My guess that it's not the matrix itself but the pcb of the screen is bad. I had same issue on a different laptop. The screen was just white, i.e. all pixels were on. I fixed that by replacing the pcb inside the screen assembly.

Bondi wrote on 2021-11-10, 07:34:

My guess that it's not the matrix itself but the pcb of the screen is bad. I had same issue on a different laptop. The screen was just white, i.e. all pixels were on. I fixed that by replacing the pcb inside the screen assembly.

Thanks. I will open the case and see if I can find the part no. of pcb.
I also tried to connect the VGA output to LCD TV, and TV didn't receive any signal .

sangokushi wrote on 2021-11-10, 07:59:

I also tried to connect the VGA output to LCD TV, and TV didn't receive any signal .

I don't own a Travelmate, but external VGA output is usually activated either in BIOS or by some key combinations. Did you try it?

Bondi wrote on 2021-11-10, 08:08:

sangokushi wrote on 2021-11-10, 07:59:

I also tried to connect the VGA output to LCD TV, and TV didn't receive any signal .

I don't own a Travelmate, but external VGA output is usually activated either in BIOS or by some key combinations. Did you try it?

I checked their user guide. There is a DOS utility to enable the VGA out. I am not sure what's in the hard drive since I am unable to see anything on the LCD.

sangokushi wrote on 2021-11-10, 09:16:

Bondi wrote on 2021-11-10, 08:08:

sangokushi wrote on 2021-11-10, 07:59:

I also tried to connect the VGA output to LCD TV, and TV didn't receive any signal .

I don't own a Travelmate, but external VGA output is usually activated either in BIOS or by some key combinations. Did you try it?

I checked their user guide. There is a DOS utility to enable the VGA out. I am not sure what's in the hard drive since I am unable to see anything on the LCD.

All I can think of is to create a boot diskette, copy that utility on it and run it blindly or add it to autoexec.bat.

@Bondi
Do you know how to open the LCD case? For new laptop, usually there are four screws covered by a small circle tape.
I tried to open it to check the pcb, but I can't find any screws holding the LCD case.

I'm not sure how to open it, sorry. There may be latches around the perimeter of the case. But there is always a risk to damage the plastic opening such cases.

Hi Bondi,
I managed to open the LCD and found the part no for the inverter, it's 9792516-0001
Do you know where can I found a compatible one? Google search doesn't show any store has it.
Thanks

The inverter should be fine? The backlight is working at full brightness there. If you did need to replace it, I've just found that replacing the electrolytics can get inverters working when they're not working right.

It's a bit odd that the passive LCD is showing white, that should mean full-on/active. You've tried the contrast dial, now try re-seating the LCD connector a couple of times, that can help when I see things like blank screen. You should have VGA out though...

I was hoping to see some bad capacitors on the inverter, but it looks pretty clean.
I will try reseating the connectors tonight.
Also, I tried to keep turning power on and off. I saw the boot screen once from a high angle and within 10 seconds, the LCD turned to full brightness, then the boot screen disappeared.

They're tough to spot, I could only see a tiny bit of discolouration on the leg of one capacitor but once I took it off, it really did stink and it was obvious it had leaked.

It's great that you have seen some display though. You could check whether the LCD panel itself has any electrolytic capacitors - those are usually surface mount and they can go bad. Epson ActionNote 500C

Thanks Thermalwrong. I will check the capacitors on both LCD and inverter.
BTW, this is what the inverter board looks like.

Hi sangokushi,
The inverter appears to be fine, as the backlight was working. Is there any other components insie the LCD assembly? There has to also be a board that handles the signals. Here is what it looked like in my case.

And it was fixed after I replaced this board that was attached to the back of the matrix.

Hi Bondi,

Yes, there is a pcb inside the LCD assembly. The part no for the LCD is LM-CD53-22NTK. I found the spec online:
https://www.elecok.com/data_sheet/35474 ... AN(EN).pdf

This LCD costs ~ $130 on eBay.

That is an insane price. Given it's a passive matrix, it's really not worth the effort and money to fix it IMO. I'd rather track down a Travelamate 4000M with TFT display. It would cost less than they ask for this LCD panel. They are not common, yet not hopeless to get one.

EDIT. BTW are you sure it's a passive matrix dislpay? 4000M are TFT to my knowledge.

Agree. I was hoping it's a easy fix. BTW, this is the pcb inside the LCD.

I assume you tried to reseat those connectors? And as Thermalwrong mentioned those caps can be also bad. Is any of the caps located close to any heat source? Maybe inverter transformer?

Yes, I did try reseat the connectors and it didn't help. And replacing the capacitors is too difficult for me.

Back then, I found an early LCD monitor at work that is white like this and found a bad transistor on the LCD's board, yes on the LCD's and replaced that. Got image back, eventually transistor went again.

Just to confirm because this is repairable if you can figure out how to locate and replace the chip or transistor somwhere. But by then later LCD panel now have board directly bonded to the LCD's flex.

Cheers,