A nasty display problem on a Thinkpad T20

Since a picture is worth 1000 words, please find below my 3000 word
essay on "A nasty display problem on a Thinkpad T20". I'd appreciate
any input on what the faulty component can be:

1. Inverter card
2. System board
3. LCD display
4. Other

Notice that the leftmost 2 cm of the screen is fine (the fuzziness is
just high compression of the JPG image). Using an external display
works perfectly. So, what do you think is wrong?

I ask because I need to know what to replace. I'll try a DIY job on
this one because IBM won't fix it for me. Sure, my warranty has
expired, but I had the exact same problem "fixed" under warranty less
than a year ago. I don't know what they did to solve it then, but it
worked when I got it back. IBM apparently only has a 3 month guarantee
on repairs.

http://www.entek.chalmers.se/~niclas/DSC01758b.JPG
http://www.entek.chalmers.se/~niclas/DSC01759b.JPG
http://www.entek.chalmers.se/~niclas/DSC01764b.JPG

Nick E wrote:
> Since a picture is worth 1000 words, please find below my 3000 word
> essay on "A nasty display problem on a Thinkpad T20". I'd appreciate
> any input on what the faulty component can be:
>
> 1. Inverter card
> 2. System board
> 3. LCD display
> 4. Other
>
> Notice that the leftmost 2 cm of the screen is fine (the fuzziness is
> just high compression of the JPG image). Using an external display
> works perfectly. So, what do you think is wrong?
>
> I ask because I need to know what to replace. I'll try a DIY job on
> this one because IBM won't fix it for me. Sure, my warranty has
> expired, but I had the exact same problem "fixed" under warranty less
> than a year ago. I don't know what they did to solve it then, but it
> worked when I got it back. IBM apparently only has a 3 month guarantee
> on repairs.
>
> http://www.entek.chalmers.se/~niclas/DSC01758b.JPG
> http://www.entek.chalmers.se/~niclas/DSC01759b.JPG
> http://www.entek.chalmers.se/~niclas/DSC01764b.JPG

4. Other... You are going to have to open the unit anyway, so once you
get in there, first check the connector to the LCD on the mainboard.
You could get lucky and it's loose. If it were the mainboard/video
chipset, the external monitor would not work, unless it is in the analog
signal processing for the LCD, then it's eBay for a board.

Q

Ooh! ooh! I had this EXACT same problem on an a20m about a year ago! I
didn't know what was exactly wrong either, but I took a guess and
replaced the LCD panel. Now it works fine! It was about $150. I'm a
big fan of the field service manuals IBM publishes on their website.
That's how I replaced mine.

Good luck!


(Nick E) wrote in message news:< om>...
> Since a picture is worth 1000 words, please find below my 3000 word
> essay on "A nasty display problem on a Thinkpad T20". I'd appreciate
> any input on what the faulty component can be:
>
> 1. Inverter card
> 2. System board
> 3. LCD display
> 4. Other
>
> Notice that the leftmost 2 cm of the screen is fine (the fuzziness is
> just high compression of the JPG image). Using an external display
> works perfectly. So, what do you think is wrong?
>
> I ask because I need to know what to replace. I'll try a DIY job on
> this one because IBM won't fix it for me. Sure, my warranty has
> expired, but I had the exact same problem "fixed" under warranty less
> than a year ago. I don't know what they did to solve it then, but it
> worked when I got it back. IBM apparently only has a 3 month guarantee
> on repairs.
>
> http://www.entek.chalmers.se/~niclas/DSC01758b.JPG
> http://www.entek.chalmers.se/~niclas/DSC01759b.JPG
> http://www.entek.chalmers.se/~niclas/DSC01764b.JPG