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    Display issues

    Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by poppa smurf, Apr 14, 2008.

  1. poppa smurf

    poppa smurf Newbie

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    So I have a P-6831 bought about 6 or 7 weeks ago and I am having some issues with the display. I have red pixels all over the screen especially under the drop shadows for the text and icons on the desktop and in the dark part of pictures and videos not matter where they are on the screen (it moves with the image). It happens in the BIOS screen and at boot on the gateway logo page and on lighter pages its not as bad. The case has never been cracked but I did switch to XP and partition the hard drive, updated all drivers and used about 4 different video card drivers with no luck. From what I have read im thinking loose LCD wire but just wanted to see if I am overlooking something. Any help is appreciated.
     
    poppa smurf, Apr 14, 2008
    #1
  2. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    If it is happening on the BIOS screen, its definitely a hardware problem. Either...

    1) The LCD cables are loose
    2) The LCD cables are bad
    3) The inverter is messed up
    4) The inverter is bad
    5) LCD is damaged
    6) Graphics card is damaged

    There really isn't anything you can do about it, other than check the cables and then call Gateway or Best Buy or whomever to have parts replaced.
     
    Greg, Apr 14, 2008
    #2
  3. powerpack

    powerpack Notebook Prophet

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    And being under warranty not something I would play with much. Let them fix.
     
    powerpack, Apr 15, 2008
    #3
  4. poppa smurf

    poppa smurf Newbie

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    Yeah unfortunately that’s what I was thinking. I know the OS isn’t the problem its most likely hardware based but should I reformat with Vista before I try to RMA it? Thanks for the input.
     
    poppa smurf, Apr 15, 2008
    #4
  5. bdsdnfam

    bdsdnfam Newbie

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    You have the same problem that I had with my new P-6831FX. After re-installing Vista, updating drivers, contacting Gateway (what a joke), I started thinking rationally. If it does it in Bios...it has to be hardware not software. So I started with the LCD screen. All connections were okay. So then I took the laptop apart so that I could get to the connector under the keyboard. This is the main connector from the LCD screen to the motherboard. Bingo. It was not pushed in completely. With a nudge it clicked into place and the problem has never re-appeared.

    It takes some courage to tear into a new machine, but the alternative was sending it to Gateway and waiting weeks.
     
    bdsdnfam, Apr 15, 2008
    #5
  6. zfactor

    zfactor Mastershake

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    and the possiblilty of it not coming back as nice as you sent it...
     
    zfactor, Apr 16, 2008
    #6
  7. lastrebelstanding

    lastrebelstanding Notebook Evangelist

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    If you don't want to tear apart your laptop you could also just connect a external display and see if that works without issues.
    That way you know it's not the GPU that has problems and it is most definitely your laptop's LCD.
     
    lastrebelstanding, Apr 16, 2008
    #7