Laptop - Random Screen Patterns

[Jess Stingray]

Hey all,

I did have a thread somewhere about this that dies, and I can't find it... but it's still happening. What happens here is the laptop (Toshiba SP6000 Satellite Pro) works fine for a while, then the screen turns red with random patterns on it, mostly in yellow. I'll see if I can get a picture tomorrow of what it looks like. I don't believe it's overheating, as EVEREST reports temperatures of 40-60C. Any ideas on how to fix?

Thanks,

Ben

 

[kwchang007]

What's the temps of the GPU, sounds like a gpu problem. Clean the dust out from the vents? Is this when the GPU has a heavy load? If so, see if downclocking your gpu will fix it.

 

[SlipSlice]

Try reinstalling graphics card drivers, and check you GPU temps..i think its a heat problem, but it could be a driver problem as well.

 

[nflesher87]

pretty sure this is simply the connection between graphics card and display?
if you are able to fix the problem by tilting the screen at just the right angle (through trial and error) that it almost definitely is
my bro-in-law had the same prob with an acer lappy
how old is and is it opened/closed a lot?

 

[a111087]

my friend had this problem with an old laptop, just need to tilt the screen just as nflesher87 sayd

 

[Jess Stingray]

AFAIK, it's never been opened. It has a Trident GPU, on board the mobo, and I can't access temps for it. It's about 5 years old. Complete specs are:

Intel Celeron 1066MHz (I'm running at 533Mhz to save battery)
256MB RAM
DVD-ROM Drive
WinXP Home (was Pro, and the errors happen in BIOS as well sometimes, and even in Windows Setup)
Trident 16MB Graphics SMA.

I'll get a photo later.

 

[Pinchy]

Either the port on the back is loose/faulty OR the card is dying.

 

[Jess Stingray]

Problem persists, not screen conection. Later, i might take it apart to see if anything has come loose.

 

[hat]

Clean out the dust and try to make sure the monitor is making good contact with the VGA pins. I don't know what I'm talking about with the monitor and VGA, but cleaning out dust always helps.

 

[Jess Stingray]

I'm not using an extrernal monitor. I'm using the laptops internal one.

 

[hat]

Like I said I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm pretty sure there is an internal connection with the monitor and motherboard. It may be coming loose.

 

[Pinchy]

Tried using an external monitor?

 

[Jess Stingray]

I'm about to now.

 

[tkpenalty]

show us a screenshot though

 

[Jess Stingray]

Oh, did I forgot to mention that when it does this, all activity stops? HDD does'nt do anything, or CPU...

TKP, I'll give a photo when I find the digi-cam.

 

[Jess Stingray]

Yeah, it happens on an external monitor too.

 

[hat]

I would clean the dust before considering the GFX to be trashed.

 

[Pinchy]

Graphics card is probably dead/dying. If your lucky, it may be a connection, because being an onboard card means you will have to replace the mobo .

 

[Jess Stingray]

In EVEREST, it says it has an AGP 4x connection... can I get an MMX chip for it?

 

[a111087]

In some laptops you can take out the video card and insert new one, search on Ebay but i doubt you will find it, they are rare

 

[Jess Stingray]

I've taken it apart, there's hardly any dust (i cleaned off what i could find), and all the connections are secure. Any more ideas, or should I sell it on ebay "as is, no refunds"?

 

[DrunkenMafia]

Thats weird ben, I have a toshiba satelite A60 and when I restart it sometimes the screen goes red with all sorts of patterns on it. I just reset it and it works, It has never done it twice in a row.....

Sounds like the same prob

 

[Jess Stingray]

Yeah, mine happens randomly. It seems to happen more though, when my knees are shaking, like it was shocked into doing it. This is gonna be a pain in the butt... was hoping to take it on holiday with me so I could play MGS on an emulator

 

[a111087]

lol, and to think that I was going to buy a lappy from eBay

 

[Pinchy]

Lol rule of thumb on ebay: AS-IS=DEAD!