e1705 Video Card Replacement Adventure

So, not too long ago the 7800 Geforce Go in my e1705 inspiron started giving me weird visual artifacts (I determined the problem was the video card because I found forum threads with other people who have had this problem). So I did what was suggested in these threads and bought a stripped card from eBay. I got a x1400 ATI mobility card from some seller in Hong Kong. Last night I did the arduous procedure of swapping out the old card for the new, and booted it up and got into Ubuntu Linux (I dual boot Linux and Windows) and it looked better than it ever had.

Today I made the discovery that all was not well on my computer. It seems that certain colors do not display correctly anymore, regardless of drivers or OS or video settings. Instead of these colors there is a bright green static-esque color in its place. You can kind of see in this GIMP color palette photo:



You can kind of see the green lines in the various color bars and whatnot.

There was no issue like this with the old card (it still kind of worked, just had a lot of ugly crap artifacts) it displayed all colors well so I don't think it is a problem with the LCD, although when I plug in an external monitor, there is no issues with the color on the external monitor.

What is causing this problem and can I fix it? How should I deal with the eBay seller? I already sent the seller a message informing him of the problem.

 

Hopefully you didn't buy the card as-is...

If you bought the card with any sort of guarantee that it would work properly, you should demand a refund or a replacement. If you bought the card with any sort of guarantee that it would work properly, Paypal will side with you and you'll very likely get your money back even if the seller is not cooperative.

 

Pretty sure it wasn't as-is, guy said it was fully functional. It's really a shame because it took so much time and effort to get where I am now, and now this little glitch is setting me back. I would rather the card I have just start working somehow, but I doubt that it will happen.

 

Have you tried checking the video connector cable for the LCD?
I had a loose wire in the plastic boot of my video cable on my Clevo and it would put staticy green stripes all over the screen. This would pretty much happen on and off. I reconnected the cables, and glued them in place and I havent had the problem for a few months.

You should try reconnecting the LCD connector cable and see if that makes any difference.

K-TRON

 

Thanks for the tip, K-TRON. I was hesitant about pulling apart my laptop again considering how much effort it is, but it is definitely a good idea to check my connections and will give it a go when I have time available.

 

Doesn't seem to be the LCD cable. I pulled it out and plugged it back in. Nothing fishy seems to be going on. The wires are covered so I can't really see if they are all good but I would assume they are (after all they worked fine with my other card). I'm curious if reinstalling OS's or flashing the BIOS could potentially have any effect. Or maybe I could try remounting the card itself.

 

The only time i've seen those lines has been when the card i was using was in the process of frying itself.
I've seen 'em two or three times now, and each time not that long later i turned the computer on to get a big fat sack of nothing from the monitor.

 

Thanks for the input bobnova. Today I actually came back from class after my comp was left on and found a blank screen. Had to force the computer off and restart. Still haven't switched back to my other somewhat functional card to compare, but I think it will be the same as it was before (having completely different issues from the x1400).