any idea to continue verifying nizzy1115?.

Thanks!!!!

[nizzy1115]

Hello nizzy1115:

Thanks for your reply!!

I'm going to explain to you what I have done in these last days...

1) I have bought other new LCD, I have installed it and everything follows equal. Now I have two LCD's for this laptop, therefore, we can to discard that it can be a failure in the LCD.

2) I have verified the LCD ribbon cable, I have dissasembled the shield plates in both connectors (LCD and Motherboard) and I test it with an multimeter and all tests pin to pin is OK. Also I have verified the continuity with the connectors (in case some connector of the cable could be bad) and all is OK. We can to discard that the problem can be a failure of LCD ribbon cable.

The failure only can be in two sites:

- Can be that the motherboard connector of the ribbon LCD cable does not fit well with the connector of the motherboard. It would be rare because the connector goes plugged with two screws, but we cannot discard that the failure comes from here.

OR

- Can be the "Chip-Driver" of the VGA integrated in the motherboard. Some techs says to me that if the laptop work good with an external monitor, can't be of the Chip Driver (my laptop works good with an external monitor)..., but I'm not sure, because RGB out is different to LCD controller unless both controllers are in the same chip, in this case if the chip failures, will not work with an external monitor.

Any idea to continue verifying nizzy1115?.

Thanks!!!!

Ok i agree with the techs about the chip drivers i am 99% sure that they are the same controler...your gpu is probably fine but a connector from it to your lcd screen is somewhere most likely messed up...there are usually 2 cables going to the screen from the gpu ive seen a few different setups. i would open up the computer and get to the gpu and check those cables....this is a weird situation, as you have some display but its not correct and ive never seen anything like it before. are you sure you ordered the correct lcd screen for your computer? if your lcd broke from a fall this could deffinatly be it, or did it jsut stop working and go black? ill try and think of somemore possibilities if reseeding the gpu cables dosent work. Good luck!

[Fossy]

Ok i agree with the techs about the chip drivers i am 99% sure that they are the same controler...your gpu is probably fine but a connector from it to your lcd screen is somewhere most likely messed up...there are usually 2 cables going to the screen from the gpu ive seen a few different setups. i would open up the computer and get to the gpu and check those cables....this is a weird situation, as you have some display but its not correct and ive never seen anything like it before. are you sure you ordered the correct lcd screen for your computer? if your lcd broke from a fall this could deffinatly be it, or did it jsut stop working and go black? ill try and think of somemore possibilities if reseeding the gpu cables dosent work. Good luck!

Hello nizzy1115:

Thank you very much by your answer!!

Within hours I am going to verify the cables that you say of the GPU, what I do not understand is if you talk about two separate cables, or are two contacts of the connector that go to GPU-chip, in any case, I am going to dissasemble the motherboard for locate it.

Both LCD that I have bought are (of course) identical to that it was broken (Sharp LM121SS1T53 and FRU: 05K9630).

When the LCD was broken, was by a fall, but the laptop was power off. More later I was power on the laptop and the LCD ignited perfectly (the lamp did not suffer damages), but, evidently, it did not show anything in the screen, it was very broken and it lost liquid.

Well, I will verify those two cables and I will return to write to you here.

I thank for much your aid, this problem I have put it in many forums and you are the unique that have been offered to help me. Thanks!!!

[Fossy]

Hello new nizzy1115:

Well..., I have found the failure...

With the motherboard dissasembled and the LCD cable connect to it, I have verified with the multimeter all cables one by one measuring the continuity from the cable to the tracks of the circuit in order to verify if the connectors make good contact.

One of the cables did not make contact :mrgreen: (was the cable that took the signal "Data Input Clock" to the LCD). When I unpluged the connectors, I watched the connector of the cable with a magnifying glass and indeed one of the pins was stuck to the plastic (the rest no), and with a needle I pushed it outwards, I returned it to connect and it gave a correct verification!!.

I was very happy when I mounted all the laptop again, but when power ON..., now nothing shows in the screen!!. It ignites and I can handle the brightness, but it does not show anything. I have moved the cable, and I have pluged and unpluged 100 times and there are not samples of the smaller signal...

I think that of as much manipulating the cable it has been damaged (broken). Tomorrow I will return to verify the cable pin to pin.

I will continue telling to you new features.

Thanks!!!

[Fossy]

Hello new nizzy1115:

Well..., cable is OK, contacts between connectors is OK, but nothing shows in the screen :-|

I don't know that I can verify now. Is very very rare that when I was fixed the pin in the connector (and with it the contact is ok) now the screen is lighted black. I don't understand it.

The laptop continues viewing well with an external monitor.

Any other possibility for verify nizzy?.

Thanks.

[nizzy1115]

Hello new nizzy1115:

Well..., cable is OK, contacts between connectors is OK, but nothing shows in the screen :-|

I don't know that I can verify now. Is very very rare that when I was fixed the pin in the connector (and with it the contact is ok) now the screen is lighted black. I don't understand it.

The laptop continues viewing well with an external monitor.

Any other possibility for verify nizzy?.

Thanks.

this case is weird...im almost at a loss, is there anyway you can get new connectors? you said one pin was stuck in the connector maybe something else is damaged in it (its possible i guess), otherwise im really not sure. Anybody else got any ideas?

[Fossy]

this case is weird...im almost at a loss, is there anyway you can get new connectors? you said one pin was stuck in the connector maybe something else is damaged in it (its possible i guess), otherwise im really not sure. Anybody else got any ideas?

I'm thinking in reconstruct the ribbon, unsolder all cables of the connectors, buy enameled cable new and solder it. The 24 enameled cables they are united in spiral and surrounded in American sticky (this sticky is electricity conductor). I do not know if some rare inductance takes place.

Not short circuit have between cables or ground (sticky included), but the only thing that I can do already is to reconstruct the cable, another thing is not happened to me.

Thanks!!!

[Fossy]

this case is weird...im almost at a loss, is there anyway you can get new connectors? you said one pin was stuck in the connector maybe something else is damaged in it (its possible i guess), otherwise im really not sure. Anybody else got any ideas?

Nizzy, This ribbon is ghost!!!. Read and see kindly...

[IMG]http://www.companiaeasy.com/cableentero.jpg[/IMG]

This is de ribbon cable. Up of cable (in the image) you can see the plate shield with the adhesive that surrounded the cable, and more the right you can see the plate shield of the other connector.

Look kindly the staple that has the cable (surrounded with a black circle). I discovered it when I retired the adhesive. It was surrounded by the adhesive.

Well, now we happened to the following photo...

[IMG]http://www.companiaeasy.com/midiendo2.jpg[/IMG]

Does not see very well what I am verifying, but I have position the tester in continuity (sound). One needle of the tester I have putting in the ground of a connector. The other needle I have putting in the STAPLE of the cable.

You can see that there continuity between both points...

[IMG]http://www.companiaeasy.com/midiendo1.jpg[/IMG]

Now I am verifying the continuity between the grounds of both connectors. You can see that also have continuity between both points...

Well, here comes the mystery...

The whole cable has 24 enameled cables, and the logical thing would be that one of those 24 cables was connected to ground, because it is the only way to connect the grounds between both connectors and the staple of the center...

I have putted one needle of the tester in ground, and the other needle I have spent it 100 times through all cables, AND NONE IS CONNECTED TO GROUND!!!. This I have proven in both connectors.

I can't understand how is possible that exists continuity between grounds (including the central staple) when really there is no cable connected to her.

[IMG]http://www.companiaeasy.com/connector.jpg[/IMG]

And finally, a photo of one of the connectors, where the 24 cables enter it.

I'm verifing the enamel of cables in case they were electricity conductors, but they are totally insulating. I do not explain how they can be connected the grounds. The entire cable have 24 cables (counted 100 times one by one with the hands) and all the 24 cables enter in both connectors, but none is connected to ground.

It seems a case of ghosts..., have you some explanation Nizzy????

Thanks.