W510 Internal Screen Not Recognized

I have a 2011 W510, and the internal screen just stopped working. I have tried two different replacement screens, with no success. Machine boots and runs just fine, and I can power an external screen just fine. The control panel doesn't even recognize an internal display. I have also replaced the inverter and the display connection cable. I took the machine in to a pro and had him run diagnostics. He said the motherboard and graphics card are fine and he couldn't figure out what was wrong. I have also tried removing and reinstalling all the graphics card drivers.

Any ideas what else I can do?

Thanks,

Mark

 

Welcome to the forum!

Probably a blown fuse on the motherboard that controls the LCD output. You can check these (very tiny) fuses with a multimer and if any of them gives you an "open" reading then you've found the culprit.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply. Where would the fuses be located, and are they replaceable?

 

Towards the back of the board around the area where the LCD cable enters. The fuses are not meant to be replaced, but you can solder another one "piggy-back" style over the dead one if your soldering skills are good enough. These types of fuses are usually available through Mouser, but you'd have to locate the blown one first in order to get the proper replacement.

Good luck.

 

ok, I don't have a multi-meter with me, so I'll go pick one up tomorrow to test the fuses. Would a blown fuse cause the display to disappear from the menu of available displays?

 

Which menu are you referring to? Presuming that the BIOS is set to boot the internal LCD as the primary device, any other software reading is non-consequential if the panel doesn't work.

 

I don't know anything about setting the BIOS. I was just referring to the drop-down menu when you right-click on the desktop and then go to "screen resolution." Like where you would go if you were going to set up a second monitor. How would I check the BIOS?

 

Press F1 on initial boot.

 

Thanks for the advice. I pressed F1 at boot and didn't see anything referring to the display. I tried F12, and didn't see anything there either. Where should I look? I really don't know anything about BIOS. Thanks.

 

I don't have a *10 series machine in front of me but I believe that you should go into Configuration>Display and check the settings there.

F12 will not get you anywhere in this respect, F1 only.

 

I checked the BIOS and confirmed that it's set to boot with the Thinkpad LCD.

I disassembled the machine, and here is a picture of the fuses surrounding the display connector. I'm not that good with a multimeter, and all I have is an analog one, so I haven't been able to identify any that are bad. Can you tell from the picture which one(s) I should focus on?

Thanks,
Mark

 

No.

 

seems like my best option might be to pick up a motherboard on ebay.

 

I'd tend to agree with you. Also try the Marketplace at TPF:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewforum.php?f=11

Good luck.