NP900 series screen

I have a Series 9 ultrabook. It started life as a refurb NP900x3D-a01US, and lived that way for about 2 years. Sadly it started developing a graphical glitch where the screen would sometimes stop displaying images and instead display a series of colorful vertical lines that fade in and out and a single horizontal line. Moving the hinge would fix this problem... for a while. The problem continued to get worse and eventually failed completely. The computer still functioned (and continues to function) completely when connected to an external monitor.

I'm a tech professional and have been taking computers apart for at least 20 years. I know a failed monitor cable when I see it. I ordered a new one, installed it, which was a huge pain, and found the problem was the same.

So I ordered a new screen from the NP900X3E series because I'd always wanted a FHD screen anyway. I was shocked to find that the problem was the same.

SO I ordered a motherboard from a NP900X3E-A03US because I always thought the i5 in the -D was much too slow. Installed the new motherboard, connected to the new display assembly. Exactly the same problem. However, it still works great with an external monitor hooked up via HDMI. The i7 is a really nice upgrade!

I contacted the screen vendor, now sure the replacement display had to be the problem. They shipped a new replacement to me. When installed, the problem persists.

I've tried BIOS resets using the emergency jumpers beneath the power connector, I've left the battery disconnected for 48 hours, I've booted with the SSD removed, I've removed the CMOS battery, I've tried booting to the BIOS using F2 - then every other button combination. I'm sure the computer was displaying the BIOS screen because my vertical lines were almost all "BIOS screen blue" but I still had a non-functioning display.

I now have the body of an x3d, a spare x3d motherboard, an x3e motherboard, 2 x3e displays, 1 x3d display and the display line problem shows no sign of improvement. (computer still works great, and normally, on external monitor)

At this point I'm stumped. Are there any more ideas out there?
https://goo.gl/photos/xQM17ma6CNLYupiF6
https://goo.gl/photos/xw4w8RJ6mSPcyWAC9

 

... and my images aren't showing up for some reason. They're links to shared Google Photos files. Can anyone help?

 

I removed the IMG tags so now the Photos show as links. Google won't let us pull and display the images directly without going to their site first.

 

Thanks for the help. Shame I can't get the pics directly in the post, but I'm glad they can be seen pretty easily.

 

If you attach the the picture files themselves (More Options -> Upload a File -> Select files from your Google Drive or local disk) it will display directly in the post, either as a thumbnail or a full image. You can edit your original post and make the changes there.

 

I think you will find that the FHD display problem is because Samsung hard-coded the 1600 x 900 display resolution into the BIOS rather than let the BIOS do the detecting, perhaps because it gives a slightly faster boot time. There's a thread here about someone who worked out which bytes in the BIOS needed changing and made the change.

I can't help with the cable problem. It does appear that Samsung changed something.

John

 

John, thanks so much for the reply. I thought something like the BIOS issue might be in play, so I actually bought a motherboard from a NP900X3E - that comes from the factory with an FHD screen. The problem doesn't change.

If I had the mini-VGA to VGA dongle, would I be able to get the BIOS screen on an external monitor? I definitely can't with the HDMI output.

 

Damn! I thought I had found the potential solution to the display problem.

I ought to be able to definitively answer the question about the VGA output displaying the BIOS except that I haven't a clue where I put my Series 9 VGA dongle. However, I suspect the answer is yes because VGA has been supported at the BIOS level for a long time while HDMI needs a driver.

John

 

I realize that it's unlikely, but is any of the graphics processing done on either of the side boards? (I mean the small sub-boards to either side of the motherboard) I've changed every piece of the computer except for the side boards, the keyboard, trackpad, chassis, and the bridging connecters. They're cheap enough that I've almost bought them on a couple of occasions, but the parts look to be the same between the X3D and X3E.

I did notice a tiny bit of green corrosion on the right side bridge that connects with the board that does not have the card reader. However, I've operated the computer with that bridging connecter completely removed and it still hasn't changed anything (aside from the USB connecter being disconnected)

 

As far as I know, the sub boards are primarily for the ports and there may have been a conscious design decision to have some flexibility between these and the mainboard. Sensibly the display connector should be fairly close to the CPU (which includes the GPU).

I'm as puzzled as you are by your problem: You have changed everything which should be of significance and still the problem won't go away. X3E mainboard + X3E display cable + X3E display should work. Did the display come complete with a cable? - I recall that the Samsung assembly includes the entire lid with display, hinges and cable.

John

 

John,
The first time I did the work, I changed the cable and hinge assembly on my X3D. The problem was still there and the repaired monitor was a mess - Samsung definitely did not design these to be taken apart.

Second time figured I needed the whole assembly, so I ordered an FHD display (new) from a Hong Kong company. Came factory packed and with the correct connector. Installed the monitor and expected it to work. Same problem.

Now I wanted to cover all the possibilities and thought that there could be an issue with the motherboard video connector, so I ordered a scavenged motherboard from an X3E, and requested another display from the first company. When both parts got here, I installed them and tried it out. Still no change!

I've even tried hooking up the old X3D motherboard, while connected only to the power switch, AC adapter, and monitor, and I can't get video out of any of it.

Through it all, if I plug in via HDMI the system works normally. In fact, it's noticeably faster with the i7 motherboard. All the hardware detects, Samsung update does not detect a new BIOS, and everything except the installed display works great.

The last symptom I think is worth mentioning... and it may be a clue... is that the Windows 10 display properties does not recognize the installed monitor at all - it's just grayed out. I can't change the resolution, which is stuck at 800x600 by default, can't specify a refresh rate, and the monitor doesn't even say "generic pnp monitor" - it's just blank. While looking at your unbricking instructions I tried everything you suggest an more to interrupt the process and gain BIOS access - assuming that the BIOS would display. I get blue lines with some gray, but still nothing usable.

The external monitor has all the correct information and works like a charm. I'm also able to adjust everything you'd expect to adjust on the external.

All of my experience points to monitor cable or connector, but I have trouble believing that I've got 3 bad cables and two bad motherboard connectors that are all broken in exactly the same way. This is just bizarre in my experience.

 

I agree. Most evidence suggests a hardware problem but changing the parts makes no difference. There is a small chance that what appear to be completely compatible parts are not and there's something in the BIOS which isn't playing properly with the display and Windows uses whatever is in the BIOS.

It may be worthwhile trying the Linux route which was mentioned in the thread that I linked to. The person in that thread was able to define the display resolution in Linux and verify that the hardware was OK.

John

 

John,
The info you linked to is EXACTLY what I'm seeing. My supposed X3E mainboard is actually an X3C MB that is also expecting the old resolution. I'm attempting the fix now and will let you know how it works out.

Also considering just buying an ACTUAL X3E mainboard. But I love to tinker, and tinker I must.

 

Could someone help me confirm my hunch that I actually have an X3C mainboard?
BA92-10979A 077678974

Thanks!

 

Exactly as predicted - no trouble at all in Linux. I'm extremely lucky that someone came before me and did the seriously hard work. I'm now following the instructions by obiuquido144. Display looks glorious in Mint.

I feel dum.

 

I cannot verify this directly myself -- and probably should leave this to John an others. But simply Googling BA92-10979A gives me the impression this is an NP900X3D board, whereas X3C boards are BA92-10257A.

Congrats on the Linux success!

If you haven't already, I suggest you try entering BIOS though Windows' Advanced Advanced startup option. But if it doesn't display during boot, I suspect it won't display BIOS settings either, even if you manage to get there.

Since you are able to run Windows through HDMI, what if you re-flashed the BIOS (using this guide) which will also clear all its data tables? I wonder if that might let the BIOS pick up the new hardware on next POST.

 

I was under the strong impression that the X3D only came with a 2nd gen (sandy bridge) i5 processor. This board has an i7 3517u. The difference in performance between the two is profound.

 

X3C and X3D boards should be interchangeable. The notebooks were manufactured concurrently with the difference being painted aluminium (X3C) or unpainted magnesium (X3D). Globally, I would expect each to have offered the full range of CPU options although individual countries usually offered a more limited choice of the hardware options.

My usual reference for part numbers is SamsungParts.com but it appears that they have run out of many of the mainboards because they are no longer listed.

John

 

John, thanks so much for the help. I was able to do a bit of backwards research and found that the X3D did come with an i7. In this case it's from an NP900X3D-A03US - with the 1.9 / 3.0GHz i7 3517U processor. This was the top of the line and I imagine when this was new it must have been crazy expensive.

The replacement board did not come with heatsink or fans, so I had to clean and install my old ones. The thermal paste from the factory on my old i5 board was done very poorly - it's obvious that two very large areas of the chip had no contact at all. The new i7 board with a properly cleaned and carefully applied top quality heat paste is much, much quieter than the i5. The fans are barely audible, even at 100% load at the full 3GHz for over 4 minutes while running intel's stress test.

I also installed a Samsung 850 EVO mSATA hard drive and am running their proprietary RAPID mode. It feels every bit as quick as my desktop running an i7-4790k at 4GHz.

What a remarkable turnaround on this laptop.

 

So does this mean that you did the BIOS edit and everything is now running better than new?

If so, well done although I have to reprimand you for not paying sufficient attention to the other thread about the BIOS editing when I first referred to it, but perhaps you were too certain that your replacement board was from an X3E when it wasn't (and that's something I wasn't able to check from this distance).

John

 

John,
Still fighting the fight - those instructions are far from simple. However, seeing the screen in all its beauty when in Linux was an enormous morale boost. I was going pretty crazy working this problem.

I do apologize for not looking at the link earlier - I was convinced that it was a hardware problem, but was going crazy trying to isolate the fault. Just goes to show how time wasting bias can be. Thanks for your patience with a new guy around here hitting an extremely odd roadblock.

I will post an update when I've completed the BIOS modification procedure.