green hue

[quest]

Last summer, a very thin vertical line appeared and remained near the far
right of my viewable screen; the line went from the top of the screen to the
bottom. A month or so ago, my tolerance disappeared and so I removed the
lcd's bezel, unplugged the two connectors and inserted a couple of semi-dome
rubber screw covers in such a way that it created a certain pressure on the
screen that caused the vertical line to disappear forever.

Unfortunately, the screen now has a green hue that I've been able to cause
to disappear. Thus far, I've tried replacing the screen with a
replacement screen and switched out the inverter board. The problem remains.
Any ideas? Only things I can think of are replacing the flex cable that
connects the motherboard to the lcd and finding a way to reset/degauze the
lcd (if even possible).

 

[SC Tom]

Last summer, a very thin vertical line appeared and remained near the far
right of my viewable screen; the line went from the top of the screen to
the
bottom. A month or so ago, my tolerance disappeared and so I removed the
lcd's bezel, unplugged the two connectors and inserted a couple of
semi-dome
rubber screw covers in such a way that it created a certain pressure on
the
screen that caused the vertical line to disappear forever.

Unfortunately, the screen now has a green hue that I've been able to cause
to disappear. Thus far, I've tried replacing the screen with a
replacement screen and switched out the inverter board. The problem
remains.
Any ideas? Only things I can think of are replacing the flex cable that
connects the motherboard to the lcd and finding a way to reset/degauze the
lcd (if even possible).

I assume this is a notebook?
Degaussing is not necessary on an LCD screen, and it's 'reset' every time
you turn it off. Sounds like the video component is starting to go on the
motherboard. What happens when you hook it up to an external monitor
(assuming it has a VGA output)?

SC Tom

 

[David B.]

Your LCD is failing, nothing you can do but replace it. My GF's Toshiba
laptop has 15 colored vertical lines on the screen, not worth the price of
the LCD to fix it.

 

[quest]

Thanks for helping Tom.

First, I read over my post and found an error. The second paragraph should
read: "Unfortunately, the screen now has a green hue that I've been UNable to
cause to disappear." I'm sure you guys caught the typo.

Second, I hooked up an external monitor to the vga out and it looks great.
There seems hope afterall. Any ideas?

 

[quest]

Thanks for helping David.

I thought it was failing too so I installed a replacement but I'm still
getting the green hue. By the way, I got the replacement on eBay for $50;
not a bad deal provided that the LCD is working right. Also, beats ponying
up $500 for a new laptop.

 

[SC Tom]

Yep, I thought you meant 'unable'; made more sense than 'able' in that
instance.

If you can find some ribbon cable with the same number (or more- they peel
off fairly well) of conductors, and are good with a soldering pen and fine
work (and have plenty of free time), you could try installing a new one.

Without the schematics for the board, it's hard to say if the video goes
through any different interface before going to the VGA output or the LCD.
But the cable may be the problem after all. With the bezel and top of the
notebook off, you could try turning it on and gently moving the ribbon cable
around and see if it makes any difference. If the picture gets better or
worse, odds are it's the ribbon or the connectors. Maybe a cold solder joint
on the board or screen? Hard to say, and equally hard to troubleshoot, given
that it's a notebook. I'm with you, though; I myself would probably exhaust
all means of repair before throwing it away and buying a new one, especially
if it was a notebook I particularly liked otherwise.

SC Tom

 

[quest]

I forgot to mention initially that this problem occurred immediately after
tinkering around with the vertical line problem. By tinkering around I mean
that I removed the bezel, screws holding in the lcd, and applying pressure
with my fingers to the rear top of the lcd just like the type of action that
the BIG YELLOW WARNING LABEL warns against doing. In applying the
pressure, I discovered that a certain amount in the right spot caused the
vertical line to disappear. So I placed a couple of those grey-colored,
semi-dome, rubber screw covers that are on most laptops on the rear and in
the right spot of my lcd. Put everything back together and booted. What
followed was the green hue and upon reaching the desktop, the image looks
christmissy. Hasn't changed since. That's the sour part. The sweet
part is that the vertical line is gone. Terrible trade so far.

 

[David B.]

Ok, so you did exactly what the big yellow sticker told you not to do?
Wouldn't have been near the top of my list of fixes, replace the screen.

 

[quest]

I did replace the screen but the problem continues. What else could it be?