Elitebook 8730w with nVidia video card - Upgrade from CCFL to DreamColor

Hey Folks,

I created this small photo essay tutorial at the behest of my buddy @triturbo for anyone who may be interested in upgrading their CCFL screen to a DreamColor on their nVidia equipped 8730w.

Following my first draft @triturbo made a great suggestion concerning the dismantle method I used and I will admit, he is right, and I have modified the steps accordingly.

Essentially, he suggested to remove the screen and cover assembly before removing the bezel and screen to make it easier to work with and he's right, it makes more sense and is easier this way.

So without further ado, here is version 2.0 of this tutorial.

Since I did not have the time to make a complete dismantle yet again and take fresh pictures, I have reused the pictures I used in my original tutorial, you may notice some minor discrepancies between the pictures and the text, just use your common sense

As before, shoot me any suggestions and critiques you may have and I will consider them and update this thread accordingly.



PREREQUISITES:

Before starting this project, you will need:

- An 8730w with an nVidia video card, either the FX2700M or FX3700M. I am NOT covering upgrades from the AMD in this tutorial - Although it is probably a no-brainer, I haven't done it and the only info you'll find here is strictly based on my OWN EXPERIENCE and my OWN KNOW-HOW!

- A DreamColor screen, cable and ambient light sensor. If you don't have these cables and sensor on hand along with the screen, forget it, it simply won't work!


DON'T attempt this if you don't have all parts on hand, are scared, don't understand what you're doing and won't take responsibility for YOUR actions! If you are all thumbs and have never done any technical hacking before and are attempting this on the only machine you possess, you better first try your hand on something you can afford to lose! I will not be held responsible for your actions no matter how well you followed this tutorial, this hasn't been revised and overseen by a committee of lawyers and nuclear engineers! YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!


Now that the BS has been cleared and the rubbernecks have scattered away... The upgrade is actually fairly painless and with version 2.0 of this tutorial, even easier to do and the instructions, hopefully even easier to understand

Of course, you will have to be patient and have good hand eye coordination, stay calm and think twice before doing anything. Even if this can be done in less than an hour, this is not a race! Stay sober, put an afternoon aside, chose a brightly lit, quiet room, have all required tools ready, plenty of space, make yourself at ease, put your phone on mute and send your wife out to her girlfriend's if that's what it's going to take!!!



TOOLS AND ENVIRONMENT:

You'll need a good Torx 8 screwdriver, Philips #00 and #1 screwdrivers, other small screwdrivers, a cell phone plastic lift tool if you have one lying around, an expired credit card with smooth edges (simply sand/file/scrape them off), a towel and or some micro fiber cloths.

As always with electronics, make sure you are grounded using a grounding strap or otherwise, especially if you are doing this in a dry environment, on a carpeted floor while wearing rubber soled shoes!!!

Prior to using screwdrivers, make sure they are properly magnetized by rubbing the shaft several times with a strong magnet, in the same direction with the same magnet pole, lifting at the tip at the end and putting it down at the head... You'll thank me for thinking about it beforehand! If you attempt this job in a room with a carpet and drop one of those teeny screws on it you'll kick yourself for not having done this!!!

But hey, who am I talking to... This isn't Tech Kindergarden... Get Busy!



DISASSEMBLE THE SCREEN FROM THE MOTHERBOARD:

On a clean table with lots of space, lay a clean soft bath towel flat.

Have the laptop, the tools and the replacement parts handy nearby, protected from potential falls.

Remove the laptop battery, open the laptop and press the power button for 30 seconds to dissipate any possible electricity that may still be stored on the motherboard (I'm not sure that it really helps - there IS a live CR 2032 battery on the motherboard anyway, but I've always done that, it's good practice).

Close the laptop, lock it and lay it on its top cover down on the towel.

Carefully look at this picture:

1) Remove the screws marked in green circles under the battery compartment, they hold the Switch Plate.
2) Unscrew the other ones circled in green, they stay in place in the Bottom Case, they secure the Keyboard.

Lift the laptop back up and open it.

Using a credit card, gently pry the Switch Plate off the laptop case
(you will notice I had removed the bezel first when I did this first but now realize doing it this way first makes it easier to work with later on):

Just make sure you don't move the Switch Plate too much, there is a small ribbon cable underneath.

Once the Switch Plate is loose, flip it up towards the keyboard like so:

Notice the small ribbon cable circled in green (disregard the Screen Bezel rubber bumpers stuck on the wrist rest - we'll get to that later).

The Switch Plate ribbon cable is secured to the motherboard using an L-shaped wedge-like piece of plastic that you must gently pry UP to get loose:

Once that locking tab is up, the ribbon will simply lift off.
Put the Switch Plate aside for now.

Notice that once the Switch Plate is loose, the keyboard feels loose and will "spring" up slightly. Before you remove it, be aware its ribbons are attached near the lower edge with the Wrist Rest so you must be careful and only slide the bottom edge of the keyboard a couple millimeters just enough to free the tabs that hold the keyboard in place under the wrist rest.
You can then flip the keyboard up towards the wrist rest, this is where that micro fiber cloth comes in handy to put in between the keyboard and the wrist rest.

Loosen up the tabs holding the ribbon connectors of the Keyboard the same way you did with the switch plate:

Put the keyboard aside for now.

You should now have the top part of the internals exposed and you will be able to remove the video card cable marked in green on the picture:

GENTLY pry up the video cable connector from its socket, just try not to pull too hard on the cable!
Loosen the cable from its channel.

Once the video cable is loose, you will be able to remove the complete top cover and screen assembly, it will make your job much easier thanks for the tip, @triturbo , it does make much more sense)

Although you can remove the #8 Torx hinge screws by laying the laptop on its side with the cover open 90 degrees like on this picture:

I now believe it is better and safer to simply lay the open laptop flat with the hinge towards you at the edge of your work bench and remove the screws from that position instead.

When that is done, turn the laptop so you face the screen and remove the two remaining screws securing the hinges to the bottom case (one per side):


You can now gently lift the cover upward and wiggle the video cable loose and then lay the top Screen and Cover assembly aside.

Take the Bottom Case Assembly off your work surface and put it aside for now, and put the cover assembly in its place to work on.



REPLACING THE SCREEN:

The screws giving access to the Bezel and Screen are hidden under shallow rubber bumpers that are simply stuck with double sided tape:

Remove the bumpers circled in green, don't remove those marked with red Xs, they are easy to mess up and you may not be able to stick them back in place.

To remove the rubber bumpers use a small slotted screwdriver tip or better yet, a plastic lifting tool of the type used for working on cell phones. DELICATELY lift the thin rubber and try to not destroy the fragile double-sided tape:

You can stick them in a little poly bag for protection or you can also temporarily stick them to the bezel or any other flat surface like the Wrist Rest while you get the job done.

Underneath the bumpers are the #8 Torx screws holding the LCD and hinge to the cover:


Using two fingers of one hand, hold the tip of the screwdriver tight onto the screw to protect from possible slippage (especially if your screwdriver and or screws aren't in pristine condition) and unscrew. Don't be alarmed if it makes a cracking sound, the first time you remove the screws it may do that, the screws studs are solid brass inserts press fitted into magnesium, they won't break off like plastic ones!

Once the screws are off and secured in a little poly bag, take your old credit card and pry it in between the Screen and Bezel like on the picture:

GENTLY lift to loosen the clips that hold the bezel to the edge of the cover.
If the bezel tabs don't come off right away, simply move your way up and around. NEVER force anything, take your time, they always end up coming lose and don't fret if you break a couple of them - Honestly, it's difficult to avoid breaking some. After a couple of removals, I've probably lost 4 tabs or so but it isn't the end of the world, it's nothing a little bit of double stick tape can't fix ;-)

Once the Bezel if off, you will see three more screws holding the screen and hinge assembly and the inverter to the cover, circled in green on the picture, remove them:


Lift the screen, hinge and inverter assembly off the cover and put the cover aside for now. Remove the hinges as indicated with the green arrows using a Phillips 00 screwdriver:

Some screens only have 3 holes so only 3 screws per side, the DreamColor takes 4 but will hold fine with 3 screws per side.

These screws are really tiny and are easy to lose!

You did remember to magnetize your screwdriver tips, didn't you?

This is how the old CCFL screen and cable assembly looks like from the back:


And this is how the DreamColor screen, cable and ambient light sensor assembly looks like:

Notice the differences on the pictures.

Now replace the CCFL Screen assembly with the Dreamcolor assembly to the hinges with the #00 Philips screws.

Gently lower the Screen and Hinge Assembly into the cover, making sure cables don't get pinched. Screw the bottom three screws (two for the hinges, one for the DreamColor Ambient light sensor) and also temporarily fasten the top hinge to the cover (you don't want to install the Bezel yet, until you have mounted the screen and made sure it works).



CLEANING THE HEATSINK

Since the Switch Plate and Keyboard were taken out, now is a great time to clean that overheating heatsink!

Simply unscrew the fan screws marked in green with a Phillips #1 screwdriver:

And disconnect the fan connector.

Using a cotton swab and some alcohol, remove as much dust and hair off the fins:

Do the same for the left side and the backside (there are two radiators)

Then using some compressed air while cupping your hand on top of the circular opening where the fan was to prevent dust flying around into the components, blow a short burst of air from the outside of the exhaust grilles in to dislodge what's left, it may get stuck on the bottom case grille but is then easy to remove from there.

If you decide to clean the fan with compressed air, prevent it from rotating: you don't want to spin it, you could damage the bearings.

Reinstall the fan.


REINSTALLATION is basically the reverse of the dismantle process. If you've made it this far you shouldn't need no friggin' instructions to put it back together again!!!

Anyway, take your cover and screen assembly and gently slip the hinges into the slots in the bottom case. Make sure the video cable doesn't get pinched in the process! Screw the hinges from the top first (one on each side) and through the back (two each side)

Make sure the video cable fits properly in its channel and secure the connector to its socket.

Install the Keyboard by first positioning it so as to fit the ribbon connectors. Once inserted, gently push the tabs down to lock them in place.

Now lay the keyboard flat and slip the bottom tabs of the Keyboard into the corresponding slots into the Wrist Rest.

Install the Switch Plate by positioning it so as to fit its connector securely and locking it like you did for the keyboard, but don't snap it in place yet.

Double check everything is connected properly.

Cross your fingers, insert the battery in, connect the power brick and start the laptop.

If all went well, you will see the boot screen. Immediately press F8 to get into the BIOS setup.

Using [Fn][F9] and [Fn][F10], make sure the screen brightness changes. If it doesn't, you've got a duff screen!

Check the bottom left and right corners of the screen. You may be able to see a light red tingeing at the bottom left, and a light blue tingeing at the bottom right, this is normal, but it should be minimal. How it bothers you is entirely up to you; I am cursed with perfect color vision so I tend to notice the minutest of hue variations. These slight color effects are most visible on a uniform white or light gray background, fortunately it's hardly noticeable at all in real life working with pictures.

At this point you can either finalize or if you are really a perfectionist you can test the screen for bad pixels, of all the ones I've had so far (6), NONE had any dead or stuck pixels.



FINALIZING

If all went OK you can now finish putting everything back together.

Shut down the laptop, unplug it and remove the battery.

Hold the keyboard down while you snap the Switch Plate in.

Remove the two top screws holding up the top part of the LCD hinge top the cover.

Remove any protective plastic sheet that you may have taped to the front of the screen for protection during work.

Gently position and snap the Bezel back in. Use double stick tape where you broke tabs, it will help flatten the bezel against the edge of the screen.

Screw the last 6 remaining screws back in.

Put the rubber bumpers back on top of the screws.

Close the lid.

Flip the laptop over, tighten the keyboard screws and screw the Switch Plate screws back in.

Snap the battery back in.

You're done!



INTRODUCTION TO SETTING UP THE DREAMCOLOR SCREEN FOR DAILY USE

Although this DreamColor screen isn't IPS and as such is best viewed straight on, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised especially in comparison with the dismal standard CCFL screen. But to get there, you will need to put in some more work, as this screen needs to be setup for the proper color space you work in and then calibrated accordingly!

To do so, the first thing you need to do is to install the HP Mobile Display Assistant so you can select the proper color space: the Native color space is IMO way too blasted to be useful and can lead to atrocious fluorescent-like colors; I use standard sRGB. Without this utility you won't be able to get the screen into the standard sRGB color space!

Once setup for the proper color space the best way to get colors right is to use a "Spyder" colorimeter that is able to work with this type of screen (RGB LED). Cheap ones may give you worse results than you can achieve by eye!

Once a basic curve is built by the Spyder, you can tweak it further in discrete increments using Calibrilla. You can then save this modified, non-linear gamma curve as a basal gamma ramp you can then load at every windows startup using a utility such as Entech Taiwan's PowerStrip. If you do so, make sure your video card's own utility is not interfering with it!

Discussing this in detail would be a thread by itself so I won't get anymore into it, in any case you should be set on the right path towards DreamColor Nirvana

Good Luck and Enjoy your new DreamColor Screen!

Version 2.0, updated and Improved 2016-08-23 - version 1.0 available upon request

 

Great work! Now if there was a reliable source of LP171WU5-TLB1 screens, that would've been great Then again one needs the cable and the light sensor as well, and these are not very common.

 

Patience you must have, my young padawan, good things come to those who wait

 

I like the update! Now when you do another dusting, or just playing around - new pictures would be awesome BTW is the top cover the same for DC/nonDC, I mean can you fit DC in regular cover? The extended DC calibration would be nice too, as well as for the 8740w DC

Cheers!

 

Short answer: YES! No dremeling at all... Fits perfect

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk 2

 

Any update on a reliable source for a DreamColor screen, cable and ambient light sensor ?

I am about to order a regular panel and I am seriously considering going for a Dreamcolor one .

 

Unfortunately not, at least from my personal experience. And when you do find a used panel online it usually comes bare bones without the necessary cables and ambient light sensor. I have a search going on on eBay and haven't found a complete deal since I did the last upgrade...

Of course you could go with each part separately but it could take quite a while to find them all.

Also remember the upgrade only works on nvidia equipped 8730ws...

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk 2

 

Thanks.

Is ebay your main source or are there any other reliable sites out there?
Any sellers in ebay you recommend?

There is this for example
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-laptop-screen-LP171WU5-TL-B1-/332147309348
that suits me because is EU based and therefore does not have import taxes for me.

If the above are too difficult or you don't know of any then could you please tell me the product codes for the cable and ambient light sensor so I don't get the wrong ones.
I know the lcd is LP171WU5-TLB1
Thanks again.

 

The reason I only deal through eBay with used or refurbished screens is that most online sellers sell generics which aren't compatible. This one is the real thing.

Make sure that it is extra well packaged. One of the screens I ordered had a hole in the box and the screen was only protected because it had lots of bubble wrap around it. Make sure the seller double boxes it.

That's strange, it didn't pop up in my eBay search emails alerts... It looks like one I've already inquired about a few months ago. The problem is it doesn't come with the cable or the ambient light sensor. I guess I have to revise my search parameters, they obviously aren't broad enough.

I'm not close to my computer at this time, you may want to check the maintenance manual for the HP part numbers. Don't confuse the ambient light sensor with the CCFL inverter, though.

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk 2

 

Try LP171WU5 TL B1 as a search term

Found them in the manual.
Ambient light sensor for Dreamcolor display
495029-001 (this comes up as a hard disk connector on ebay for some reason)
Cable for Dreamcolor display
495607-001

I am now trying to find someone that has them both at reasonable price and coming up empty.

Since I have you here I was going through your comments before asking you here trying to find out if you answered this elsewhere and saw something about a battery project for this laptop. How did that turn out, I kinda gave up on that thread, its over 100 pages long.

 

Sorry, it still doesn't appear, even though I have "Worldwide" specified (otherwise I get a reduced set of results)... Hmmm! Maybe the seller is making this item unavailable for search outside of the EU... I'd have to try navigating through a UK proxy ;-)

They are getting harder to get by, that's for sure - I get results only occasionally on these parts. Admittedly, I don't search often for them as I already have accumulated enough spare parts over the years to build another DC 8730w, should I find a good deal on a stripped down standard 8730w, but as they are now almost 10 years old they are unlikely to be found from the decently priced lease return market, you may have better luck finding yourself an DC2 8740w.

It's pretty much on indefinite hold now as there are just too many things I'm lacking - for starters, I wanted to spot weld the cells together but building a welder that won't burn batteries is quite above my pay grade and I'm not sure I'm willing to risk soldering... Second thing, I need to find more surplus/dead batteries to salvage cells from and this has become more difficult for me as stores that used to freely give old batteries for the asking now have exclusive contracts with recyclers prohibiting them to do that. So you can understand why things haven't progressed much on this project in the past couple of years

 

Thanks, I was just curious, mine its on its second battery that barely gets 5 minutes, I just leave it on in case the power goes out to be able to properly shut down.

Again thanks for all the help

 

It seems this item is filtered out if you search from the ebay.com site, but it does appear when I search on the ebay.co.uk site. It may well be a seller setting, to prevent international inquiries, he probably doesn't sell outside the EU.

Too bad, I have relatives in the UK who could forward me stuff. I HATE georestriction... Been fighting it forever. It seems invented for the sole purpose of keeping prices high.

Tell you what - I'll forward search results if I get anything for the ambient light sensor and cable this side of the pond

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk 2

 

If you're handy, when the battery dies keep it, remove the top sticker that keeps it stiff, twist the battery a couple of times, it should crack open. You can then recuperate cells and PCB. you'll probably notice only one or two cells are bad, the rest are usually still OK. I've been using them in my flashlights...

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk 2

 

Please do, I pulled the trigger on the LCD. I can buy the parts from you if you are willing to sell them, I know you have them for spares but maybe you can sell something you have in duplicate?
As for georestriction you should see how frustrating it is for people outside the US , you have it good.

Thanks, how difficult is it to replace the cells, have you tried it?

 

b3456161, check your PMs

 

All the parts came, I got it up and running
Thanks to 83bj60 for all the help, here and in PMs.

Below I will list all the part numbers and where I got them from to help anybody that may do this in the future.

LCD Panel
LG LP171WU5(TL)(B1)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-laptop-screen-LP171WU5-TL-B1-/332147309348
£60 plus shipping.
This was not a shop, it was a private seller with just this for sale.

Cable
HP part number: 495607-001
http://www.ebay.com/itm/162127841451 (Lithuanian shop)
$14.92 plus shipping, its currently listed at $107.81 for some reason. I would wait until the price drops to under $20 at least before buying.
The cable wasn’t in the best shape and was bend at places but it worked.
The packing was OK but it could have used some more, it was in an envelope with bubble wrap, you can maybe ask them to put in a box to be safe.

Light sensor
HP Part number: 495029-001 (this sometimes comes up as HDD connector, beware of that and avoid those) .
Also 6050A2220601, it’s a number on the PCB board, 83bj60 actually found this part for me and confirmed that it had that number on it.
https://www.notebookwebsite.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_11&proprodu_id=623 (UK shop)
£12.95 plus shipping (the shipping did not include a tracking number, its extra in the UK, you need to tell them if you want it)
Their website is not the best, payment was not working and Firefox was giving me security error messages. I contacted them directly by email - [email protected], and paid them directly with Paypal.
This was probably packed the worst, in an envelope with a little bubble wrap loose around it, I would definitely ask them to put in a small box and fill it with babble wrap/foam.

You can confirm all these at HP:
http://partsurfer.hp.com/search.aspx
HP does not list the LCD alone, it lists the whole screen assembly.
Part number is 494014-001 and 494015-001 (they are the same, 494014-001 is without a camera). So LCD panel, frame and three WLAN antenna transceivers with cables. This I am gonna guess also includes the cable and light sensor but I can’t be sure.

 

I can confirm - one of the cables I ordered from that same place was damaged, so I ordered two more and this time both were fine. Beggars can't be choosers...

Actually, this is something I remembered mentioned from way back at the time I was looking into doing this myself and found this post by Yomadj and confirmed it from the number I found on my spare...

 

Hey Folks, here's a quick update concerning this tutorial, now one year old, and an update on future dismantle projects concerning this laptop.

First of all, I noticed I forgot something in the tutorial today while re-reading it today: Removal and reinstallation of the WiFi antenna cables when removing the LCD panel as a unit. Most of those who have done this conversion would probably have noticed this omission and passed it by without much of an afterthought because it is pretty obvious, I will be correcting this and do some updates to the main text when I attempt upgrading an AMD laptop to a DC machine, essentially replacing the AMD video card with a spare nVidia FX2700M that I have.

I also have a couple more dismantle projects in the pipeline for hardcore technical guys who aren't afraid to get dirty with the motherboard, but that will have to wait until I figure how to do these repairs (diagnose and repair a problematic charging circuit and replace a broken HDD connector). I am not sure I can actually fix the charging issue but since I have a physically damaged 8730w motherboard (ripped out HDD connector), I figure I might as well at least attempt to replace the HDD connector, I just need to find a replacement and so far haven't been able to find one of the right type online. If I do find one I will splurge into a hot air machine and once I get comfortable with it, will try my hand at repairing the charging issue on my main machine (see thread here).

I am also going to attempt a dismantle of two DC panels to make one out of two, one of which has a bad backlight and the other one a bad LCD. I have no idea what I am getting into, but if I succeed I will post some comments and pictures or perhaps even a tutorial.

To those who have actually done this conversion before, don't be shy to comment. This is meant as a technical resource for others who are also interested in keeping this marvelous, yet in so many ways finicky machine, alive.

Finally, as a side note, if anyone has succeeded in building their own ghetto battery tab welder at a bargain basement cost (capacitive discharge), please let me know here or by PM'ing me, I am still hoping to make a super extended battery pack that may be used for a full day and extend this laptop's dismal battery life from less than 2 hours that it is now to something more useful and less stressful for Li-Ion cells, on the order of 4 to 8 hours.