toshiba satellite pro 420cdt - video garbled on boot

upon first boot (or even ones where i let it sit
off for more than a second or two) the screen
displays "à|" endlessly over the whole screen,
after letting it warm up however, this problem
goes away and the display is crystal clear. till
i shut it off for more than a couple seconds,
then it's back again.

now, if it were the cables, logically it'd do it
all the time.

if it were the inverter, it'd be dark too?
if the bios were corrupted it wouldn't even
boot, afaik.

the only thing i can conclude is that the
video module has somehow gone pfft.

any advice/knowledge out there that can
help me?

-Tsuki

Kenabi Tsuki wrote:
> upon first boot (or even ones where i let it sit
> off for more than a second or two) the screen
> displays "à|" endlessly over the whole screen,
> after letting it warm up however, this problem
> goes away and the display is crystal clear. till
> i shut it off for more than a couple seconds,
> then it's back again.
>
> now, if it were the cables, logically it'd do it
> all the time.
>
> if it were the inverter, it'd be dark too?
> if the bios were corrupted it wouldn't even
> boot, afaik.
>
> the only thing i can conclude is that the
> video module has somehow gone pfft.
>
> any advice/knowledge out there that can
> help me?
>
> -Tsuki

Remove any added RAM, clean the contacts, replace, and see if that
helps. Otherwise, given the age of the unit and the number of thermal
cycles it has had, it might well be a loose, dirty, or corroded contact,
cable, etc., internally.

Q

completely disassembled it, cleaned all the
contacts, flexed the entire set of lcd wires
in the harness while connected to a multi-
meter to test resistance. nothing changed
with any of them 0.1ohms for all wires
with no variations.

took external ram card out, didn't change
anything.

stuck a thermal trafers-pad between the
video ram and the heatsink above it, in
an attempt to see if maybe it was getting
too hot (rather warm to the touch).
other than keeping it all a littler cooler,
nothing changed.

had the lcd tested, it works perfectly,
even cold.

looks like i try and find a video module
to replace this one, or mod the lcd into
an external project and scrap the laptop.

-Tsuki

"Quaoar" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Kenabi Tsuki wrote:
> > upon first boot (or even ones where i let it sit
> > off for more than a second or two) the screen
> > displays "à|" endlessly over the whole screen,
> > after letting it warm up however, this problem
> > goes away and the display is crystal clear. till
> > i shut it off for more than a couple seconds,
> > then it's back again.
> >
> > now, if it were the cables, logically it'd do it
> > all the time.
> >
> > if it were the inverter, it'd be dark too?
> > if the bios were corrupted it wouldn't even
> > boot, afaik.
> >
> > the only thing i can conclude is that the
> > video module has somehow gone pfft.
> >
> > any advice/knowledge out there that can
> > help me?
> >
> > -Tsuki
>
> Remove any added RAM, clean the contacts, replace, and see if that
> helps. Otherwise, given the age of the unit and the number of thermal
> cycles it has had, it might well be a loose, dirty, or corroded contact,
> cable, etc., internally.
>
> Q
>
>

It sounds like a problem on the video board, could be bad memory, but it
is DEFINITELY not in the LCD display at all, it's in the computer, and
almost (say 85% chance) the video board or video section of the motherboard.


Kenabi Tsuki wrote:

> upon first boot (or even ones where i let it sit
> off for more than a second or two) the screen
> displays "à|" endlessly over the whole screen,
> after letting it warm up however, this problem
> goes away and the display is crystal clear. till
> i shut it off for more than a couple seconds,
> then it's back again.
>
> now, if it were the cables, logically it'd do it
> all the time.
>
> if it were the inverter, it'd be dark too?
> if the bios were corrupted it wouldn't even
> boot, afaik.
>
> the only thing i can conclude is that the
> video module has somehow gone pfft.
>
> any advice/knowledge out there that can
> help me?
>
> -Tsuki
>
>

They were good machines (the best, in their day .... 1996/1997), but
they are no better than current machines.

However, they are plentiful, and you can buy a complete machine
(working) for under $50.

>
> That's too bad. The 400 series Toshibas have had incredible staying
> power. I was hoping it was a loose cable or connector. I've two
> 430CDTs that have been running as print servers for about four years. I
> am always amazed at just how very good the displays are compared to even
> the best of today's LCDs.
>
> Q
>
>

Kenabi Tsuki wrote:
> completely disassembled it, cleaned all the
> contacts, flexed the entire set of lcd wires
> in the harness while connected to a multi-
> meter to test resistance. nothing changed
> with any of them 0.1ohms for all wires
> with no variations.
>
> took external ram card out, didn't change
> anything.
>
> stuck a thermal trafers-pad between the
> video ram and the heatsink above it, in
> an attempt to see if maybe it was getting
> too hot (rather warm to the touch).
> other than keeping it all a littler cooler,
> nothing changed.
>
> had the lcd tested, it works perfectly,
> even cold.
>
> looks like i try and find a video module
> to replace this one, or mod the lcd into
> an external project and scrap the laptop.
>
> -Tsuki
>
> "Quaoar" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Kenabi Tsuki wrote:
>>> upon first boot (or even ones where i let it sit
>>> off for more than a second or two) the screen
>>> displays "à|" endlessly over the whole screen,
>>> after letting it warm up however, this problem
>>> goes away and the display is crystal clear. till
>>> i shut it off for more than a couple seconds,
>>> then it's back again.
>>>
>>> now, if it were the cables, logically it'd do it
>>> all the time.
>>>
>>> if it were the inverter, it'd be dark too?
>>> if the bios were corrupted it wouldn't even
>>> boot, afaik.
>>>
>>> the only thing i can conclude is that the
>>> video module has somehow gone pfft.
>>>
>>> any advice/knowledge out there that can
>>> help me?
>>>
>>> -Tsuki
>>
>> Remove any added RAM, clean the contacts, replace, and see if that
>> helps. Otherwise, given the age of the unit and the number of
>> thermal cycles it has had, it might well be a loose, dirty, or
>> corroded contact, cable, etc., internally.
>>
>> Q

That's too bad. The 400 series Toshibas have had incredible staying
power. I was hoping it was a loose cable or connector. I've two
430CDTs that have been running as print servers for about four years. I
am always amazed at just how very good the displays are compared to even
the best of today's LCDs.

Q

well, i can get a new video module from
http://www.impactcomputers.com/toshi...cdt-parts.html
along with just about anything else i need,
so after i look into possibly modding the
lcd into the side of my server machine's
case via the VFC(vesa feature connector,
256 colors@640x480, perfect for a server
status display.) maybe i'll look into getting
a new video module for it

thanks for the confirm on my diagnosis.

pity too, it runs pretty well for a p100.
-Tsuki

"Barry Watzman" <> wrote in message
news:...
> It sounds like a problem on the video board, could be bad memory, but it
> is DEFINITELY not in the LCD display at all, it's in the computer, and
> almost (say 85% chance) the video board or video section of the
motherboard.
>
>
> Kenabi Tsuki wrote:
>
> > upon first boot (or even ones where i let it sit
> > off for more than a second or two) the screen
> > displays "à|" endlessly over the whole screen,
> > after letting it warm up however, this problem
> > goes away and the display is crystal clear. till
> > i shut it off for more than a couple seconds,
> > then it's back again.
> >
> > now, if it were the cables, logically it'd do it
> > all the time.
> >
> > if it were the inverter, it'd be dark too?
> > if the bios were corrupted it wouldn't even
> > boot, afaik.
> >
> > the only thing i can conclude is that the
> > video module has somehow gone pfft.
> >
> > any advice/knowledge out there that can
> > help me?
> >
> > -Tsuki
> >
> >
>