T400 replacement screen?

I broke my screen and I need to replace it. From what I've read the LG LED version seems to be the more decent choice. (1440x900 model).

Where can I order it and make sure that it's the LG?

Also, I'd like to check which model the T400 originally came with. Where is the FRU located in the laptop?

 

What location you're from? The screen part number you want is: 42T0498 which is the LG-Philips LP141WP2-TLB1 (1440x900 WXGA+ LED).
But make sure your T400 can take this part though, it's best if you can tell us your Model Type (the sticker underneath should tell you that) or more accurately your serial number so we can check if its a standard LCD model or LED model since they're not interchangeable.

 

Currently LED model. Laptop's CTO.

I'm located in Canada.

 

You can try ScreenTek or LCDs4Less for the part you're looking for as they both ship to Canada. You may want to ask them and clarify whether it is the LG part you're after. But either site should work out cheaper than ordering from Lenovo directly.

 

If I order from Lenovo, do I get a choice of screen?

 

that depends on where you order it and whether it is left over stock.

 

I'd look on eBay cause Lenovo is going to charge a lot more to fix it.

 

Try this one. Confirmed to be the LG LED 1440x900 display, $135USD shipped.

Call me completely nuts, but I just ordered a complete conversion kit to this display(my T400 has a CFFL) from the same seller as the price was very attractive.

 

I don't care about a measly $100 difference. The most important thing is the proper screen.

Where can I purchase it to MAKE SURE that's it's an LG?

 

The link I posted to is the LG panel. Same part number and a photo of the panel's information sticker.

If you're willing to wait, I can confirm mine's an LG when it gets in, but I suspect it'll take about a week or so to ship.

 

I have a related question.

I want to transplant a *IPS, MVA or PVA (or whatever to be honest that is not TN) into my T400, which brands and models should I look at? Are there any
panels known to work?

 

I don't think you're nuts, I also got this T400 LED Assembly set lying around in my house too! Otherwise that makes two of us!

Unfortunately at this time there is no known IPS panels made in the 14.1" Widescreen format otherwise we're all be jumping on to this ship.

 

Hehe. Well, it ended up being less than the AFFS display for the X200, so I went for it. I'll end up putting the X200 through its paces a little later on, but for now I'm kinda excited.

 

In this context, a quick question:

My R400 is under a 3-year warranty. It has a 1280x800 res screen. Say, if I wanted to replace the screen with a higher res - like 1440x900 and asked Lenovo to do it. As such there is no problem with the current screen and I am not claiming any warranty.

Would (1) the original 3-year warranty be voided? (2) Would the new screen (since I will be asking Lenovo/IBM to procure the screen and install it) be covered by the standard screen warranty that comes with the machine?

If #1 applies, then there is nothing I can do about it. I don't want to coid the warranty on my machine. But if not, then I would seriously consider paying the premium (since there is little or no other alternative given my current location) to Lenovo/IBM for installing the screen.

My machine came with a 3-year onsite warranty cover.
Limited warranty (1-year) for the battery and the Screen (I think! I'll have to check)

 

Personally I think as long you use genuine parts from Lenovo and fitted it correctly then your warranty should still be intact. If the R400 does indeed have an WXGA+ LED option within your Model Type number then I don’t see a reason why they can refuse the warranty on the machine. Obviously doing things which are not authorised such as transplanting an IPS Boe-Hydis screen on a X200 for example is a different story, but this is nothing like that.

What is the model type number of your system lineS of flight, it may be an authorised configurable option within the T400/R400 Hardware Maintenance Manual.

 

LCD is not a CRU part, so replacing it could avoid the warranty, but if you the local depot does it for you, then they could keep the warranty on the rest of the system intact. So speak to your warranty depot and see what can be done in that regard.

 

The model type number is 7447A26.

I think I will call up the Lenovo/ IBM center and ask them.

I just checked the manual and it says that the 1440x900 WXGA+ is compatible with the R400 (and the T400) and the FRU number is 45N5857.

If you are used to reading the manual perhaps you can let me know if I am reading this correctly.

Thanks

 

45N5857? Unless my maintenance manual is out of date that points to LCD Bezel assembly without camera. You should be looking at the LCD Panels section (or specifically "LCD panel, 14.1-in. WXGA+ LED-backlight"). Your part number can be: 42T0498 (LG) or 42T0504 (Samsung). The LG Panel is considered the better out of the two due to better brightness, contrast ratios and response times than the Samsung.

It's probably best to check with the Lenovo/IBM depot for this conversion, I take your model is not a CTO variant so it would be harder to pass off as an original manufacturer upgrade to begin with even if you did manage to fit it yourself successfully.

 

the WXGA+ LED LCD can be fitted to the R400.

 

Yeah...sorry! I was looking at the wrong item. The listing I found is:

LCD panel, 14.1-in. WXGA+, LED-backlight: 42T0498/ 42T0504 (FRU #)
LCD panel, 14.1-in. WXGA+: 42T0597/ 42T0573/ 42T0579/ 42T0583 (FRU #)

Both apply to the R400 - unless again I am looking and reading the wrong thing from the manual!

And, my machine (7447A26) is a CTO machine.

 

Oh OK, I was browsing online with the machine type number you've provided and a shop in Mumbai was selling the R400 off the shelf which made me thought it was a Topseller model instead.

You only need to be interested in the first list of LCD panels, the second list is for CCFL LCD's only. But generally the only FRU number you probably need is 42T0498.

 

OK. Thanks. I will call them up on Monday and will see what they say. If they make too much of a noise, I'll probably contact the folks I was corresponding with during the palm-rest problem and see if they could help me out - especially because I am willing to pay for whatever changes I want. I might even add that I would like to avail of a 2-year accidental coverage.

Of course, it could also be the case that after the palm-rest matter, these folks would run a mile on hearing my name as if I was the bearer of plague or something!!!!

Or, their warranty details may also not allow it...

Either way, will get to know on Monday!

Thanks

Edit: Well, I bought my machine off a reseller too (but not from Mumbai) and it was comparatively very cheap. I could have bought a decently specc'd Dell or an Acer with the amount that I spent on the ThinkPad. I was lucky because the reseller had got an order from some local company for 50 R400 units, but who only took 49 from him. It was the company that actually customized the "order" and not me. And the reseller had already got his margins. So he was willing to give me a generous discount considering the specs of the R400! And to think that just a few weeks before I finally bought the R400, I had booked a T400 for more money but similarly specc'd - I think the HDD was of a smaller capacity and there was only 2GB of RAM.

 

Come to think of it, I don;t think I have ever owned a 1440x900 res machine. I have used those of my friends, but I have always had a 1280x800 res. I wish I could find a 1440x900 res machine and use it for a few days to see what it feels like. Are the images sharper? I am saying sharper, but I have nothing to compare it with and really have no complaints with my existing screen.

But I have read in some forums that the 1440x900 res screen gives a little more screen-estate, which makes viewing some documents much easier though the text becomes smaller. Please do correct me if I am wrong.

 

I can’t say for sharpness as that’s largely depends on many factors such as the screen panel and image quality, but the WXGA+ resolution certainly gives more real estate so that you can view more things at once. The pixels would be denser but if you're concerned that you have to squint to see the texts then you needn't worry. Coming from a T61 with WXGA to a WXGA+ screen myself I never had any trouble of this, it actually will feel natural overtime and you probably would struggle to comprehend on how you managed on a low res screen before!

You may also notice certain things like icons and taskbars are not as bloated up in size as before which in my opinion makes them aesthetically more pleasing. I wish I had my camera so I can take some pictures of my WXGA+ unit in comparison to a WXGA screen in terms of the viewing experience.

 

Sounds quite enticing actually! I HAVE to check this out ASAP.

 

So I checked my laptop using Lenovo's database. Give them the serial number and it returns back the exact config when I ordered. For all the people wanting to upgrade FRUs, Lenovo knows. The laptop is registered.

I have samsung panel, no wonder the black looks like a satin purple and whites are a bluish tinge. Worst screen I've ever used, worse than that Pentium I Compaq Armada in my basement.

 

True! But the question is whether it is possible to legally make Lenovo/IBM complicit in making changes in the registration to show how the machine has been maintained/ upgraded (over its original warranty period) by using their own hardware (in this case, better res screen) and their own technical services -assuming, of course, that one will pay for materials (from lenovo/IBM's stock) and the service fees of Lenovo/IBM to install the panel.

I'll ask them, possibly tomorrow, and update.

Cheers!

 

Personally, I think it's going to be a major hassle getting Lenovo to replace parts like this under warranty. You might be able to bring it into a depot to get it replaced (I used to own a T60 that was upgraded to a 1600x1200 this way by the previous owner) but the costs involved will likely be significantly higher than sourcing the parts and doing the swap yourself.

If the work is done by the depot there exists a chance that they'll honor your warranty, but the T60 I owned seemed to not have a factory warranty at all. Not sure what was up with that.

In my case I have a year of factory warranty remaining, but to be quite honest my experiences with warranty repairs have been less than stellar. I'll install the new LCD myself and deal with anything that comes up as/if it happens.

 

I have a question for LegendaryKA8 and Hearst555 about the CCFL to LED conversion kit. Is it absolutely necessary to get the LED cable, and the bezel? I have read on another forum about someone who did the conversion for the T500, but he didn't mention anything about the bezel. Also, he said something about the LCD cable being a 30 pin connector, and there was no need to change it. Could I get your opinions on this? I am very interested in converting my CCFL to LED too, and I have already bought the LED screen. Just need the supplementary parts now.

 

From what I know CCFL screens are powered by inverters while on the other hand LED screens are powered by sub cards instead. I would imagine the LCD cables are designed for each respectively, the Lenovo inverter/sub card don't just powers up the screen and lighting but it also regulates the LED status on the bezel. I haven't attempted to run a LED screen via the standard CCFL cable but personally I don't think it would be wise to try it as you may risk damaging your components, especially things such as the screen are quite expensive!

As for the bezel I heard LegendaryKA8 kept his original (CCFL) covers on for the conversion, though he did mentioned that it's not 100% flush as there's some sort of gap. I've started mine from scratch using the LCD cover kit for LED screens and everything fitted perfectly. You can read more of our experiences on a previous thread here.

 

Yes, the LED cable is required for the swap; there's no way around that. I used the LED display bezel, which may or may not be needed; I suspect the CFFL bezel will do, but there'll likely be a wider gap between the screen and the bezel. That may allow dirt/grit/etc an easier route into the notebook, though.

 

Hey Legendary

I currently have a WXGA LED on my T400, and I need to change my LCD screen since I have some flickering problems with it. Anyhow, I want to swap it with the WXGA+ LED screen. Do I also need to change the LCD cable?

Thanks

Pushead

 

If you have an LED display already, you don't need to change anything else but the display. Look for the LG LP141WP2-TLB1 for the best WXGA+ LED display for this system. I think you can find it on eBay for about $120.

 

Thanks. When I searched for that WXGA+ screen, the description on that screen says that it has a data connector of 40pin. I think I have the 30 pin connector from the table. Would I still be able to connect this screen with the current cable I have?

 

I'm not sure. I purchased all the parts for the conversion as a package deal and it worked correctly. I was under the impression that all T400 LED display cables were the same, and that there were only differences between the LED cables versus the CFFL cables.