Thinkpad R61 15.4" Screen Problems

Hello I have had my thinkpad R61 8932-CTO for about 19 months or so now. I joined this site right around the time that I bought my thinkpad. Until just recently I havnt had any major problems with my r61 been a great everyday use computer. For about 3 months or so the fan has been making alot of noise I have just been using tpfancontrol on manual level 7. This isnt my main problem as I can keep the CPU around 38C or so by keeping the fan on high all the time. Besides the buzzing and humming noises from the fan its still been working great.


Anyways here is my main problem that ive only really had in the past few weeks maybe month. It started out is just one single white line that flickered along the top of the LCD. Now it has gotten somewhat worse as to where white lines flicker horizontally across the entire screen sometimes. When it first started it was easy to get it to go away. I could just move the screen or twist it slightly and it would be fine for a while. Now when it happens its getting harder to get the lines to go away. But I can still get it to clear up and work normally I am typing this on it right now and its working fine.

I have took apart the screen bezel and checked the cable I couldnt really tell if it was bad. It seemed like it was plugged in fine I put some tape on it to secure it a little better but it didnt helped. When I had it apart I also disconnected and reconnected the LCD cable to the motherboard. I havent tried connecting an external monitor yet. I am fairly sure its something to do with the monitor. I can get the lines to go away by just adjusting the angle of the monitor/twisting it a little bit.

Ive done alot of googleing and cant find anything specifically the same. The lines are always white or close to white and usually at the top of the screen. Sometimes they flicker randomly always horizontally across the entire screen now here lately. I dont think its the inverter as from what ive read when that goes bad it makes the screen go black. What I am trying to figure out is what is it thats going bad? Im not sure if its the LCD or the LCD cable?? could anyone tell my how to rule out one or the other? I dont want to purchase the wrong part both are kinda pricey.



Just as a side note every once in a great while been a long time now since its happened the brightness would change. The screen would get dimmer and the on screen display for brightness would pop up and be lower the what I have set. Im guessing that this is unrelated and just a software glitch as the little green brightness meter thing came up with less bars. I was always able to readjust it back and it would be fine.

 

anyone have any ideas as to what could be the cause of this. I have tried to take care of the LCD as much as possible. I do use it alot so its definitely went through quite a bit. I carry it around in my backpack when i go to friends houses.

I am just wondering what usually goes bad the cable running to the LCD or the panel itself. its still working fine for right now but I have a feeling its going to get worse. When I do go to buy parts for it when it gets bad I want to make sure I get the right one. I already know I need to order the heatsink/fan assembly eventually.

EDIT: the next time it happens I will try to take a picture with my cell phone and post it up on here for a reference.

 

It has been fine for a few weeks now but then all of a sudden the lines have reappeared from time to time. I have tried my best to add some pictures of where the lines appear on my screen the most. They are usually at the top of the screen but do on occation freak out and flicker across the entire length of the screen.

It happens so fast that its hard to get a picture of the lines when it get really bad. The only camera I really have handy is from my cell phone. I messed with it quite a bit to get pics the best I could. Now that I have stopped moving around the lines haven't came back yet. The lines seem to happen the worst when the screen is around normal use angle. Opening or closing slightly will cause the lines to disappear. The main thing that really makes the lines appear is twisting the corners slightly but its always random.

I would just really like to narrow it down as to what part I will need to buy when the time comes. Otherwise as far as I can tell the brightness and everything is normal when the lines are gone. It seems like if the LCD cable was going bad there would be more symptoms then just these white lines. I have done alot of searching I cannot find anything like this. I just dont understand how it works so well the majority of the time.

 

Bump...

Ive still been able to use my laptop just fine but the white lines are starting to come more often and are on more of the screen. just the slightest touch makes them go away. They are usually worst when i first start up the computer from sleep. Then by just moving the screen a little they disappear and dont usually come back.

Im guessing this is going to get worst before it gets better. I will try to take a better picture of the entire screen when it happens again. can anyone tell me the symptoms of the LCD cable or LCD display itself when either actually go bad??

 

Does it do it on an external screen?

 

I haven't tried it but I have taken screen shots and such and they are normal. Thats what makes me think its something with the LCD itself or the cable going to it. If it was something to do with the graphics itself it would be in the image. Its fairly easy still to get rid of them by moving the display around. I just know its going to get worse eventually. I am kinda leaning towards the LCD itself because if it was the cable there would be more then just the white lines.

I know quite a bit about computers and hardware I built my desktop. I have had this laptop apart a few times to clean it all out. I would do everything my self when I buy the parts for fix it. I thought the thinkpad would last along time with my usage. thats why I went with just the 1 year warranty when I bought it. Besides the wear on the keyboard and touchpad it still looks prefect.

 

can anyone post some experiences with LCD problems on thinkpads?
I would just like to see some posts of a similar situation that would help me narrow the problem down. From what I have found the LCD cable itself is just as expensive as an entire replacement LCD. Im going to keep using it until it get to bad to use.

All im looking for from this thread is some similar problems and how they were cured. Ive done all the normal troubleshooting I have no problem taking it apart and fixing it. At lease think pads have good disassembly manuals and are nice and easy to work on. I knew when I bought it if anything happened after the 1 year warranty that I would be the one to fix it.

 

Perhaps your issue hasn't been seen here much, which is why you're not getting much traction with your posts. You might want to try the Lenovo or ThinkPads.com forums. Though this forum is bigger, those are more ThinkPad centric.

 

yea thats what I was afraid of it is a fairly strange problem. Its wierd how its only white lines horizontally that flash around the screen. Eventually it will get worse and hopefully ill be able to figure out what it is.

 

well I took some more pictures maybe someone will have some ideas. I dont really have a great camera to take pictures with. My cell phone takes better pictures then the old cheap HP digital camera I have.

The darker black pictures are when the screen is on a blank screen saver.
I thought that would help see the lines on a black background. I also took a few pictures of a Firefox window. I couldn't load the page as I tether my cell phone for internet. Its kind of a hassle to use the camera on the phone while its connected to the computer and dialed to the internet.

on the pics of the browser window I couldnt really get a good pic of the lines in the center. You can really see the lines on the top bar and the task bar at the bottom. By flexing and moving the screen around I can get them to go away. They are starting to get worse but it still works fine when the lines are gone.