Grey stripe at bootup

I think my laptop is on its way out. When I tried to turn it on just now instead of seeing the BIOS and then Windows I instead saw a black screen with a large horizontal grey stripe. I turned it off and tried again and saw the same thing. Next I unplugged the power and and USB for the cooling fan and tried turning it on again. This time it booted just fine. Once in Windows I plugged them both in with no issues.

I did a little investigating to see if this is a known issue with my laptop, Toshiba Satellite L25-S1196, but couldn't find anything.

Any idea what the cause of this issue is? Or for that matter if it will get worse and indicate the computers death is near coming? Or hopefully, however unlikely, if there is a way to fix this issue from happening again?

Thanks

 

How old is it in the first place?
Secondly, since it was only before bootup and you saw no other issues while in Windoze, consider updating the BIOS .
Thirdly, are you OCing by any chance? You don`t have to, but it could be that your card is getting close to frying. Again,just an assumption,since you noticed no anomalies anywhere else.
Keep monitoring it, but I`d do a backup as soon as possible, it will get worse in time, it`s a truism in computer tech...

 

Thanks for the quick response eleron.

It's just over two years old (since I bought it at the store, I have no clue how long it sat at CompUSA before I purchased it ) and two months out of warranty .

I am using the most recent BIOS (have been for for maybe a year with no issues), but I suppose I could flash the same BIOS version. However I am uncertain it will help. I am now thinking I should have mentioned this initially . Upon the successful bootup I was brought to the XP screen asking me if I want to load Windows normally, in safe mode, last good config, ect.. Since I did shut it down properly earlier, I'm guessing I was brought to this screen from my powering down during the grey stripe. Which I think would indicate that it passed the BIOS and began loading Windows, however I could just not see it.

Nope not OCing. I am generally not that adventurous, as I have known too many people who fried their components by doing it improperly. Plus I don't need the extra performance as I do little more than typing and web browsing. I have read up on doing the OC procedure for my Celeron M 360 and am confident I can do it smoothly. This would also give me a chance to reapply some thermal paste (if necessary for this processor?). Do you feel OCing would be a positive or negative influence in this case? (I'm not OC savvy). As far as I know I don't have a dedicated graphics card, so there is nothing I can tweak there (that I know of).

Hopefully it will last me the summer. I am planning a road trip this summer where this will serve as my GPS. If it is likely to die, then I will either need to replace it before the trip or on the road .

 

It doesn`t sound bad, but my guess is that you either have a bad GPU or a bad mobo, since everything else turns out ok.
You can try Atitool to scan for artefacts, and also,just for the heck of it(although this is probably the worst advice I could give considering you have used the laptop for 2 years) .. check the RAM.

 

Greg, have you taken your laptop apart before?
I am thinking that it is just a connection issue, if it comes and goes like that.
It seems as if a little while back, you may have rotated the screen back to far, or slammed the lid closed to fast, which could cause the lcd ribbon cable to snag, and one of the connection leads may have shoddy connection.
I would take the screen bezel apart and reconnect the ribbon cable. Than put some electrical tape over the connection, so the ribbon cable does not disconnect again.

K-TRON

 

A bad GPU or mobo (in my case I believe the GPU is completely built into the mobo anyways) is what I feared. The issue only happened earlier today and not when I turned on my computer just now, so I think it isn't a serious issue quite yet. Regardless it is probably time to put aside some money for an upgrade . This is just a reminder from the computer gods I suppose!

I'll run the program and check out the RAM if only to be thorough . Thanks for the input I appreciate it!

I haven't taking the computer apart, however I have on many occasions both closed the lid hastily (not forceful, but not gentle either) and pulled the screen up well more than 90 degrees.

Luckily I happen to have a disassembly guide for my laptop bookmarked (just in case), so checking the cable seems very doable. This does seem like a very likely cause... As it would explain why the problem seems to be intermittent.

Thanks for the thought K-TRON i'll be sure to clean up the connection as you suggested .

 

Have you tried using an external monitor? If it shows up there too then its your gpu

 

I haven't. This issue happened earlier today for the first time and hasn't happened since (although I've only turned on my computer once since then).

If the issue happens again I'll lug the laptop over to an external monitor and see if it displays properly. It would be depressing if the monitor, mobo or GPU is dying, as this old laptop isn't worth replacing major parts . I'm hoping K-TRON is correct that a faulty connection may be the cause, but we'll see.

 

Well, it hasn`t happened but once ,right? Chances are that it won`t show up any time soon.
If it does, as Flip sugested,use an external monitor, perform several restarts in between usage and well....if it does show up, it`s definitely the mobo(in your case).
K-TRON said it might be a bad connection, but the thing is, if that's the case it would show up in windows also.
I`m not familiar with the Windows bootup scheme, maybe it`s performing some sort of the test and that one fails ...

Either way, it sounds like a hardware issue, so yea,money asside for an upgrade

 

Thanks for the suggestion Angad. I'm uncertain if we faced the same problem, as my stripe was horizontal and about two to three inches wide. However, at this point I am leaning toward the determination that there is a faulty connection for the following reason:

I just noticed that when I move the computer fast an inch or so, the images on the screen will jump a little or lines will cut out (for a split second) and return when the computer is still. This is while in Windows.

I will try K-TRONs solution regarding cleaning up the main connection to the monitor, as that is a simple fix that I am confident I can do without issue. I will print off the instructions given in the link you gave me and save them incase this issue ever renders the monitor completely useless. So thank you very much for providing it.

In reference to your other questions:

1: I'm unsure if my laptop has an option for VDDQ. In fact I've never heard of this and needed to google it just now . I am guessing it doesn't, however I will peek around in my BIOS and search the Intel site for more information regarding it. If only for the sake of learning more about it.

2: I am not familiar with LCD components, so I don't know much about the inverter. However I have read many posts regarding it and in most cases (that I've read about) the results of a faulty inverter seem to be far more drastic than this. I will keep that thought in mind though incase this problem resurfaces.

Thanks again for your input.

 

K-TRON, Due to this problem erupting again I am folling the instructions as you outlined. I have the bezel off (which I am very proud of doing without breaking anything ). I was using this guide, which is my model:

http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/toshiba-satellite-l25/replace-lcd-screen-1.htm . The point I am at is the last picture on page one, with the bezel off.

I notice that the ribbon cable that seems to come from the motherboard splits in two diections. The one which is most visible connects to a circuit board below the monitor that appears to be a microcontroller of some type. It appears to have 5 wires. The second (instance of the cable) goes up behind the LCD. Which cable (or both) do you suggest I clean up the connection of?

 

Okay, I have looked at the link, and you should clean the one which goes behind teh screen. The one with the 5 wires, go to the indicator lights/wireless antenna's and most likely the screen inverter.

You are going to want to carefully remove the lcd panel from the lid casing if you have not already done so.
Then go to the back of the display and remove the ribbon cable on the back of the panel. Then just push it back together and then use some tape over the connection tyo make sure it is connected properly.
Then put your laptop back together and see if the problem has gone away.

I wouldnt clean the connections unless they are dirty or loaded with dust.
If the connections are dirty, use a q-tip with very light amounts of rubbing alochol, and then clean the connection. Then use a hairdryer to dry up the alcohol. make sure to point the hairdryer away from the screen if you have to use it.
If you dont feel comfortable using a hairdryer, use a piece of tissue paper, or a can of compressed air, or just wait for it to dry.

K-TRON

 

K-TRON... you are my hero... You were 100% correct. Upon removing the LCD I noticed that the ribbon cable was so loose that it unplugged the moment I touched it. I reinserted it and taped it up, now it runs perfect!

Thank you my friend. Thank you!

BTW, I have a song playing especially for you in off topic .

EDIT: I owe you rep as soon as I spread some around.

THANK YOU!

 

No problem Greg, I am glad that it was as simple as it was for you.

Enjoy your laptop my friend

K-TRON