Dell e6400 laptop: video problem


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Old 07-17-16, 01:04 PM
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Dell e6400 laptop: video problem

Dell e640, Win 7 pro
The display for this laptop randomly displays with a green tint, or shows "static". When plugged into a monitor, eveything show as expected- with the laptop open and monitor plugged in, the laptop simultaneously shows green while the monitor is normal.

To me that suggests the video card is ok, but some connection to the screen is faulty. Anyone know a fix for this?

Thanks!
 
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Old 07-17-16, 02:21 PM
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I am not familiar with your model of Dell laptop but most of the Dells are made about the same. There is a ribbon that comes from the motherboard to the screen which can get kind of dirty depending on where you use your laptop. To get to the ribbon you need to take up the keyboard and take the top of the laptop off. Then carefully take the ribbon off of its connection and then just wipe the connector with a soft cloth. Be careful though that ribbon is very fragile and can break real easy. Also taking the laptop apart may or may not be real easy especially with the newer models.

Cleaning the ribbon though would be my first choice and it may or may not solve your problem. To me it sounds more like the integrated video has gone bad on the motherboard but I have heard that bad ribbon connections can cause problems too. As I said in the beginning though getting to the ribbon may be hard and you should read the service manual online on Dell's website. Look for tech support and click on that and then put in your service tag number and you should be able to find the service manual. They don't always have them in the same place so you have to look for it.

You can buy refurbished motherboards but they will have another service tag number associated with them that you can change using special software if you buy from a computer dealer and not e-bay. However those boards are not cheap and to replace the board is very difficult so I suggest you just throw the old laptop out if you can't get it to work right. I never bought a replacement board but I have tried to remove a motherboard from an old Dell laptop and ended up breaking it even though I was very careful. I wish you good luck with your repair.
 
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Old 07-17-16, 02:45 PM
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Before you do all that work, connect an external monitor to &/or update the driver.
 
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Old 07-22-16, 02:48 AM
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Thanks for replies - i'll make sure the driver is current before digging in too deep.
 
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Old 07-22-16, 09:33 AM
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This sure sounds like a hardware failure more than a driver problem. I had a similar but not identical problem on a Dell Inspiron 14R laptop. Ended up replacing the the LCD panel for about $50. Only parts needed to be removed were the plastic bezel around the screen and the LCD panel. Nothing on the keyboard. That said, you may have a bad cable or a bad connection. See if the video quality changes as you open or close the lid. Also, try some light pressure at the bottom of the bezel to see if pressure on the ribbon cable or the LCD connection makes any difference.

- Peter
 
 

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