Screen flicker M6BNe / inverter problem?

Hi,

The problem:

First, the top-third of the screen flickered a few times Sunday morning, if I remember correctly. The flicker was white, and it seemed to cover the rest of the screen colors. Then, Monday evening or so, the flicker was quite bad and covered all the screen. It looked like that analog bands of noise running down the screen in TVs with bad signal, if you know what I mean -- the bands where white or very bright. First I could stop it by closing and opening the LCD. Then I couldn't. And after a few seconds it went away, and hasn't returned since.

So now it's working fine. But I'm trying to determine the cause. The most likely culprit is in my opinion the inverter cable or the inverter itself.

I also took apart my M6BNe two weeks ago, for cleaning. It's possible I did not reseat the LCD cable or the inverter cable properly, in some way. I will try reseating this weekend. Hopefully that takes care of the problem.

(I also tried to take the LCD apart but gave up after a while.)

So basically I'm looking for confirmation/information whether it's the inverter, the cable connections, or something else.

Thanks

 

Under my experience it's likely the inverter(almost 95% of time) with your symptoms. Inverters are sensitive to vibration especially when nearing it's end of life, try tapping the bottom edge of bevel and see if that induces any flickering. If it does, then it's a "confirmed" inverter problem.

http://estore.asus.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=3326

and for your convenience, here is the estore link

 

Yeah, I know the estore, problem is I'm not from US. But I'll try to arrange something if it's really necessary.

 

Well, I'll be glad to help

 

Sounds like the data is not going through right. Closing and opening the lid pretty much indicates a bad LCD cable connection.

Unless the brightness was flickering and varying, I don't think it's the inverter.

 

If it's a bad LCD/Monitor connection, you get color issues, ever fiddle with a DVI /VGA cable and not have all the pins connected? You get funky colored screens, and not bright white flickering which is related to power coming from the inverter.

 

Could've been brightness or it could've been white color, although it looked more like brightness. It was also very fast (much faster than the analog bands on a TV screen).

But the "analog" feel to it makes me think it was the inverter. I would expect something more "digital" out of the LCD signal cable (like squarish things in wrong colors, or whatever).

 

I find no M6BNe (nor even M6Ne) inverter board.

Just this (M6N):
http://estore.asus.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=3326

and this (M6V):
http://estore.asus.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=3322

The first is also out of stock. I'm not sure how to find out which of them fits, if any.

 

...

The flicker was white, and it seemed to cover the rest of the screen colors.

 

Might want to find out if the M6BNe has a different type of display compared to the M6N or the M6V.

I found a thread that had something like this before, though it's not exact:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=113623

 

Thanks Alex, the link in that thread seems to be dead so probably they are no longer stocking the M6BNe inverter... so maybe ebay or something similar is my only chance.

Actually the M6N is a 15.1" 4:3 LCD, M6BNe is 15.4" widescreen so it'll probably not work. In any case the discussion is academic since even the M6N is out of stock and I don't think it'll come back.

Nevertheless, I have reseated the LCD signal and inverter cables, and haven't had problems since. Well, I hadn't had problems before doing it for a few days either... so let's hope for the best.

 

Hi,

I still have this problem. I want to determine precisely whether it is the inverter or not / get any insight as to what it could be. I have taken some pictures and videos, they are posted below.

Other information:
- flicker stays when the LCD backlight is off. Is the brightness of the LCD controlled via the backlight, or not? If it is, then I do not think it is the inverter (flicker should go away when backlight is off, if the only thing controlled by the inverter is the backlight).
- flicker goes away when computer is rebooted
- flicker appears in Linux as well (not a Windows / driver problem)

Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQxJtbcOdlg
(second video is not being converted for some reason)

 

Any insight from anyone?

Could this be a power saving issue? Sometimes it happens after the computer is idle for a while, then I reboot and it doesn't happen any more. On the other hand, sometimes it starts happening when the computer is being used constantly...

I'd like to determine whether this is a cheap part that can be replaced easily, or it's something more involved like the LCD, which would mean it's better to get a new laptop and/or use this one with an external monitor.

 

Well a more expensive yet still budget minded solution would be to order a barebone Z70Va and just throw your current M6BNe parts into it.

I have a Z70Va and it's a bit worn in because of my sister who borrowed it for a while, so I've decided to buy some old stock at milestonepc.

They have it for under 300 dollars after taxes. This model has the bluetooth and the newer screens without the red ghosting effects, so I thought this would be a good idea, since mine is all creaky now.

This way I'll have a new laptop basically, two batteries and two adapters.
Also a new warranty and if anything goes wrong with the new one I can use my old one as a backup. Just gotta pull the parts.

I think it's a great idea for those that have parts to fit the Z70Va and can't afford a new 1000+ dollar laptop.

I still think the quality of the M6(z70) series is top notch and have yet to see an affordable model that has the looks as well.

Cheers,
Mike

 

i can't imagine it being the lcd. if it were the lcd, i believe the change would be more permanent instead of being okay one second and then flickering another second. either way though....you will have a lot of difficulty finding that part, i would imagine....

 

Yep, the inverter for the M6BNe is quite rare. that's why before starting to invest time in it I would like to confirm it is indeed the inverter.

As to the barebone, two cons: 1. US (I'm not there so it's difficult for me to order from milestonepc or another US reseller). 2. I'm not sure the parts will fit.

Although the chassis is the same, things like port layout, internal heatsink layout etc. can (and probably will) differ. Thanks for the suggestion nevertheless.

 

I think he was saying to use the Z70Va, not the M6BNe.

In any case, I don't think it's the inverter, since you said it happens even when the backlight is set to 0. The inverter is for the backlight. The LCD itself gets power from somewhere else. I'm more inclined to think it's either a loose connection on the LCD's internal circuitry itself or the harnessing that goes to it.

 

Yes, he was planning to use the Z70 for the Z70, which is OK. But I cannot use the Z70 for my M6BNe parts

Can someone confirm that the inverter is controlling the backlight on the LCD? (that was my suspicion as well)

If so, I think my best option is to try taking the LCD apart and verifying if all the cables are secure. As a reminder, I already reseated the LCD signal cable on the motherboard.

I'm afraid taking it apart might end up being more harmful than useful... Are the signal cables usually connected by a socket to the LCD itself, or are they soldered there?

 

???
The Z70Va can support the processor you have, the harddrive you have and the ram you have.

That's all you need. Barebone systems have everything else included in the package for only 300ish after tax (CDN $).

Ports? The barebone platform for the Z70Va is pretty much identical to the M6Bne.

Just throw in the cpu, ram, harddrive and you're set!

I'm confused as to what you mean by incompatible.

Cheers,
Mike

 

Sorry, yes, you are correct. For some reason I imagined I would need to move the mainboard as well. I was tired and forgot what the barebones business was about

 

So are you going to do it?

It being, getting the Z70Va barebone system?

I'm sure Danny at Milestonepc would gladly ship to wherever you are in the world.

 

I'm going to try first solving it locally. I'll take the LCD apart, reseat all the inverter,signal, switchboard cables, and if that doesn't fix it I'll try buying an inverter and a switchboard.

If I can't fix it in these ways, rather than throw away the computer I'd rather pay 200EUR (300 Canada $) more, so yes, I might follow your suggestion. I have some friends that live in the US, maybe I'll order through them and they'll send me the package.

 

I've had problems with an old m6bne for a long time (that was well out of any warranty), pressure on the left speaker above the keyboard used to work well, then it got worse and for nearly a year I started having to open it up and jiggle the cable every two weeks.

I once twisted the cable over, it lasted 3 weeks, then the last time I opened it up, I twisted it back, and it lasted a whole 6 months!

now the outer black shielding is frayed from the lid being opened and closed all the time, and it looks like it's really finally on it's way out, I think (hope) the inverter is still ok, but does anyone know where I can get a replacement cable? or is the other end that goes into the screen not removable?

I'm in the UK, but a little P&P wouldn't be too bad.

 

Hi, it seems my problem is also related to a bad connection either in the inverter cable or in the LCD signal cable. I reseated them today (at both ends, I took the LCD apart) and now it's working. For how long, we'll have to see.

I don't know how to obtain the cables. I have an order with ASUS Nederland for an inverter and a switchboard. I'll email and ask if I can add the LCD signal cable, and the inverter cable, to my order. If I'm lucky the inverter package contains the cable as well. As to the other cable, if I'm unlucky,it only comes with a new LCD, in which case... there's nothing to do.

You can also try emailing ASUS UK. I had virtually no problem getting the inverter and switchboard. I just emailed them for help, they forwarded to the engineers who said it might be one of these,then I asked whether I can get them shipped instead of sending the laptop for a repaired and the next email that I got was the invoice.

Edit: oh by the way, to make it explicit,the LCD signal cable is removable at the LCD end, as well. But you need to remove the LCD from the LCD case, to do that (8 screws).

 

Thank you very much for your advice, I'll email asus uk as soon as their website is working for me so I can get an address...

 

Since then I ordered the inverter and LCD cable, as well. They added them to the shipment free of charge. Kind of nice, if you ask me

Add that to the fact that when my LCD was cracked in a car accident, I sent the laptop for repairs, I paid the screen, top and bottom case replacements, but they actually replaced also the motherboard, battery, and some other minor things that I don't remember, without adding to the charge.

 

Well, like in your case Yakumo, the screen started acting up again 1 week after I reseated the cables. So today I changed them: LCD coax cable, inverter board and cable, and switchboard (for some reason the ASUS guys suggested that could be the problem as well, though I doubt it).

I hope the problem is fixed now, I think with 90% probability that it was in the LCD coax signal cable. I will let you know on this thread if the problem comes back (fingers crossed let's hope it won't cause then I really don't know what else to do).