Monitor/Graphic card issue? Dell Precision

I have a pretty old laptop that still serves its purpose. It is a Dell Precision M90.
It is running Windows7.
Recently, without warning, the screen would suddenly show lines all over the place, like a TV out of station.
At that time, I can't see or do anything other than turn it off.

I checked for driver updates, and it is all ok.
If I move the monitor on its hinges, it does not change anything.

It can take 5 minutes to happen, or a couple of hours.
I didn't install anything on it recently (as in several months).

It could be the monitor? the graphic card? something else?
Before bringing it to the shop, I would like to know if there are ways to narrow down the problem (and maybe, if I am lucky, fix it too).

Thanks.

If you power the laptop off, let it cool for an hour or two, and restart it, is the display normal again? If yes, it is possible that heat is the issue. There may be a buildup of dust inside that is preventing proper cooling of the components. It may be time to see if you can clean the dust out of it.

http://www.asklaptopfreak.com/green-...h-lcd-display/

That's a really old model. There were several bad batches if Nvidia chipsets on laptops that exhibited that problem. What video card does that laptop have? If it is the video chipset, it's not worth fixing.

Did you try connecting it to a different monitor? If it works on a VGA monitor, then it's an LCD issue. Again, for the cost, it wouldn't be worth fixing.

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Originally Posted by jdc2000

If you power the laptop off, let it cool for an hour or two, and restart it, is the display normal again? If yes, it is possible that heat is the issue. There may be a buildup of dust inside that is preventing proper cooling of the components. It may be time to see if you can clean the dust out of it.

http://www.asklaptopfreak.com/green-...h-lcd-display/

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I'll recheck that. Yesterday, I had brought it with me to drop at the shop (so turned off), and when I came back in the evening, it also did it after a couple of hours. I turned it on about an hour ago, and i'll check how long it will take to happen again.

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Originally Posted by Midknyte

That's a really old model. There were several bad batches if Nvidia chipsets on laptops that exhibited that problem. What video card does that laptop have? If it is the video chipset, it's not worth fixing.

Did you try connecting it to a different monitor? If it works on a VGA monitor, then it's an LCD issue. Again, for the cost, it wouldn't be worth fixing.

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I know it is an old model. I have had it for 6+ years (and I got it used) but it was doing what I needed it to do.

As for the chipset, how do I check?

As for pluging on another monitor, thanks for the suggestion. I'll see if I have cables to do that.

If you plug in an external monitor, and it displays the same screen artifacts as the built-in display panel, then it is the graphics chipset that is the culprit. If the external monitor looks OK, but the built-in display panel has problems (when you switch from one to the other), then it is the built-in display panel that has issues.

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As for the chipset, how do I check?

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You could just look in Device Manager.

You could also use GPU-Z.
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/gpu-z/

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As for pluging on another monitor, thanks for the suggestion. I'll see if I have cables to do that.

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Most monitors come with a VGA cable. That laptop probably doesn't have HDMI.

I checked for the drivers, and everything was up-to-date.
I left the laptop on, mostly idling, for 4 days, and only today, it displayed that same behavior.
I connected a different monitor, and that monitor stayed blank, with apparently no signal reaching the monitor (but the "Cable not connected" stopped being displayed on the "new" monitor so it did connect). So it is neither one of the options mentioned by jdc2000.

Anything else I can try/test before throwing in the towel?

You didn't verify the chipset. There were Nvidia chipsets that were known to be faulty around then.

Are you sure you duplicated or extended the screen to the second monitor? There's usually a key combination you have to press in order to output to the external monitor.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...y-in-windows-7

Silly me. I had not realised that I needed to "enable" that second monitor. OK so as it did it again tonight (while checking this forum), I connected it to a second monitor and it displays correctly.

I checked the video card with the tool above (I could not figure out how to check it directly on my laptop), and it is a NVIDIA Quadro FX1500M. Is that a "bad one" (which would have still lasted for 10+ years)?

If the external monitor shows a clean image and switching back to the built-in screen shows an image with artifacts, then the built-in display panel (or its connections) have the problem. You may have a mode available that duplicates the display on both the external and built-in displays. If you enable that and get one clean and one bad image, then the video adapter is OK and the one display panel has an issue.

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You may have a mode available that duplicates the display on both the external and built-in displays.

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I'll check that out.

If that is the case, what would need to be fixed/replaced and is it still worth fixing?

If it is the built-in display panel that is the issue, the first thing to check is the connection from the mainboard to the panel. Those are usually thin film ribbons or ribbon cables, and the connection can loosen up or get corrosion or oxidation on the conductors. Worst case is the panel is bad and would have to be replaced.

If reseating the cable doesn't work, it's not worth replacing the LCD or motherboard on such an old system.

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Quadro FX1500M

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That's a Nvidia G71 core. The major problems were with the G84 and 86 cores, but it's still possible that the GPU is going bad.

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If it is the built-in display panel that is the issue, the first thing to check is the connection from the mainboard to the panel.

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Is that in the "hinges"? One tech at the shop asked if the display changed if i was to movve the monitor/cover, and if it did, it might be those "thin ribbons" but it does not do anything. Would that really be an indication or not?

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If reseating the cable doesn't work,

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Is this something i can do? If so, how/where? (you have allowed me to do "surgery" on my desktops in the past' never done it on the laptop).

Dell M90 manuals:

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/...on-m90/manuals

Screen:

https://www.laptopscreen.com/English...PRECISION~M90/

Sample How-To video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj80suVoTCg


Moving the screen on its hinges to test for a bad connection may or may not work. I would not use that as a definitive indicator of the connection health.

Thank you. I'll see how comfortable i am after watching all that you linked. MAYBE i can save it, maybe not, but i'll give it a shot.

When you previously mentioned resetting the cables, are you referring to the 2 little plugs at the bottom of the monitor? or the wider one that is attached higher behind the monitor?

I have not looked at the disassembly instructions for that model laptop, however, the cable that connects the display with the mainboard is usually not visible when the laptop is fully assembled. Post a picture of what you are looking at and maybe I will be able to tell what connections you are referring to.

I have not opened it yet. I was only referring to the youtube video when he connects/disconnects two small clips at the bottom and one flat one on the top.

I have not watched the video (can't do that at work), but if the connectors are only accessible after removing some covers, they may be the ones. The ribbon for the monitor would have more than 2 or 3 wires or conductors.

I guess, i would be better to "tighten" all of them.

When you mentioned, previously "If you enable that and get one clean and one bad image, then the video adapter is OK and the one display panel has an issue." is it something related to those plugs or something different?

The problem has not happened in a few days now. Murphy's law!

If you unplug and re-plug the connections several times (carefully, as they may be delicate), that is often enough to clean off any corrosion or contamination.

If you have an external monitor connected, and have enabled both that and the built-in display, they should both display the same image simultaneously. If the image on the external display is OK and the image on the built-in display looks bad, then you have determined that the display adapter is OK and the built-in display panel has an issue, since if the display adapter was bad you would have two bad images.

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If you have an external monitor connected, and have enabled both that and the built-in display, they should both display the same image simultaneously. If the image on the external display is OK and the image on the built-in display looks bad, then you have determined that the display adapter is OK and the built-in display panel has an issue, since if the display adapter was bad you would have two bad images.

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That is exactly what I am seeing. The external monitor is working fine, while the laptop one is bad. That is how i am typing here.
I have not had a chance to open it up to "play" with the plugs. Knowing that the built-in display panel has issues, would that be addressed by the plugs or is it something that will just need replacing? And if so, is it worth it?

OK, we now know that your video adapter is working properly, and the issue is either the built-in display panel OR the ribbon cable connection(s) to it. The bad connection could be on one or the other or both ends of the cable. The first thing to try is to check the cable ends for dirt or corrosion and reseat then several times (carefully, as they are probably somewhat delicate). If that does not work, it may be time for a new display panel. I posted a link in post #16 for a source for a replacement panel, and there are other sources as well. Note that you will want to triple check the part number on your existing panel and also the image of the replacement panel online to make sure that you get an exact replacement. If you do need a replacement panel, check the prices to see if you think it is worth what you have to pay. They do not appear to be that expensive.

Thanks, I had to bring my desktop to the shop this morning (power supply gave away) and I told them about the laptop issue. With all your information available, I'll be able to get them to do it, as they even have some monitors in stock so the fix will be faster than if I had to order it (and if something breaks, it is on them!). At least, I know what to tell them, and I can be specific what not to do (they can't tell me that the video card is the culprit as I know better now!).