Monitor issues (?) on an HP Pavilion dv6000

On a used Pavilion dv6000: the monitor shows all manner of artifacts...
- White horizontal stripes (including a permanent one at the top of the monitor)
- Colored vertical stripes
- Generally washed out color
- White splotches creeping outward from the lower left corner

And the artifacts get worse the longer the computer is left on. But hook up a monitor to the VGA out, and you'll get a perfectly good display. It's only on the laptop's screen that things look awful.

I tried replacing the LCD inverter with another of identical make (taking proper precautions of course, I'm not interested in getting shocked). The problem remains, exactly as before.

Anyone know what might be wrong? A problem with the screen itself? The connection to the motherboard? The GPU? What else should I look at?

Edit: I should also mention that the screen image is messed up even in the BIOS setup panel.

[Bill_Bright]

I would have said the inverter too, so if you are certain the replacement was good, and the correct part, and you did not pinch a cable or left a connector loose, then by the fact an external monitor shows a good display (indicating the GPU is good), then it would appear the notebook's display panel itself is going.

And assuming this notebook is not under warranty, it is probably time to replace the whole thing, and just use this for a desktop. You can find replacement panels, but they often are not OEMs and not cost effective.

Edit: I should also mention that the screen image is messed up even in the BIOS setup panel.

But again, not with the external monitor, right? The BIOS only knows how to display standard VGA resolutions and all monitors, and all graphics cards are standardized to know those resolutions too. This is so they can communicate at a basic level - until the boot process proceeds to the boot drive, and specific drivers (with advanced resolutions) are loaded.

If the BIOS Setup Menu is displayed fine with the external monitor, but not the notebook's, then again, it points to the notebook's panel (the screen itself).

The connection to the motherboard?

But you said the problem is the "exact" same before and after inverter. You would have been messing with most of the cables. Did the messed up display change when the clamshell is being opened and closed?

Can you put the display on both the external and notebook monitor at the same time? If so, does the external monitor still look good? I ask because with just the external, the notebook power supply does not need to power the notebook panel. But with both going, that puts a greater demand on the supply and regulator circuits. If the external monitor still looks good, then I think this is not a power issue.

Hah, the clamshell's angle does make a difference! Thanks! I hadn't thought of that.

Tilted forward -> image looks almost normal, more normal the further it's tilted

Straight up -> image is washed out

Tilted back -> streaks and black splotches start to appear

Some sort of connection issue I guess. Where would you say I ought to look?

[LenC]

Originally Posted by Gullible Jones

Hah, the clamshell's angle does make a difference! Thanks! I hadn't thought of that.

Tilted forward -> image looks almost normal, more normal the further it's tilted

Straight up -> image is washed out

Tilted back -> streaks and black splotches start to appear

Some sort of connection issue I guess. Where would you say I ought to look?

I have the same problem with the same model computer - only it's not as severe as yours. But I generally can't touch the clamshell when I'm using the computer or the screen washes out as you describe. However, when it does wash out, all I have to do is close the lid and reopen it, and everything is okay. My power option is "do nothing" for closing the lid. Maybe that will work for you.

It can be annoying at times - but I can live with it.

Doesn't work for me. Closing and opening the lid works for a few seconds, then the monitor immediately starts fogging up again.

(On the installed OS - Windows Vista - closing the lid actually causes the backlight to turn off permanently, even though the computer is not suspended. But I think that's a Vista bug.)

[Bill_Bright]

Hah, the clamshell's angle does make a difference! Thanks! I hadn't thought of that.

Tilted forward -> image looks almost normal, more normal the further it's tilted

Straight up -> image is washed out

Tilted back -> streaks and black splotches start to appear

Some sort of connection issue I guess. Where would you say I ought to look?

Then it does seems to be a connection issue. Where to start? I guess that depends on how brave you are. I've been an electronics technician for over 40 years and I am still hesitant to pop open unfamiliar notebooks for fear all sorts of springs and other thingies will go flying. But disassembly is what I think is needed here, then inspecting for loose or damaged connectors or pinched (or evidence of previous pinched) wires.

[Spiral123]

Could also be an overheated GPU loosing the solder that connects it to the motherboard, which causes all sorts of odd things to happen. Googe how to perform a GPU reflow, for more information....

[Bill_Bright]

Could also be an overheated GPU loosing the solder that connects it to the motherboard, which causes all sorts of odd things to happen. Googe how to perform a GPU reflow, for more information....

Well, this is a notebook so we're talking the whole motherboard. And this is not normally done with consumer-grade "off the shelf" boards. It is just not cost effective. It typically is reserved for very expensive, specialized (possibly military, medical or one of a kind) boards.

Or, it is done as a last-ditch process, just to see if it works.

Since it is not likely you have a reflow oven handy (home ovens to not have the necessary precision temperature control) this would be a manual reflow process. That means your "steady" hand and a good soldering pencil touching each soldering joint, one-at-a-time, without causing any collateral damage.

Timing is critical. It has to melt all the solder in the joint to fix all the microfractures (or full breaks) to form the seamless and solid "mechanical" connection necessary for a good "electrical" connection. But the heat cannot be too hot or applied for too long, or to too great an area it damages the board, traces on the board, or surrounding devices - something that is easy to do.

Pin-point (literally) precision is critical. Space is tight. Soldering points are close together. Circuit traces can easily lift with too much heat. Wire insulation and connectors melt, and then distort. ICs and discrete solid state devices are very sensitive to a soldering iron's heat.

Damaged or cold-solder joints would have to be repaired. This requires removing the old and contaminated solder, cleaning and preparing the joint, then re-soldered anew.

And note that soldering is a skill. And like all skills, it needs regular practice to be polished. Soldering water pipes and radiators does not count. Some formal training in repairing electronics and soldering on multi-layered PCBs is preferred.

Unless you typically have a soldering iron in your hand everyday, I urge you to dig up some old boards and practice, practice, practice before you try it on this notebook or anything you are hoping to revive. Get some fresh solder, a good pencil, a good solder sucker, and practice soldering, wicking some joints too.

BTW, where's the hard drive? I think I would pull it right away, before something happens to your data. You might insert it an enclosure, or another computer as a secondary (NOT boot) drive, and copy what you want to keep.

[zfactor]

i do agree that this should be taken fully apart to properly diagnose it. your issue could be as simply as a cable that goes from the mobo to the lcd. or a mxm style gpu that needs to be reseated. one of my specialties is laptop repair. and i do them EVERY DAY i also deal with other electronics but i do oem service for many laptop brands.

so on to some info, first its not the inverter if you have a picture your inverter works if it was the inverter you could shine a flashlight up at a angle to see the picture. you would simply have a black screen unless you shined a light at it.

second what graphics does your 6000 have. these as well as MANY OTHERS had MAJOR issues with the nvidia 8000 and some 9000 series cards if yours has that you could be lucky because those are replaceable. it may have a intel or amd built onboard gpu and if its a built in gpu it is not replaceable.

third your hard drive should be just fine. and even if something happened to your board you can simply plug the drive into another system or a external enclosure and get the info off. but for sure disconnect the drive BEFORE DOING anything to the board.

fourth i also can be pretty sure its not the bulb in the lcd as this will NOT cause lines or things in the screen. it would either be off or dim orhalf the screen would be dim etc.

lastly IF you have a nvidia or ati mxm type slot card it is REPLACEABLE. if its a intel 3000 series i highly doubt you have a soldering issue with the gpu as those almost never overheat unless your heatsink is blocked with dust or your thermal paste has failed, i do laptop repair EVERY day and see this type of issue all the time. DO NOT use a soldering iron on a onboard gpu as they are soldered on with "balls" if you dont have enough experience you could do more damage than its worth. what this means is the gpu has very small balls of solder added to it. then the chip gets placed into the position and gets heated to the board using a special flow machine. these can be repaired by using what we call a reflow machine and i do them often especially on xbox's as those gpu's fail all the time. mine is a real infared type to do it PROPERLY.

IF it really is the gpu chip itself and you dont have a mxm style card like a nvidia or ati (which fit into a slot and there are different slots so it has to be matched to your exact notebook) you can try to "bake" the gpu back on. this works honestly more than 75% of the time but i can assure you is not a totally permanent fix and is what i call a backyard fix. this involves using wax paper and a metal type of cookie sheet or similar. place wax paper down on the sheet and then cover the whole board cutting a very small hole to only expose the gpu chip then cover the whole board again with alum foil. and use a heat gun or a oven to rebake the board this will remelt the solder. this is NOT RECC unless you think you know what you are doing.

post up the specs of your notebook and then i may be able to help. i am a hp certified repair tech also btw i do hp and compaq laptop repairs all the time both local warranty and out of warranty. ill help if i can. if you would like to provide me with a serial or full model info via pm ill be happy to check into what exactly is inside your system for you.

Thanks very much for all the info, zfactor.

FWIW the laptop has a nVidia GeForce Go 6150 graphics card, not sure what sort of GPU that is (but it's not compatible with normal GeForce 6xxx series drivers).

I have doubts that it's the GPU itself though, because as I said only the laptop's screen is affected; VGA out is fine. I would guess either the LCD screen or the connector cable... You'd probably know better than I though, I don't know much about laptops and their quirks.

[zfactor]

almost all the time the 6150 is integrated onto the board. if the vga out is fine there is a good chance the gpu is okay.

and odd thing about the 6150 is it had some driver issues while if the vga out is fine i dont think it would be a driver BUT i have seen certain 6150 drivers make the lcd go nuts on windows 7 have you updated the drivers at all lately or check to see if it did through windows update.

hardware wise i would suggest a couple of basic things. first remove that battery and then you would have to remove a trim piece and then the keyboard to access the display connectors. if you send me the exact model on the bottom ill see if i can send you a breakdown on how to dissasemble it. then we can work from there. i see your in mass im located in florida id be more than happy to diagnose it for you if you wanted to send it out here and i can then let you know repair wise and i get parts wholesale. as long as you cover shipping and parts if needed, ill be more than happy to offer my services for you at no cost. i can also replace all the thermal paste and pads etc while i have it apart. if you are interested send me a pm and ill give you our business info and address along with my direct number. i can also call and see who is the authorized tech in your area if you give me a zip code. i have all the proper tools to repair these and i come from an extensive backround as a former robotics tech and was with ibm in ny for around 5 years. now i do pc board repairs and own a computer shop.

Thanks, zfactor! Alas I can tell you straight away that it's not the driver; the display is messed up even in the BIOS screen.

Anyway, the laptop is a dv6405us. If you know how to get at the connectors on those, it would be a big help... Meanwhile I'd best do some Googling myself. Again, thanks.

[zfactor]

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/take-a...dv6000-laptop/

Well, the good news is that the video connector is right under the front bezel; I'd just missed it before...

And the bad news is that it was seated fine, and reseating it did not fix the rubbish on the monitor. Ah well, I expected as much.

[Bill_Bright]

Yeah, but now you know you exhausted every other possibility.

I may see if there are any local businesses that can repair the monitor. If I can get it repaired for $100 or so, that'd probably be worth it.

(I doubt I'll find that low a price though.)

[zfactor]

you may want to check the plugs on the back of the lcd panel i have seen this issue before where the thin ribbon came slightly loose. so unless it is a bad cable which i have also seen i would look into the lcd before i look into it being the built in gpu..

Already checked that. Either the cable is bad, or the LCD screen itself is bad, I think.

[Bill_Bright]

Well, cables don't go bad unless they (or the connectors) are damaged. So I am afraid it points to the panel itself.

They can be replaced, but I don't think so for the $100 you want, unless, maybe you can find a used screen.

[zfactor]

nah you can get one from ebay for right around or under 100$ just take yours out and look on the label on the back and match that up there are a number of legit seller on ebay that sell lcd panels. most likely you will get a compatible model maybe by a different manufacture but as long as the size is right and you get the resolution you want you will be fine. its very rare for a panel to not work in another laptop anymore. just make sure you get a lcd vs. a led or visa versa depending on which yours is. if you decide to go that way send me your numbers off the tag on the back and ill match it up and send you a few links. i deal with a few very legit seller on ebay for lcd panels and they sell first grade non refurb panels.

Found the screens on eBay, they do indeed seem to cost on average about $100...

Honestly not sure it's worth it though. It turns out the machine has a battery life of about an hour and a half, if that (compared to my netbook's 7+ hours), with a full battery; so I can't see myself ever using it... Maybe I'll remove the screen, zero the drive, and give it away. Someone else can repair it, or perhaps use it as a compact desktop.

[zfactor]

imo depends on how old it is, for me if the repair exceeds 150$ on my laptop ill get a new one. with how fast the new chips and other hardware comes out now its not worth it to dump a lot of money into the older systems. you can get really nice i5 laptops or a amd quad core one for 400-500 new with 8gb ram etc...and those will have a newer led screen in them. i do however donate my older hardware to a charity i deal with who does do the needed repairs and gets these to kids who need them. so its not all bad to me. i used to buy the gaming laptops which are like 2000$ but it got old and honest;y i feel the same way those gaming laptops mostly have battery life of sometimes under an hour when gaming and its just not worth it to me to lug around a oversized 15 or 17" laptop which is good for under an hour. most of the i3 or i5 basic systems get 4-even 6 hours now.