Member Avatar for Monkejafunk

IBM T30 notebook (over 3yr old). Recently the load up screen where it says windows the black background is red (looks as if my laptop is posessed). And when I use it in the main screen there is a red hue off most everything. Especially when I watch movies the black appears to be red. But I can while I am typing now I can see the black type. So it's kinda strange.
Everything else is working fine. I just forked out a hundred euros on a new charger so don't want to scrap this just yet. So any help would be great.
K

<Going round the net I came across a solution that may relate to mine that the Multiconductor ribbon cable between screen and motherboard needs to be replaced>
Is this it and is it costly, and can I do it>

  • 2 Contributors
  • 1 Reply
  • 96 Views
  • 1 Year Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by dogbreath077
Member Avatar for dogbreath077

This sounds like a classic symptom of a failing backlight. If the screen displays all the data correctly, has no weird lines, does not cut out, and is otherwise reliable, then a red hue is a failing backlight. Take the LCD apart, and lay the backlight on the keyboard, boot the computer and see what color the light is. It should be a blinding white. Google ccfl's, cold cathode flourescent lights, and you can find vendors that have compatability charts so you can order one for your LCD. Replacing just the backlight is much more economical then replacing the whole LCD screen. It is 10X more difficult, but cheaper nonetheless. If you don't know how to solder little tiny wires, and you are nervous about disecting a screen, then you could opt for another LCD assembly. They come with the backlight already installed in them.

Now, I must mention the inverter. There have been times when a bad backlight has overloaded an inverter and caused damage, leading to a failure down the road. So, get out a Digital VOlt Meter (DVOM) and test the output of your inverter both with the backlight plugged in, and without. Look up the specs, different for different models, and compare the #'s. If your #'s are out of spec, then replace that too.

As for the ribbon cable. If your ribbon cable is bad, then we usually see intermittant operation, no operation, no data but all white screen, no light, but data when you shine a flashlight on it. Symptoms like that. The ribbon cable carries the power for the inverter, and the data for the LCD screen, and any other wires for mics, antennas or any other nonLCD thingy in hte lid of the laptop.

Good luck, and please post your results.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.