Display and abrupt shutdown issues on XP (SP3) laptop

[canuck]

My old Lenovo T61 (8892) has recently started shutting down without warning: first the mouse freezes, then the screen freezes, then the screen goes black, and I hear a click sound from it, and it shuts down. All this takes about 30 seconds.

 

When I restart the system I usually get a weird looking screen directly at startup.The colours are all wrong, there are all kinds of lines, and the screen display shows a fraction of the normal screen; by this I mean that the screen is still the size of the monitor, but only about 1/3 of the content is shown because the characters etc. are larger.

I tried to get a screenshot and I'll try posting it here.

 

I tried to use the display troubleshooter, didn't seem to be useful.

But I got the message that i should update and/or reinstall the display adapter driver. But I'm working in safe mode to avoid the problems I mentioned above.and the display properties are not available in this mode.

Another message was to update the motherboard, and I know there is an update for it, but I'm reluctant to take such a big step, having read reports of new problems caused by doing that.

Thanks for any help. Sigh...

[canuck]

I started the display troubleshooter and eventually found out that the device NVIDEA Quadro NVS 140M is listed as "This device cannot start (Code10)" I tried the troubleshooter in that location (properties of that device) and it would not start.

 

I tried updating the driver for it but the result was no better driver.

I tried "roll back driver" but it said there was no backup driver.

I have the option of uninstalling and reinstalling the device but that's a big step. Should I do this? Can i be sure that I'll get a working driver? I suppose I don't have much to lose here, unless something else is causing the driver to not work.

 

There's many results online for the Code 10 error message. Heres' one:

http://www.nvidia.ca/object/IO_13957.html

Edited March 12, 2015 by canuck

[3s-gtech]

Due to the age of the NVS 140M, it ties right in to when Nvidia were having major issues with lead-free solder and parts failing. You may just find that the card/board itself has failed - it's certainly giving symptoms along those lines. I would certainly try uninstalling the driver entirely and seeing how it gets on with a fresh install, in case it is just a big software bug.

[canuck]

OK thanks for the info. I'll try the uninstall reinstall.

I just noticed on another PC that my screenshot of the display problem in my first post above displays correctly. How can I get a screenshot of how my screen actually looks like?

[Arthur]

How can I get a screenshot of how my screen actually looks like?

Do you have a digital camera? I think that will be the only way.

[mac_shinobi]

Do you have a digital camera? I think that will be the only way.

 

Basically a photo or video clip using a camera as Arthur said already

 

If you have a tin of compressed air or something similar, blow out any dust and debris out of where the vents are for the heatsink and fan unit. Generally on the rear left corner

 

Just wondering if this is blocked or clogged up thus making all the heat build up and making the onboard nvidia graphics over heating etc ?

@Arthur - what do you think to maybe doing the below ?

 

Also with the age of that laptop if you are confident enough then may be worth while cleaning off the thermal paste or pad materials off the cpu and gpu and heatsink and re apply and put back together etc ??

 

Just as a thought ?

[canuck]

I have a camera and took a photo of the screen but could not manipulate it to my laptop properly because of the problem of photos displaying improperly. Every photo is garbled. Oh well, you'll have to trust me that the screen display is very hard to work with.

 

I ran add/remove hardware to uninstall and reinstall the Nvidia. To begin with, I cannot open NVIDEA nView Desktop Manager.

The first time I ran the add/remove hardware the result was something like:

"cannot uninstall this program because it is required for operation of this computer" (an uninstaller that's programmed not to uninstall? It was the Nvidea uninstaller).

 

So I tried a second time and then it seemed to work, but got the message from the Found new hardware wizard:

"cannot start this hardware. There was a problem installing this hardware. NVIDEA Quadro NVS 140M. This device cannot start."

 

Re the suggestion to use canned air etc., I did that a few months ago.

Edited March 14, 2015 by canuck

[canuck]

To add to what I wrote before, The display problem starts with the machine startup, meaning it can't be a heat issue. The first image on screen is garbled. As for the thermal paste, that goes beyond my limited knowledge.

 

It's looking like what 3s-gtech wrote as the real problem. Is there any other way to check that it is the solder issue?

 

One more note: In searching for solutions to the problem, one result was from the nvidea website:

 

"The Code 10 error is most often a result of not having the option "Assign IRQ to VGA" enabled in your motherboards system BIOS."

 

If this seems a reasonable cause of my problems, how do I ascertain if I need to assign the IRQ to Vga?

Edited March 15, 2015 by canuck

[3s-gtech]

I have seen that occur, but only on a desktop with the flexibility in the BIOS to change the IRQ assignments. It's possible you can do this on the laptop, but very unlikely. However, it's just possible that a bug with that BIOS is causing the issue, so it's worth looking for an update BIOS Update Utility - ThinkPad R61 14.1inch widescreen with IEEE 1394, ThinkPad T61, T61p - Lenovo Support (US)

[witch]

Ask Dave at @ICTDirect_Dave as he is vastly experienced with T61s

[canuck]

OK thanks for the tip to contact Dave. I sent him a PM. Is this the correct way to contact him?

 

Finally found out how to get photos from the camera to here. One of the problems is my screen is about 40% of the content, and usually I cannot get the other 60%. This means I often cannot even get to a program.

 

I'll try to post these two. First one is self-explanatory.

 

Second one is of the screen at startup. Bet no one could tell this. But I like it as a photo, kind of modern art.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

OK thanks for the tip to contact Dave. I sent him a PM. Is this the correct way to contact him?

 

Finally found out how to get photos from the camera to here. One of the problems is my screen is about 40% of the content, and usually I cannot get the other 60%. This means I often cannot even get to a program.

 

I'll try to post these two. First one is self-explanatory.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29654[/ATTACH]

 

Second one is of the screen at startup. Bet no one could tell this. But I like it as a photo, kind of modern art.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29655[/ATTACH]

 

You didn't message me yet? Did you message some other Dave?

 

This looks certain to be a knackered motherboard though. It'll need a solder reflow if you're to have it working again, but unless you've got your own reflow station (or are confident in cooking the motherboard in the oven yourself) it's going to cost more than the laptop is worth!

The only other problem that would present like this is a corrupt memory module, but since the machine appears to work normally apart from the display issue I'd say we can rule that out.

 

It's probably time to consign this one to the scrap heap and get yourself something like a Lenovo T410 or Dell E6420, they're both pretty reliable (so long as you keep the T410 fan free of dust!)

[canuck]

Dave, I thought I sent you a PM, I mean I composed a message to you but it seems it was never sent, because it's not in my list of sent messages. It was my first time trying that here, not sure what happened.

 

I doubt that I could do the solder reflow. (Although when I was younger I built some Heathkits.)

Is there any way to use another display program? And if NVIDEA is not working at all, what display program is working at the moment? And can I change the settings on it to work better?

 

Should I do the BIOS update, as suggested above?

 

About the 410 fan, a review I read said it was very loud. i note your fan cleaning advice. I'll see if I can find one locally in a used computer store.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Ahh, that would explain it!

 

Unfortunately, the problem you're experiencing is not display software related. It's initial cause is likely to be faulty hardware, specifically the graphics chipset, a problem for which there is no direct fix

 

I'd backup your data whilst you can still just about use the laptop and look at getting a replacement.

[canuck]

Do you mean that the fact there is some graphics program running but not the NVidea one means there's a graphics chipset problem?

And just what graphics program is running?

 

I'll try to find a Lenovo T410 or Dell E6420, but if I cannot find either of these, can you please suggest a couple more reliable laptops?

 

A local store is offering for CDN$300 (about the same in euros I think):

Hp NC6930 Elitebook

 

• Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26ghz
  
• 14.1" Lcd Matte Screen
  
• 4GB Ram, 160GB Hdd
  
• DVD-RW, Wifi,
  
• Windows 7 Home SP1
  
• 90Day Parts and Labour Warranty*(Non-Latching)
  

Edited March 18, 2015 by canuck