Today my sister's laptop's screen decided to go crazy and behave very oddly:
Startup screen: Vertical stripes.
Ubuntu Linux 9.10 desktop: Vertical stripes
Ubuntu Linux 9.10 console: The colors you can see are from running "ls". The E's on grey BG are blinking constantly??? Windows XP Pro SP3: Random weird corruption. It gets affected by what's on screen. For example, the weird rectangles you see next to the Start Menu are caused by tooltips. There is also corruption around the mouse, which moves along with it.
So... I don't know what this could be...
I first thought that it was the cable on the laptop hinge. I opened up the laptop (as you can see in the images), but moving/touching it while the computer is on seems to have no effect over the screen at all. Plus, the corruption affected by the tooltips and the mouse on windows make me think that it's something more serious. Maybe the motherboard or the graphics card?
In case you're wondering, the graphics drivers are properly installed both in linux and windows, and they were working perfectly before. Also, everything else (sound, wifi, keyboard, touchpad...) is working perfectly.
Any ideas?
EDIT: Forgot to tell! It's an Acer Travelmate 3200. Specs here!
Liliana
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We weren't even testing for that.
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Definitely looks like scorched VRAM, either on a video card or embedded graphics. You're probably looking at a replacement there if an external monitor fails the test to hook in. Unless it's a very recent laptop, you aren't fixing an integrated chip problem outside of the manufacturer easy (or for cheap) if it's not in warranty.
dirbaio
For future reference, "Responsible disclosure" isn't "acting like a douche about an exploit and demanding compensation".
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Posted on 05-20-10 09:31:05 PM (last edited by dirbaio at 05-20-10 06:35 PM)
Yeah. It's a toasted GPU or whatever. Girlfriend's HP Laptop had the same issue - It was actually a bios issue the manufacturer had where the fans weren't running properly, overheating the system. She got a free fix for that.
You can't really replace a laptop graphics card. If its integrated, you would have to buy a new motherboard for that laptop model which you don't find very often. If it was a dedicated card, these are usually soldered to the motherboard anyway and replacing would not be very easy.
New laptop time.
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dirbaio
For future reference, "Responsible disclosure" isn't "acting like a douche about an exploit and demanding compensation".
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Well yeah, there's no way you're going to replace a laptop graphics card, so this is hopeless.
However, in the future, always be sure to check whether the laptop is running hot. If it does so, quickly cool it or turn it off to prevent such issues in the future.
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dirbaio
For future reference, "Responsible disclosure" isn't "acting like a douche about an exploit and demanding compensation".
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But yeah. Laptops, while not cheap, are at least less expensive than what they were several years ago. Hell, if you can get away with a netbook, they're around $200-$300. Try looking around for something in good quality, and maybe one that doesn't overheat too badly.
E: I really need to stop confusing the quote link with the edit link. :|
I have an Acer and I'm mostly happy with it, although I'd rather have a desktop after I move, now that I no longer need a laptop for school.
My last computer was a Compaq, and it was very low-end so I had trouble running stuff. This machine is also low-end, but it's better than the Compaq was, at least.
Originally posted by ShadicYeah. It's a toasted GPU or whatever. Girlfriend's HP Laptop had the same issue - It was actually a bios issue the manufacturer had where the fans weren't running properly, overheating the system. She got a free fix for that.
If that was a dv9000 the issue actually was that they completely neglected to put any thermal compound between the GPU and the GPU heat sink. (rofl)
Not that anyone actually said that from the company, I just happened to have opened up a few in my line of work.
Originally posted by OmnipotentEntityIf that was a dv9000 the issue actually was that they completely neglected to put any thermal compound between the GPU and the GPU heat sink. (rofl)
You say that, but XBOX 360s were manufactured in the exact same way. I stress were because this is no longer the case, but it was to rush against the PS3.
You'd be surprised how often people do that when it comes to mass manufacturing. They don't take care like you would in having someone or yourself build up a computer from scratch.
