|
| | | New Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 5/5/2008 1:30 AM
Posts: 27, Visits: 24 |
| | Using Dell Insipron 8500 laptop, OS Win XP Pro. My display screen shows all sorts of squiggly lines and interference at startup, making icons etc very hard to see. But after the laptop has "warmed up" for about 10 minutes or so (and I "wash" the screen with my screen-saver), the display clears up and remains so until next time I turn the laptop on. These are the things I have tried (all without success): - Run all the Dell diagnostics - no errors detected;
- Connected laptop via VGA port to an external monitor;
- Replaced video card (Nvidia GeForce 4 4200 Go);
- Replaced motherboard;
- Replaced HD;
- Replaced CD/DVD ROM drive;
- Disabled video card in the Windows > System > Hardware profile;
- Uninstalled all the video card drivers using Driver Cleaner;
- Reformated HD, reinstalled Window OS and Office Pro;
- Replaced RAM (512MB);
As the external monitor (when connected) shows the same problem (and, after the "warm-up" and "wash" the screen is fine anyway), I can only assume there is not a problem with the display panel itself. What am I missing? (I also have a replacement CPU coming this week...). HELP! Many thanks... |
| |
| | | 
Forum Advisor
Group: Advisor
Last Login: 7/23/2008 9:45 PM
Posts: 329, Visits: 792 |
| The first thing that comes to mind, is the voltage regulator/power supply. I'm not all that technical with laptops, but hardware-wise, it seems that's all that's left to replace.
Is it possible that you have "dirty power" coming into the laptop through the power brick? I am assuming that you're using the AC power brick plugged into the wall when this happens. Check the brick with a multimeter on the DC setting and watch the numbers. It should be a steady reading at all times. If not, all that's left is the battery. Check the contacts on the battery for any sign of corrosion or scratched contacts. It could also be a bad battery failing over time. All laptop batteries go bad.
Do you hear any unusual noises, such as buzzing or faint humming sounds (besides the hard drive and the CPU fan) that's not considered normal when the laptop was new? If so, that would be a good sign of dirty power. As things tend to warm up, the device acts starts acting normally again.
__________________________________________________
 |
| |
| | | New Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 5/5/2008 1:30 AM
Posts: 27, Visits: 24 |
| | Thanks for the info. I can run an almost duplicate laptop off the same power supply, with no problems - so dirty power / faulty power cable or block seems unlikely. But I'll try swapping that as well...! Thanks again. |
| |
|
|
