450 Display Problems

Hi Group,

On my GW laptop 450 X, the display on the monitor is going. Windows XP
SP2 with all updates.

Words and images blur, followed by vertical stripes (same colors as
whatever was on screen at the time) followed sometimes by geometrical
patterns. When this happens, laptop freezes like the old DOS proggys
and can only be shutoff by turning off the power.

Usually set off by the slightest touch or movement of the laptop.
(Loose connection?)

Took out the keyboard and checked - as best I can - for dust , but it
seems to be a clean machine. I don't know where to look for a loose
connection.

Tried hooking it into another GW monitor, with same thing happening on
both monitors.

Reinstalled all drivers from the GW red disk, then updated them from
the GW web site. Didn't solve the problem. ATI, the writer of the
drivers, is no help.

Any ideas?

And I want to thank you for this group. I have learned more from you
than from the GW site.

Arthur

My first thought would be a failed fan on the video chipset. If the machine
has only one fan, is it working? If it has more than one fan are they both
working?


goseespam@lot wrote in message
...
Hi Group,

On my GW laptop 450 X, the display on the monitor is going. Windows XP
SP2 with all updates.

Words and images blur, followed by vertical stripes (same colors as
whatever was on screen at the time) followed sometimes by geometrical
patterns. When this happens, laptop freezes like the old DOS proggys
and can only be shutoff by turning off the power.

Usually set off by the slightest touch or movement of the laptop.
(Loose connection?)

Took out the keyboard and checked - as best I can - for dust , but it
seems to be a clean machine. I don't know where to look for a loose
connection.

Tried hooking it into another GW monitor, with same thing happening on
both monitors.

Reinstalled all drivers from the GW red disk, then updated them from
the GW web site. Didn't solve the problem. ATI, the writer of the
drivers, is no help.

Any ideas?

And I want to thank you for this group. I have learned more from you
than from the GW site.

Arthur

Tweek, thanks for the answer.

Fans are working ok and clean.

I might be wrong, but I don't think its due to overheating. Sometimes
it freezes/crashs early in the session (once it crashed in Safe Mode),
other times after many hours. The common denominator seems to be a
slight movement of the laptop.

*********************************************

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 17:16:36 GMT, "Tweek"
wrote:

My first thought would be a failed fan on the video chipset. If the machine
has only one fan, is it working? If it has more than one fan are they both
working?


goseespam@lot wrote in message
.. .
Hi Group,

On my GW laptop 450 X, the display on the monitor is going. Windows XP
SP2 with all updates.

Words and images blur, followed by vertical stripes (same colors as
whatever was on screen at the time) followed sometimes by geometrical
patterns. When this happens, laptop freezes like the old DOS proggys
and can only be shutoff by turning off the power.

Usually set off by the slightest touch or movement of the laptop.
(Loose connection?)

Took out the keyboard and checked - as best I can - for dust , but it
seems to be a clean machine. I don't know where to look for a loose
connection.

Tried hooking it into another GW monitor, with same thing happening on
both monitors.

Reinstalled all drivers from the GW red disk, then updated them from
the GW web site. Didn't solve the problem. ATI, the writer of the
drivers, is no help.

Any ideas?

And I want to thank you for this group. I have learned more from you
than from the GW site.

Arthur

It is possibly the flex cable that goes from the mainboard to the lcd
screen. Usually the symptom is the display distortion you described, but
lockups usually aren't involved. If the cable has become frayed, it may be
shorting out causing the lockups.

goseespam@lot wrote in message
...
Tweek, thanks for the answer.

Fans are working ok and clean.

I might be wrong, but I don't think its due to overheating. Sometimes
it freezes/crashs early in the session (once it crashed in Safe Mode),
other times after many hours. The common denominator seems to be a
slight movement of the laptop.

*********************************************

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 17:16:36 GMT, "Tweek"
wrote:

My first thought would be a failed fan on the video chipset. If the
machine
has only one fan, is it working? If it has more than one fan are they both
working?


goseespam@lot wrote in message
. ..
Hi Group,

On my GW laptop 450 X, the display on the monitor is going. Windows XP
SP2 with all updates.

Words and images blur, followed by vertical stripes (same colors as
whatever was on screen at the time) followed sometimes by geometrical
patterns. When this happens, laptop freezes like the old DOS proggys
and can only be shutoff by turning off the power.

Usually set off by the slightest touch or movement of the laptop.
(Loose connection?)

Took out the keyboard and checked - as best I can - for dust , but it
seems to be a clean machine. I don't know where to look for a loose
connection.

Tried hooking it into another GW monitor, with same thing happening on
both monitors.

Reinstalled all drivers from the GW red disk, then updated them from
the GW web site. Didn't solve the problem. ATI, the writer of the
drivers, is no help.

Any ideas?

And I want to thank you for this group. I have learned more from you
than from the GW site.

Arthur

If the flex cable is to the left of the on/off button on GW 450
laptops, and directly under the plastic facing (the one that surrounds
the on/off and the buttons for email, etc) - then it does seem to be
frayed, or at least worn down. I had trouble with the on/off for about
6 months (driver or something which I fixed). But that meant that I
had to press down unusually hard on that area a dozen times a day for
about 6 months which would have been enough to wear it down. There is
a matching area of wear on the underside of the plastic facing
directly over the flex cable itself.

Now the question is: what kind of tape should I use to cover the wear
spot? Or do I need to do something else.

If this turns out to be the trouble, you deserve the long range
diagnosis award! Good work.

****************************************

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 21:01:32 GMT, "Tweek"
wrote:

It is possibly the flex cable that goes from the mainboard to the lcd
screen. Usually the symptom is the display distortion you described, but
lockups usually aren't involved. If the cable has become frayed, it may be
shorting out causing the lockups.

goseespam@lot wrote in message
.. .
Tweek, thanks for the answer.

Fans are working ok and clean.

I might be wrong, but I don't think its due to overheating. Sometimes
it freezes/crashs early in the session (once it crashed in Safe Mode),
other times after many hours. The common denominator seems to be a
slight movement of the laptop.

*********************************************

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 17:16:36 GMT, "Tweek"
wrote:

My first thought would be a failed fan on the video chipset. If the
machine
has only one fan, is it working? If it has more than one fan are they both
working?


goseespam@lot wrote in message
...
Hi Group,

On my GW laptop 450 X, the display on the monitor is going. Windows XP
SP2 with all updates.

Words and images blur, followed by vertical stripes (same colors as
whatever was on screen at the time) followed sometimes by geometrical
patterns. When this happens, laptop freezes like the old DOS proggys
and can only be shutoff by turning off the power.

Usually set off by the slightest touch or movement of the laptop.
(Loose connection?)

Took out the keyboard and checked - as best I can - for dust , but it
seems to be a clean machine. I don't know where to look for a loose
connection.

Tried hooking it into another GW monitor, with same thing happening on
both monitors.

Reinstalled all drivers from the GW red disk, then updated them from
the GW web site. Didn't solve the problem. ATI, the writer of the
drivers, is no help.

Any ideas?

And I want to thank you for this group. I have learned more from you
than from the GW site.

Arthur

I am not sure where it is actually located on that model. If needed, you can
get a replacement from www.mundocorp.com . If it is not that cable, it is
almost certainly something shorting out when you move the machine.

goseespam@lot wrote in message
...
If the flex cable is to the left of the on/off button on GW 450
laptops, and directly under the plastic facing (the one that surrounds
the on/off and the buttons for email, etc) - then it does seem to be
frayed, or at least worn down. I had trouble with the on/off for about
6 months (driver or something which I fixed). But that meant that I
had to press down unusually hard on that area a dozen times a day for
about 6 months which would have been enough to wear it down. There is
a matching area of wear on the underside of the plastic facing
directly over the flex cable itself.

Now the question is: what kind of tape should I use to cover the wear
spot? Or do I need to do something else.

If this turns out to be the trouble, you deserve the long range
diagnosis award! Good work.

****************************************

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 21:01:32 GMT, "Tweek"
wrote:

It is possibly the flex cable that goes from the mainboard to the lcd
screen. Usually the symptom is the display distortion you described, but
lockups usually aren't involved. If the cable has become frayed, it may be
shorting out causing the lockups.

goseespam@lot wrote in message
. ..
Tweek, thanks for the answer.

Fans are working ok and clean.

I might be wrong, but I don't think its due to overheating. Sometimes
it freezes/crashs early in the session (once it crashed in Safe Mode),
other times after many hours. The common denominator seems to be a
slight movement of the laptop.

*********************************************

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 17:16:36 GMT, "Tweek"
wrote:

My first thought would be a failed fan on the video chipset. If the
machine
has only one fan, is it working? If it has more than one fan are they
both
working?


goseespam@lot wrote in message
m...
Hi Group,

On my GW laptop 450 X, the display on the monitor is going. Windows XP
SP2 with all updates.

Words and images blur, followed by vertical stripes (same colors as
whatever was on screen at the time) followed sometimes by geometrical
patterns. When this happens, laptop freezes like the old DOS proggys
and can only be shutoff by turning off the power.

Usually set off by the slightest touch or movement of the laptop.
(Loose connection?)

Took out the keyboard and checked - as best I can - for dust , but it
seems to be a clean machine. I don't know where to look for a loose
connection.

Tried hooking it into another GW monitor, with same thing happening on
both monitors.

Reinstalled all drivers from the GW red disk, then updated them from
the GW web site. Didn't solve the problem. ATI, the writer of the
drivers, is no help.

Any ideas?

And I want to thank you for this group. I have learned more from you
than from the GW site.

Arthur