DreamColor Processing Board FAILED "No Video"

My HP 8560w Elitebook Workstation with Dreamcolor has failed. From my structured analysis, the Dream Color Board is highly suspect. Any old graveyards out there to salvage or scavenge a Dream Color Board from ???? or any old 8560w Elitebook Workstations out there anywhere for sale for parts ???? How about a complete display assembly ???? The HP Part Numbers are: Dream Color Board is 652686-001, the Display Assembly is 653278-001. I am in STANDBY Mode........TNX

 

Are you 100% sure it's the ColorBoard? I haven't heard of such issue. What is your GPU and have you tested it in another machine, or have you tried another GPU? For me it most likely is the GPU, not the CB.

 

Video is achieved with an external LG IPS LED Display with good results. I have transplanted the IPS LED Display Panel with exact replacement along with the IPS LED Display interconnecting cable assembly. I spoke with HP Technical Support and they concur that the only element left in the path is the Vanhalen Color Board. Unfortunately, no boards are available anywhere as I have been searching for nearly two months. I felt that looking for dead 8560w's with dreamcolor is most likely my only resource for spare parts. My HP warranty expired on this machine April 2015 - Ugh!

 

A lot of on-their-way GPUs output to external, but not to internal, that's why I asked and actually it would've been the better case. Why? Because as you already know CBs are impossible to come-by, or at least very-very difficult, unlike GPUs. If it really isn't the GPU, I wish you tons of good luck, you'll need it in order to come across a CB.

 

Why not check on eBay and see if you can find a used pull or a Dreamcolor equipped donor machine? Sometimes you might get lucky!

 

Sometimes is a key word. I'm checking regularly (for any DC equipped machine) and the ColorBoards are the first to go (IF they happen to pop-up, which is about once per month), sometimes within hours of listing, then cables, displays can stay for a while. That's why I wished him tons of good luck.

 

Agreed. One must be lucky, cunning, and prepared to pounce when you find one.

 

Greetings to all out there in WAN Land. Just now, I confirmed that the true source of my 'no video' problem was [in fact] the Color Board. I finally found a complete display assembly out of an 8760w and took a chance assuming that the CB was the same for my 8560W. Received it and transplanted it moments ago and presto video displayed once again. As an additional note, prior to finding the donor 8760w display, I found an 8770w display assembly and removed its CB for a test and it did not function. I felt that it was not a compatible CB based on the printed board numbers and SMD placement variants. Also, it possibly could have been compatible but was in a state of malfunction. Either way, the first find did not pan out. However, I feel blessed that the second one from the 8760w donor did the trick. I wanted to provide feedback on my positive outcome and also to say - thanks for your help and comments to get me through this issue. In the past, I always upheld a fairly high regard for HP and their products and overall support, however, this experience has deteriorated my current opinion of HP now. I think it is quite pathetic on them dropping the ball on providing support parts for my 8560w Elitebook Mobile Workstation with DC so soon after the warranty expired which was on April 9, 2015. I paid quite a lot of money for this custom built system. All the best! Doc

 

Kinda curious, what does the color board do on those laptops?

 

It can do a lot of things, and HP actually had plans to use it to most of its potential (various external inputs, using the display only), but in the end it just translates the DisplayPort signal (which comes from the motherboard) to LVDS (which goes to the panel). Well that's not the exact description, since it also stores the various color presets (it's ColorBoard after all), but yeah, this is generally it.

@ElectroScienceDoc - Congrats on getting your machine working! I'm kinda surprised that it is indeed the ColorBoard, but that might explain why they go so fast - people either need them or stack them, you know, just in case they need them. Sadly none of the DreamColor related parts are listed as spare parts, that's why there never was a huge source of cables or CBs, only the whole assemblies, which command ridiculous prices. Most of the available parts were pulled from exiting machines. I never saw a CB or DC cable listed as new.