HP HDX 16 Display Not Working

[JakeInc]

My 3.3 year old HDX 16T-1000 CTO Premium Notebook PC's display no longer functions.  Upon cold boot, the display nearly always comes on but flickers at about 1/2 brightness.  If I twist the display, sometimes I can get it to come on at full brightness.  Upon letting go though, the display goes black.  The only way I can get it to turn back on is to put the notebook to sleep and then wake it up.  The display comes back on for about 2 seconds (mostly at 1/2 brightness) and then goes black again.

I do get a normal display when I connect to an HDTV via the HDMI output.  HP's techs had me download and reinstall the chipset, NIVIDIA video driver and BIOS software.  This made no difference whatsoever.

Since I can get the display to turn on intermittently, could the problem be just a worn video cable or something more serious?

Thanks for your help!!!

J.

[HaggisCat]

It would seem like it's a worn video cable, you could also assume that the inverter is going to since the display is dim when it does light up.

 Dimming lights also also point to failing back light(s), and if that's the case the display will have to be replaced.

 Seems to be allot of hdx 16's with this problem lately _ I guess they're all reaching a certain age where this happens.

 HP Media Services Library to get it apart.

 http://h20574.www2.hp.com/default.htm?lang=en&cc=US&hpappid=psml  Make sure you're signed in before clicking on the link. Post again if you need help with the library.

 This is one source out of China _ I have ordered from them before and they're fine.

 http://www.pchub.com/uph/model/0--12471-1/HDX-X16-Series-parts.html

 Yours is probably the dual lamp so make sure and order the correct one. It could be single lamp, but I have never come across one yet. There is no way of knowing for sure until you take it apart.

 Personally I am telling people just to replace all three, the cable, screen and inverter.

http://www.screencountry.com/index.php?section=products&model=HP HDX 16T&brand=HP-Compaq&size=

 With the HDX series, the screen are held in there with this 3M double sided tape and they are difficult to remove, so you may just want to start with the cable and then inverter or both.

 The link above is for 1366 x 768 resolution, to check yours type in system information in the search box.

 Expand components and the go to display.

 See you native resolution there under resolution.

[JakeInc]

Dear HaggisCat,

THANKS for all the GREAT information regarding my HDX display!  I never considered the inverter potentially being a problem also.  I have located a complete (used) display for $160 but am not sure if that's such a great investment versus buying all new parts via your links.

In my mind, a $1,500 + notebook should last MUCH longer than three years!  What in the world are we paying for these days?

Thanks again for the assistance!!!

[HaggisCat]

Don't buy a used screen, you don't know how many miles are on it and they can very can become scratched getting out of there. (as I said it's not easy).

 Did you check what your native resolution is, I would be very curious to know ?

 Here are some from e-bay.

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-LCD-SCREEN-HP-HDX16-HDX16t-WUXGA-1920x1080-NEW-2CCFL-/160432003564?pt=LH_...

 Yours is probably this.

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-HP-HDX16-X16-16-Laptop-Glossy-LCD-LED-Screen-OEM-Samsung-LTN160AT02-WXGA...

 This one is interesting, the seller claims that he has a cable to go from CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent light) to LED (light emitting diode). This is not possible as far as I know, but maybe something has changed, I am going to look into this and report back. (may take a few days)

 Its resolution is WXGA, which is 1366 x 768.

 If this would work, you wouldn't need an inverter any more and it comes with a new cable, the down side is that it\s not 1920 X 1080.

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-16-Laptop-LCD-Screen-LTN160HT03-WXGA-1920x1080-Glossy-hp-hdx-16-/220...

 This one is CCFL 1920 x 1080, but it's only a single lamp, from what his picture shows anyway. There are two wires coming out of the bottom of the screen _ red and white. Which is for one lamp, if it had both red and white & black and blue then it would have two lamps.

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-LCD-Screen-HP-HDX-X16T-1000-WUXGA-FHD-DUO-CCFL-/120697754048?pt=LH_Defaul...

 Here's one with a 2 year warrantee !

 Some of them ship from China and that's OK because they're all made in China anyway, in fact you probably get a better deal getting where they're made.

 3 years for a laptop before a component goes (even a major one like the screen) isn't bad. There are many people here where the thing quits just out side the warrantee. My old dv7 that I gave to my mother is still plugging along and it must be at least 5 years old. All she does with it is surf the net and buy things.

 My custom built dv8 was close to 3 g's and the WiFi card went a couple of weeks ago and it's now a few years old (guessing).

 Things made in China can be good or bad, it depends how the manufacturer (HP) directs them to build it and how much money (at cost) goes into it. China may have a bunch of screens available that may look the same on the outside, but the materials and build quality may be different.

 To save costs and make money HP may choose the cheaper ones.

 I don't have any proof of this, but it probably is the way things are run.

 HP did not become a multi billion dollar company by putting the most expensive component's in their devices.

 Also note that the link I gave you for the cable is a used one, not new. It's getting difficult to find a new cable for the HDX 16 series and the ones that supply it want any where from 50 to 100 bucks.

[JakeInc]

Dear HaggisCat,

Wow!  It seems there are many options for displays out there.  The question is, how to choose the correct display?  I'm not sure how to check what my "native resolution" is.  I know the value for and I can set my "current resolution", but that varies with the monitor I am currently using ( a 26" Sharp HDTV).  Do I have to disassemble the HDX display to find the value for "native resolution"?

This is a great learning experience for me!  Thanks so much for your time and interest in helping me out.  I suppose I am remembering back to my first desktop, a Gateway desktop that lasted me 10 years!  Sure, it was way out-of-date when I bought my HP, but, the computer never suffered one hardware failure during that 10 years.  I just expect MORE from HP in terms of longevity.  Yes, everything is dollar driven.  You get what you pay for.  1,500 bucks should be worth more than 3 years service from a notebook, in my opinion.

J.

[HaggisCat]

Hey there, actually I posted it a little while back how to check you native resolution.

 Click on the "start" button (the round one with the Windows flag in it at the bottom left of the screen)

 In the "search for programs and files" box type in system information

 Click on what the search box finds (it will find "system information")

 In that window expand Component's in the left column (to do this click on the small + sign beside "components.

 Click on Display in that list and find Resolution in the window on the right side of the screen.

 This will still not tell you if you have two CCFL lamps or one, you will have to disassemble the laptop to find out for sure. So far all the ones that I have across have two, but because the service manual lists one or the other, there is no way of knowing fro sure.

 If it has one lamp there will be a red and white wire only at the bottom of the screen that plugs into the inverter.

 If it has two lamps there will be the red and white wires as well as blue and black for the other lamp.

 This will also tell you what kind of inverter to purchase if it comes to that.

[JakeInc]

Sorry to make you repeat yourself.  I should have referred to your earlier post!  Okay, so my native resolution is: 1280 x 720, 60 hertz. Now I'll have to disassemble the display.  Your tech instruction manual will be invaluable.  Thanks again!  J

[kareos]

Hi all - I've been reading from the woodwork here dealing with my girlfriend's own FF047AV screen problems. As far as I can tell, this is a pretty common occurrence at around 3 years for this particular model - can't speak for others.

If I may raise my own (related) question: About two weeks ago she started noticing the screen wouldn't come on. After fiddling with it a few times, I got it to come on after booting, but it would flicker something fierce, accompanied by a buzzing sound coming from the inverter area. 

I ordered a replacement inverter and installed it today. No buzzing or flickering, now it just is doing the whole "incredibly dim - need a flashlight" thing. My question is, when I play with the shut-off sensor, for a half second it blinks on with what appears to be full color/brightness. If the bulb is bad, shouldn't it be unable to click on like that?

Also - thanks for those links. If this goes the way I think it's going, I may order that last one from China.

[HaggisCat]

@ kareos

 The inverter and lamps are pretty much like the ballast and fluorescent tube arrangement you would find in a hardware store. Their behavior in a laptop is much the same as the ones in the hardware store.

 When things get old the inverter output voltage can drop and the lamps can develop these black purplish rings at the end of the lamps. This indicates they are old and failure will occur eventually. They may carry on for weeks or months or a few more hours.

 Sometimes you can open and close the lid to get them to light, like flicking the switch off and on to get them to work.

 I have some fluorescent tubes in my garage and they need replacing, as well as one of the ballasts. I am too lazy to install some new ones so I will sit there and flick the switch off and on, this will very often fire them up.

 It's the same for a laptop when you open and close the lid.

 In your case you replaced the inverter (ballast) but the lamps (fluorescent lamps) are old and even though you have a new inverter the lamps are shot and need replacing as well.

 You can get some new tubes from e-bay, but they're very difficult to install, it's much easier and economical to replace the entire screen.

 Here's an interesting article on how one can test things at home.

 http://www.fonerbooks.com/test.htm

 Note the output voltage of 500 to 700 volts to fire the lamps. While this seems dangerous, it's not really because there is virtually no amperage involved here.

 If you did get a shock you would feel it, but it certainly wouldn't kill you as people would think.

 It would be same as if you grabbed a live spark lug wire in your car while it was running, you would get a good shock from that into your fingers. The voltage there in a modern car ignition can be anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 volts, but again very little amperage.

 Also note that the current output in a cars ignition and inverter have been converted to AC (alternating current).

[JakeInc]

@ HaggisCat,

Thanks for your link to diagnose the panel components.  I'm going to break out the Fluke and perform those tests on my screen.

Also, your analogy comparing the inverter and lamps to a ballast and florescent tubes clears up additional questions I had regarding the screen lighting system.  So, the links you provided formerly for those $145 to $165 "new" screens, does that include everything needed (panel, video cable, inverter, lamps, etc.)?  Or do we need to purchased those required components separately?

What do you mean exactly by "native resolution"?  I thought that was a characteristic of the screen, but, every time I change my screen resolution, the procedure you gave me to check "native resolution" also shows the screen resolution I chose.

Thanks!  J.