Display Problems |
You can perform a self-test on an external VGA color or monochrome monitor as
follows:
1. Turn off the monitor.
2. Turn off the computer.
3. Disconnect the monitor signal cable from the computer.
4. Turn on the monitor and allow it to warm up for one minute.
The display should be white. A
narrow black border may also appear on the left and right sides of the display.
Either of these displays indicates that the monitor is working properly. |
Problem |
Probable Cause |
Solution(s) |
Characters on computer display are dim.
|
The brightness control is not set properly. |
Adjust the brightness of the display by pressing Fn+F10 hotkeys. |
Computer is in direct light. |
Move the computer or adjust the screen. |
You may have
a screen saver or screen blanking utility installed. |
Press any
key to refresh the screen. |
Screen
timeout was initiated. |
Press any
key to light the screen. |
System
initiated Suspend after a user-defined timeout expired. |
Press the Suspend
Button to exit Suspend. |
Computer
initiated a low battery Suspend or Hibernation. |
- Replace the battery pack and exit Suspend or
Hibernation.
- Connect the computer to an external power source
and exit Suspend or Hibernation.
|
Power
Management, which controls Suspend and Hibernation, is disabled and the battery pack has
discharged. |
- Replace the battery pack and turn on the computer.
- Connect the computer to an external power source.
|
Computer screen is blank and external monitor displays
information.
|
Display was switched to the external monitor. |
Press Fn+F4 to display information on the computer screen; press
Fn+F4 again to display information. |
Display switch is stuck. |
Tap the switch. |
Fn+F4
hotkey combination does not switch between internal and external displays. |
CRT or other
display device is not connected properly. |
Check your
connections to ensure that an external device is connected properly. |
Display is blank and the Suspend icon is flashing. |
System is in Suspend mode. |
Press any key or touch the Touch Pad. |
Internal display is blank and the screen on an external monitor displays
information. |
Display function was switched to the external monitor. |
Use Fn + F2 to switch between LCD or CRT. |
Internal
display flashes or has garbled characters when computer is connected to external monitor. |
Using
1024 × 768 or higher resolution on external monitor and have toggled back to internal
display, which supports up to 800 × 600. |
Restart
the computer. |
This
display panel has a continuous pattern across it (e.g., a "jailbars" pattern),
has a single color on it, or has garbled graphics across the entire panel. This failure is
for patterns across the entire panel (not just on one section). |
Improper
display cable connections. |
Reseat the
display cable to the following until the problem is solved: 1. System board
2. Display assembly |
Defective
display cable. |
Replace the
display assembly. |
Defective
inverter board. |
Replace the
display assembly. |
Defective
system board. |
Replace the
system board. |
Ghost bars extending
from graphics on the display. |
Common characteristic of
STN displays. |
1. Change the background
colors. 2. Adjust the Contrast of the
display by using Fn + F5 (¯ ) or Fn + F6 ( ). |
A single line, small
group of lines, or block appears on the display panel. This failure occurs in only a
section of the display panel. |
Defective display panel. |
Replace the display
assembly. |
The light
tubes on the edge of the display panel do not light up at all and Power-On Self-Test
(POST) completes when the unit is powered up.* |
Improper backlight or
display cable connections |
Replace the display
assembly. |
Defective inverter
board. |
Replace the display
assembly. |
Defective display cable. |
Replace the display
assembly. |
Defective display panel. |
Replace the display
assembly. |
Defective system board. |
Replace the system
board. |
The light tubes on the
edge of the display panel do not light up at all and Power-On Self-Test (POST) does not
complete when the unit is powered up.* |
Defective system board. |
Replace the system
board. |
Backlight
(brightness) cannot be adjusted with Fn + F7 (¯ ) or Fn + F8 (
).* |
Improper display cable
connections. |
1. Reseat the display
cable to the system board. 2. Replace the
display assembly. |
Defective inverter
board. |
Replace the display
assembly. |
Defective display cable. |
Replace the display
assembly. |
Defective system board. |
Replace the system
board. |
Contrast
cannot be adjusted with Fn + F5 (¯ ) or Fn + F6 ( ). |
Improper display cable
connections. |
1. Reseat the display
cable to the system board. 2. Replace the
display assembly. |
Defective inverter
board. |
Replace the display
assembly. |
Defective display cable. |
Replace the display
assembly. |
Defective system board. |
Replace the system
board. |
* This
problem indicates that the backlight or its power circuitry has failed. Since you cannot
observe the POST result on the display panel when the backlight is not functioning,
connect the unit to an external monitor before powering the unit up. If an external
monitor is not available, verify that POST completes by opening and closing the display,
listening for the single or double beep, and watching for the LEDs turn on at the front of
the computer. |
Hard Drive Problems |
 |
CAUTION: To prevent loss of information, always maintain an
up-to-date backup of your hard drive at all times, in case of errors or failures. |
|
Problem |
Probable Cause |
Solution(s) |
Accessing
information on the hard drive is much slower than usual. |
Hard drive entered low
power state due to timeout and is now exiting from it. |
Wait for the system to
restore the previously saved data to its state prior to initiating a low |
Hard drive is
fragmented/not optimized or has errors. |
Run ScanDisk and Disk
Fragmenter. |
Errors occur after
starting from an additional hard drive. |
Additional hard drive
has not been specially prepared with necessary software. |
Boot from the original
hard drive or a specially prepared hard drive. |
Hard drive does not
work. |
Hard drive is not seated
properly. |
Turn off and unplug the
computer, remove the battery pack, and remove and then reinstall the hard drive. |
System does
not recognize a hard drive. |
The drive is not
properly seated. |
Remove, then reinsert
the drive. |
The drive is damaged. |
Try using the hard drive
in another bay to verify that the problem is with the drive. Run ScanDisk on the drive. |
The drive was inserted
while system was on or in Suspend or Hibernation. |
Shut down the computer
before inserting or removing a hard drive. |
DriveLock settings
cannot be accessed in Computer Setup. |
The DriveLock settings
are accessible only when you enter Computer Setup by turning on (not restarting) the
computer. |
Completely turn off the
computer. Turn the computer back on, then run Computer Setup by pressing F10
when the blinking cursor light appears in the upper-right corner of the screen. |