Re: Acer Aspire 5630 Laptop screen/display problem

In news:29OdnZ-,
Pete Zahut typed on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:42:46 +0100:
> Got the above laptop and it's just developed a problem with the
> screen/display - there's a 65mm column at the right-hand side of the
> display that's gone dark. Applications open up properly and you can
> see the whole width of the app, but it doesn't go the whole width of
> the screen - sort of full display but not full screen if you see what
> I mean. Also, don't know if it's relevant or not but the taskbar at
> the bottom seems to be twice as tall as normal and isn't drag-able
> back to it's usual size - cursor also distorts in this area.
>
> I'm not explaining it very well, so have a look at this photo:
>
> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop1.jpg
>
> At first I thought it may be a display driver issue but I've
> uninstalled and reinstalled without success. I've also used a program
> called #1-TuffTest Pro (http://www.tufftest.com/ttp01.htm) that is
> self-booting, operating system independent and never goes anywhere
> near Windows, but shows the same results, so I would say that that
> rules out any Windows driver issues. Picture of that test here:
>
> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop2.jpg
>
> Any ideas what's wrong and how to fix it?
>
> TIA,

Hi Pete! Wow that is weird. An external monitor I can see this
happening. Internal monitor, I never saw this. Any chance you can hook
it up to an external? I suspect the same result. Although you may adjust
it to display correctly. In either case, I believe you have to take it
in for service. It is still under warrantee, right?

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

In news:,
Pete Zahut typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:22:24 +0100:
> Pete Zahut wrote:
>> BillW50 wrote:
>>> In news:29OdnZ-,
>>> Pete Zahut typed on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:42:46 +0100:
>>>> Got the above laptop and it's just developed a problem with the
>>>> screen/display - there's a 65mm column at the right-hand side of
>>>> the display that's gone dark. Applications open up properly and
>>>> you can see the whole width of the app, but it doesn't go the
>>>> whole width of the screen - sort of full display but not full
>>>> screen if you see what I mean. Also, don't know if it's relevant
>>>> or not but the taskbar at the bottom seems to be twice as tall as
>>>> normal and isn't drag-able back to it's usual size - cursor also
>>>> distorts in this area. I'm not explaining it very well, so have a
>>>> look at this photo:
>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop1.jpg
>>>>
>>>> At first I thought it may be a display driver issue but I've
>>>> uninstalled and reinstalled without success. I've also used a
>>>> program called #1-TuffTest Pro (http://www.tufftest.com/ttp01.htm)
>>>> that is self-booting, operating system independent and never goes
>>>> anywhere near Windows, but shows the same results, so I would say
>>>> that that rules out any Windows driver issues. Picture of that test
>>>> here:
>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop2.jpg
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas what's wrong and how to fix it?
>>>>
>>>> TIA,
>>>
>>> Hi Pete! Wow that is weird. An external monitor I can see this
>>> happening. Internal monitor, I never saw this. Any chance you can
>>> hook it up to an external? I suspect the same result. Although you
>>> may adjust it to display correctly. In either case, I believe you
>>> have to take it in for service. It is still under warrantee, right?
>>
>> I haven't as yet hooked it up to an external monitor, but will do
>> later today when I have chance, and let you know what I find.
>> Unfortunately, it's not in warranty so whatever it is, I'll have to
>> pay for the repair if it's a hardware fault (
>>
>> Thanks Bill
>
> Bill (and anyone else who's interested, of course), further to the
> above I've now hooked it up to an external monitor and the display on
> the external monitor is perfect.
>
> Photo at
> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=laptop2a.jpg
>
> Don't know what that means though (

Hi Pete! Well now we know. I doubt this laptop has a separate video card
and it is all on the motherboard. If somebody knows differently, please
let us know. Wait... I found a picture of the motherboard...

http://www.notebooksolutions.ca/zc/i...oducts_id=2775

Nope, it looks like it is on the motherboard to me. Well after the
external video jack (which is analog video), it gets converted to
digital and fed to the LCD display. So we are talking about the
motherboard, ribbon cable, and the LCD display itself. And I don't think
it could be the last two, but I could be wrong. So that is what I think
anyway.

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

In news:Ia-,
Pete Zahut typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:01:12 +0100:
> BillW50 wrote:
>> In news:,
>> Pete Zahut typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:22:24 +0100:
>>> Pete Zahut wrote:
>>>> BillW50 wrote:
>>>>> In news:29OdnZ-,
>>>>> Pete Zahut typed on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:42:46 +0100:
>>>>>> Got the above laptop and it's just developed a problem with the
>>>>>> screen/display - there's a 65mm column at the right-hand side of
>>>>>> the display that's gone dark. Applications open up properly and
>>>>>> you can see the whole width of the app, but it doesn't go the
>>>>>> whole width of the screen - sort of full display but not full
>>>>>> screen if you see what I mean. Also, don't know if it's relevant
>>>>>> or not but the taskbar at the bottom seems to be twice as tall as
>>>>>> normal and isn't drag-able back to it's usual size - cursor also
>>>>>> distorts in this area. I'm not explaining it very well, so have a
>>>>>> look at this photo:
>>>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop1.jpg
>>>>>>
>>>>>> At first I thought it may be a display driver issue but I've
>>>>>> uninstalled and reinstalled without success. I've also used a
>>>>>> program called #1-TuffTest Pro
>>>>>> (http://www.tufftest.com/ttp01.htm) that is self-booting,
>>>>>> operating system independent and never goes anywhere near
>>>>>> Windows, but shows the same results, so I would say that that
>>>>>> rules out any Windows driver issues. Picture of that test here:
>>>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop2.jpg
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Any ideas what's wrong and how to fix it?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> TIA,
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Pete! Wow that is weird. An external monitor I can see this
>>>>> happening. Internal monitor, I never saw this. Any chance you can
>>>>> hook it up to an external? I suspect the same result. Although you
>>>>> may adjust it to display correctly. In either case, I believe you
>>>>> have to take it in for service. It is still under warrantee,
>>>>> right?
>>>>
>>>> I haven't as yet hooked it up to an external monitor, but will do
>>>> later today when I have chance, and let you know what I find.
>>>> Unfortunately, it's not in warranty so whatever it is, I'll have to
>>>> pay for the repair if it's a hardware fault (
>>>>
>>>> Thanks Bill
>>>
>>> Bill (and anyone else who's interested, of course), further to the
>>> above I've now hooked it up to an external monitor and the display
>>> on the external monitor is perfect.
>>>
>>> Photo at
>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=laptop2a.jpg
>>>
>>> Don't know what that means though (
>>
>> Hi Pete! Well now we know. I doubt this laptop has a separate video
>> card and it is all on the motherboard. If somebody knows differently,
>> please let us know. Wait... I found a picture of the motherboard...
>>
>> http://www.notebooksolutions.ca/zc/i...oducts_id=2775
>>
>> Nope, it looks like it is on the motherboard to me. Well after the
>> external video jack (which is analog video), it gets converted to
>> digital and fed to the LCD display. So we are talking about the
>> motherboard, ribbon cable, and the LCD display itself. And I don't
>> think it could be the last two, but I could be wrong. So that is what
>> I think anyway.
>
> Thanks for that Bill, looks like a very expensive repair that isn't
> really worth it - not yet anyway.
>
> Cheers my friend,
>
> Pete

Hi Pete! Well another ribbon cable should be cheap enough to try. I
don't think it is that though. If it were me, I would find one on eBay
working or with some other problem. Best if the other problem wasn't
something wrong with the motherboard. That way you could swap parts
until you find out which one of the three it was. I really think it is
the motherboard though.

I don't know what you want to do with it. But if you are not interested
in it, I would sell it or something. As somebody can use it as is or
with an external monitor. Or even fix it. <grin>

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

In news:,
Pete Zahut typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:57:11 +0100:
> BillW50 wrote:
>> In news:Ia-,
>> Pete Zahut typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:01:12 +0100:
>>> BillW50 wrote:
>>>> In news:,
>>>> Pete Zahut typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:22:24 +0100:
>>>>> Pete Zahut wrote:
>>>>>> BillW50 wrote:
>>>>>>> In news:29OdnZ-,
>>>>>>> Pete Zahut typed on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:42:46 +0100:
>>>>>>>> Got the above laptop and it's just developed a problem with the
>>>>>>>> screen/display - there's a 65mm column at the right-hand side
>>>>>>>> of the display that's gone dark. Applications open up properly
>>>>>>>> and you can see the whole width of the app, but it doesn't go
>>>>>>>> the whole width of the screen - sort of full display but not
>>>>>>>> full screen if you see what I mean. Also, don't know if it's
>>>>>>>> relevant or not but the taskbar at the bottom seems to be
>>>>>>>> twice as tall as normal and isn't drag-able back to it's usual
>>>>>>>> size - cursor also distorts in this area. I'm not explaining
>>>>>>>> it very well, so have a look at this photo:
>>>>>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop1.jpg
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> At first I thought it may be a display driver issue but I've
>>>>>>>> uninstalled and reinstalled without success. I've also used a
>>>>>>>> program called #1-TuffTest Pro
>>>>>>>> (http://www.tufftest.com/ttp01.htm) that is self-booting,
>>>>>>>> operating system independent and never goes anywhere near
>>>>>>>> Windows, but shows the same results, so I would say that that
>>>>>>>> rules out any Windows driver issues. Picture of that test here:
>>>>>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop2.jpg
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Any ideas what's wrong and how to fix it?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> TIA,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi Pete! Wow that is weird. An external monitor I can see this
>>>>>>> happening. Internal monitor, I never saw this. Any chance you
>>>>>>> can hook it up to an external? I suspect the same result.
>>>>>>> Although you may adjust it to display correctly. In either
>>>>>>> case, I believe you have to take it in for service. It is still
>>>>>>> under warrantee, right?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I haven't as yet hooked it up to an external monitor, but will do
>>>>>> later today when I have chance, and let you know what I find.
>>>>>> Unfortunately, it's not in warranty so whatever it is, I'll have
>>>>>> to pay for the repair if it's a hardware fault (
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks Bill
>>>>>
>>>>> Bill (and anyone else who's interested, of course), further to the
>>>>> above I've now hooked it up to an external monitor and the display
>>>>> on the external monitor is perfect.
>>>>>
>>>>> Photo at
>>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=laptop2a.jpg
>>>>>
>>>>> Don't know what that means though (
>>>>
>>>> Hi Pete! Well now we know. I doubt this laptop has a separate video
>>>> card and it is all on the motherboard. If somebody knows
>>>> differently, please let us know. Wait... I found a picture of the
>>>> motherboard...
>>>> http://www.notebooksolutions.ca/zc/i...oducts_id=2775
>>>>
>>>> Nope, it looks like it is on the motherboard to me. Well after the
>>>> external video jack (which is analog video), it gets converted to
>>>> digital and fed to the LCD display. So we are talking about the
>>>> motherboard, ribbon cable, and the LCD display itself. And I don't
>>>> think it could be the last two, but I could be wrong. So that is
>>>> what I think anyway.
>>>
>>> Thanks for that Bill, looks like a very expensive repair that isn't
>>> really worth it - not yet anyway.
>>>
>>> Cheers my friend,
>>>
>>> Pete
>>
>> Hi Pete! Well another ribbon cable should be cheap enough to try. I
>> don't think it is that though. If it were me, I would find one on
>> eBay working or with some other problem. Best if the other problem
>> wasn't something wrong with the motherboard. That way you could swap
>> parts until you find out which one of the three it was. I really
>> think it is the motherboard though.
>>
>> I don't know what you want to do with it. But if you are not
>> interested in it, I would sell it or something. As somebody can use
>> it as is or with an external monitor. Or even fix it. <grin>
>
> Oh I'll keep it, it's quite useable as it is, just annoying )

Yup, that would be my choice too Pete. <grin>

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

Pete Zahut wrote:
> BillW50 wrote:
>> In news:Ia-,
>> Pete Zahut typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:01:12 +0100:
>>> BillW50 wrote:
>>>> In news:,
>>>> Pete Zahut typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:22:24 +0100:
>>>>> Pete Zahut wrote:
>>>>>> BillW50 wrote:
>>>>>>> In news:29OdnZ-,
>>>>>>> Pete Zahut typed on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:42:46 +0100:
>>>>>>>> Got the above laptop and it's just developed a problem with the
>>>>>>>> screen/display - there's a 65mm column at the right-hand side of
>>>>>>>> the display that's gone dark. Applications open up properly and
>>>>>>>> you can see the whole width of the app, but it doesn't go the
>>>>>>>> whole width of the screen - sort of full display but not full
>>>>>>>> screen if you see what I mean. Also, don't know if it's relevant
>>>>>>>> or not but the taskbar at the bottom seems to be twice as tall
>>>>>>>> as normal and isn't drag-able back to it's usual size - cursor
>>>>>>>> also distorts in this area. I'm not explaining it very well, so
>>>>>>>> have a look at this photo:
>>>>>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop1.jpg
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> At first I thought it may be a display driver issue but I've
>>>>>>>> uninstalled and reinstalled without success. I've also used a
>>>>>>>> program called #1-TuffTest Pro
>>>>>>>> (http://www.tufftest.com/ttp01.htm) that is self-booting,
>>>>>>>> operating system independent and never goes anywhere near
>>>>>>>> Windows, but shows the same results, so I would say that that
>>>>>>>> rules out any Windows driver issues. Picture of that test here:
>>>>>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop2.jpg
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Any ideas what's wrong and how to fix it?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> TIA,
>>>>>>> Hi Pete! Wow that is weird. An external monitor I can see this
>>>>>>> happening. Internal monitor, I never saw this. Any chance you can
>>>>>>> hook it up to an external? I suspect the same result. Although
>>>>>>> you may adjust it to display correctly. In either case, I
>>>>>>> believe you have to take it in for service. It is still under
>>>>>>> warrantee, right?
>>>>>> I haven't as yet hooked it up to an external monitor, but will do
>>>>>> later today when I have chance, and let you know what I find.
>>>>>> Unfortunately, it's not in warranty so whatever it is, I'll have
>>>>>> to pay for the repair if it's a hardware fault (
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks Bill
>>>>> Bill (and anyone else who's interested, of course), further to the
>>>>> above I've now hooked it up to an external monitor and the display
>>>>> on the external monitor is perfect.
>>>>>
>>>>> Photo at
>>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=laptop2a.jpg
>>>>>
>>>>> Don't know what that means though (
>>>> Hi Pete! Well now we know. I doubt this laptop has a separate video
>>>> card and it is all on the motherboard. If somebody knows
>>>> differently, please let us know. Wait... I found a picture of the
>>>> motherboard...
>>>> http://www.notebooksolutions.ca/zc/i...oducts_id=2775
>>>>
>>>> Nope, it looks like it is on the motherboard to me. Well after the
>>>> external video jack (which is analog video), it gets converted to
>>>> digital and fed to the LCD display. So we are talking about the
>>>> motherboard, ribbon cable, and the LCD display itself. And I don't
>>>> think it could be the last two, but I could be wrong. So that is
>>>> what I think anyway.
>>> Thanks for that Bill, looks like a very expensive repair that isn't
>>> really worth it - not yet anyway.
>>>
>>> Cheers my friend,
>>>
>>> Pete
>> Hi Pete! Well another ribbon cable should be cheap enough to try. I
>> don't think it is that though. If it were me, I would find one on eBay
>> working or with some other problem. Best if the other problem wasn't
>> something wrong with the motherboard. That way you could swap parts
>> until you find out which one of the three it was. I really think it is
>> the motherboard though.
>>
>> I don't know what you want to do with it. But if you are not
>> interested in it, I would sell it or something. As somebody can use
>> it as is or with an external monitor. Or even fix it. <grin>
>
> Oh I'll keep it, it's quite useable as it is, just annoying )

When you bought the laptop, the panel may have been declared as "1440x900"
or the like. What does the control panel currently claim for the resolution
setting ? Do you see any "tearing" in the screen, as if there is resampling
of the image, in order to squish it into a smaller area on the screen ?
Do the resolution numbers add up ?

Another test you can try, is to boot a Linux LiveCD and do some testing
there. If the same weird effect is present, then the problem is hardware
(panel doing something it shouldn't). If the machine appears to work normally,
running something like Knoppix Linux, then that would suggest the driver
is doing something strange in Windows.

Paul

Re: "Got the above laptop and it's just developed a problem with the
screen/display - there's a 65mm column at the right-hand side of the
display that's gone dark. Applications open up properly and you can see
the whole width of the app, but it doesn't go the whole width of the
screen - sort of full display but not full screen if you see what I mean."

That is a driver problem. As an example, if I move a hard drive from a
Toshiba 1415 to a 2415 (or vice-versa), I have seen the same problem.
Sometimes reinstalling the driver fixes it, sometimes I have to
reinstall WINDOWS. The 1415 and 2415 are substantially identical
computers but one has a Celeron and the other a full Pentium 4. No
explanation, but it's a driver issue (the resolution is set to an odd
[TRULY odd] value and cannot be reset to the correct value).


Pete Zahut wrote:
> Pete Zahut wrote:
>> BillW50 wrote:
>>> In news:29OdnZ-,
>>> Pete Zahut typed on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:42:46 +0100:
>>>> Got the above laptop and it's just developed a problem with the
>>>> screen/display - there's a 65mm column at the right-hand side of the
>>>> display that's gone dark. Applications open up properly and you can
>>>> see the whole width of the app, but it doesn't go the whole width of
>>>> the screen - sort of full display but not full screen if you see
>>>> what I mean. Also, don't know if it's relevant or not but the
>>>> taskbar at the bottom seems to be twice as tall as normal and isn't
>>>> drag-able back to it's usual size - cursor also distorts in this
>>>> area. I'm not explaining it very well, so have a look at this photo:
>>>>
>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop1.jpg
>>>>
>>>> At first I thought it may be a display driver issue but I've
>>>> uninstalled and reinstalled without success. I've also used a
>>>> program called #1-TuffTest Pro (http://www.tufftest.com/ttp01.htm)
>>>> that is self-booting, operating system independent and never goes
>>>> anywhere near Windows, but shows the same results, so I would say
>>>> that that rules out any Windows driver issues. Picture of that test
>>>> here:
>>>> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nt=laptop2.jpg
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas what's wrong and how to fix it?
>>>>
>>>> TIA,
>>> Hi Pete! Wow that is weird. An external monitor I can see this
>>> happening. Internal monitor, I never saw this. Any chance you can
>>> hook it up to an external? I suspect the same result. Although you
>>> may adjust it to display correctly. In either case, I believe you
>>> have to take it in for service. It is still under warrantee, right?
>> I haven't as yet hooked it up to an external monitor, but will do
>> later today when I have chance, and let you know what I find.
>> Unfortunately, it's not in warranty so whatever it is, I'll have to
>> pay for the repair if it's a hardware fault (
>>
>> Thanks Bill
>
> Bill (and anyone else who's interested, of course), further to the above
> I've now hooked it up to an external monitor and the display on the external
> monitor is perfect.
>
> Photo at
> http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=laptop2a.jpg
>
> Don't know what that means though (
>
> Pete
>
>

Re: "Well after the external video jack (which is analog video), it gets
converted to digital and fed to the LCD display."

This is a driver issue, but that explanation of how things work is wrong
(although irrelevant to the issue). The digital video is produced
natively. The analog video is then produced from that. Not the other
way around.

In news:U9PIl.87027$,
Barry Watzman typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:55:00 -0400:
> Re: "Well after the external video jack (which is analog video), it
> gets converted to digital and fed to the LCD display."
>
> This is a driver issue, but that explanation of how things work is
> wrong (although irrelevant to the issue). The digital video is
> produced natively. The analog video is then produced from that. Not
> the other way around.

But Pete (the OP), also stated on the 23rd that he booted up with :
"TuffTest Pro (http://www.tufftest.com/ttp01.htm) that is self-booting,
operating system independent and never goes anywhere near Windows". So
how can it be a Windows driver issue if the problem still exists without
Windows?

And it is converted to digital, to analog, and back partially into
digital (a mix of the two). Same thing happens when you plug into an
external LCD monitor as well. As the pixels live in a digital matrix,
while the contrast is controlled by analog means.

--
Bill
Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2

In news:,
kony typed on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:21:01 -0400:
> On Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:44:06 -0500, "BillW50"
> <> wrote:
>
>> In news:U9PIl.87027$,
>> Barry Watzman typed on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:55:00 -0400:
>>> Re: "Well after the external video jack (which is analog video), it
>>> gets converted to digital and fed to the LCD display."
>>>
>>> This is a driver issue, but that explanation of how things work is
>>> wrong (although irrelevant to the issue). The digital video is
>>> produced natively. The analog video is then produced from that.
>>> Not the other way around.
>>
>> But Pete (the OP), also stated on the 23rd that he booted up with :
>> "TuffTest Pro (http://www.tufftest.com/ttp01.htm) that is
>> self-booting, operating system independent and never goes anywhere
>> near Windows". So how can it be a Windows driver issue if the
>> problem still exists without Windows?
>
> Becaues the display adapter isn't stretching non-native
> resolutions to fill the entirety of the screen, instead it
> is keeping the correct aspect ratio and upsampling.
>
>> And it is converted to digital, to analog, and back partially into
>> digital (a mix of the two). Same thing happens when you plug into an
>> external LCD monitor as well. As the pixels live in a digital matrix,
>> while the contrast is controlled by analog means.
>
> It is not converted to analog and then back to digital. It
> starts digital and stays digital to output to the LCD panel
> built in, or is converted to analog for the output to an
> external monitor.

Are you saying the brightness and contrast (also gray scales) are
adjusted digitally? How can that be? As it is an analog voltage that
controls this on every pixel on a LCD screen.

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

Active matrix LCD panels do not have a "contrast" adjustment. They only
have a brightness adjustment (and, sometimes, not even that). Only
older DSTN displays (no longer made for laptops) had a "contrast"
adjustment.


BillW50 wrote:

>
> Are you saying the brightness and contrast (also gray scales) are
> adjusted digitally? How can that be? As it is an analog voltage that
> controls this on every pixel on a LCD screen.
>