Sony Vaio notebook display problem

[sjlplat]

**Solved ** Sony Vaio notebook display problem

I just replaced a motherboard in a Vaio laptop. The old board was causing complete loss of video. Video works with the new board, but the display exceeds the size of the screen. The old board did not have this problem.

New motherboard has the same part number, same chipset. I don't see any differences in the two.

The problem affects everything, not just Windows. Screen resolution adjustments don't solve the problem.

I'm stumped. Any ideas?

 

[NYJimbo]

Hook it up to an external monitor and see if its weird there as well. If you have a smart monitor it might be able to tell you about the frequency being put out and so on.

If you can check the BIOS see if its up to date, this mobo might be interchangeable for several models and the screen resolution might not be
right in the firmware for the video or something else.

 

[sjlplat]

Hook it up to an external monitor and see if its weird there as well. If you have a smart monitor it might be able to tell you about the frequency being put out and so on.

If you can check the BIOS see if its up to date, this mobo might be interchangeable for several models and the screen resolution might not be
right in the firmware for the video or something else.

External monitor looks good. BIOS is a good idea, I'll check on that.

 

[sjlplat]

Flashed the BIOS to the latest version. Still no luck.

 

[NYJimbo]

If we were doing it in reverse you could make the mistake of ordering the wrong resolution LCD and then get a weird display because the mobo is trying to talk to the LCD in a certain config.

Since its the mobo which was replaced the first thing I would think is that the firmware/videochip/whatever doesnt match the LCD resolution. However if the mobo part number is the same it should be fine. Its possible that there is a significant motherboard revision change and they switched LCD's midway through that models production.

You could try to reseat the cable on both ends (lcd and mobo), might be something about one or two pins not seated right.

Could be alot simpler answer to this problem, but its not clicking in my head right now.

If you have the exact model of the VAIO that might help.

 

[sjlplat]

My service manual shows two versions, but it looks like they are the 15" and 17" models. It's possible there was a manufacturing revision at some time, in which case it's hit and miss if you get the right board. I don't see anything that could signify a difference in boards.

The model is VGN-AX570G

 

[NYJimbo]

My service manual shows two versions, but it looks like they are the 15" and 17" models. It's possible there was a manufacturing revision at some time, in which case it's hit and miss if you get the right board. I don't see anything that could signify a difference in boards.

The model is VGN-AX570G

Is yours the 17" ?. Just want to be sure.

 

[sjlplat]

Is yours the 17" ?. Just want to be sure.

This one is the 17", yes.

 

[sjlplat]

Looking at the EDID, the laptop display is showing generic MS data. The strange thing is that the hex values are all 0's. Makes me think the EEPROM in the display is corrupted. External monitor data all looks fine. Unfortunately I don't fully understand EDID data, so I'm grasping at straws.

Been at this for 12 hours, and still can't get anywhere. Removed all display drivers, then went through hell trying to get them reinstalled. Had to force the OS to use the right drivers because it couldn't detect them.

This laptop originally shipped with XP, and the customer installed Vista x64. Not many Vista drivers available for it, and half the software has compatibility issues.

Cleaned 54 trojans from it, but that's just the surface. I'm sure there's more garbage buried down deeper.

This thing is a mess.

 

[sjlplat]

Found the problem.

The motherboard has DIP switches for the display. Readjusted the switches on the new board to match the old one. Problem solved.