Member Avatar for sawgolf4me

Sometimes when I am using my ~5 year old Compaq laptop, the parts of the screen that are supposed to be white turn purple. But I can touch the laprop screen frame and it will go away. Then if I nudge the computer or move it, the white parts will go purple again. Any idea what this is all about?

Thanks
Steve

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by cheese312

Dani AI

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The symptoms described by and later echoed by (Lenovo T61) — white areas shifting purple, the tint changing when the bezel is pressed or the lid is nudged, and an external monitor showing normal colors — strongly point to a hardware fault inside the display assembly rather than the GPU.

Technical note: purple on whites usually means one color channel (commonly green) is losing data or power, so red+blue remain visible. That signal runs on the display flex cable and through the panel’s driver circuits. A fault that appears or disappears when the lid is moved or the bezel is pressed is classic for a frayed/loose display cable at the hinge or a marginal connector; a permanently faulty color on all angles is more consistent with an internal panel driver failure.

Practical diagnostics and next steps:

  1. Confirm the external monitor shows normal colors (already done by @cheese312) to isolate the fault to the LCD assembly.
  2. Note the exact lid angle or spot where the tint changes by slowly opening/closing the lid and observing when the effect appears.
  3. With power removed and the battery out, remove the front bezel to visually inspect the display cable where it passes the hinge for kinks, frays, or pinching.
  4. Reseat the connectors at the LCD and motherboard; temporary recovery when pressing the bezel typically means the cable or connector is the culprit.
  5. If damage or intermittent contact is found, replace the display (LVDS/eDP) cable; if connectors and cable test okay, panel internal driver failure is likely and the entire LCD will need replacement.
  6. Check hinge hardware and cable routing: repairing/replacing a worn hinge prevents repeat failures.

Safety/cost note: ESD precautions and power removal are essential during inspection. Cable replacement is usually inexpensive compared with a full panel swap; if unsure, a local repair shop can confirm whether the cable or the panel is the failing component.

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Member Avatar for jbennet

I had a desktop monitor and a laptop one do this to me. It was the cable on the desktop and the tube on the laptop. These can be reeplaced

Member Avatar for cheese312

I had a desktop monitor and a laptop one do this to me. It was the cable on the desktop and the tube on the laptop. These can be reeplaced

I am having the same problem on a Lenovo T61 laptop. The white parts of the screen look purple. Sometimes by adjusting the screen position, it reverts back to normal. When i connect to an external monitor, it always works fine.

When you say "the tube" on the laptop was the problem, what exactly is that? How do I get a replacement and how do I install that? I'm somewhat new to laptop repair, but I would really like to avoid spending on a whole new screen or whole new laptop if possible.

Could this be a hinge problem?

Thanks!

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