P-7811FX screen distortion with fix

If your screen looks like this:


This is the fix:
Reseat the display connector under the mulitmedia key bar.

Fix Instructions: - Use at your own risk.
- Make sure the laptop is off. Disconnect the power adapter and remove the battery.
- Turn the laptop over and unscrew two screws, one at each end of the battery bay. These screws secure the mulitmedia key panel.
- Turn the laptop back over. Open the screen as far as possible. Don't break anything..
- Take an extremely small flathead screwdriver and pry up the multimedia panel. Pull straight up and be careful to not scratch your shiny new laptop.
- Follow the silver cable down from the LCD panel to the motherboard. Pull the connector straight up and then plug it back in. Don't force it.
- Replace the multimedia panel and screws in the battery compartment.
- Put everything back together and hopefully your LCD will be fixed.
- Please Rep if it works



Problem symptoms:
While playing Fallout 3 I began seeing horizontal lines of what I can only call static. At first it was just a few rows here and there, but as the problem got worse, it would appear on any row of pixels where black was the dominant color. It then began to occur in Windows, in Internet Explorer and on my desktop when it was set to solid black. Reading the HardForums would give me distortion between sub-forum listings and at the Ad at the top of the page. Later it began to occur during bootup and finally in the BIOS.

I was leaning towards the display adapter being at fault until I connected an external display, which worked normally. So I focused on the laptop display being at fault. A removal of the Multimedia key bar and reseating of the display cable fixed the problem.

This connection has a history on these forums of being loose or coming apart completely.

 

Wait, are you telling people the fix or asking if it will work?

I had the same problem and just took it to BB and they fixed the problem for me.

A good deal of people around here have that problem (researching the problem actually brought me to these forums.) So if that is actually a fix that will be very helpful to many people. If your asking if that will fix it, no one here (to my knowledge) knows how, so wrong place to inquire.

 

I'm saying I found a solution. Reseating the shielded display cable fixed it for me.

 

I have the exact same problem. I'll try to fix it. Thank you.

 

I hope I was able to help. That was the whole point in posting .

 

Is there a link to the disassembly process to get to the display cable to re-seat it?
I have this intermittent problems also
Thanks in advance

 

The service manual has pics and detailed instructions on removing the MM/On key panel.

Off the top of my head, this is how I did it...

Make sure the laptop is off. Disconnect the power adapter and remove the battery.
Turn the laptop over and unscrew two screws, one at each end of the battery bay. These screws secure the mulitmedia/on key panel.
Turn the laptop back over. Open the screen as far as possible. Don't break anything..
Take an extremely small screwdriver and pry up the multimedia panel. Pull straight up and be careful to not scratch your shiny new laptop.
Follow the silver cable down from the LCD panel to the motherboard. Pull it straight up and then plug it back in. Don't force it.
Put everything back together and hopefully your LCD will be fixed.

 

I just reseated the display connector cable under the mulitmedia keyboard cover. It works !!! The problem fixed. Thank you so much.

 

oh wow, thats messed. good thing you fixed it though eh. PS 3000 POST WOOT

 

Awesome.

 

Choder. You are a master. Now only if I knew this before

 

Thank you so much. It worked. I really did not think something so simple would fix it, and was dreading having to send the laptop in for service.

Here is a link to a Gateway manual that seems to show the disassembly for the P-7811FX.

http://support.gateway.com/s/Manuals/Mobile/8512680.pdf

Can anyone comment on why solid blacks would trigger the distortion?

 

Glad to hear it! No idea why it was associated with the color black.

 

I'll know what to do if this after happens to my 6860, Thanks!

 

That's the idea. I hate it when I can't find a solution to a problem I know other people have had. Hopefully others will find this post as well.

 

Had the same problem here, was unfortunately dealing with it for a good month or so, until I discovered that lowering the display brightness (In the nVidia control panel) did the same thing as re-seating the cable, albeit darker

 

That is a good workaround. I'll have to remember that in case I am ever without a screwdriver. Which is never.

 

Tried the OP's fix this morning on my 7811FX and it now it works great! I just unplugged and re-plugged the monitor cable to the MB and no more flicker!

 

OMFG CHODER I LOVE YOU!!!!
It works

 

I'm going through this now so thanks for the post, bumping it up. I wonder if doing this will void the warranty?

 

I do believe you should be awarded one internet.

This was a problem many people dreaded getting, or came here looking for the solution (like myself)

 

Would someone please show me some pictures of how to open the multimedia key bar and where the connector is? The more detailed, the better. I am trying to open it but everything is just confusing. I really appreciate.

 

i think this is a decent link: http://support.gateway.com/s/Manuals/Mobile/8512680.pdf

by the way, this thread is the reason i joined this forum. this fix really works

 

Hmmm.. I got a question regarding the link in the above post. Do I lose my warranty if I do any of those things? I want to try to clean the keyboard since it has some dust accumulated inside.

 

mmm, probably

 

Anyone know of a good guide to access the GPU heaksink? Obviously the chipset and CPU are easy to access but I was thinking about replacing the thermal paste for the GPU. The .pdf file posted above only shows how to remove the HD, change memory, etc..

 

choder:

You rock!! I had this exact problem and your instructions solved it. Thanks very much.

Kabe

 

same here! so far so good! problem solved!

 

So I've actually done the fix, and the problem is I've had to do it a few other times since then. I'm wondering if there's a grander cause to the problem. Is there a way to switch out the display cable somehow? Is Gateway aware enough of this problem to provide a comprehensive fix? I've got Geek Squad Black Tie Protection, do you think if I sent my laptop off to the service center with instructions to replace the screen that it'd come back and I wouldn't have to pry the damn MM bar off ever again?

I'm really just looking for a more permanent fix, as I'm really not interested in wearing out my MM bar having to pop it off every couple of weeks...

 

Bump. Still having this issue, reseated the cable a few times.

 

RedmondKC, I have your answer, but you might not like it. I've been haunting this forum for weeks since I had the same problem as everyone else. I tried the fix, but it continually got worse and worse. Eventually, even reseating the connector didn't get rid of the distortion.
You should give your computer to Best Buy for them to fix it. However, I wish them luck as the fix might be beyond their capabilities. You might want to expect longer than usual turnaround. I don't know how Best Buy is for issues like this, but I've tried getting them to fix problems before and they have told me I would have to do it myself.
Ok, the problem is one of two things: a faulty connector on your motherboard (impossible to fix), or a faulty cable connecting the screen to the motherboard (fixable). Mine was the cable. Here's a link to the exact cable you would need if you did the fix yourself: http://www.laptopking.com/kingpartdetails.asp?ref=1680&category=cables
You can't find it cheaper if you want the original cable. I did find one on ebay for $40, but the listing has since been removed.
I replaced the cable, and the distortion has not appeared since. I am now incredibly pleased with this laptop, although I spent many frustrating hours reseating that darn cable and hoping it would fix itself. I really, really don't recommend replacing this cable yourself as many things can go wrong, but if you can't get it repaired through Best Buy, I'll try to give you some tips to help.
All that to say, you can fix it, but try to get it done under warranty.

 

Will opening it up and taking a look void the warranty I have with it?

 

Probably, only if they know you opened it...

 

Is here anybody who didn't experienced described screen problem? I got already 2nd laptop with the same problem. And unfortunately the described fixing method helped just temporarily. First time for about 2 weeks, then for about 1 week. I did this connector reset about 10 times and after last time i didn't have any effect at all.

 

Take it back again, but this time ask them to read this thread. Sounds to me like you have the problem we all have, but the repair shop may have replaced the screen instead of the connector. If that is the case, they would have thought they fixed it because the first few boots would have looked fine, but after the laptop was returned to you the problem resurfaced.
The other possibility is that you have a bad motherboard. But hopefully you still have your warranty and can get sufficient repairs done at no cost.

 

I got brand new laptop instead of old that had problems. And i have the same story again. I'll wait until this problem will be clearly visible and will go back again. I don't even know if they have normal one. Anybody knows what causes this problem? A wire? or connection? or something else?

 

I haven't tried this yet, but will soon. I have sent my laptop back twice to Gateway and both times they've "fixed" my issue. It's still under warranty. Just today I saw my screen flicker again.... I don't have the same image problem as the rest of you, but it's similar- my white pixels are affected instead. However, I can tell that by pressing my media bar firmly my screen goes back to normal. Using an HDMI cable shows a normal screen despite my pixellated screen.

My point is, yes - Gateway IS aware of this issue. They did two things for me besides the normal "please reinstall Windows...." 1) updated my BIOS. 2) update my graphics driver and swapped out my power brick.

I was about to call them for a third time and demand justice!!! when my husband came across this thread. I am very capable of repairing my laptop, and my warranty ends next month, so I fully expect this to work. Don't expect help from Gateway, however

 

Thanks for this link, we'll see if i can't find a new cable. I'm also having continuous issues with the flickering, to the point that i just leave the 2 screws under the battery out so i can easily pop off the media bar and play with the cable. I have to do this pretty much anytime i'm playing a game or viewing something dark on the screen. Sometimes it's so bad the screen will be replaced by a buch of gray squares until i fiddle with it enough to get the screen back. The cable is definitely the problem, the tiniest of touches on the cable will cause flicker to come and go.

 

If it is any encouragement to you, I've had the new cable in for a few months now. No problems at all with the screen. Let me know if I can provide any tips to assist you with the replacement process. It's not terribly difficult, just tedious, and there are a lot of small parts that are prone to breaking.

 

Tried this technique with no fix my screen however isn't really distorted the issue seems to be to much white across the LCD. the exit buttons are blotted out along with if i dont angle the screen ill lose my cursor. i tried to reset the chord twice, anyone have any solution.. gateway refused to help as i am 2 months out of warrenty, best buy/geek squad said i need to purchase a full new LCD screen for $300+ could it be easier than that?

 

I think I may have found a cause for the connector problem. This laptop gets hot. People (myself included) prop up the laptop for better airflow. It is usually propped up by placing the power supply, or something else, under the battery compartment. This practice seems to cause the connector area to flex slightly. Since the connector is not locked in, repeat flexing of this area in this axis works the connector loose. The connector and cable itself, upon further inspection, does not seem well constructed. I believe the connector uses simple vampire type taps to connect to the ribbon cable. If reseating does not fix your issue, try sqeezing the ribbon cable connector tightly from the top to bottom axis, and across the short side axis. This could help establish a better connection between the wires and the connector taps. Also, see if you can gently tug a millimeter of slack on the cable. Be careful and use your judgement!

The ribbon cable itself is pretty tightly twisted, and does not have much play. Opening the laptop screen all the way can put slight stress on the connector, which can also work it loose.

While reseating this connector, be very careful of the small, delicate pins. I bent two slightly pulling it up, and it is very difficult to detect. If you try to seat the connector on bent pins without straightening them first, you could inadvertently destroy the pins.

 

I had that problem along time ago. I think its from vibration once in awhile i have to go back and reconnect it.

 

CHODER

Thanks so much man! I printed out your instructions, and messed around a little because I wasn't sure with the lingo. Almost pulled out the little color cords from the connector plug, thank god I didnt. But a minute later I figured it out, reconnected everything, turned on the laptop, and it works.
No more damn static lines!
All the games I spent money on I can finaly play again.

I was so close to just buying a $200 replacement screen.

Thanks man, if you lived near me ide give ya money.

 

This totally works...had that static problem so bad that I couldn't see the Windows icon at all when I turned on my 7811-FX....thank you so much...you saved me beaucoup time and $$$, and it was a relatively simple solution, just unplug and plug it back in!

 

I have had similar issue - flicker lines of screen which eventually developed into a SOLID white stripe.

Before, having laptop turned on and heat up fixed it.. now even the heat doesnt.

I have had damaged GPU before hand which I fixed via tripple baking in oven, restoring the GPU into a newly state.

I have just taken my ROCK CTX Extreme PRO to a last bit n piece.. unplugged all cables and replugged, twisted n shaken, sadly, no effect.


1) Heat used to fix this problem
2) Its 100% laptop screen based, other monitor, even when switched to be primary, does not have the issue
3) Its within cables as random twiddling did fix the issue for about 0.5 second

I have Clevo M570U model by ROCK Distributor.

I am also not sure which cable is it to work with.. there are 4 silver-shielded cables out of the monitor, 1 is wireless lan.. 1 seems to be just power for screen/LED, 1 goes to a MB right next to Graphics card bay and 1 goes Right under the keyboard as everybody seem to have.

Which one should I meddle with ?

Thanks for the tip, otherwise I would have ended up re-baking the graphic card again

-Mel

 

Thank you! I was freaking out when mine started doing the same thing! Now it's 100% fixed! Yey!

 

Thank you so very much, I pried up the multimedia panel and all I had to do was re-seat the cable to this panel as I could clearly see that the other part of the cable was well seated. It was not easy to seat as it was paper thin but it worked and I am so happy!
Thanks

 

I've had to reseat my plug a few times now. Sometimes as a temporaru fix I just push down on the media bar which helps push down the plug beneath it. This is just a very temporary fix, and I usually have to go back and properly reseat the plug for a more longterm solution.

Since the screen distortion disappears when I hold down on the media bar, I was thinking of adding a wedge of electrical tape between the media bar and plug. Hopefully this wedge would help apply more pressure onto the plug.

Does this sound like a good idea? Do you think it will put too much stress on the cable?

 

What some of you dont understand that this is more like connector 2 board issue.
The board has many layers and also has via connections inside the layers.
From all the heat and/or cheap soldering & bad vias, there can be a loose pin or semi connected pin with not enough impedance going through it.
By pusing the connector down you reinforce this loose in-layer connection therfore the problem goes away temporary.

Now this does not apply quite to everyone since some LCD ribbon connectors do become bad from flexing or have bad connector pressure etc.

To fix this one would need to rebake the board2connector somehow to have the solder reflow and I can guarantee this problem would go away permanently. Perhaps running a hot SMD air station nozzle over the bottom of the connector pins might achieve this but can be risky indeed.

Hope this helps...

 

Nice info i will give it a try..
It happen once early this year and some says it might be my lcd cable problem, i bought new cable but the problem still exist after a couple months..
I will try this..
Thanks dude..