Wrong colors using HP laptop !

I recently purchased a HP nx9420, great laptop, except for the screen:

I found out, that the colors on the internal screen are all wrong. No matter how I adjust the graphic card the colors are wrong. External screen looks perfect. I tested other HP laptops and most of them have the same hard picture with wrong colors.

My problem is that all other laptops (besides HP) show the colors correctly, my nx9420 only show the colors correctly if I use an external screen, seems this may be related to the ATI X1600 card as I scan through the internet. Some people refer this to "grainess" on the screen, where white looks like it has grey pixels all over, so it´s not really white. All other screens doesn´t have this, and I have access to a lot of different PCs though my work.

I think I will return the laptop, if I can get this right.

Any ideas or thoughts about this ?

I attached a shot I took with my camera - the 9420 to the left, and the external screen Dell FP1905 to the right that shows it correctly and how most screens I´ve seen shows it. As you can see the 9420 colors are grey and hard.

Thanks

 

wow...that is WEIRD. What is the URL for that site? I have an NX9420 also so I can compare from my end.

Also, have you updated to the latest Catalyst drivers? Here is a link to all the support info on HP for our system:

NX9420 Business Laptop Support Center

Hope it is simple the driver or it's settings,

 

I can´t give you the login, but here´s the URL, so at least you can see the colors, the left side should be light green, the HEX color code is: #EBEBD3

Driver is updated, yes. I believe it´s the screen, not the graphics driver.

 

coolness!! OK, I looked and yes it has to be your system. The colors come up the same as your external monitor.

I attached a copy of the pic to compare...

What you might want to try is update to the latest drives from the HP site using the link in my first post. If that does not fix it I would call HP and follow the bouncing ball from there. Unless you are in the HP return period. If you are then it's a matter of how long you can be w/o a system while you set the wheels in motion.

Let's hope it's just the video drivers...

 

That is very strange.

 

mtor:

isn't it just the strangest? If this were a desktop I would suggest checking the monitor cable as it could be loose. A loose monitor cable can cause weird color variations. I guess it could be a loose cable here too...but geeze it takes practice to open the case up. Yet it would be a bummer to not have a system for a week or longer simply because a cable might be loose and hard to get to...

I know I suggested the drivers...but since the colors display correctly on the external display it is not as likely a driver thing...BUT, it could be so don't dismiss the driver update or even re-install. The drivers are simple to change and well, worth a shot. So would be resetting the driver settings to the defaults in case the gamma/other-color adjustments is outtta whack for the laptop LCD.

From a fast look at the service manual it apprears that, should you need to try and reseat the cable, you can gain access by simply removing the keyboard. So ya might wanna give that a shot and reseat that cable. If you have never done this make sure and read the manual first. The tools you will need are listed at the beginning of each section. You will need to look at KEYBOARD REMOVAL and then DISPLAY REMOVAL...it should take maybe 15 minutes to try this...just take your time and GO SLOWLY if it is new to you.

I am out for a while gotta visit a client...can't wait to see if anyone comes up with a solution...it's sure a different problem for sure.

 

grumpy, thanks a lot for your help - your screenshot sure does look correct, so there´s definately something wrong with mine. I have full support (next business day), so I don´t need to do anything myself, I will ask HP to check this, I did call support a few days ago, and they couldn´t help, but I will try again and tell them what you told me, could be right. The issue appears mostly on light colors, dark websites and graphics are not a problem, they show very well and with the right color and contrast, it´s pretty strange...

I did re-install the driver and everything is reset to factory settings, it has the standard 1440 X 900 pixel screen without brightview and, as I mentioned ATI Radeon X1600.

Grumpy, have you touched any settings in the driver or display ?

 

howdy,

Well, good about the warranty. And no my settings are all default so nothing fancy on my end. And my system is the same config as yours so that should help them see the issue. Perhaps if you showed them the pics? I have posted pics online for support calls when other systems have problems and just told the support person the URL. It really helped that they could see the problem easier then I was able to describe everything.

Hope it works out for ya!! good thing you went after the good warranty too...

 

try going into the device manager, then double click on monitors, then double click on plug and play monitor. go into details. it should look like this

DISPLAY\SEC3157\4&2BE340EF&0&80871400&00&22

I'm using a friends Acer 2420 today, and that is the id i got from his monitors details. as you can see, it has an SEC LCD screen, which are about as bad as they get.

I keep trying to put the brightness up even though i know its already maxed LOL. plus, the colors are horrible.

If you have an SEC screen, your woes will be answered. and at that point, no driver will help you.

 

Well, bad news.

I talked to HP about this, they have never heard of this problem before now, they can confirm that all new HP laptops have this problem, specially light green color tones are not shown correctly, as my screenshot shows. Even the most expensive and best laptop nw9440 has the same problem. It´s something about the Gamma of the screens that are not as good as in the old days, that´s why older HP laptops shows correctly.

Can anyone who reads this please check the URL above, and confirm this ? Thanks.

Grumpy, can you please take another picture of your laptop and the external screen side by side ? Maybe models from other countries have a different panel. I really need to get to the bottom of this, as I really don´t understand why no one has told HP about this before now.

Thanks

 

The monitor on the left looked a bit pale and less vivid. I think that happen on my dv2000t as well. But after making adjustments like this:

Gamma .89
Brightness 96%
Nvidia Digital Vibrance ~25%

The display is much better now. Give it a try.

 

Just calibrate your screen. There are plenty devices on the market that can do it.

 

I´m afraid this issue is much more than just a matter of calibration, I spent many hours trying to get it right using several different tools, but each time I get one color right, all other colors are incorrect. HP agreed with me that this is an issue on new HP screens, and besides, on screen that don´t have this problem, default settings and no further calibration is enough, so there´s definately a problem here.

 

I just had a thought...when you view the GIF that I posted the link to, are the colors correct? If so then it might not be the display. It might be something in how your system is processing the HTML itself. I have an idea on the tip of my tongue but cannot put my finger on it exactly...maybe someone else here can offer some insight on the issue of browser processing of HTML coded colors...???

 

hat version of the Catalyst drivers do ya have? I found this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=106355

And apparently there might be some probs with the version 7.1 drivers and 7.2 is out now. I am running v6.14 so at least you have that to compare and can use it to debate the HP support folks.

 

oye, i hope you find a fix.

i havent heard of this issue from any other HP user so i hope thats not how it is with the new dv6000t's

 

grumpy, I just checked your GIF again, on my external screen it looks like it should on the 9420 it looks like the picture I took, the left side is grey. The only way to show this as you see it is to take a picture of the screen with a camera.

I made a complete re-install with and without HPs partition, it´s all the same, it´s not the driver, it´s the screen itself, the only wonder I have is why has no one heard about this before ? I can´t be the only one who work with graphics using a HP laptop ?

Where can I see who made the screen ? Maybe it´s a different screen that you have grumpy ?

 

Btw, I checked a dv9000t - it has the same problem, at least the one I saw.

 

If you would have read my post, it would have answered your question.

 

Oh I did - but it´s not that either. I don´t have a SEC screen when I look at default monitor.

 

And what´s interesting about my screen is that dark websites are not a problem at all, they should just as well and the same way as my external screen - one good example is this one: http://www.2advanced.com/ - the problem occurs only with light color websites.

 

hey ya...I see it is still going hard for ya...darn it anyway.

OK, here is a link to a program called PC Wizard 2007 it's a nice utility that really opens up a lot of info about your system, including the mfg for your display.

Since the screen capture I posted had the same issues on your display as the website does then yeah, the issue is somewhere in the display/video card. Wish I knew some specific person with HP you could call.

If I find some free time I can take a pic of the display but it will not show anything the screen capture does not. So I am not understanding the request. You know it could be a voltage thing preventing the colors from displaying correcty. That was why I suggested re-seating the cable to the display. it is just that requires the remove of the keyboard at a minimum...I have not had the need to really look at the guts of this thing yet even thought I have already looked under the keyboard just because...

If ya don't have it here is a link to where you can find the manuals and junk for the system.

Maybe if ya walk away from it for a few days a solution could present itself...

 

grumpy,

Thanks, I will install this program and see what I can find.

My request to take a picture is necessary to see if you have the same colors than I have, since a screendump like you did, will just show the colors as the screen can show, that´s why your screendump looks perfect on my external screen and wrong in my 9420.

As the issue is only related to the internal screen and not external it must be a screen problem, not graphic card.

Thanks

 

grumpy, programmed installed.

When I click on Video > Default Monitor it shows me a product ID called LPL2188, Gamma Factor: 2.2 - what do you have ?

 

Under SYSTEM SUMMARY~MONITOR TYPE mine is a Seiko Epson...

Under VIDEO~MONITOR TYPE = PNP09FE, Gamma Factor = 1

I am guessing that is the current settings for the driver adjusting the display.

Maybe this will help someone offer help...I dunno...anyway I am off for the night...I'll peek in tomorrow afternoon and see how it's going....

 

Strange, I have:

SYSTEM SUMMARY~MONITOR TYPE = it just says 17 inchs
VIDEO~MONITOR TYPE = Default Monitor, Gamma Factor 2.2

How are these settings for you below the Gamma Factor ? Mine are:

DPMS Active-Off : No
DPMS Suspend : No
DPMS Standby : No
EDID version : 1.2

 

Strange, according to this article and many others I´ve found about Gamma, the correct for web is 2.2

http://www.w3.org/Graphics/Color/sRGB

You have 1, I have 2.2, but yours apparently is showing correctly, so it must be something else.

 

I found a review of the little brother of mine, the 8430:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=56356

Note the pictures he took from the screen, there are 2 that shows the HP website, similar to this:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/e...owerful&psn=notebooks_tablet_pcs/notebook_pcs

Note how the colors that divide the tables (white and grey).

The grey colors on his machine and mine are blue (well, a light blue) instead of grey, this is also the same I get on my 9420, on everything else (external screen and other laptops from other brands that i´ve seen), the colors are grey.

This is just one of many examples that the colors are wrong. Not sure what to do actually...other than returning the PC and buy something else.

 

aphexacid:

Just so you know...I happen to have the SEC (Seiko Epson) LCD display in my system and the colors are PERFECT with plenty of brightness or whatever so even though there might have been a batch of displays from them, it's obviously not a constant issue and was likely fixed after a point. But it is a good idea to get wii to take a peek at the setting in control panel...



Wii:

Do us a favor and look in CONTROL PANEL~HARDWARE~DEVICE MANAGER~MONITORS. Then select the either DEFAULT or PLUG ' PLAY MONITOR from the list (one might not have the actual id strings) and then the DETAILS tab. You should see a DEVICE INSTANCE ID selection field in the drop down for that tab. This is where you will see the code directly from your display.

Part of me is wondering if you do not have the wrong monitor type selected in Windows? I mean sillier things have happened and I know ya have been working endlessly here trying to find the anwser so I just don't want you to thing people are not reading what you have done....just being through is all...

And here are the numbers/setting values I get from PC Wizard:

Product ID : PNP09FE
Manufacture : Week 0 of 1990 (must be a bad value here or something unexpected)
Video Input Type : Analogic in 0.7/0.3v
Gamma Factor : 1
DPMS Active-Off : Yes
DPMS Suspend : Yes
DPMS Standby : Yes
EDID version : 1.3

I know my system was built in March of 2006 if that helps too...

DISPLAY\SEC4347\5&14B34EB&0&00000110&01&00

OK...I am back to sleep for another few hours...if you still haven't a solution I'll make the time to try and organize what has been done so far and see if anything makes sense...and in the mean time maybe just compare the numbers and values here to see if any pattern opens up for ya...

if all else fails uninstall ALL of the monitors found on the Control Panel under Monitors...then REBOOT (not restart) XP that should ensure the correct display is installed automatically on start-up.

 

hmmmmm....try this....disable the AMBIENT LIGHT SENSOR in the system BIOS. I don't know for sure but it could be the issue...I have mine disabled as I prefer to control the brightness myself.

 

Ok, let´s see - under Monitors I have these:

Default Monitor - DISPLAY\DEFAULT_MONITOR\5&14B34EB&0&00000100&01&00

Default Monitor - DISPLAY\DEFAULT_MONITOR\5&14B34EB&0&00000210&01&00

Generic Television - DISPLAY\PNP09FE\5&14B34EB&0&00000200&01&00

Plug and Play Monitor - DISPLAY\LPL2188\5&14B34EB&0&00000110&01&00

I have tried them all, also removed them and reboot, but it´s all the same, no changes in the screen. I also disabled the ambient light sensor in BIOS.

 

Ups, my values from PC Wizard 2007 for the nx9420 - this is interesting:

Product ID : LPL2188
Manufacture : Week 0 of 2005
Video Input Type : Digital in 0.7/0.3v
Max. Horiz./Vert. Size : 37 cm / 23 cm
Monitor Size : 17 inchs (estimated)
Gamma Factor : 2.2
DPMS Active-Off : No
DPMS Suspend : No
DPMS Standby : No
EDID version : 1.2

External screen DELL 1905FP shows:

Manufacturer : Dell Computer
Product ID : DEL400D
Model : DELL 1905FP
Serial Number : W869753N2C1A
Manufacture : Week 13 of 2005
Video Input Type : Digital in 0.7/0.3v
Max. Horiz./Vert. Size : 37 cm / 30 cm
Monitor Size : 19 inchs (estimated)
Gamma Factor : 2.2
DPMS Active-Off : Yes
DPMS Suspend : Yes
DPMS Standby : Yes
EDID version : 1.3

Found some info about DMPS:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DPMS

Not sure if this is the issue, since there´s plenty of light in the screen.

 

grumpy,

Take a look in PC WIZARD 2007 under Current Display at the far bottom, there´s something called ICM Information, I have:

Profil : sRGB Color Space Profile.icm
Copyright : LinoColorCMM © by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Version supported : Windows 5
Compatibility : Windows 4
ICC Signature : Win

 

I see your problem. Me and my girlfriend recently bought two nc8430 c2d t7200 notebooks and I got decent LCD but my girl got some ****ty one, which has app. 20% less brightness and there's grain allover LCD.
It's funny that the same thing happened to us 3 years ago when we bought two identical Thinkpad r51 notebooks and back then I was the one that got the ****ty LCD with the same simptoms (lower brightness and grain) but I insisted on replacement and I got new LCD. People at IBM service told me that there are a couple of LCD providers to all notebook manufactures, some are good and some are bad (I guess they are also cheaper) and if you're unlucky... this is what happens. I mean if you buy a single notebook you don't know that it has a really bad LCD... and people live with that, with ****ty monitors...

Anyway, I'm going to HP dealer on monday morning and I'm gonna insist on getting LCD replacement or even new notebook.

p.s. it's strange that I don't have monitor device under device manager, like there is no monitor installed at all...?? what's up with this?

 

that really makes sense...poor wii has done EVERYTHING short of rebuilding the LCD itself. I think wii should take the same route and get it replaced.

BTW, from my experince and reading all LCD makers put out good or bad batches...I think it's just a roll of the dice who's turn it is each week.

 

I've got the exact same problem with a NW9440 bought a week ago. Colors are completely wrong on the screen with a strong blue dominant tone. I'm gonna contact HP next monday and will ask for a replacement. The NW9440 is supposed to be top of the range, and I bought it for 3D renderings and graphics. This is simply not acceptable for a product in this price range!

 

If this thing with bad LCDs allover top end price range notebooks will continue, the only sense is to make this a first page NEWS and maybe companies will wake up from their hot dreams of f.u.c.k.i.n.g customers in the a.s.s.
This is second time for me and my girlfriend to recive quite pricey higher-end product with that kind of flaw... and I'm tired of b.i.t.c.h.i.n.g. at HP/IBM service how my LCD isn't good enough for me, if it's good for ordinary people...

 

I´m glad to see people experiences the same problems as I, as I thought I was going crazy with this.

I´m going to do something about this, so I arranged a meeting with HP in my country, and I will bring several different laptops from different companies which screens looks correct and have them compare with my bad screen. I´m sure they will agree with me that something is wrong. I´ve done so much now, that this route is the last for me.

 

That is GREAT wii!! I think it is not in any way acceptable for this issue with LCD's. If it feels any better to know a few years ago when I bought my Dell Inspiron 8500, they had a big batch of really AWFUL Samsung WUXGA LCD's. It's really the fault of both the laptop mfg's and the LCD makers. Somewhere they need people looking at each display that comes off the line and comparing to a known good color chart on the saem display. Of course we will never see that as corporations place zero value on humans actually interacting with the production lines.

I really feel badly this issue has shown up. And you ended up wasting so much time chasing down solutions. At least you have that to back your argument up when you discuss it with someone!

Go and get 'em!!

 

Yeah, of course this is something that I have talked with several people about, and they all agree with me (after seeing my screen), that something is wrong. Today I even plugged in a projector to my 9420 and the about 100" picture on the wall at my office had the right colors ?!

 

wii, that sort of thing really seems to show the video card is fine. But it could be the firmware on the card. I am not sure how or if the output would be influnced by which device is selected. Have you by cance monitored the voltage using some utility? Again, I am not a real nitty-griity hardware guy. I take the time to understand various hardware but the underlying electronics are still (even after near 30 years playing with this stuff) so much black-magic.

As I rad the issue it could be the display, the inverter, any one of the cables involved or the video card. w/o the ability to swap components themselves there is simply no way for us poor peons to fully solve this sort of issue. And I really meant it earlier when I suggested a loose connection for the display cable. Which could be as simple as reseating the cable or a bad connection itself.

But to my thinking it's HP's responsibility to both solve this issue and remedy it free of charge to customers. And HP surely is already aware of the issue. They likely knew before the systems even shipped. It was simply that their risk-management types told them it would cost less to ship then replace systems only for those who complained. Don't ya just love that way of "thinking"...sadly all the big companies run that way.

And the reason you are getting the correct colors on external display's is because the video card output is directed out a different circuit thingy. And actually that is what sort of gives a clue what is not right. Wherever that output branch happens shows that the issue is somewhere past that point in the process.

Hey here is an interesting test. Setup your video to use an extended desktop (not seperate discrete displays) and extend it onto the 2nd display. Then move the windo of something showing the color issue and see if the correct colors are shown on the external display. If you have been doing it that way then try just the opposite and see if that matters. I suspect it will not but it offers more detail for your complaint.

Best of luck with this!! I will keep an eye out for what happens after your meeting!

 

Oh yes grumpy, I´ve done that test already - had the 9420 connected to an external screen and use extended desktop to the 2nd display, it does show correct and well on the external display no matter what.

I will tell the HP guys about the internal cable thingy, but it´s their job to fix it not mine, I paid well for this laptop, so it should work, and it should work well. I´m not fanatic about these colors, I don´t do graphics for print, just for web, and it seems to be quite strange that all other laptops show the colors correctly without color calibration, and the 9420 doesn´t, even with color calibration.

 

grumpy btw, you said very early on that your 9420 show like my external screen to the right on the first post of this topic, right? So this means that you have a good screen, it would be cool, if I could tell HP, that not all 9420 have a screen like mine, and to somehow identify your screen and mine, apparently mine just show up like Default Monitor and yours like Seiko Epson. How can I identify mine, and what about the different results we get of our little monitor test ?

 

right my display shows just like the screen capture I posted the link for and shows color as your external display does.

I think we found your screen mfg's code earlier as being LPL something or other. Remember we looked under CONTROL PANEL~DEVICE MANAGER~HARDWARE~MONITORS, then find the device that is your laptop's LCD, you'll need to look back a few posts or just look up the code again.

I did look your code up (the first three letters seem to be a universal mfg ID code) and it was LG who made yours. But you can google the code too and find out.

 

I've read all the thread and feel a bit less frustrated to see that I'm not the only one who's been ripped off by Hewlett Packard!
I bought the HP Compaq NW9440 for my work and simply cannot use it!
I do 3D renderings and graphics, so color accuracy is key for me.
I also have a desktop Sony PC plugged to a Belinea 19" monitor. Colors are acurate.
Last week I had a meeting with a client, so I transferred all the project to the laptop. Just imagine the face of the people at the meeting when they saw the presentation on the HP screen. Beige colors appeared in a nice mauve tone. Everything was bluish. The funny thing is that when you look at screen at a 45° angle, colors look fine.
I simply don't want to know anything about the hows and why colors are wrong on this laptop. I paid the high price for quality and got a piece of s..t.
I've tried everything I could to adjust the colors manually, but it's impossible to reduce the dominant blue.
Maybe a tool like the Colorvision Spider could create a color profile for the screen. But it's more likely to be a hardware problem.
Next Monday this thing is going back to HP for replacement, end of story. If they can't don't want to fix it, I'll simply return it and buy another brand.

 

Yes Jeff, confirmed - if I view my screen at an angle of about 45 degrees, I see the correct colors - that is strange.

I agree with you, I paid a good price for mine too, and I have never in my almost 10 years working on the web had to color calibrate or any of the sort just to satisfy a screen, as HP suggest. The colors are not right, and I blame a bad LCD for this, it´s very simple.

btw Jeff, which graphic card and screen resolution do you have ? Mine is with ATI X1600 and 1440x900 px.

 

Hi Wii,
The graphic card on the NW9440 is nVidia Quadro FX 1500M.
The screen res is 1920x1200.
I've chose this laptop mostly because of the graphic card and the high res display. Bad luck! Or bad choice...
I've been working in computer graphics since 1994, my first "pro" machine was a Macintosh Quadra 800, and have never seen such a bad screen! In some cases I adjusted the gamma and that was it.
I hope HP will come with a solution to our problem. If they don't, I'll advertise this issue as widely as possible.

 

hiya wii

as per your request in the thread that I made...i went to that website and took a look at the colours. They compile fine...yellowish is where its supposed to be and the read as well etc...sorry to hear about your problems..

I got all the latest drivers from that HP website professional support page.

 

I'm downloading the most up to date driver for the nVidia video card. Let's see if this will solve the problem.
BTW I don't understand why a laptop bought on February 2007 was sold with an obsolete driver (september 2006)?

 

hmmmmmmmm....things are looking clearer after the past few posts. I dunno why I assumed everyone would be running pretty much the saem card and certainly had a WSXGA+ display.

OK, wii mentioned that the display will show correct colors if viewed from AN ANGLE. Well, that puts the issue diectely on the display panel itself. As I recall LCD displays use a filter that is overlaid to create (or something like that) the proper colors, viewing angle, etc.

wii, you mention seems to indicate that there is something incorrect with how the layers for the display were applied!! You also have the WXGA+ resolution display made by LG. With the ATI card? Or nVidia?

jeffT has the WUXGA display? But on an NW9440 with nVidia.

I have the WSXGA+ (1680x1050) display which was made by Seiko Epson along with the ATI card. I am running the newest video card drivers from the HP website. I can see the correct colors. Also my display is MATTE not Bright View.

So, maybe if jeffT and hofo_mofo can confirm the maker of their displays a pattern might begin to come into sight. Also what video card does hofo_mofo have?

I am suspecting there is a problem with the LG display panels from a certain period of time. I am sure this is an issue that happened for a very short time frame (or not.)

I am pretty much sold that your issues are in no way driver related. Having two people with different cards yet the same color issue would seem to confirm that for us. And that is what ya need to know next, is there a pattern based on the mfg for the display panel? Also is your display MATTE finish or Bright View?