Friend's laptop screen is white and stays white on boot

[Dari]

A friend has a Lenovo X1 Carbon laptop. It has suddenly started going white on boot. It still works when connected to a monitor via a displayport. A Lenovo technician has come out and replaced the LCD panel, lcd, cable, and systemboard. But it does the same thing. Does anyone here know what could be wrong?

 

[John Connor]

Try running Memtest86+. Run it over night and use the external monitor.

 

[Dari]

Try running Memtest86+. Run it over night and use the external monitor.

Why would it affect the lcd panel and not the external monitor? Also, the same problem happened on two different combination of panels/system boards. Finally, the memory is soldered on so for the same thing to happen to both combinations would be rare, right?

 

[corkyg]

The X1 Carbon is highly integrated, and I believe it has a somewhat proprietary SSD by San Disk. The only thing the Lenovo tech did not do was to replace that SSD. Seems to me that is where the problem is - the graphic processor drivers. The whole thing should still be under warranty. I would return it to be totally refurbed. Locally, there should be a restore partition on that SSD. Running that should return the system to its original factory state.

 

[Dari]

The X1 Carbon is highly integrated, and I believe it has a somewhat proprietary SSD by San Disk. The only thing the Lenovo tech did not do was to replace that SSD. Seems to me that is where the problem is - the graphic processor drivers. The whole thing should still be under warranty. I would return it to be totally refurbed. Locally, there should be a restore partition on that SSD. Running that should return the system to its original factory state.

Thank you very much.

 

[Matt1970]

The X1 Carbon is highly integrated, and I believe it has a somewhat proprietary SSD by San Disk. The only thing the Lenovo tech did not do was to replace that SSD. Seems to me that is where the problem is - the graphic processor drivers. The whole thing should still be under warranty. I would return it to be totally refurbed. Locally, there should be a restore partition on that SSD. Running that should return the system to its original factory state.

It could only be a driver issue if it turns white after starting to load windows. If it is white from the moment you hit the power button, it is a problem with the onboard graphics. It's rare that the external video works but not the main screen, but it does happen. I have only seen 2 myself.

 

[Dari]

It could only be a driver issue if it turns white after starting to load windows. If it is white from the moment you hit the power button, it is a problem with the onboard graphics. It's rare that the external video works but not the main screen, but it does happen. I have only seen 2 myself.

Good point. This is a very strange issue.

 

[Dari]

Could it be the CMOS battery? I have no idea. It's a CR1632.

 

[Matt1970]

Possible, but getting to the CMOS battery would probably void the warranty.

 

[Dari]

BTW, when the technician swapped out the system board, the computer said that the serial number was wrong. he had to put in the original serial number. He changed the serial number via a USB drive (IBM Maintenance Disk). Maybe the place where the serial number is being stored stores other firmware or data that could be causing the problem. Where is this information being stored (since it would not make any sense for it to be stored in the new system board)?

 

[paul878]

What do you mean it goes white on boot?

Is the lcd white when you turn on the laptop or it changes to white after you boot?

If it work with external monitor then the problem is the LCD, cable, or systemboard. The onsite technician might be in a hurry and got the parts mixed up (old and new). Have them change it again starting with the lcd and cable.

 

[Dari]

What do you mean it goes white on boot?

Is the lcd white when you turn on the laptop or it changes to white after you boot?

If it work with external monitor then the problem is the LCD, cable, or systemboard. The onsite technician might be in a hurry and got the parts mixed up (old and new). Have them change it again starting with the lcd and cable.

It goes white when the computer comes on. And, yes, the technician put in all new parts. He changed the connector cable, lcd panel and system board. He was there for 12 hours and the old and new parts were clearly labelled so I doubt things were getting mixed up.

 

[paul878]

LCD turn white when it is not receiving any singles from the motherboard, such as cable disconnected completely. Something is overlooked, send it into the depot or bring it to a local Authorized Shop.

 

[Dari]

LCD turn white when it is not receiving any singles from the motherboard, such as cable disconnected completely. Something is overlooked, send it into the depot or bring it to a local Authorized Shop.

He said it would turn white. But other times it would work fine. When the IBM rep replaced the panel and system board it turned white all the time, but worked fine when connected via display port. Also, it's just one cable that connects to the panel. The brightness works fine so it's receiving signal from the motherboard. How is it that this is happening on two different combination of cables, panels, and motherboards?

 

[paul878]

Sound like he was a cable problem in the first place.

The Tech didn't do something right, I suspect that the cable is not connected!!